A detector substrate (or detector array) for use in a charged particle multi-beam assessment tool to detect charged particles from a sample. The detector substrate defines an array of apertures for beam paths of respective charged particle beams of a multi-beam. The detector substrate includes a sensor unit array. A sensor unit of the sensor unit array is adjacent to a corresponding aperture of the aperture array. The sensor unit is configured to capture charged particles from the sample. The detector array may include an amplification circuit associated with each sensor unit in the sensor unit array and proximate to the corresponding aperture in the aperture array. The amplification circuit may include a Trans Impedance Amplifier and/or an analogue to digital converter.

A scanning electron microscope device for a sample to be detected and an electron beam inspection apparatus are provided, the scanning electron microscope device being configured to project electron beam to a surface of the sample to generate backscattered electrons and secondary electrons, and comprising: an electron beam source, a deflection mechanism, and an objective lens assembly. The deflection mechanism comprises a first deflector located downstream the electron beam source and a second deflector located downstream the first deflector. The objective lens assembly comprises: an excitation coil; and a magnetic yoke, formed by a magnetizer material as a housing which opens towards the sample and comprising a hollow body defining an internal chamber where the excitation coil is accommodated, and at least one inclined portion extending nward from the hollow body at an angle with reference to the hollow body and directing towards the optical axis, with an end of the at least one inclined portion being formed into a pole piece. The deflection mechanism further comprises a compensation electrode, which is located between the pole piece and the surface of the sample and is configured to adjust a focusing position of the electron beam at which the electron beam is focused, in a condition of excitation thereof with a voltage being applied thereon, by adjusting the voltage.

A method comprising the irradiation of a wafer by an ion beam that passes through an implantation filter. The wafer is heated to a temperature of more than 200° C. The wafer is a semiconductor wafer including SiC, and the ion beam includes aluminum ions.

Electrostatic mirror chromatic aberration (Cc) correctors, according to the present disclosure, comprise an electrostatic electron mirror that itself comprises a multipole. The electrostatic electron mirror is positioned within the corrector such that, when the corrector is in use, an electron beam passing through the corrector is not incident on the electrostatic electron mirror along the optical axis of the mirror. The mirror object distance of the electrostatic mirror is equal to the mirror image distance of the electrostatic mirror, and the electrostatic mirror is configured such that the electrostatic mirror applies no dispersion or coma aberration to the electron beam. The multipole is positioned in the mirror plane of the electrostatic electron mirror, and in some embodiments the multipole is a quadrupole.

A multi-beam apparatus for observing a sample with high resolution and high throughput is proposed. In the apparatus, a source-conversion unit forms plural and parallel images of one single electron source by deflecting plural beamlets of a parallel primary-electron beam therefrom, and one objective lens focuses the plural deflected beamlets onto a sample surface and forms plural probe spots thereon. A movable condenser lens is used to collimate the primary-electron beam and vary the currents of the plural probe spots, a pre-beamlet-forming means weakens the Coulomb effect of the primary-electron beam, and the source-conversion unit minimizes the sizes of the plural probe spots by minimizing and compensating the off-axis aberrations of the objective lens and condenser lens.

A charged particle beam device for irradiating or inspecting a specimen is described. The charged particle beam device includes a charged particle beam source for generating a primary charged particle beam and a multi-aperture lens plate having a plurality of apertures for forming four or more primary. Two or more electrodes having one opening, e.g. having one opening each, for the primary charged particle beam or the four or more primary beamlets are provided. The charged particle beam device further includes a collimator for deflecting a first primary beamlet, a second primary beamlet, a third primary beamlet, and a fourth primary beamlet of the four or more primary beamlets with respect to each other. The charged particle beam device further includes an objective lens unit having three or more electrodes, each electrode having openings for the four or more primary beamlets.

Certain improvements of multi-beam raster units such as multi-beam generating units and multi-beam deflector units of a multi-beam charged particle microscopes are provided. The improvements include design, fabrication and adjustment of multi-beam raster units including apertures of specific shape and dimensions. The improvements can enable multi-beam generation and multi-beam deflection or stigmation with higher precision. The improvements can be relevant for routine applications of multi-beam charged particle microscopes, for example in semiconductor inspection and review, where high reliability and high reproducibility and low machine-to-machine deviations are desirable.

A multi-beam apparatus for observing a sample with high resolution and high throughput is proposed. In the apparatus, a source-conversion unit forms plural and parallel images of one single electron source by deflecting plural beamlets of a parallel primary-electron beam therefrom, and one objective lens focuses the plural deflected beamlets onto a sample surface and forms plural probe spots thereon. A movable condenser lens is used to collimate the primary-electron beam and vary the currents of the plural probe spots, a pre-beamlet-forming means weakens the Coulomb effect of the primary-electron beam, and the source-conversion unit minimizes the sizes of the plural probe spots by minimizing and compensating the off-axis aberrations of the objective lens and condenser lens.

A charged-particle tool including: a condenser lens array configured to separate a beam of charged particles into a first plurality of sub-beams along a respective beam path and to focus each of the sub-beams to a respective intermediate focus; an array of objective lenses, each objective lens configured to project one of the plurality of sub-beams onto a sample; a corrector including an array of elongate electrodes, the elongate electrodes extending substantially perpendicular to the beam paths of the first plurality of sub-beams and arranged such that a second plurality of the sub-beams propagate between a pair of the elongate electrodes, the second plurality of sub-beams being a subset of the first plurality of sub-beams; and an electric power supply configured to apply a potential difference between the pair of elongate electrodes so as to deflect the second plurality of sub-beams by a desired amount.

An improved electron beam manipulator for manipulating an electron beam in an electron projection system and a method for manufacturing thereof are disclosed. The electron beam manipulator comprises a body having a first surface and a second surface opposing to the first surface and an interconnecting surface extending between the first surface and the second surface and forming an aperture through the body. The body comprises an electrode forming at least part of the interconnecting surface between the first surface and the second surface.