Fei Comapny

Bart Jozef Janssen

Erik Michiel Franken

Edwin Verschueren

Lingbo Yu

Bart Buijsse

Maarten Kuijper

Cornelis Sander Kooijman

Uwe Luecken

Ivan Lazic

Henricus Gerardus Roeven

Gerard Van Veen

Nikolaos Kontaras

Duarte Guerreiro Tome Antunes

Peter Christiaan Tiemeijer

Pleun Dona

Thomas Gary Miller

Remco Schoenmakers

Brian Routh, Jr

Yuchen Deng

Eric Gerardus Theodoor Bosch

Holger Kohr

Erik Rene Kieft

Gerrit Cornelis Van Hoften

Gijs Van Duinen

David Foord

Ivan Lazić

Martin Verheijen

Auke Van Der Heide

Andreas Voigt

Stephanus Hl Van Den Boom

Thomas Miller

Rob Braan

Jeroen Keizer

Jacobus Adrianus Maria Thomassen

Ross Savage

Hans Roeven

Eric Bosch

Erik Franken

Sjaak Thomassen

Steijn Van Den Boom

Gerald Van Hoften

An apparatus includes an electron source coupled to provide an electron beam, a beam deflector arranged to provide a pulsed electron beam from the electron beam, a detector arranged to receive the pulsed electron beam after transmitting through a sample, and a controller coupled to control at least the beam deflector and the detector, the controller coupled to or including code that, when executed by the controller, causes the apparatus to establish the pulsed electron beam with pulse characteristics based on control of at least the beam deflector, wherein an illumination window is formed based on the pulse characteristics, the illumination window being a time frame when the sample is illuminated with a pulse of the pulsed electron beam, and to form a detection window for the detector and synchronize the detection window in relation to the illumination window, wherein detection events occurring in the detection window form the basis of an image, wherein the detection window determines a time frame when the detector converts the pulse of the pulsed electron beam transmitted through the sample to an electron induced signal.

Stroboscopic illumination synchronized electron detection and imaging

A sample holder retains a sample and can continuously rotate the sample in a single direction while the sample is exposed to a charged particle beam (CPB) or other radiation source. Typically, the CPB is strobed to produce a series of CPB images at random or arbitrary angles of rotation. The sample holder can rotate more than one complete revolution of the sample. The CPB images are used in tomographic reconstruction, and in some cases, relative rotation angles are used in the reconstruction, without input of an absolute rotation angle.

Rotating sample holder for random angle sampling in tomography

Method and system for generating a diffraction image comprises acquiring multiple frames from a direct-detection detector responsive to irradiating a sample with an electron beam. Multiple diffraction peaks in the multiple frames are identified. A first dose rate of at least one diffraction peak in the identified diffraction peaks is estimated in the counting mode. If the first dose rate is not greater than a threshold dose rate, a diffraction image including the diffraction peak is generated by counting electron detection events. Values of pixels belonging to the diffraction peak are determined with a first set of counting parameter values corresponding to a first coincidence area. Values of pixels not belonging to any of the multiple diffraction peaks are determined using a second, set of counting parameter values corresponding to a second, different, coincidence area.

Method and system for generating a diffraction image

A charged particle beam microscope system is operated in a transmission imaging mode. During the operation, the charged particle beam microsystem directs a charged particle beam to the sample to produce images. A time series of beam tilts is applied in a pattern to the charged particle beam directed to the sample to produce a sequence of images. At least some of the images in the sequence of images are captured while the charged particle beam is transitioning between one beam tilt in the time series of beam tilts and a sequentially adjacent beam tilt in the time series of beam tilts. The pattern is configured to induce image changes between the images in the sequence of images that are indicative of optical aberrations in the charged particle beam microscope system.

Measurement and correction of optical aberrations in charged particle beam microscopy

Disclosed herein are methods, apparatuses, systems, and computer-readable media related to defective pixel management in charged particle microscopy. For example, in some embodiments, a charged particle microscope support apparatus may include: first logic to identify a defective pixel region of a charged particle camera, wherein the charged particle camera cannot detect charged particle events in the defective pixel region; second logic to generate a first charged particle event indicator that identifies a first time and a first location of a first charged particle event outside the defective pixel region, wherein the first charged particle event is detected by the charged particle camera; third logic to generate a second charged particle event indicator that identifies a second time and a second location in the defective pixel region; and fourth logic to output data representative of the charged particle event indicators.

Defective pixel management in charged particle microscopy

Electron beam modulation in response to optical pump pulses applied to a sample is measured using SPAD elements. Individual detection events are used to form histograms of numbers of events in time bins associated with pump pulse timing. The histograms can be produced at a SPAD array, simplifying data transfer. In some examples, two SPAD arrays are stacked and a coincidence circuit discriminates signal events from noise events by determining corresponding events are detected within a predetermined time window.

Time-gated detection, dual-layer SPAD-based electron detection

The invention relates to a method of manufacturing a charged particle detector, comprising the steps of providing a sensor device, such as an Active Pixel Sensor (APS). Said sensor device at least comprises a substrate layer and a sensitive layer. The method further comprises the step of providing a mechanical supporting layer and connecting said mechanical supporting layer to said sensor device. After connection, the sensitive layer is situated in between said substrate layer and said mechanical supporting layer. By connecting the mechanical supporting layer, it is possible to thin said substrate layer for forming said charged particle detector. The mechanical supporting layer forms part of the manufactured detector. The detector can be used in a charged particle microscope, such as a Transmission Electron Microscope for direct electron detection.

Method of manufacturing a charged particle detector

A method and system for acquiring data from a pixelated image sensor for detecting charged particles. The method includes reading a pixel voltage of one or more of the multiple pixels multiple times without resetting the image sensor and digitizing the pixel into a first number of bits. The camera outputs a digitized compressed pixel voltage in a second, less, number of bits. The maximum range of the digitized compressed pixel voltage is less than a maximum range of the pixel voltage.

Method and system for high speed signal processing

The invention relates to a method of imaging a sample, said sample mounted on a sample holder in an electron microscope, the electron microscope comprising an electron source for generating a beam of energetic electrons along an optical axis and optical elements for focusing and deflecting the beam so as to irradiate the sample with a beam of electrons. The sample holder is capable of positioning and tilting the sample with respect to the electron beam. The method comprises the step of acquiring a tilt series of images by irradiating the sample with the beam of electrons, and concurrently changing a position of the sample during acquisition of the images, so that each image is acquired at an associated unique tilt angle and an associated unique position.

Method of imaging a sample using an electron microscope

A method of using a Transmission Charged Particle Microscope, comprising:

Innovative imaging technique in transmission charged particle microscopy

The invention relates to a method for analyzing an analogue signal comprising randomly spaced events having an event height. The method includes irradiating a sample with a focused beam of energetic electrons, detecting emission from the sample in response to such irradiation, and converting an analog signal of the emissions to a stationary time signal. The method further includes determining an estimated noise contribution for the stationary time signal, and determining an estimated event height of an event based on the stationary time signal and the estimated noise contribution for the stationary time signal, and determining, based on the estimated event height, an energy of the emission detected by the detector. This method is particularly useful for X-ray detectors, such as Silicon Drift Detectors, used in a SEM. By estimating the noise contribution to the signal, the step height is estimated with improved accuracy.

Pulse processing

A method of imaging a specimen in a Scanning Transmission Charged Particle Microscope, comprising the following steps:

Intelligent pre-scan in scanning transmission charged particle microscopy

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Eindhoven, Netherlands

Bart Jozef Janssen