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:
Jun. 27, 2017
Filed:
Jul. 07, 2015
Applicant:
Fei Company, Hillsboro, OR (US);
Inventors:
Thomas G. Miller, Portland, OR (US);
Sean Kellogg, Portland, OR (US);
Shouyin Zhang, Portland, OR (US);
Mostafa Maazouz, Hillsboro, OR (US);
Anthony Graupera, Kailua-Kona, HI (US);
Assignee:
FEI Company, Hillsboro, OR (US);
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H01J 37/10 (2006.01); H01J 37/08 (2006.01); H01J 37/02 (2006.01); H01J 37/16 (2006.01); H01J 37/18 (2006.01); H01J 37/30 (2006.01); H01J 37/317 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
H01J 37/08 (2013.01); H01J 37/026 (2013.01); H01J 37/10 (2013.01); H01J 37/16 (2013.01); H01J 37/18 (2013.01); H01J 37/185 (2013.01); H01J 37/3007 (2013.01); H01J 37/3171 (2013.01); H01J 2237/0492 (2013.01); H01J 2237/08 (2013.01); H01J 2237/18 (2013.01); H01J 2237/188 (2013.01); H01J 2237/31713 (2013.01); H01J 2237/31749 (2013.01);
Abstract
Applicants have found that energetic neutral particles created by a charged exchange interaction between high energy ions and neutral gas molecules reach the sample in a ion beam system using a plasma source. The energetic neutral create secondary electrons away from the beam impact point. Methods to solve the problem include differentially pumped chambers below the plasma source to reduce the opportunity for the ions to interact with gas.