Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi-high-technologies Corporation

Hitachi Vlsi Engineering Corp.

Hiroshi Kakibayashi

Shigeto Isakozawa

Yasuhiro Mitsui

Masanari Koguchi

Kuniyasu Nakamura

Katsuhiro Kuroda

Mikio Ichihashi

Tatsuo Makishima

Hideo Todokoro

Kazutaka Tsuji

Ruriko Tsuneta

Toshio Katsuyama

Keiichi Kanehori

Yuji Takagi

Kensuke Ogawa

Kensuke Sekihara

Kenji Hiruma

Jun Motoike

Yuji Sato

Takahito Hashimoto

Gerard P Morgan

Mitsugu Sato

Hiroyuki Shinada

Kaoru Umemura

Masaru Izawa

Hiroyuki Kobayashi

Hidetoshi Matsumoto

Toshiki Sugawara

Ryo Nakagaki

Hiroyuki Tanaka

Toshiaki Masuhara

Ryo Miyake

Hisaya Murakoshi

Masataka Shirai

Shigeyuki Hosoki

Ken Yamaguchi

Toshiyuki Usagawa

Kazuhiko Hosomi

Hirohito Okuda

Kazuhiko Sagara

Kenji Sameshima

Takashi Irie

Tetsuya Ooshima

Taro Ogawa

Hidekazu Okuhira

Jiro Tokita

Masamitsu Yazawa

Nobutaka Futigami

Keiichi Haraguchi

Masamits Yazawa

Hideo Tadokoro

A micro-spectroscopic measuring device having a structure in which a spectroscopic element made of an array of photonic crystals with defects, flow paths for introducing a sample, and light detecting elements with sensitivity to a band from near infrared to infrared are stacked.

Micro-spectroscopic measuring device and micro-chemical system

It is possible to reliably and efficiently determine whether a specimen contains viruses, bacteria, etc. and, if it does, identify their types, regardless of the observer. Furthermore, even a newly-discovered bacterium can be quickly identified by utilizing a database at a remote location. A transmission microscope system has a microscope for observing a specimen and a database which stores, for each microscopic thing (such as a virus), a name, a specimen pretreatment method and an imaging condition used when the microscopic thing is observed, captured image data, etc. An image of the specimen is captured according to a specimen pretreatment method and an imaging condition retrieved from the database using the name of a target microscopic thing as a key, and the captured image is compared with images stored in the database to identify microscopic things present in the specimen.

Transmission electron microscope system and method of inspecting a specimen using the same

A bio electron microscope and an observation method which can observe a bio specimen by low damage and high contrast to perform high-accuracy image analysis, and conduct high-throughput specimen preparation. 1) A specimen is observed at an accelerating voltage 1.2 to 4.2 times a critical electron accelerating voltage possible to transmit a specimen obtained under predetermined conditions. 2) An electron energy filter of small and simplified construction is provided between the specimen and an electron detector for imaging by the electron beam in a specified energy region of the electron beams transmitting the specimen. 3) Similarity between an observed image such as virus or protein in the specimen and a reference image such as known virus or protein is subjected to quantitative analysis by image processing. 4) A preparation protocol of the bio specimen is made into a chip using an MEMS technique, which is then mounted on a specimen stage part of an electron microscope to conduct specimen introduction, preparation and transfer onto a specimen holder.

Bio electron microscope and observation method of specimen

A scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) has an electron source for generating a primary electron beam and an electron illuminating lens system for converging the primary electron beam from the electron source onto a specimen for illumination. An electron deflecting system is provided for scanning the specimen with the primary electron beam. The STEM also has a scattered electron detector for detecting scattered electrons transmitted through the specimen. A projection lens system projects the scattered electrons onto a detection surface of the scattered electron detector. An image displaying device displays the scanning transmission electron microscope image of the specimen using a detection signal from the scattered electron detector. A detection angle changing device for establishes the range of the scattering angle of the scattered electrons detected by the scattered electron detector. This structure enhances the contrast of a desired portion of the specimen under observation for a scanning transmitted image by selective establishment of detection angle ranges for the scattered electron detector.

Method and apparatus for scanning transmission electron microscopy

In order to detect automatically at a high speed and a high probability rate the crystal defects and shape abnormalities in a specimen over a wide area of said specimen, a transmission electron microscope apparatus is employed which has an electron source, a first electrostatic lens, a second electrostatic lens, a third electrostatic lens, a first condenser lens, a second condenser lens, a pre-field objective lens, a deflection coil, a first projection lens, a second projection lens, a third projection lens, a first image shift coil, a second image shift coil, and an image acquisition apparatus, etc. The detection of crystal defects is made definite by observing the specimen image at the same location by multiple variations of the electron beam incidence direction using the deflection coil. In addition, the crystal defects are detected at a high speed by linking the deflection ratios of the deflection coil and of the first image shift coil and the second image shift coil, and carrying out compensation so that image shifts on the image acquisition apparatus due to the multiple electron beam incidence directions are mutually cancelled.

Transmission electron microscope apparatus with equipment for inspecting defects in specimen and method of inspecting defects in specimen using transmission electron microscope

3-dimensional observation on the atomic arrangement and atomic species in a thin-film specimen are carried out at high speed and accuracy by an electron microscope which measures electrons emitted at high angle from the specimen. A scanning transmission electron microscope has an electron detection device comprising a scintillator converting electrons detected thereby to photons, a photoconductive-film converting photons from the scintillator detected thereby to c.a. 1000 times as many electron-hole pairs as these photons.

Electron microscope

A scintillator device and an image pickup apparatus using the scintillator, in which the scintillator for converting an input particle or electron beam image into an optical image is applied with a voltage between electrodes formed at the input plane of the electron beam and the output plane of scintillation. This voltage generates an electric field in the scintillator so that scattering of a charged particle beam in the scintillator is prevented and the resolution and S/N ratio can be improved while retaining a large amount of scintillation. Accordingly, the shift amount of low energy charged particle beams from the incident axis, which greatly influences degradation of the resolution and S/N ratio, can be suppressed.

Scintillator device and image pickup apparatus using the same

A scanning transmission electron microscope including an electron detection system having a scattering angle limiting aperture (for the inner angle) and a scattering angle limiting aperture (for the outer angle) between a specimen and an electron detector (comprising a scintillator and a light guide) and only one electron detector is installed.

A transmission electron microscope makes it possible to search for defects without applying an undesirable treatment to a specimen by using a reference specimen prepared separately from a specimen to be observed. A pair of specimen holders detachable from the column of the electron microscope are adjacently arranged at upper and lower stages respectively along an electron beam axis to position the specimens closely to each other in an electron beam illuminating position. The pair of holders can be independently set to or removed from the electron beam illuminating position. The specimen holders include devices for selectively finely adjusting the spacing between the specimens, the angle of the specimen with respect to the electron beam axis and with respect to a plane perpendicular to the electron beam axis.

Defect observing electron microscope

A transmission electron microscope has a camera system that is linked to the optical lens system of the electron microscope by linking the number of electron beam scanning lines of the camera system with the zoom function of the optical lens system. Thus, the number of scanning lines increases as the magnification of the transferred image decreases. Further, the specimen under observation is photographed with a constant number of pixels at all times regardless of the magnification of the transferred image by the optical lens system, thus preventing a reduction in the amount of specimen information.

Transmission electron microscope with camera system

The composition change and strained structure in a heterointerface or thin film of a multilayer thin film specimen are observed. When the composition change and strained structure are observed, comparison between a dark-field image and a bright-field image and comparison between two dark-field images are required. The position of an objective aperture disposed between the specimen and a detector is moved rapidly so that diffracted wave or transmitted wave corresponding to the dark-field image or bright-field image of a desired plane index is transmitted. As a result, the dark-field image or bright-field image of a desired plane index can be observed correspondingly to the position of the objective aperture.

3-dimensional observation on the atomic arrangement and atomic species in a thin-film specimen as well as conventional electron microscope observations is carried out at high speed and accuracy by an electron microscope which measures electrons emitted at high angle from the specimen. For that purpose, the present invention provides a scanning transmission electron microscope having an electron detection device comprising a scintillator converting electrons detected thereby to photons, a photoconductive-film converting photons from the scintillator detected thereby to c.a. 1000 times as many electron-hole pairs as these photons (i.d. avalanche multiplication), an electron gun emitting an electron beam toward the photoconductive-film to detect the holes generated therein, and electron deflector electrodes deflecting the electron beam on the photoconductive-film. Avalanche multiplication in the photoconductive-film amplifies the signal of these photons at so high signal-to-noise ratio that the electron microscope in this invention can detect such weak electrons as emitted at high angle from the specimen at high sensitivity and resolution. Therefore this invention enables a scanning transmission electron microscope to obtain for example 3-dimensional image of point defects and impurity elements existing in joint interfaces and contacts in a ULSI device rapidly and accurately.

3-dimensional observation is carried out on the atomic arrangement and atomic species in a thin-film specimen at an atomic level in order to clarify the existence states of defects and impure atoms in the crystals. For that purposes, the present invention provides an instrument and a method for 3-dimensional observation of an atomic arrangement which are implemented by a system comprising a scanning transmission electron microscope equipped with a field emission electron gun operated at an acceleration voltage of greater than 200 kV, a specimen goniometer/tilting system having a control capability of the nanometer order, a multi-channel electron detector and a computer for executing software for controlling these components and 3-dimensional image-processing software. Point defects and impure atoms, which exist in joint interfaces and contacts in a ULSI device, can thereby be observed. As a result, the causes of bad devices such as current leak and poor voltage resistance can be analyzed at a high accuracy.

Instrument and method for 3-dimensional atomic arrangement observation

A composition change and a 3-dimensional strained structure in an interface or thin film of a layered thin film specimen are detected with a resolution of atom order and quantitatively analyzed. An accelerated electron beam is impinged upon a specimen cleaved in a wedge form. An equal thickness fringe appearing on a transmitted image is detected. By utilizing such a phenomenon that the distance t of the equal thickness fringe is changed by a lattice plane inclination, angle distribution of lattice plane inclination is measured. An analysis of the strained structure is made. Furthermore, processing is conducted so that the equal thickness fringe may represent only the composition change, and a quantitative analysis of the composition distribution is also made. By estimating the composition change and strained structure in the heterointerface and thin film with a resolution of atom order, relations between characteristics and the composition change and strained structure of a strained superlattice device or the like can be elucidated. Thus, not only defective analysis can be made, but also information concerning optimization of the process condition and device structure is obtained.

Electron microscope for specimen composition and strain analysis and

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Nagareyama, Japan

Hiroshi Kakibayashi