An apparatus for processing a specimen with two or more particle beams, wherein the specimen has a milled side that is processed by a first particle beam and observed by a second particle beam. The specimen is milled during a first milling operation by the first particle beam with the specimen in a first position. Thereafter, the specimen tilts in a second position around an axis of tilt of the specimen. Thereafter, the specimen is milled during a second milling operation. Milling can be performed during continuous tilting of the specimen around the axis of tilt. The axis of tilt of the specimen intersects the milled side. In all the aforementioned positions of the specimen, the second particle beam impinges on the milled side, which enables monitoring of the milling in real time.

A particle beam apparatus is used for imaging, processing and/or analyzing an object. A computer program product may be used to facilitate imaging, processing and/or analyzing the object. A magnification may be chosen from a first magnification range of the particle beam apparatus by driving a first amplifier unit and a second amplifier unit. If it is established that there are prerequisites which would actually result in the particle beam apparatus being switched to a different magnification from a second magnification range, the switching is avoided by feeding an analog amplifier signal from an amplifier unit to a scanning unit of the particle beam apparatus, guiding the particle beam over the object using the scanning unit, and imaging, processing and/or analyzing the object with the particle beam.

In an ion implantation apparatus, an interruption member interrupts an ion beam B in the middle of a beam line. A plasma shower device is provided at the downstream side of the interruption member in the beam line. A control unit causes the interruption member to interrupt the ion beam B during an ignition start period of the plasma shower device. The interruption member may be provided at the upstream side of at least one high-voltage electric field type electrode in the beam line. A gas supply unit may supply a source gas to the plasma shower device. The control unit may start the supply of the source gas from the gas supply unit after the ion beam B is interrupted by the interruption member.

A production process in which in an element isolation process for a magnetoresistive effect element, a re-deposited film adhered to a side wall of the element is efficiently removed by ion beam etching. Ion beam etching is performed while a substrate located being inclined relative to the grid is rotated. In the ion beam etching, an energy amount of an ion beam entering from a direction in which a pattern groove formed on the substrate extends is increased larger than the energy amount of the ion beam entering from another direction by controlling a rotation speed of the substrate, and the re-deposited film adhered to the side wall of the magnetoresistive effect element formed on the substrate is efficiently removed by etching.

A method is carried out with the aid of a particle beam microscope which includes a particle beam column for producing a beam of charged particles, the particle beam column having an optical axis. Furthermore, the particle beam microscope includes a holding device for holding the extracted micro-sample. The method includes holding the extracted micro-sample and an adjacent hinge element via the holding device. The micro-sample adopts a first spatial orientation relative to the optical axis. The method also includes producing a bending edge in the hinge element by way of irradiation with a beam of charged particles such that the adjacent micro-sample is moved in space and the spatial orientation of the micro-sample is altered. The method further includes holding the micro-sample in a second spatial orientation relative to the optical axis, wherein the second spatial orientation differs from the first spatial orientation.

Automated processing is provided. A charged particle beam apparatus includes: an image identity degree determination unit determining whether an identity degree is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the identity degree indicating a degree of identity between a processing cross-section image that is an SEM image obtained through observation of a cross section of the sample by a scanning electron microscope, and a criterion image that is the processing cross-section image previously registered; and a post-determination processing unit performing a predetermined processing operation according to a result of the determination by the image identity degree determination unit.

An electron beam additive manufacturing system includes an electron beam source, an x-ray detection sensor configured to generate a waveform corresponding to an amount of x-rays detected by the x-ray detection sensor, and an electronic control unit comprising a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable memory, the electronic control unit communicatively coupled to the electron beam source and the x-ray detection sensor. The electronic control unit is configured to cause the electron beam source to emit an electron beam such that the electron beam impinges a verification plate, receive the waveform generated by the x-ray detection sensor in response to the x-ray detection sensor capturing x-rays emitted from the impingement of the electron beam with the verification plate, and determine a melt performance of a surface material of the verification plate based on the waveform.

An apparatus may include an RF power assembly, arranged to output an RF signal, and a drift tube assembly, arranged to transmit an ion beam, and coupled to the RF power assembly. The drift tube assembly may include a first ground electrode; an AC drift tube assembly, disposed downstream of the first ground electrode; and a second ground electrode, disposed downstream of the AC drift tube assembly, where the AC drift tube assembly comprises at least one variable length AC drift tube.

Automated processing is provided. A charged particle beam apparatus includes: an image identity degree determination unit determining whether an identity degree is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the identity degree indicating a degree of identity between a processing cross-section image that is an SEM image obtained through observation of a cross section of the sample by a scanning electron microscope, and a criterion image that is the processing cross-section image previously registered; and a post-determination processing unit performing a predetermined processing operation according to a result of the determination by the image identity degree determination unit.

An electron beam additive manufacturing system includes an electron beam source, an x-ray detection sensor configured to generate a waveform corresponding to an amount of x-rays detected by the x-ray detection sensor, and an electronic control unit comprising a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable memory, the electronic control unit communicatively coupled to the electron beam source and the x-ray detection sensor. The electronic control unit is configured to cause the electron beam source to emit an electron beam such that the electron beam impinges a verification plate, receive the waveform generated by the x-ray detection sensor in response to the x-ray detection sensor capturing x-rays emitted from the impingement of the electron beam with the verification plate, and determine a melt performance of a surface material of the verification plate based on the waveform.