Hitachi, Ltd.

Hironobu Matsui

Mikio Ichihashi

Kazue Takahashi

Tadashi Otaka

Toshiaki Kobari

Shinjiroo Ueda

Kenji Odaka

Shunji Maeda

Hitoshi Kubota

Yoshinori Nakayama

Yukio Honda

Sumio Hosaka

Akira Shimase

Tsuyoshi Hasegawa

Shigeyuki Hosoki

Fumikazu Itoh

Satoshi Haraichi

Masakazu Ichikawa

Yoshimasa Kondo

Shiji Okazaki

A charged particle beam apparatus includes a charged particle beam generating system for causing a charged particle source to generate a charged particle beam. A focusing system focuses the charged particle beam onto a sample. A deflecting system causes the focused charged particle beam to scan the surface of the sample. An evacuating system evacuates a space through which the charged particle beam passes. A detector detects information obtained by irradiating the charged particle beam onto the sample. An image display system displays as an image the status of distribution of the information over the sample surface based on a detection signal forwarded from the detector. The focusing system is entirely constituted by an electrostatic lens containing a plurality of lens electrodes, one of the lens electrodes being a final electrode located closest to the sample. All of the lens electrodes except for the final electrode are supplied with positive voltages as opposed to a negative voltage to the final electrode when the charged particle beam is negatively charged (e.g., electron beam). All of the lens electrodes except for the final electrode are supplied with negative voltages as opposed to a positive voltage to the final electrode when the charged electron beam is positively charged (e.g., positive ion beam). The deflecting system is so constructed as to deflect the charged particle beam within the inner space of the plurality of lens electrodes excluding the final electrode.

Charged particle beam apparatus including means for maintaining a vacuum

Charged particle beam apparatus having particular electrostatic

A combination apparatus having a scanning electron microscope includes equipment for performing any of observing, measuring and processing operations on a sample placed in a sample chamber. The sample chamber contains a focused electron beam irradiating unit apart from the components for performing the observing, measuring and processing operations. The focused electron beam irradiating unit irradiates a finely focused electron beam onto the surface of the sample for electron microscopic observation in scanning fashion. This setup allows the observing, measuring or processing equipment to combine with the scanning electron microscope without appreciably enlarging the construction of the combination apparatus.

Combination apparatus having a scanning electron microscope therein

A charged particle beam apparatus includes at least a charged particle source and an objective lens for converging onto a sample a charged particle beam emitted by the charged particle source. The objective lens is an electrostatic objective lens constituted by a first and a second electrode positioned opposite to each other and having openings through which the charged particle beam passes. The first electrode and the second electrode are located close to the charged particle source and to the sample, respectively. The first electrode is supplied with a positive potential as opposed to the second electrode when the charged particle beam is a negatively charged particle beam. Conversely, the first electrode is supplied with a negative potential as opposed to the second electrode when the charged particle beam is a positively charged particle beam. The principal plane of the electrostatic objective lens is located on the side of the sample below the bottom plane of the second electrode. This constitution allows the apparatus to be very small in size and to provide high resolution for observation.

Charged particle beam apparatus

Growing community of inventors

An Yang, South Korea

Hironobu Matsui