ELECTRON GUN AND ELECTRON BEAM APPLICATION DEVICE

Abstract

In order to provide an electron gun capable of maintaining a small spot diameter of a beam converged on a sample even when a probe current applied to the sample is increased, a magnetic field generation source 301 is provided with respect to an electron gun including: an electron source 101; an extraction electrode 102 configured to extract electrons from the electron source 101; an acceleration electrode 103 configured to accelerate the electrons extracted from the electron source 101; and a first coil 104 and a first magnetic path 201 having an opening on an electron source side, the first coil 104 and the first magnetic path 201 forming a control lens configured to converge an electron beam emitted from the acceleration electrode 103. The magnetic field generation source is provided for canceling a magnetic field, at an installation position of the electron source 101, generated by the first coil 104 and the first magnetic path 201.

Claims

1. An electron gun, comprising: an electron source; an extraction electrode configured to extract electrons from the electron source; an acceleration electrode configured to accelerate the electrons extracted from the electron source; a first coil and a first magnetic path having an opening on an electron source side, the first coil and the first magnetic path forming a control lens configured to converge an electron beam emitted from the acceleration electrode; and a magnetic field generation source configured to cancel a magnetic field, at an installation position of the electron source, generated by the first coil and the first magnetic path.

2. The electron gun according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic field generation source is disposed closer to the electron source than the first coil and the first magnetic path.

3. The electron gun according to claim 2, wherein the magnetic field generation source includes a second coil and a second magnetic path, and a diameter of the second coil is set larger than a diameter of the first coil.

4. The electron gun according to claim 3, wherein a product of the number of coil turns of the second coil and a current passing through the coil is smaller than a product of the number of coil turns of the first coil and a current passing through the coil.

5. The electron gun according to claim 2, wherein the magnetic field generation source is a permanent magnet.

6. The electron gun according to claim 1, further comprising: an intermediate electrode disposed between the extraction electrode and the acceleration electrode, wherein a voltage V.sub.mid applied to the intermediate electrode satisfies Equation 1 $v_{\mathrm{mid}}<\frac{V_{\mathrm{ext}}.Math.d_2+V_{\mathrm{acc}}.Math.d_1}{d_1+d_2},$ wherein the electron source is used as a reference potential, V.sub.ext is a voltage applied to the extraction electrode, V.sub.acc is a voltage applied to the acceleration electrode, d.sub.1 is a distance between the extraction electrode and the intermediate electrode and d.sub.2 is a distance between the intermediate electrode and the acceleration electrode.

7. An electron gun, comprising: an electron source; an extraction electrode configured to extract electrons from the electron source; an acceleration electrode configured to accelerate the electrons extracted from the electron source; a first coil and a first magnetic path having an opening on an electron source side, the first coil and the first magnetic path forming a control lens configured to converge an electron beam emitted from the acceleration electrode; and a magnetic shield disposed between the extraction electrode and the acceleration electrode.

8. The electron gun according to claim 7, wherein to replace the magnetic shield, the extraction electrode is made of a magnetic body.

9. The electron gun according to claim 7, wherein a voltage V.sub.mid applied to the magnetic shield satisfies Equation 1 $V_{m.Math.i.Math.d}<\frac{V_{e.Math.x.Math.t}.Math.d_2+V_{a.Math.c.Math.c}.Math.d_1}{d_1+d_2},$ wherein the electron source is used as a reference potential, V.sub.ext is a voltage applied to the extraction electrode, V.sub.acc is a voltage applied to the acceleration electrode, d.sub.1 is a distance between the extraction electrode and the magnetic shield and d.sub.2 is a distance between the magnetic shield and the acceleration electrode.

