Imaging device for imaging an object and for imaging a structural unit in a particle beam apparatus

• US 10,460,904 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2018
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung)
• Original Assignee: Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung)
• Inventors: Berger, Wolfgang
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, David E
• Application Number:
  US15/886,269
• Publication Number:
  US 20180218877A1
• Time in Patent Office: 635 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/1436 the optical arrangement forming an integrated apparatus with the sample container, e.g. a flow cell
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 23/225 using electron or ion
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/16 Measuring radiation intensity G01T1/29 takes precedence ; self-powered detectors G01T3/006; using an ionisation chamber filled with a liquid or solid, e.g. frozen liquid, dielectric G01T3/008
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/024 Moving components not otherwise provided for diaphragms H01J2237/0458; objects H01J2237/202
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/182 Obtaining or maintaining desired pressure
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/2448 Secondary particle detectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/2608 with environmental specimen chamber environmental cells H01J2237/2003
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/2801 Details
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/2802 Transmission microscopes
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/2806 Secondary charged particle
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/18 Vacuum locks ; Means for obtaining or maintaining the desired pressure within the vessel vacuum locks for electron-beam tubes in general H01J29/865
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/226 Optical arrangements for illuminating the object; optical arrangements for collecting light from the object
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/228 whereby illumination and light collection take place in the same area of the discharge
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/244 Detectors; Associated components or circuits therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/28 with scanning beams H01J37/268, H01J37/292, H01J37/2955 take precedence

Abstract

The system described herein relates to an imaging device for imaging an object in a particle beam apparatus and/or for imaging a structural unit of a particle beam apparatus, and to a particle beam apparatus having such an imaging device. The imaging device has an illumination unit having a first switching state and a second switching state for illuminating the object and/or the structural unit with illumination light, where, in the first switching state, the illumination light comprises only light of a first spectral range and where, in the second switching state, the illumination light comprises only light of a second spectral range. The imaging device has a control unit for switching the illumination unit into the first switching state or into the second switching state, and a camera unit for imaging the object and/or the structural unit.

Claims

1. A particle beam apparatus for analyzing and/or processing an object, having:

at least one beam generator for generating a particle beam comprising charged primary particles;

at least one objective lens for focusing the particle beam onto the object, wherein interaction particles and/or interaction radiation arise/arises during an interaction of the particle beam with the object;

at least one detector for detecting the interaction particles and/or interaction radiation, wherein the at least one detector is sensitive to light of a first spectral range and is non-sensitive to light in a second spectral range; and

at least one imaging device for imaging the object and/or for imaging a structural unit of the particle beam apparatus, the at least one imaging device having;

at least one illumination unit with a first switching state and a second switching state for illuminating the object and/or for illuminating the structural unit with illumination light, wherein, in the first switching state, the illumination light includes only light of the first spectral range and wherein, in the second switching state, the illumination light includes only light of the second spectral range,

at least one control unit for switching the illumination unit into the first switching state or into the second switching state, wherein the control unit operates the illumination unit of the imaging device in the first switching state and switches the illumination unit into the second switching state only if the at least one detector is;

(i) in operation, and (ii) in a position in which the at least one detector detects light of the first spectral range in the first switching state, and

at least one camera unit for imaging the object and/or for imaging the structural unit with light of the first spectral range in the first switching state of the illumination unit or with light of the second spectral range in the second switching state of the illumination unit.

2. The particle beam apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the imaging device has at least one of the following features:

(i) the first spectral range comprises only the wavelength range of visible light;

(ii) the first spectral range comprises only light of a wavelength range of 380 nm to 780 nm;

(iii) the first spectral range comprises only white light.

3. The particle beam apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the imaging device has at least one of the following features:

(i) the second spectral range comprises only the wavelength range of infrared light;

(ii) the second spectral range comprises only the wavelength range of near infrared light;

(iii) the second spectral range comprises only light of a wavelength range of 780 nm to 3.0 μ

m.

4. The particle beam apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the imaging device has at least one of the following features:

(i) at least one first light-emitting unit for generating the light of the first spectral range;

(ii) at least one first light-emitting unit for generating the light of the first spectral range, wherein the first light-emitting unit has a first filter unit;

(iii) at least one first light-emitting unit for generating the light of the first spectral range, wherein the first light-emitting unit has at least one LED;

(iv) at least one first light-emitting unit for generating the light of the first spectral range, wherein the first light-emitting unit has at least one first LED and/or at least one second LED and/or at least one third LED;

(v) at least one second light-emitting unit for generating the light of the second spectral range;

(vi) at least one second light-emitting unit for generating the light of the second spectral range, wherein the second light-emitting unit has a second filter unit;

(vii) at least one second light-emitting unit for generating the light of the second spectral range, wherein the light-emitting unit has at least one LED.

5. The particle beam apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the camera unit has at least one detection unit having a detector sensitivity, and wherein

the detector sensitivity is configured both for the light of the first spectral range in the first switching state of the illumination unit and also for the light of the second spectral range in the second switching state of the illumination unit.

6. The particle beam apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the camera unit has at least one CCD or one CMOS.

7. The particle beam apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit is embodied as an intensity control unit for setting and/or controlling the intensity of the light of the first spectral range and/or of the light of the second spectral range.

8. The particle beam apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the particle beam apparatus has a sample chamber, and wherein

the imaging device is arranged at the sample chamber and/or in the sample chamber.

9. The particle beam apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the particle beam apparatus has at least one mirror corrector for correcting chromatic and/or spherical aberration.

10. The particle beam apparatus as claimed claim 1, wherein the particle beam apparatus is designed as an electron beam apparatus and/or as an ion beam apparatus.

11. The particle beam apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the beam generator for generating a particle beam comprising charged primary particles is designed as a first beam generator for generating a first particle beam comprising first charged primary particles and the objective lens is designed as a first objective lens for focusing the first particle beam, and wherein the particle beam apparatus furthermore has:

at least one second beam generator for generating a second particle beam comprising second charged primary particles, and

at least one second objective lens for focusing the second particle beam onto the object.

12. The particle beam apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the structural unit of the particle beam apparatus is embodied as a gas injection system, a micromanipulator, a detector that is embodied to be movable and/or as a charge compensation unit.

13. The particle beam apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the structural unit of the particle beam apparatus is arranged in the sample chamber.

14. A method for operating a particle beam apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the control unit switches the illumination unit into the first switching state or into the second switching state, including operating the illumination unit of the imaging device in the first switching state and switching the illumination unit into the second switching state only if the at least one detector is;

(i) in operation, and (ii) in a position in which the at least one detector detects light of the first spectral range in the first switching state, and

in the first switching state, the object and/or the structural unit is imaged with the light of the first spectral range using the camera unit and wherein, in the second switching state, the object and/or the structural unit is imaged with the light of the second spectral range using the camera unit.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein, in the first switching state, the particle beam is guided away from the object or is switched off.

16. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the intensity of the light of the first spectral range and/or the intensity of the light of the second spectral range is/are set using the control unit.

17. The method as claimed in claim 14, having at least one of the following steps:

switching off the detector in the first switching state;

moving the detector into a position such that, in the first switching state, no light of the first spectral range is incident on the detector;

moving the detector into a position such that, in the first switching state, only a minimum intensity of the light of the first spectral range is incident on the detector.