Systems and methods for pulsed voltage contrast detection and capture of charging dynamics

Abstract

Systems and methods of observing a sample using a charged-particle beam apparatus in voltage contrast mode are disclosed. The charged-particle beam apparatus comprises a charged-particle source, an optical source, a charged-particle detector configured to detect charged particles, and a controller having circuitry configured to apply a first signal to cause the optical source to generate the optical pulse, apply a second signal to the charged-particle detector to detect the second plurality of charged particles, and adjust a time delay between the first and the second signals. In some embodiments, the controller having circuitry may be further configured to acquire a plurality of images of a structure, to determine an electrical characteristic of the structure based on the rate of gray level variation of the plurality of images of the structure, and to simulate, using a model, a physical characteristic of the structure based on the determined electrical characteristic.