10. An electron gun, comprising: an electron source; an extraction electrode configured to extract electrons from the electron source; an acceleration electrode configured to accelerate the electrons extracted from the electron source; an intermediate electrode disposed between the extraction electrode and the acceleration electrode; and a first coil and a first magnetic path having an opening on an electron source side, the first coil and the first magnetic path forming a control lens configured to converge an electron beam emitted from the acceleration electrode, wherein a voltage V.sub.mid applied to the intermediate electrode satisfies Equation 1 $V_{m.Math.i.Math.d}<\frac{V_{e.Math.x.Math.t}.Math.d_2+V_{a.Math.c.Math.c}.Math.d_1}{d_1+d_2},$ wherein the electron source is used as a reference potential, V.sub.ext is a voltage applied to the extraction electrode, V.sub.acc is a voltage applied to the acceleration electrode, d.sub.1 is a distance between the extraction electrode and the intermediate electrode and d.sub.2 is a distance between the intermediate electrode and the acceleration electrode.

11. The electron gun according to claim 10, further comprising: a magnetic field generation source configured to cancel a magnetic field, at an installation position of the electron source, generated by the first coil and the first magnetic path.

12. The electron gun according to claim 10, wherein the intermediate electrode is made of a magnetic body.

13. An electron beam application device, comprising: the electron gun according to claim 1; an aperture configured to limit an electron beam emitted from the electron gun; a deflector configured to scan a sample with the electron beam; an objective lens configured to converge the electron beam on the sample; and a detector configured to detect electrons generated from the sample irradiated with the electron beam.

14. An electron beam application device, comprising: the electron gun according to claim 1; an aperture configured to limit an electron beam emitted from the electron gun; a deflector configured to scan a sample with the electron beam; an objective lens configured to converge the electron beam on the sample; and an energy analyzer configured to measure an energy distribution of electrons generated from the sample irradiated with the electron beam.

15. An electron beam application device, comprising: the electron gun according to claim 1; an aperture configured to limit an electron beam emitted from the electron gun; a deflector configured to scan a sample with the electron beam; an objective lens configured to converge the electron beam on the sample; and a detector disposed two-dimensionally and configured to measure an interference pattern of electrons generated from the sample irradiated with the electron beam.

16. An electron beam application device, comprising: the electron gun according to claim 7; an aperture configured to limit an electron beam emitted from the electron gun; a deflector configured to scan a sample with the electron beam; an objective lens configured to converge the electron beam on the sample; and a detector configured to detect electrons generated from the sample irradiated with the electron beam.

17. An electron beam application device, comprising: the electron gun according to claim 7; an aperture configured to limit an electron beam emitted from the electron gun; a deflector configured to scan a sample with the electron beam; an objective lens configured to converge the electron beam on the sample; and an energy analyzer configured to measure an energy distribution of electrons generated from the sample irradiated with the electron beam.

18. An electron beam application device, comprising: the electron gun according to claim 7; an aperture configured to limit an electron beam emitted from the electron gun; a deflector configured to scan a sample with the electron beam; an objective lens configured to converge the electron beam on the sample; and a detector disposed two-dimensionally and configured to measure an interference pattern of electrons generated from the sample irradiated with the electron beam.

19. An electron beam application device, comprising: the electron gun according to claim 10; an aperture configured to limit an electron beam emitted from the electron gun; a deflector configured to scan a sample with the electron beam; an objective lens configured to converge the electron beam on the sample; and a detector configured to detect electrons generated from the sample irradiated with the electron beam.

20. An electron beam application device, comprising: the electron gun according to claim 10; an aperture configured to limit an electron beam emitted from the electron gun; a deflector configured to scan a sample with the electron beam; an objective lens configured to converge the electron beam on the sample; and an energy analyzer configured to measure an energy distribution of electrons generated from the sample irradiated with the electron beam.

21. An electron beam application device, comprising: the electron gun according to claim 10; an aperture configured to limit an electron beam emitted from the electron gun; a deflector configured to scan a sample with the electron beam; an objective lens configured to converge the electron beam on the sample; and a detector disposed two-dimensionally and configured to measure an interference pattern of electrons generated from the sample irradiated with the electron beam.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electron irradiation system of an electron microscope.

[0025] FIG. 2A is a diagram showing a change of an electron beam path when a convergence point of a control lens is moved to an aperture side;

[0026] FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a change of the electron beam path when the convergence point of the control lens is moved to the aperture side by moving the control lens to an electron source side;

[0027] FIG. 2C is a diagram showing a problem of the invention.

[0028] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of an electron gun according to a first embodiment and an axial magnetic field distribution thereof.

