Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi-High-Technologies Corporation

Other

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

Hitachi-Science Systems, Ltd.

Shigeto Isakozawa

Kazutoshi Kaji

Takashi Aoyama

Mikio Ichihashi

Shunroku Taya

Hiroshi Kakibayashi

Hiroyuki Tanaka

Kazutaka Tsuji

Tatsuo Makishima

Yoshifumi Taniguchi

Masanari Koguchi

Kuniyasu Nakamura

Yuji Sato

Mitsugu Sato

Hiroyuki Kobayashi

Katsuhiro Kuroda

Atsushi Takane

Hidemi Koike

Yasuhiro Mitsui

Shohei Terada

Hiromi Inada

Takahito Hashimoto

Morioki Kubozoe

Koji Kimoto

Hideo Todokoro

Satoshi Yamaguchi

Takeshi Kawasaki

Kensuke Sekihara

Kazuhiro Ueda

Ruriko Tsuneta

Junji Endo

Masahiro Tomita

Jun Motoike

Setsuo Nomura

Shun-ichi Watanabe

Motohide Ukiana

Kazuo Shii

Yutaka Kaneko

Hisaya Murakoshi

Takashi Iizumi

Tatsuya Maeda

Yutaka Misawa

Ryuichi Funatsu

Masakazu Saito

Keiichi Kanehori

Akira Tonomura

Hiroshi Hirose

Toshiyuki Ohashi

Tomoko Sekiguchi

Kazuhiro Fujii

Tamio Tanikawa

Kishu Hosoi

Takashi Yokoto

Kazuhiro Morita

Kazutoshi Kajl

Yasumitsu Ueki

Toshimitu Miyada

Hideo Tadokoro

An object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus for observing inside structures and a specimen holder, wherein aging degradation of a good sample to a bad sample can be tracked in the same field of view, using the same specimen in order to determine the mechanism of failure. The present invention is a method for observing inside structures. The method comprises irradiating a specimen with a corpuscular beam generated from a corpuscular beam source, detecting transmitted particles transmitted by the specimen, applying a voltage to a portion of the specimen, and observing of a detection status of the transmitted particles in the voltage-applied portion as needed.

Method and apparatus for observing inside structures, and specimen holder

There is provided an element mapping unit, scanning transmission electron microscope, and element mapping method that enable to acquire an element mapping image very easily. On the scanning transmission electron microscope, the electron beam transmitted through an object to be analyzed enters into the element mapping unit. The electron beam is analyzed of its energy into spectrum by an electron spectrometer and an electron energy loss spectrum is acquired. Because the acceleration voltage data for each element and window data for 2-window method, 3-window method or contrast tuning method are already stored in a database and accordingly the spectrum measurement is carried out immediately even when an element to be analyzed is changed to another, the operator can confirm a two-dimensional element distribution map immediately. Besides, because every electron beam that enters into an energy filter passes through the object point, aberration strain in the electron spectrometer can be minimized and higher energy stability can be achieved. As a result, drift of the electron energy loss spectrum acquired by analyzing the electron beam into spectrum can be minimized and element distribution with higher accuracy can be acquired.

Element mapping unit, scanning transmission electron microscope, and element mapping method

Charged particle beam equipment has a processing unit for calibrating dimension values of an enlarged specimen image, and means for changing the amount by which a charged particle beam is scanned. Also, a specimen stand has a mechanism for holding a specimen having a periodical structure or a specimen simultaneously having a periodical structure and a non-periodical structure, and a storage device for automatically changing a magnification for an enlarged specimen image, and storing measured values at all magnifications.

Charged particle beam equipment

Charged particle beam equipment has a processing unit for calibrating dimension values of an enlarged specimen image, and means for changing the amount by which a charged particle beam is scanned. Also, a specimen stand has a mechanism for holding a specimen having a periodical structure or a specimen simultaneously having a periodical structure and a non-periodica structure, and a storage device for automatically changing a magnification for an enlarged specimen image, and storing measured values at all magnifications.

A charged particle beam apparatus capable of automatically measuring an image magnification error of an apparatus and capable of automatically calibrating the image magnification in high precision is provided. To this end, while an image processing operation of either an auto-correlation function or an FFT transformation is employed with respect to a scanning image of a reference material having a periodic structure, the averaged pitch dimension of which is known, averaged periodic information owned by the scanning image is detected so as to measure an image magnification error of the apparatus. Also, the information as to the acquired image magnification error is fed back to an image magnification control means of the apparatus so as to automatically execute a calibration as to the image magnification in high precision.

