Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi-high-technologies Corporation

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.

Hitachi High-technologies Corpoartion

Eiichi Hazaki

Osamu Yamada

Takashi Furukawa

Hirofumi Sato

Yoshikazu Inada

Kenji Tojo

Yasuhiro Mitsui

Akira Murayama

Masao Shiibayashi

Masaya Imai

Yasushi Nakaizumi

Susumu Kato

Hiroshi Yanagita

Osamu Satou

Takayuki Mizuno

Naoshi Uchikawa

Mitsugu Sato

Mikio Tokuyama

Tadashi Otaka

Sumio Hosaka

Kazutaka Suefuji

Yasuhiko Nara

Shigeyuki Hosoki

Takao Mizuno

Takao Senshu

Masaki Kurihara

Wataru Suzuki

Takahiro Tamura

Katsuaki Kikuchi

Tetsuya Arata

Naoki Sakamoto

Hiroshi Inouye

Tsutomu Saito

Akira Hashimoto

Hiroaki Kuno

Masahiro Yoshioka

Koichiro Takeuchi

Akito Tanokuchi

Kaname Takahashi

Yoshikatsu Tomita

Akimitsu Okura

Shigeru Haneda

Hideki Izumi

Masashi Shibahara

Ryuji Takada

Eiji Kometani

Shiro Nakadaira

Minoru Shimizu

Yoshinori Numata

A stage comprises a linear guide rail () for guiding a movable table (), a driven bar (), a linear drive actuator in contact with the driven bar () to transmit driving force to the driven bar (), and parallel plate springs () for holding opposite ends of the driven bar (). A drive transmitting surface of the linear drive actuator is provided so as to be separated from the movable table (), and this prevents the accuracy of positioning from being reduced. Also, the parallel springs () reduce deforming forces applied to sections supporting the driven bar (), and this prevents the driven bar from being damaged. The configuration makes the stage highly accurate and highly reliable.

Stage drive device

For adjusting a positional relationship between a specimen and a probe to measure an electric characteristic of the specimen through a contact therebetween, a base table holding a specimen table holding the specimen and a probe holder holding the probe is positioned at a first position to measure the positional relationship between the probe and the specimen at the first position, and subsequently positioned at a second position to measure the positional relationship therebetween at the second position so that the probe and the specimen are contact each other at the second position, the specimen table and the probe holder are movable with respect to each other on the base table at each of the first and second positions to adjust the positional relationship between the probe and the specimen, and a measuring accuracy at the second position is superior to a measuring accuracy at the first position.

Defective product inspection apparatus, probe positioning method and probe moving method

A probe navigation method, a navigation device, and a defect inspection device wherein in a charged particle beam system provided with probes for electrical characteristics evaluation, probing can be easily carried out regardless of the equipment user's level of skill are provided. To attain this object, probes and a test piece stage on which a test piece is placed are driven by independent driving means. Further, a large stage driving means which integrally drives the probes and the test piece stage is provided. In addition, CAD navigation is adopted. This enhances the equipment users' convenience during probing.

Probe navigation method and device and defect inspection device

A defect inspecting apparatus in which a plurality of probes to measure electric characteristics of a sample including a fine wiring pattern are combined with a charged-particle beam unit includes graphic user interfaces (GUI) to simply control the plural probes. The apparatus includes a probe image processing unit to display the plural probes on a display; a selecting unit to select, from the probes displayed on the display, a probe to be operated; and a display unit to simultaneously display the probe selecting unit and information indicating that the selected probe is an operable probe, or the probe is in a non-selected state.

Defect inspecting apparatus

A focused ion beam system comprises a specimen chamber, a FIB column, a SEM stage, a side entry stage, a TEM specimen holder, a micro-sampling manipulator, and a SEM holder exchanger chamber. The SEM stage comprises an x-table, a y-table, a z-table, a rotation table, and a tilt table for moving a specimen. The side entry stage comprises an x-micromotion driver and a yzt-micromotion driver which are disposed in the specimen chamber to oppose each other. The x-micromotion driver is disposed in a hollow area defined in a tilt shaft provided for the tilt table.

