High current density particle beam system
First Claim
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1. A charged particle beam device, comprising:
- an emitter for emitting charged particles;
an aperture arrangement with at least one aperture for blocking a part of the emitted charged particles, wherein the aperture arrangement forms a multi-area sub-beam charged particle beam with a cross-section-area and a cross-section-circumference, wherein a ratio between the cross-section-circumference and the cross-section-area is increased by at least 15% as compared to the ratio between a cross-section-circumference and a cross-section-area of a circular beam with the same cross-section-area as the multi-area sub-beam charged particle beam; and
an objective lens for focusing the multi-area sub-beam, wherein the charged particle beam device, including the emitter, the aperture arrangement, a condenser lens, and a scan deflector, is adapted to focus the multi-area sub-beam charged particle beam onto the same location within the focal plane for generating a probe on the specimen being an image of a source, a virtual source, or a crossover.
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Abstract
The present invention relates to charged particle beam devices. The devices comprise an emitter for emitting charged particles; an aperture arrangement with at least two apertures for separating the emitted charged particles into at least two independent charged particle beams; and an objective lens for focusing the at least two independent charged particle beams, whereby the independent charged particle beams are focused onto the same location within the focal plane.
18 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A charged particle beam device, comprising:
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an emitter for emitting charged particles; an aperture arrangement with at least one aperture for blocking a part of the emitted charged particles, wherein the aperture arrangement forms a multi-area sub-beam charged particle beam with a cross-section-area and a cross-section-circumference, wherein a ratio between the cross-section-circumference and the cross-section-area is increased by at least 15% as compared to the ratio between a cross-section-circumference and a cross-section-area of a circular beam with the same cross-section-area as the multi-area sub-beam charged particle beam; and an objective lens for focusing the multi-area sub-beam, wherein the charged particle beam device, including the emitter, the aperture arrangement, a condenser lens, and a scan deflector, is adapted to focus the multi-area sub-beam charged particle beam onto the same location within the focal plane for generating a probe on the specimen being an image of a source, a virtual source, or a crossover. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A charged particle beam device, comprising:
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an emitter for emitting charged particles; an aperture arrangement with at least one aperture for blocking a part of the emitted charged particles, wherein the aperture arrangement forms a multi-area sub-beam charged particle beam with a cross-like shape; and an objective lens for focusing the multi-area sub-beam charged particle beam with a cross-like shape, wherein the charged particle beam device, including the emitter, the aperture arrangement, a condenser lens, and a scan deflector, is adapted to focus the multi-area sub-beam same location within the focal plane for generating a probe on the specimen being an image of a source, a virtual source, or a crossover. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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8. A charged particle beam device, comprising:
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an emitter for emitting charged particles; an aperture arrangement with at least one aperture for separating the emitted charged particles into at least two independent charged particle beams; and an objective lens for focusing the at least two independent charged particle beams, wherein the charged particle beam device, including the emitter, the aperture arrangement, a condenser lens, and a scan deflector, is adapted to focus the at least two independent charged particle beams onto the same location within the focal plane for generating a probe on the specimen being an image of a source, a virtual source, or a crossover. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. Method of operating a charged particle beam device, comprising:
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illuminating an aperture arrangement with at least one aperture for blocking a part of the emitted charged particles, wherein the aperture arrangement forms a multi-area sub-beam charged particle beam with a cross-section-area and a cross-section-circumference, wherein a ratio between the cross-section-circumference and the cross-section-area is increased by at least 15% as compared to the ratio between a cross-section-circumference and a cross-section-area of a circular beam with the same cross-section-area as the multi-area sub-beam charged particle beam; and focusing the multi-area sub-beam charged particle beam with an objective lens onto the same location of a specimen for generating a probe on the specimen being the image of a source, virtual source, or a crossover. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification