Hitachi-High-Technologies Corporation

Hitachi High-Tech Corporation

Kunji Shigeto

Mitsugu Sato

Yayoi Konishi

Tohru Ando

Shotaro Tamayama

Hiroyuki Noda

Kenji Aoki

Masako Nishimura

Noriko Iizumi

Ryuichiro Tamochi

Mitsuhiro Nakamura

Masaki Takano

Mami Konomi

Shinichi Tomita

Tsutomu Saito

Shunya Watanabe

Yoshihiro Takahoko

Tsutomu Saitou

Kotaro Hosoya

Takeshi Ogashiwa

Yuki Tani

Mitsugu Yamashita

Kohtaro Hosoya

Yusuke Narita

Takahiro Inada

The invention provides a charged particle beam apparatus capable of observing a sample even when light is emitted from the sample, and a sample observation method using the charged particle beam apparatus. The charged particle beam apparatus includes: a charged particle beam source configured to irradiate a sample with a charged particle beam; a detector configured to detect charged particles emitted from the sample; and a control device configured to generate an image based on an output signal from the detector. The charged particle beam apparatus further includes a filter configured to allow at least a part of the charged particles emitted from the sample to transmit through the filter and configured to shield light emitted from the sample. The filter covers a detection surface of the detector expected from the sample.

Charged particle beam apparatus and sample observation method

In the case of an in situ observation with a charged particle beam apparatus, an observer who is not an expert in the charged particle beam apparatus needs to maintain the field of view of the observation that changes from moment to moment while watching a monitor, and thus, adjustment of the field of view needs to be controllable in real time with a good operability. In order to eliminate the need for an observer to move the line of sight, a live image and a comparison image are overlapped and displayed. At this time, an interface is devised, such that overlapping of two images can be executed without giving stress to the observer. The observer presses a button on an operation screen, thereby displaying a superimposed image, which is obtained by making the comparison image matching the size of a first display area configured to display the live image translucent and superimposing the translucent comparison image on the live image, at the position of the first display area of the image display device.

Charged particle beam apparatus and sample observation method using superimposed comparison image display

The present invention relates to enabling a versatile charged particle beam device, which is used for a wide range of kinds of samples to be observed and has parameters of emission conditions of a primary charged particle beam that is difficult to be registered in advance, to be operated easily and accurately even by a less-experienced operator and to obtain high-resolution images. A charged particle beam device according to the present invention includes, for example: a charged particle source, a focusing lens for a primary charged particle beam emitted from the charged particle source, an objective lens for focusing the primary charged particle beam, a movable objective aperture having multiple objective apertures disposed on a side of the charged particle source with respect to the objective lens, a detector of a secondary signal from the sample resulting from emission of the primary charged particle beam, a display unit configured to process and display a detected secondary signal, and a storage unit configured to store multiple emission conditions of the primary particle beam. The operation controller makes one emission condition be selected, determines whether or not the objective aperture is suitable for the selected emission condition, displays that the objective aperture is unsuitable when the objective aperture is unsuitable, and preadjusts the primary charged particle beam according to the selected emission condition and stores the preadjustment result as parameters for the emission conditions when the objective aperture is suitable.

Method for adjusting charged particle beam device and adjusting beam aperture based on a selected emission condition and charged particle beam device for same

The objective of the present invention is to provide a charged particle beam device, wherein the positional relationship between reflected electron detection elements and a sample and the vacuum state of the sample surroundings are evaluated to select automatically a reflected electron detection element appropriate for acquiring an intended image. In this charged particle beam device, all the reflected electron detection elements are selected when the degree of vacuum inside the sample chamber is high and the sample is distant from the reflected electron detectors, while a reflected electron detection element appropriate for acquiring a compositional image or a height map image is selected when the degree of vacuum inside the sample chamber is high and the sample is close to the reflected electron detectors. When the degree of vacuum inside the sample chamber is low, all the reflected electron detection elements are selected.

Charged particle beam device and charged particle beam device control method

An image display device displays operation items of an electron microscope on an operation screen, and a storage device stores information of assist buttons which display image state information acquired via a detector of the electron microscope. The information of the assist buttons corresponds to image quality of an acquired image via the detector as well as to observation conditions composed of a combination of parameter setting values of the electron microscope, an operation program which analyzes the image quality of the acquired image. The information of the assist buttons is acquired based on analytical results of the image quality as well as current observation conditions, and the assist buttons are displayed on a predetermined part of the operation screen. Accordingly, the skills of a novice user operating a charged particle beam apparatus can be improved.

Charged particle beam apparatus, specimen observation system and operation program

Display screen with graphical user interface

In many cases, the charged particle beam apparatus is used basically for observation at a magnification of 10,000 times or higher. It is thus difficult to recognize how the orientation of a sample seen with the naked eye corresponds to the origination of the sample appearing on an acquired image. This makes it difficult intuitively to grasp the tilt direction and other details of the sample. An object of this invention is to provide a charged particle beam apparatus allowing the orientation and the tilted state of the sample to be grasped intuitively. The apparatus includes: a charged particle beam source that emits a charged particle beam; a charged particle beam optical system that irradiates the sample with the charged particle beam; a platform on which the sample is placed; a stage capable of moving the platform at least in a tilt direction; a display unit that displays a tilted state of the platform by use of a simulated image of the platform; an operation input unit that allows a user to designate the position and direction of the sample for observation; and a control unit that controls the amount of movement of the stage based on a signal input from the operation input unit.

Charged particle beam apparatus

A charged particle beam apparatus is provided with a parameter adjustment practice function for allowing any user to easily learn manual focus adjustment and stigma adjustment. Control conditions of the focus arrangement of an objective lens, an X-stigmator and a Y-stigmator are set according to the user's operation. According to a group of the focus adjustment, an X-stigma adjustment and a Y-stigma adjustment which are set, a practice-purpose image corresponding to the control conditions is read out from a storage device and is displayed on a screen.

Disclosed herein is a scanning electron microscope having a function for positioning an object point of an objective lens at a defined position even under an electronic optical condition in which it is difficult to accurately control the position of the object point of the objective lens. A deflector is provided to deflect an electron beam in order to detect the object point and located at a desired position of the object point of the objective lens. The deflector is not used to scan a sample with the electron beam. The scanning electron microscope has a function for automatically adjusting the position of the object point to ensure that the object point of the objective lens is located at the position of the object point detection deflector by using a characteristic in which a displacement of an image by the deflector is minimal when the object point is located at the position of the deflector.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Kunji Shigeto