Charged particle system and a method for measuring image magnification

An electron beam detector detects a peak of a spectrum, and when a peak position is deviated from a reference position on the electron beam detector, a controller for controlling an electron beam position on the electron beam detector is used to correct a deviation. An electron energy loss spectrum is measured while controlling correction a deviation between an electron beam position on a specimen, and a peak position of the spectrum, and a spectrum measuring with the electron beam detector.

Energy spectrum measuring apparatus, electron energy loss spectrometer, electron microscope provided therewith, and electron energy loss spectrum measuring method

Provision of a 3-DOF micro manipulator easy to operate and capable of executing accurate positioning, wherein the link mechanisms of the micro manipulator whose main operation is parallel 3-DOF operation are implemented by cutting, folding, and moding a sheet of metal plate. Base and end effector are connected by three link mechanisms. The three link mechanisms are manufactured by cutting and folding a flexible plate material, and are equipped with plate-like arm portions each having a spread in the axially peripheral direction of the end effector, with hinge portions that are formed longitudinally across each arm portion in order to function as revolving joints R, and with a hinge portion also formed at the middle position of the arm portion in order to function as revolving joints R. Also, a parallelogrammatic link is formed between one longitudinal end of the arm portion and the middle portion thereof in order to function as a prismatic joint pair P.

Micro manipulator

The present invention provides an ultimate analyzer which displays an element distribution image of an object with high contrast and high accuracy. A scanning transmission electron microscope and a method of analyzing elements using the ultimate analyzer is also provided. The ultimate analyzer comprises a scattered electron beam detector for detecting an electron beam scattered by an object; an electron spectrometer for energy dispersing an electron beam transmitted through the object; an electron beam detector for detecting said dispersed electron beam; and a control unit for analyzing elements based on an output signal of the electron beam detected by the electron beam detector and an output signal of the electron beam detected by the scattered electron beam detector.

Ultimate analyzer, scanning transmission electron microscope and ultimate analysis method

A scanning transmission electron microscope has an electron beam energy analyzer (energy filter) to observe electron beam energy loss spectra and element distribution images. This electron microscope further includes a deflection coil provided on the upstream side of a magnetic sector to correct for the electron beam path in a plane normal to the optical axis and make the electron beam incident to the energy filter, a deflection coil for correcting for the electron beam path in the energy axis direction of an energy dispersion surface formed by the magnetic sector, and a control unit for controlling the exciting conditions of the deflection coils.

Electron microscope

There are provided an element distribution observing method and an element distribution observing apparatus under utilization of core-loss electrons capable of restricting artifact caused by either a thickness or density of a specimen, or an occurrence of the artifact caused by a diffraction contrast. Electron beam intensities in a total three different energy-loss areas of two energy-loss areas not containing any core-loss electrons and one energy-loss area are calculated to attain an element distribution on the basis of the corresponding three energy-loss areas and an electron beam intensity.

Method and apparatus for observing element distribution

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

An object of the present invention is to provide an ultimate analyzer which can display an element distribution image of an object to be analyzed with high contrast to determine the positions of the element distribution with high accuracy, and a scanning transmission electron microscope and a method of analyzing elements using the ultimate analyzer. The present invention exists in an ultimate analyzer comprising a scattered electron beam detector for detecting an electron beam scattered by an object to be analyzed; an electron spectrometer for energy dispersing an electron beam transmitted through the object to be analyzed; an electron beam detector for detecting said dispersed electron beam; and a control unit for analyzing elements of the object to be analyzed based on an output signal of the electron beam detected by the electron beam detector and an output signal of the electron beam detected by the scattered electron beam detector. Further, the present invention exists in a scanning transmission electron microscope comprising the above ultimate analyzer; an electron beam source; an electron beam scanning coil; a scattered electron beam detector; objective lenses; a focusing lens; a magnifying magnetic field lens; and a focus adjusting electromagnetic lens. Furthermore, the ultimate analyzer or the scanning transmission electron microscope may comprises a control unit which makes it possible that both of an image of element distribution and an STEM image detected and formed by the scatted electron beam detector are observed at a time in real time, and the image of element distribution is corrected by the STEM image detected and formed by the scattered electron beam detector.

Growing community of inventors

Hitachinaka, Japan

Shigeto Isakozawa