Focused ion beam system

Oil from an oil source is introduced into an inside of a reciprocal oil hydraulic pressure cylinder through a port, and a lock shaft is pushed against a lock plate by the oil pressure to restrict movement of a tilt table. A cylindrical portion made of a material having a large friction coefficient to the lock plate is attached to a top end of the lock shaft so as to contact with the lock plate in a surface contact state. Releasing of stage locking is performed by introducing the oil into the inside of the reciprocal oil hydraulic pressure cylinder through another port to draw back the lock shaft by the oil pressure. Thereby, the stiffness of the sample stage lock mechanism in the x-direction becomes large and the friction force in the y- and z-directions also becomes large. Therefore, vibration of the tilt table in the x-, y- and z-directions can be effectively suppressed.

Scanning electron microscope

A specimen is scanned with an electron beam so as to generate a signal characteristic of the specimen to thereby produce an image thereof on the basis of the generated signal. A memory is provided for storing operating conditions of a scanning electron microscope which are associated with identification information for specifying the specimen. The identification information is designated so that thereby at least one operating condition corresponding to the designated identification information is read out from the memory, and the read out operating condition is automatically set so that the scanning electron microscope is operated under the set operating condition.

Charged particle beam apparatus and it's operating method

Method of and device for driving piezo-electric elements and system for

A scanning tunnel microscope comprising: a SEM stage provided in a specimen chamber of a SEM and having a mechanism for moving in a two dimensional manner along a surface perpendicular to an electron beam; a specimen stage provided on the SEM stage and provided with a mechanism for holding a specimen so that a surface of the specimen makes an angle of 45.degree. with the electron beam and for moving the specimen in a two dimensional manner in directions of the specimen surface; an STM scanning mechanism provided on the SEM stage and provided with a probe held perpendicularly to the specimen surface, a coarse movement mechanism for making the probe approach to a position at a desired distance from the specimen surface, and a probe fine movement mechanism for making the probe scan along the specimen surface; and a display unit for displaying an image by the SEM together with an image of the probe on the basis of signal obtained from a secondary electron detector provided in a specimen chamber and for displaying an image by the STM on the basis of signals from the probe fine movement mechanism.

Scanning tunnel microscope equipped with scanning electron microscope

A sample is mounted on a support table adjacent a probe of a scanning tunnelling microscope, the support table permitting the sample to move relative to the probe. The probe is also movable in a direction generally perpendicular to the sample surface, between a withdrawn position and a scanning separation. A scanning electron microscope is located adjacent the sample and probe, and its electron beam scans both the sample and the probe and generates an image on a display from electrons from the sample detected by a detector. In order that that operator can position the probe on a target of a sample, for scanning by the probe, a marker is generated on the display by a graphics display unit, which marker indicates the probe-to-sample separation and preferably indicates the probe-to-sample approach point and the direction of movement of the probe towards the sample. The graphics display unit may alternatively, or in addition, generate a marker representing the scan area of the probe when it is moved to a scanning separation from the sample.

Combined scanning electron and scanning tunnelling microscope apparatus

In a particle beam surface analyzer, having a partition wall separation a vacuum space, an opening that is provided in a partition wall through which the particle beam is taken out, a seal member which is moved along a seal surface of the seal member and seals the opening, a condenser lens which converges the particle beam onto the sample, and detector for detecting a physical quantity from the sample when the particle beam is irradiated on the sample, the surface analyzer further has a movable shift member that pushes one side surface of the seal member along the seal surface of the seal member and a stopping member which the other side surface of the seal member having a predetermined angle being larger than 55.degree. and smaller than 75.degree. to the seal surface is abutted so as to move the seal member along the other side surface till the seal member reaches the openings, whereby resultant forces between the seal member and the seal surface in the side of the one side surface is equal to that in the side of the other side surface. As the predetermined angle is larger than 55.degree. and smaller than 75.degree. to the seal surface, the abrasion and seizure of the seal member are prevented and the contamination of the sample is lessened.

Particle beam surface analyzer

Growing community of inventors

Tsuchiura, Japan

Eiichi Hazaki