[0029] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of an electron gun according to a second embodiment and an axial magnetic field distribution thereof.

[0030] FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of an electron gun according to a third embodiment and an axial potential distribution thereof.

[0031] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a scanning electron microscope.

[0032] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic energy measuring device.

[0033] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electron diffraction pattern measuring device.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

First Embodiment

[0034] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of an electron gun 300 according to a first embodiment and an axial magnetic field distribution 310 thereof. The electron gun 300 includes an electron source 101, an extraction electrode 102, an acceleration electrode 103, a coil 104 and a magnetic path 201 that form a control lens, and a magnetic field canceling coil 301 and a magnetic path 302.

[0035] First, since the coil 104 used in the control lens is disposed below the acceleration electrode 103, it is not necessary to remove the coil 104 when the electron gun is baked, and a vacuum start of the electron gun is easier than that in a coil detachable electron gun. In addition, since a physical position of the coil 104 and the magnetic path 105 can be adjusted independently of the extraction electrode 102 and the acceleration electrode 103 that generate an electric field, an axis of a lens generated by the electric field and an axis of a lens generated by the magnetic field can be adjusted independently, so that an effect on deterioration of image sharpness due to an axial deviation can be reduced.

[0036] Similarly to the second magnetic path structure of FIG. 2C, in order to acquire a large current, in the electron gun 300, an opening of the magnetic path 201 is directed toward an electron source side, so that a peak of the magnetic field is formed at an electron source side. For this reason, the electron source is immersed in the magnetic field as described above. Here, in the electron gun 300, the canceling coil 301 that generates a magnetic field opposite to that of the coil 104 is disposed upstream (at the electron source side) of the coil 104. Since the magnetic field generated by the canceling coil 301 can cancel a tail of the magnetic field generated by the coil 104, the magnetic field generated by the canceling coil 301 may spread more spatially than the magnetic field generated by the coil 104. Accordingly, the magnetic path 302 that guides the magnetic field generated by the canceling coil 301 does not need to be near the axis, and a diameter of the canceling coil 301 can be set larger than a diameter of the coil 104. Accordingly, the canceling coil can be disposed at a position where it is not necessary to remove the canceling coil when the electron gun is baked. For example, the canceling coil 301 and the magnetic path 302 do not need to be disposed in a vacuum column, and can be disposed outside the vacuum column.

[0037] In the axial magnetic field distribution 310, calculation results of a control coil magnetic field 311 (broken line) generated by the coil 104 and the magnetic path 105 and a canceling coil magnetic field 312 (dotted line) generated by the canceling coil 301 and the magnetic path 302 are shown. The solid line is a combined magnetic field 313 obtained by combining these magnetic fields. The magnetic field 311 generated by the control coil and the magnetic field 312 generated by the canceling coil are combined, thus the magnetic field near the electron source generated by the control coil 104 can be canceled by the magnetic field generated by the canceling coil 301 and the magnetic field near the electron source can be reduced. Accordingly, the deterioration of the image sharpness due to an increase in the electrostatic repulsion can be prevented, and the deterioration of the image sharpness when a large current is acquired can be prevented by up to 20%.

[0038] In the example of FIG. 3, the canceling coil 301 is disposed at an electron source position, but the canceling coil 301 may be shifted in a vertical (optical axis) direction. In that case, it is desirable to adjust an opening direction of the magnetic path 302 such that the peak position of the magnetic field generated by the canceling coil 301 comes to the electron source position. In addition, in order not to generate an unnecessary magnetic field, it is desirable to set the magnetic field generated by the canceling coil 301 to a minimum value for canceling the tail of the magnetic field generated by the coil 104. Here, a magnetic field generated by a winding coil is proportional to a product of the number of coil turns and a current flowing through the coil, and inversely proportional to a diameter of the coil. Accordingly, further, a product of the number of turns of the canceling coil 301 and a current flowing through the coil is set smaller than a product of the number of turns of the coil 104 and a current flowing through the coil to reduce the magnetic field generated by the canceling coil 301.

