An ion beam generator includes an emission electrode, an extraction electrode, and an electricity generator. The emission electrode includes a substrate and a plurality of nanowires extending away from the substrate, substantially towards the extraction electrode, the nanowires having a length of 50 nm to 50 μm. The emission electrode has a source of ions including a sheet of ionic liquid formed on the substrate and at least partially immersing the nanowires. The nanowires and the substrate are electrically insulating or semiconducting, and the electricity generator is connected to the sheet of ionic liquid. The emission electrode is thus capable of sending ion beams from the ionic liquid to the extraction electrode.

An ion propulsion device including emission modules in an emission plane, each module having an insulating support, an emission electrode on the support, and a conductive liquid with a microfluidic channel depositing conductive liquid on the electrode; an extraction electrode common to the emission modules and facing the modules; and a control unit, in which each module is configured to emit an ion beam when an electric field is applied to the liquid; each control unit controls an ion emission current emitted by applying a potential difference between each emission electrode and the extraction electrode; the emission electrodes are spaced apart by a linear distance that is greater than a distance between two adjacent emission electrodes separated by an empty space; and a length of the insulating support between the electrodes is greater than a propagation distance of an electric leakage current by charge jumping along the support between the electrodes.

A cold trap is provided to reduce contamination gases that react with the beam during operations that use a process gas. The cold trap is set to a temperature that condenses the contamination gas but does not condense the process gas. Cold traps may be used in the sample chamber and in the gas line.

A charged particle beam apparatus has a charged particle beam column configured to irradiate a charged particle beam, and a controller configured to control the charged particle beam column to irradiate the charged particle beam at a first pixel interval for a first region and to irradiate the charged particle beam at a second pixel interval different from the first pixel interval for a second region included in the first region. The first and second regions include plural first and second pixels each including first and second sub-pixels which are irradiated by the charged particle beam to generate secondary electrons. First and second sub-pixel images are formed based on the detected secondary electrons, and the first and second sub-pixel images are synthesized to form first and second images.

A charged particle beam apparatus includes a stage for fixing a sample, a driving mechanism for driving the stage, a focused ion beam column, an electron beam column, a detector that detects a secondary charged particle emitted from the sample irradiated with a charged particle beam, a gas supplying device that supplies gas for forming a deposition film on a surface of the sample, and a control device that generates image data indicating the position distribution of the secondary charged particle detected by the detector. The control device irradiates the sample with the electron beam prior to irradiating the sample with a focused ion beam, recognizes an alignment mark provided in the sample in the image data by the electron beam, and performs positioning of an irradiation region of the sample using the alignment mark.

A multi-positional valve is used to control the destination of gas flows from multiple gas sources. In one valve position the gases flow to an isolated vacuum system where the flow rate and mixture can be adjusted prior to introduction into a sample vacuum chamber. In another valve position the pre-mixed gases flow from the isolated vacuum chamber and through a needle into the sample vacuum chamber.

A detecting method and a detecting equipment therefor are provided. The detecting method includes: inspecting whether a display panel has a defective position; after acquiring the defective position of the display panel by the inspecting, using a first focused ion beam generated by a first ion overhaul apparatus to cut the defective position of the display panel, so as to strip a defect at the defective position and observe morphology of defect; using a repair apparatus to perform a repair treatment on the defective position after the defect is stripped. An inspection apparatus for the inspecting of the defective position, the first ion overhaul apparatus and the repair apparatus are sequentially installed on the same production line.

An e-beam apparatus is disclosed, the tool comprising an electron optics system configured to project an e-beam onto an object, an object table to hold the object, and a positioning device configured to move the object table relative to the electron optics system. The positioning device comprises a short stroke stage configured to move the object table relative to the electron optics system and a long stroke stage configured to move the short stroke stage relative to the electron optics system. The e-beam apparatus further comprises a magnetic shield to shield the electron optics system from a magnetic disturbance generated by the positioning device. The magnetic shield may be arranged between the positioning device and the electron optics system.

The invention relates to a gas reservoir (3000) for receiving a precursor (3035). The gas reservoir (3000) has a gas-receiving unit (3004) which is arranged in a first receiving unit (3002) of a basic body (3001), and a sliding unit (3007) which is arranged movably in a second receiving unit (3003) of the basic body (3001). The gas-receiving unit (3004) has a movable closure unit (3006) for opening or closing a gas outlet opening (3005) of the gas-receiving unit (3004). In a first position of the sliding unit (3007), both a first opening (3009) of a sliding-unit line device (3008) is fluidically connected to a first basic body opening (3011) and a second opening (3010) of the sliding-unit line device (3008) is fluidically connected to a second basic body opening (3012). In the second position of the sliding unit (3007), both the first opening (3009) is arranged at an inner wall (3015) of the second receiving unit (3003) and the second opening (3010) is arranged at the movable closure unit (3006).

A method for fabricating structures includes on a substrate includes providing the substrate having a substrate surface, and generating nanostructures or microstructures on the substrate surface at least in part by exposing the substrate surface to thermal particles from a thermal particle source while irradiating the substrate surface with an ion beam. The generated nanostructures or microstructures have a smaller surface area than the area of incidence of the ion beam or a beam generated by the thermal particle source. The method also includes obtaining a measurement of a characteristic of the substrate surface and adjusting at least one of the thermal particle source and the ion beam based on the measurement.