Hitachi-High-Technologies Corporation

Hitachi High-Tech Science Corporation

Hironori Moritani

Yoshimi Kawanami

Shinichi Matsubara

Hiroyuki Muto

Yoko Nakajima

Hiroyasu Shichi

Yoichi Ose

Norihide Saho

Tomihiro Hashizume

Noriaki Arai

Tomokazu Kozakai

Hiroyasu Kaga

Hiroshi Oba

Hiroyuki Mutoh

A method of manufacturing an emitter is disclosed. The method enables a crystal structure of the tip of the front end of the emitter to return to its original state with high reproducibility by rearranging atoms in a treatment, and enables a long lasting emitter to be attained by suppressing extraction voltage rise after the treatment. As a method of manufacturing an emitter having a sharpened needle-shape, the method includes: performing an electropolishing process for the front end of an emitter material having conductivity to taper toward the front end; and performing an etching to make the number of atoms constituting the tip of the front end be a predetermined number or less by further sharpening the front end through an electric field-induced gas etching having constantly applied voltage, while observing the crystal structure of the front end, by a field ion microscope, in a sharp portion having the front end at its apex.

Method of manufacturing emitter, emitter, and focused ion beam apparatus

Disclosed is a method of manufacturing an emitter in which the tip of the emitter can be formed into a desired shape even when various materials are used for the emitter. The method includes performing an electrolytic polishing process of polishing a front end of a conductive emitter material so that a diameter of the front end is gradually reduced toward a tip; performing a first etching process by irradiating a processing portion of the emitter material processed by the electrolytic polishing process with a charged particle beam; performing a sputtering process by irradiating the pointed portion formed by the first etching process with a focused ion beam; and performing a secondary etching process of further sharpening the tip by an electric field induced gas etching processing while observing a crystal structure of the tip of the pointed portion processed by the sputtering process using a field ion microscope.

Method of manufacturing emitter

Provided is an ion source emitter that does not cause significant extraction voltage changes even when an apex portion of the emitter is repeatedly regenerated. The emitter has a shape of a triangular pyramid with the single atom at the apex. An apex portion of the emitter is substantially shaped like a hexagon when viewed from the apex side.

Emitter, gas field ion source, and ion beam device

In the case of a conventional gas field ionization ion source, it was not possible to carry out an analysis with a high S/N ratio and a high-speed machining process because the current amount of an ion beam is small. In view of these problems, the present invention has been devised, and its object is to obtain a large ion beam current, while suppressing a probability of damaging an emitter electrode. The present invention is characterized by a process in which an ion beam is emitted at least in two operation states including a first operation state in which, when a first extraction voltage is applied, with the gas pressure being set to a first gas pressure, ions are emitted from a first ion emission region at the apex of the emitter electrode, and a second operation state in which, when a second extraction voltage that is higher than the first extraction voltage is applied, with the gas pressure being set to a second gas pressure that is higher than the first gas pressure, ions are emitted from a second ion emission region that is larger than the first ion emission region.

Gas field ionization ion source and ion beam apparatus

To provide a gas field ion source having a high angular current density, the gas field ion source is configured such that at least a base body of an emitter tip configuring the gas field ion source is a single crystal metal, such that the apex of the emitter tip is formed into a pyramid shape or a cone shape having a single atom at the top, and such that the extraction voltage in the case of ionizing helium gas by the single atom is set to 10 kV or more.

Gas field ion source and method for using same, ion beam device, and emitter tip and method for manufacturing same

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Tokyo, Japan

Hironori Moritani