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.
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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