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:
Dec. 20, 2011
Filed:
Feb. 25, 2009
Minoru Yamazaki, Hitachinaka, JP;
Akira Ikegami, Suita, JP;
Hideyuki Kazumi, Hitachinaka, JP;
Manabu Yano, Hitachiomiya, JP;
Kazunari Asao, Tokai, JP;
Takeshi Mizuno, Hitachi, JP;
Yuki Ojima, Mito, JP;
Minoru Yamazaki, Hitachinaka, JP;
Akira Ikegami, Suita, JP;
Hideyuki Kazumi, Hitachinaka, JP;
Manabu Yano, Hitachiomiya, JP;
Kazunari Asao, Tokai, JP;
Takeshi Mizuno, Hitachi, JP;
Yuki Ojima, Mito, JP;
Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An object of the present invention is to provide a scanning electron microscope suitable for monitoring apparatus conditions of the microscope itself, irrespective of the presence of charge-up, specimen inclination, and the like. In order to achieve the object, proposed is a scanning electron microscope including a function to monitor the apparatus conditions on the basis of information obtained with an electron beam reflected before reaching a specimen. Specifically, for example, while applying a negative voltage to the specimen to reflect the electron beam before the electron beam reaches the specimen, and simultaneously supplying a predetermined signal to a deflector for alignment, the scanning electron microscope monitors changes of the detected positions of the reflected electrons of the electron beam. If the above-mentioned predetermined signal is under the condition where an alignment is properly performed, the changes of the detected positions of the electrons reflect deviation of an axis.