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:
Aug. 09, 2016
Filed:
Oct. 07, 2013
Applicant:
Fei Company, Hillsboro, OR (US);
Inventors:
Stacey Stone, Portland, OR (US);
Sang Hoon Lee, Hillsboro, OR (US);
Jeffrey Blackwood, Portland, OR (US);
Michael Schmidt, Gresham, OR (US);
Assignee:
FEI COMPANY, Hillsboro, OR (US);
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H01J 37/31 (2006.01); G01N 1/32 (2006.01); H01J 37/30 (2006.01); G01N 23/225 (2006.01); H01J 37/305 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
H01J 37/3005 (2013.01); G01N 1/32 (2013.01); G01N 23/2255 (2013.01); H01J 37/3007 (2013.01); H01J 37/3053 (2013.01); H01J 37/3056 (2013.01); H01J 37/31 (2013.01); G01N 2223/104 (2013.01); G01N 2223/611 (2013.01); H01J 2237/063 (2013.01); H01J 2237/08 (2013.01); H01J 2237/2813 (2013.01); H01J 2237/31732 (2013.01); H01J 2237/31745 (2013.01); H01J 2237/31749 (2013.01);
Abstract
To reduce artifacts in a surface exposed by a focused ion beam for viewing, a trench is milled next to the region of interest, and the trench is filled to create a bulkhead. The ion beam is directed through the bulkhead to expose a portion of the region of interest for viewing. The trench is filled, for example, by charged particle beam-induced deposition. The trench is typically milled and filled from the top down, and then the ion beam is angled with respect to the sample surface to expose the region of interest.