Wien filter

• US 8,436,317 B1
• Filed: 11/09/2011
• Issued: 05/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ASML Netherlands BV (ASML Holding NV)
• Original Assignee: Hermes Microvision, Inc. (ASML Holding NV)
• Inventors: Chen, Zhongwei, Liu, Xuedong, Ren, Weiming
• Primary Examiner(s): Maskell, Michael
• Application Number:
  US13/292,455
• Publication Number:
  US 20130112889A1
• Time in Patent Office: 545 Days
• Field of Search: 250/396.R, 250/396.ML
• US Class Current: 250/396.ML
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/057 Energy or mass filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/05 Electron or ion-optical arrangements for separating electrons or ions according to their energy or massparticle separator tubes H01J49/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 49/288 using crossed electric and magnetic fields perpendicular to the beam, e.g. Wien filter

Abstract

This invention provides a multi-pole type Wien filter, which acts more purely approaching its fundamentally expected performance. A 12-electrode electric device acts as an electric deflector, or acts as an electric deflector and an electric stigmator together. A cylindrical 4-coil magnetic device with a magnetic core acts as a magnetic deflector. Both can produce a dipole field while only incurring a negligibly-small 3rd order field harmonic. The magnetic core enhances the strength and more preciously regulates the distribution of the magnetic field originally generated by the coils. Then two ways to construct a Wien filter are proposed. One way is based on both of the foregoing electric and magnetic devices, and the other way is based on the foregoing electric device and a conventional magnetic deflector. The astigmatism in each of such Wien filters can be compensated by the electric stigmator of the electric device.

Claims

1. An electric device, comprising:

twelve electrodes, inner ends of said twelve electrodes configuring a cylindrical through hole and an 8-fold symmetry, twelve through slits separating the twelve electrodes respectively and parallel to a central axis of said hole, said central axis being an optical axis of the electric device,

wherein each of said twelve through slits has a central plane containing the optical axis,

wherein a 1^st electrode, a 2^nd electrode, a 3^rd electrode, a 4^th electrode, a 5^th electrode, a 6^th electrode, a 7^th electrode, an 8^th electrode, a 9^th electrode, a 10^th electrode, an 11^th electrode, and a 12^th electrode of the twelve electrodes are configured in a rotation sequence,

wherein the 8-fold symmetry has four planes of symmetry, the first and the third planes of symmetry of the four planes of symmetry are perpendicular to each other, the second and the fourth planes of symmetry of the four planes of symmetry are perpendicular to each other, an angle between the first and the second planes of symmetry is 45°

, and each of said four planes contains the optical axis,

wherein the first plane of symmetry bisects the inner ends of the 1^st and 7^th electrodes, the second plane of symmetry bisects the through slit between the 2^nd and 3^rd electrodes and the through slit between the 8^th and 9^th electrodes, the third plane of symmetry bisects the 4^th and 10^th electrodes, the fourth plane of symmetry bisects the through slit between the 5^th and 6^th electrodes and the through slit between the 11^th and 12^th electrodes,

wherein said twelve electrodes are excited to generate an electric dipole field in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis.

2. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein an angle between the first plane of symmetry and the central plane of the through slit between the 1^st and 2^nd electrodes is not 15°

.

3. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the angle between the first plane of symmetry and the central plane of the through slit between the 1^st and 2^nd electrodes is between about 24°

and about 26°

.

4. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein inner sides of said twelve through slits, in any sectional plane perpendicular to the optical axis, are geometrically equal to each other.

5. The electric device according to claim 4, wherein each inner side of each of said twelve through slits, in said any sectional plane perpendicular to the optical axis, has an equal arc angle.

6. The electric device according to claim 3, wherein arc angles of inner sides of said twelve through slits, in any sectional plane perpendicular to the optical axis are equal to each other and between about 2°

and about 5°

.

7. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein

the 5^th, 7^th, and 9^th electrodes are set at a first potential;

the 1^st, 3^rd, and 11^th electrodes are set at a second potential;

the 8^th, 10^th, and 12^th electrodes are set at a third potential; and

the 2^nd, 4^th, and 6^th electrodes are set at a fourth potential,

an average of the first and second potentials is equal to an average of the third and fourth potentials.

8. The electric device according to claim 7, wherein the average of the first and second potentials is equal to zero potential.

