The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 14, 2025
Filed:
Sep. 30, 2020
Asml Netherlands B.v., Veldhoven, NL;
Weiming Ren, San Jose, CA (US);
Xuedong Liu, San Jose, CA (US);
Zhong-wei Chen, San Jose, CA (US);
Xiaoyu Ji, Beijing, CN;
Xiaoxue Chen, Fremont, CA (US);
Weimin Zhou, San Jose, CA (US);
Frank Nan Zhang, San Jose, CA (US);
ASML Netherlands B.V., Veldhoven, NL;
Abstract
Systems and methods of providing a probe spot in multiple modes of operation of a charged-particle beam apparatus are disclosed. The method may comprise activating a charged-particle source to generate a primary charged-particle beam and selecting between a first mode and a second mode of operation of the charged-particle beam apparatus. In the flooding mode, the condenser lens may focus at least a first portion of the primary charged-particle beam passing through an aperture of the aperture plate to form a second portion of the primary charged-particle beam, and substantially all of the second portion is used to flood a surface of a sample. In the inspection mode, the condenser lens may focus a first portion of the primary charged-particle beam such that the aperture of the aperture plate blocks off peripheral charged-particles to form the second portion of the primary charged-particle beam used to inspect the sample surface.