[0039] In the example of FIG. 3, a coil is used to generate a magnetic field for canceling, but a permanent magnet can also be used as a magnetic field generation source that generates a magnetic field opposite to that of the control coil 104. However, using of the canceling coil 301 has an advantage that the magnetic field to be generated with a magnitude in accordance with a magnitude of the magnetic field of the control coil 104 can be generated with high accuracy.

Second Embodiment

[0040] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of an electron gun 400 according to a second embodiment and an axial magnetic field distribution 410 thereof. A magnetic shield made of a magnetic body is disposed downstream of the extraction electrode 102 to prevent the electron source from being immersed in the magnetic field. A magnetic shield 401 is a magnetic disk having an opening for allowing the electron beam to pass through in the center. In the axial magnetic field distribution 410, calculation results of an axial magnetic field 411 when the magnetic shield 401 is not disposed and an axial magnetic field 412 when the magnetic shield 401 is disposed are shown. By disposing the magnetic shield 401, the magnetic field near the electron source can be reduced.

[0041] In order to further simplify a structure, the extraction electrode 102 can be made of a magnetic body and used as the magnetic shield instead of disposing a new magnetic shield. Such a structure can also prevent the electron source from being immersed in the magnetic field.

Third Embodiment

[0042] FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of an electron gun 500 according to a third embodiment and an axial potential distribution 510 thereof. In the third embodiment, by utilizing an intermediate electrode, it is possible to effectively bring a control lens closer to an electron source. In a magnetic field lens, since a shape of the magnetic field is determined by a shape of a magnetic path and a magnitude of the magnetic field is determined by the number of turns of the coil and a current amount, it is necessary to change the shape of the magnetic path in order to change a shape of the lens. However, since a traveling direction of electrons is controlled by the magnetic field and the electric field, even when the shape and the magnitude of the magnetic field are the same, the effect is different if the speeds of the electrons are different. That is, even with the same magnetic field lens, the faster the speed of the electrons subjected to a convergence action is, the slower the convergence is, and the farther a distance from a convergence point to a lens main surface is. Conversely, the slower the speed of the electrons subjected to the convergence action is, the faster the convergence is, and the closer the distance from the convergence point to the lens main surface is.

[0043] Accordingly, in the electron gun 500, in order to accelerate the convergence of the electrons and bring the main surface of the control lens closer to the electron source, an intermediate electrode 501 is disposed between the extraction electrode 102 and the acceleration electrode 103, a potential of the intermediate electrode 501 is to be controlled. Voltage conditions necessary for the control will be described below. In the axial potential distribution 510, a potential distribution (schematic diagram) 511 when there is no intermediate electrode is shown by a dotted line. Since a space between the extraction electrode 102 and the acceleration electrode 103 is a vacuum, a potential gradient is substantially constant. Here, the intermediate electrode 501 is disposed, and a potential thereof is determined by Equation 1.

[00001]$\begin{array}{cc}{V}_{\mathrm{mid}}<\frac{V_{\mathrm{ext}}.Math.d_2+V_{a.Math.c.Math.c}.Math.d_1}{d_1+d_2}& \left[\mathrm{Equation}.Math..Math.1\right]\end{array}$

[0044] A voltage V.sub.ext is a voltage applied to the extraction electrode 102, a voltage V.sub.acc is a voltage applied to the acceleration electrode 103, a voltage V.sub.mid is a voltage applied to the intermediate electrode 501, and each of the voltages is expressed as a potential with reference to the electron source. A distance d.sub.1 is a distance between the extraction electrode 102 and the intermediate electrode 501, and a distance d.sub.2 is a distance between the intermediate electrode 501 and the acceleration electrode 103. By controlling the potential as shown in Equation 1, the potential gradient changes along a solid line 512 of the axial potential distribution 510, and in the space from the extraction electrode 102 to the acceleration electrode 103, the speed of the electrons closer to the extraction electrode 102 can be reduced. An orbit in which the electrons converge at an earlier stage can be obtained by controlling the potential of the intermediate electrode 501 in this way, that is, the effective main surface of the control lens can be brought closer to the electron source.

[0045] In order prevent the deterioration of the image sharpness, it is necessary to reduce the magnitude of the magnetic field near the electron source 101 generated by the coil 104 and the magnetic path 201. Therefore, it is effective to combine the intermediate electrode with the configuration of the first embodiment or the second embodiment. Further, as an example in a case of being combined with the second embodiment, the intermediate electrode 501 is made of a magnetic body, and thus the intermediate electrode also serves as a structure for shielding the electron source from the magnetic field generated by the control coil 104.

Fourth Embodiment

[0046] As a fourth embodiment, an electron beam application device including the electron gun described above will be described.

[0047] FIG. 6 shows a configuration example of a scanning electron microscope including the electron gun 300 described in the first embodiment. An electron beam emitted from the electron gun including the electron source 101, the extraction electrode 102, the acceleration electrode 103, the coil 104 and the magnetic path 201 that form the control lens, and the magnetic field canceling coil 301 and the magnetic path 302 is limited by an aperture 601, an electron beam 603 is converged on a sample 604 by an objective lens using a magnetic field generated by an objective coil 602. A scanning electron microscope image is obtained by detecting secondary electrons 606 emitted from the sample 604 using a detector 607 while scanning the sample with the converged beam using a deflector 605. In FIG. 6, the first embodiment is described using the electron gun of the first embodiment, but the electron gun of the second embodiment, the third embodiment, or a combination of the second embodiment and the third embodiment can be used similarly. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a scanning electron microscope by which an electron microscope image with low image roughness and high sharpness can be obtained.

[0048] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electron energy measuring device. FIG. 7 also shows an example in which an electron gun 200 is mounted. A basic configuration for irradiating the sample 604 with an electron beam is the same as in FIG. 6, a beam emitted from the electron gun including the electron source 101, the extraction electrode 102, the acceleration electrode 103, the coil 104 and the magnetic path 201 that form the control lens, and the magnetic field canceling coil 301 and the magnetic path 302 is limited by the aperture 601, the electron beam 603 is converged on the sample 604 by an objective lens using a magnetic field generated by the objective coil 602. An energy distribution of the secondary electrons 606 emitted from the sample 604 is measured by an energy analyzer 701 while the sample is scanned with the converged beam using the deflector 605. According to such a configuration, the device can perform measurement as an auger spectrometer or an electron beam energy loss spectrometer.

[0049] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electron beam diffraction pattern measuring device. FIG. 8 also shows an example in which the electron gun 200 is mounted. A basic configuration for irradiating the sample 604 with an electron beam is the same as in FIG. 6, the beam emitted from the electron gun including the electron source 101, the extraction electrode 102, the acceleration electrode 103, the coil 104 and the magnetic path 201 that form the control lens, and the magnetic field canceling coil 301 and the magnetic path 302 is limited by the aperture 601, the electron beam 603 is converged on the sample 604 by an objective lens using a magnetic field generated by the objective coil 602. The device can perform a measurement as an electron backscatter diffraction device by measuring an interference pattern 801 of the secondary electrons 606 emitted from the sample 604 using a detector 802 disposed two-dimensionally, while scanning the sample with the converged beam using the deflector 605.

[0050] In the configuration shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, an electron gun of the first embodiment, the second embodiment, the third embodiment, or a combination thereof can also be used. Accordingly, an electron beam application analysis which achieves both a high signal-to-noise ratio and a high spatial resolution is possible. In addition, an analysis which achieves both a high-speed measurement and the high spatial resolution is possible, and the analysis time can be reduced by about 20%.

REFERENCE SIGN LIST

[0051] 101: electron source [0052] 102: extraction electrode [0053] 103: acceleration electrode [0054] 104: control coil [0055] 105: magnetic path [0056] 106: control lens [0057] 107: objective coil [0058] 108: magnetic path [0059] 109: objective lens [0060] 111: aperture [0061] 201: magnetic path [0062] 300, 400, 500: electron gun [0063] 301: magnetic field canceling coil [0064] 302: magnetic path [0065] 401: magnetic shield [0066] 501: intermediate electrode [0067] 601: aperture [0068] 602: objective coil [0069] 604: sample [0070] 605: deflector [0071] 606: secondary electron [0072] 607: detector [0073] 701: energy analyzer [0074] 802: detector disposed two-dimensionally