9. The electric device according to claim 7, wherein potentials of the 1^st, 2^nd, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, and 12^th electrodes are changed by a first amount, and potentials of the 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th electrodes are changed by a second amount opposite to the first amount, such that an electric quadrupole field can be generated and superimposed onto the electric dipole field.

14. A Wien filter, comprising:

an electric device according to claim 1; and

a magnetic device including a first magnetic pole-piece, a second magnetic pole-piece, a first coil, and a second coil, wherein said first magnetic pole-piece and said second magnetic pole-piece include a first flat front end and a second flat front end respectively, the first coil and the second coil wind around rear parts of the first and the second pole-pieces respectively, and the first and the second flat front ends are parallel and opposite to each other and sandwich the electric device,

wherein the optical axis of the electric device is parallel to the first flat front end of the magnetic device, and is an optical axis of the Wien filter,

wherein a first and a second directions of the Wien filter are both perpendicular to the optical axis, and respectively parallel and perpendicular to the first front end of the magnetic device,

wherein the electric device generates an electric dipole field in the first direction,

wherein the magnetic device generates a magnetic dipole field in the second direction by exciting the first and second coils to make the first and second flat front ends have opposite polarities.

15. The Wien filter according to claim 14, wherein the first plane of symmetry of the electric device is parallel to the first direction of the Wien filter.

17. A Wien filter, comprising:

an electric device according to claim 1, inside the cylindrical through hole of the magnetic core of the magnetic device,

wherein the optical axis of the electric device, coincident with the optical axis of the magnetic device, is an optical axis of the Wien filter, the first and the second direction of the magnetic device are a first and a second directions of said Wien filter,

wherein the electric device generates an electric dipole field in the first direction of said Wien filter, and the magnetic device generates a magnetic dipole field in the second direction of said Wien filter.

18. The Wien filter according to claim 17, wherein an outline of the electric device is configured to be cylindrical and coaxial with the cylindrical through hole thereof and inner sides of the twelve through slits have equal arc angles in any sectional plane perpendicular to the optical axis, and an outline of the cylindrical magnetic core of the magnetic device and the cylindrical through hole thereof are configured coaxial.

19. The Wien filter according to claim 18, wherein the first plane of symmetry in the electric device coincides with the first plane of the magnetic device.

20. The Wien filter according to claim 19, wherein

the 5^th, 7^th, and 9^th electrodes are set at a first potential;

the 1^st, 3^rd, and 11^th electrodes are set at a second potential;

the 8^th, 10^th, 12^th, 2^nd, 4^th, and 6^th electrodes are set at an average of the first and second potentials,

wherein the average of the first and second potentials is equal to zero potential,

wherein potentials of the 1^st, 2^nd, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, and 12^th electrodes are changed by a first amount, and potentials of the 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th electrodes are changed by a second amount opposite to the first amount, such that an electric quadrupole field can be generated and superimposed onto the electric dipole field.

21. The Wien filter according to claim 20, wherein each of two end portions of the cylindrical through hole of the electric device has a conical shape coaxial with a cylindrical central portion of said through hole, such that a distribution shape of the electric dipole field can match a distribution shape of the magnetic dipole field along the optical axis of the Wien filter.

22. The Wien filter according to claim 21, further comprising two field-terminating plates being perpendicular to the optical axis of the Wien filter and sandwiching the magnetic device and the electric device with two axial gaps respectively, such that the electric dipole field and the magnetic dipole field along the optical axis of the Wien filter vanish away rapidly outside the Wien filter, wherein each of the two plates is made of a material of both electric and magnetic conductor, has an opening aligned with the optical axis of the Wien filter and for particles passing through, and is set at an average potential of the first and second potentials.

23. The Wien filter according to claim 22, wherein for the electric device, the angle between the first plane of symmetry and the central plane of the through slit between the 1^st and 2^nd electrodes is about 25°

, arc angles of inner sides of the twelve through slits are equal to each other and between about 2° and

about 5°

in said any sectional plane perpendicular to the optical axis, and for the magnetic device, the angle between the two common central planes and bisected by the second plane is about 120°

.

10. A magnetic device, comprising:

a cylindrical magnetic core with a cylindrical through hole, a central axis of said hole being an optical axis of said magnetic device; and

four coils respectively winding around an inner and an outer sidewalls of said magnetic core and parallel to the optical axis,

wherein a 1^st coil, a 2^nd coil, a 3^rd coil, and a 4^th coil of said four coils are configured in a rotation sequence, the 1^st and 3^rd coils are bisected by a common central plane and the 2^nd and 4^th coils are bisected by the other common central plane, and both of the two common central planes contain the optical axis,

wherein a first and a second planes respectively bisect two adjacent angles between the two common central planes, a first and a second directions are both perpendicular to the optical axis and respectively parallel to the first and the second planes,

wherein the said four coils are excited to generate a magnetic dipole filed in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis.

11. The magnetic device according to claim 10, wherein the cylindrical through hole is coaxial with an outline of the cylindrical magnetic core.

12. The magnetic device according to claim 11, wherein one of the two adjacent angles between said two common central planes is between about 110°

and about 130°

.

13. The magnetic device according to claim 12, wherein magnetomotive forces of said four coils are equal in magnitude and the electric current directions thereof are symmetric about the first plane and anti-symmetric about the second plane.

16. A Wien filter, comprising:

a cylindrical electric device including twelve electrodes, said twelve electrodes configuring a cylinder with a coaxial-cylindrical through hole, a central axis of the through hole being an optical axis of the electric device, said twelve electrodes configuring an 8-fold symmetry and being sectorial in any sectional plane perpendicular to the optical axis, twelve through slits separating said twelve electrodes respectively and parallel to the optical axis, each of said twelve through slits having a central plane containing the optical axis, wherein said twelve electrodes are excited to generate one electric dipole field in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis; and

a magnetic device according to claim 10, wherein the cylindrical magnetic core encompasses the electric device,

wherein the optical axis of the electric device, coincident with the optical axis of the magnetic device, is an optical axis of the Wien filter,

wherein the electric dipole field generated by the electric device is perpendicular to the magnetic dipole field generated by the magnetic device.

26. A Wien filter, comprising:

a magnetic device according to claim 10, inside the cylindrical through hole of the magnetic core of the magnetic device,

wherein the optical axis of the electric device, coincident with the optical axis of the magnetic device, is an optical axis of the Wien filter, the first and the second direction of the magnetic device are a first and a second directions of said Wien filter,

wherein the electric device generates an electric dipole field in the first direction of said Wien filter, and the magnetic device generates a magnetic dipole field in the second direction of said Wien filter.

24. A Wien filter, comprising:

a cylindrical magnetic device including;

a cylindrical magnetic core with a first coaxial-cylindrical through hole, a central axis of the coaxial-cylindrical through hole being an optical axis of said magnetic device and the Wien filter; and

four coils respectively winding around an inner and an outer sidewalls of said magnetic core and parallel to the optical axis, said four coils configuring a 4-fold symmetry in any sectional plane perpendicular to the optical axis such that a magnetic dipole field can be generated within the magnetic device in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis; and

a cylindrical electric device including twelve electrodes, said twelve electrodes configuring a cylinder with a second coaxial-cylindrical through hole and being inside the first through hole of the magnetic core of the cylindrical magnetic device, a central axis of the second coaxial-cylindrical through hole being an optical axis of the electric device and coincident with the optical axis of the Wien filter, said twelve electrodes configuring an 8-fold symmetry and being sectorial in any sectional plane perpendicular to the optical axis, twelve through slits separating said twelve electrodes respectively and parallel to the optical axis of the electric device, each of said twelve through slits having a central plane containing the optical axis of the electric device, wherein said twelve electrodes are excited to generate one electric dipole field within the electric device in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the Wien filter and the magnetic dipole field,

wherein each of two end portions of the second coaxial-cylindrical through hole of the electric device has a conical shape coaxial with a cylindrical central portion of said hole, such that a distribution shape of the electric dipole field can match a distribution shape of the magnetic dipole field along the optical axis of the Wien filter.

25. The Wien filter according to claim 24, further comprising two field-terminating plates perpendicular to the optical axis and sandwiching the magnetic device and the electric device with two axial gaps respectively, such that the electric dipole field and the magnetic dipole field along the optical axis of the Wien filter vanish away rapidly outside the Wien filter, wherein each of the two plates has an opening aligned with the optical axis of the Wien filter and for particles passing through, and is made of a material of both electric and magnetic conductor.