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:
Sep. 06, 2011
Filed:
May. 21, 2009
Lewis A. Stern, Hollis, NH (US);
Louis S. Farkas, Iii, Durham, NH (US);
Billy W. Ward, Merrimac, MA (US);
William Dinatale, Bedford, MA (US);
John A. Notte, Iv, Gloucester, MA (US);
Lawrence Scipioni, Bedford, MA (US);
Lewis A. Stern, Hollis, NH (US);
Louis S. Farkas, III, Durham, NH (US);
Billy W. Ward, Merrimac, MA (US);
William DiNatale, Bedford, MA (US);
John A. Notte, IV, Gloucester, MA (US);
Lawrence Scipioni, Bedford, MA (US);
Carl Zeiss NTS, LLC, Peabody, MA (US);
Abstract
Disclosed herein are methods that include: (a) exposing a sample in a chamber to a first gas, where the first gas reacts with surface contaminants on the sample to form a second gas; (b) removing at least a portion of the second gas from the chamber; and (c) exposing the sample to a charged particle beam to cause a plurality of particles to leave the sample and detecting at least some of the plurality of particles. The charged particle beam can include particles having a molecular weight of 40 atomic mass units or less.