Method and apparatus for preparing specimens for microscopy
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for preparing a specimen for microscopy, comprising:
- a plasma generator for plasma cleaning said specimen; and
means for coating said specimen with a conductive material;
wherein said plasma cleaning of said specimen and said coating of said specimen may be performed under continuous vacuum conditions.
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Abstract
An apparatus for preparing specimens for microscopy including equipment for providing two or more of each of the following specimen processing activities under continuous vacuum conditions: plasma cleaning the specimen, ion beam or reactive ion beam etching the specimen, plasma etching the specimen and coating the specimen with a conductive material. Also, an apparatus and method for detecting a position of a surface of the specimen in a processing chamber, wherein the detected position is used to automatically move the specimen to appropriate locations for subsequent processing.
182 Citations
164 Claims
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1. An apparatus for preparing a specimen for microscopy, comprising:
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a plasma generator for plasma cleaning said specimen; and
means for coating said specimen with a conductive material;
wherein said plasma cleaning of said specimen and said coating of said specimen may be performed under continuous vacuum conditions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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25. An apparatus according to claim 25, said oil-free vacuum pump selected from the group consisting of oil-free diaphragm pumps, molecular drag pumps, turbomolecular drag pumps, molecular drag pumps backed by a diaphragm pump, turbomolecular drag pumps backed by a diaphragm pump, cryosorption pumps, reciprocating piston pumps, scroll pumps, screw pumps, claw pumps, non-oil sealed single and multistage piston pumps, and rotary lobe (Roots) pumps.
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32. An apparatus for preparing a specimen for microscopy, comprising:
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a plasma generator for plasma cleaning said specimen; and
means for removing material from said specimen;
wherein said plasma cleaning of said specimen and said removing of material from said specimen may be performed under continuous vacuum conditions. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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55. An apparatus for preparing a specimen for microscopy, comprising:
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means for coating said specimen with a conductive material; and
means for plasma etching said specimen;
wherein said coating of said specimen and said plasma etching of said specimen may be performed under continuous vacuum conditions. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89)
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90. An apparatus for preparing a specimen for microscopy, comprising:
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a first vacuum chamber;
a second vacuum chamber connected to said first vacuum chamber;
a specimen stage moveable between a first position and a second position under continuous vacuum conditions, said first position being inside said first vacuum chamber and said second position being inside said second vacuum chamber;
means for coating said specimen with a conductive material, said means for coating being supported by said first vacuum chamber;
means for plasma etching said specimen, at least a portion of said means for plasma etching being supported by said second vacuum chamber. - View Dependent Claims (91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107)
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108. An apparatus for preparing a specimen for microscopy, comprising:
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a vacuum chamber;
an ion source connected to said vacuum chamber for directing an ion beam at said specimen for etching said specimen;
a plasma etching assembly connected to said vacuum chamber for plasma etching said specimen; and
means for coating said specimen with a conductive material, said means for coating being supported by said vacuum chamber;
wherein said etching, said plasma etching and said coating of said specimen may be performed under continuous vacuum conditions established within said vacuum chamber. - View Dependent Claims (109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151)
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152. A method for preparing a specimen for microscopy, comprising:
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determining a first position of a surface of said specimen along an axis of a processing chamber;
automatically moving said specimen to one or more processing locations within said processing chamber based on said first position. - View Dependent Claims (153, 154, 155, 156, 157)
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158. An apparatus for preparing a specimen for microscopy, comprising:
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a processing chamber;
a sample stage, said sample stage being moveable to one or more processing positions inside said processing chamber; and
means for detecting a first position of a surface of said specimen along an axis of said processing chamber;
wherein said sample stage is moved automatically to said one or more processing positions based on said first position. - View Dependent Claims (159, 160)
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161. An apparatus for preparing a specimen for microscopy, comprising:
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a processing chamber;
a sample stage, said sample stage being moveable to one or more processing positions inside said processing chamber; and
a beam generating device and a beam sensor supported by said processing chamber, said beam generating device and said beam sensor being used to detect a first position of a surface of said specimen along an axis of said processing chamber;
wherein said sample stage is moved automatically to said one or more processing positions based on said first position. - View Dependent Claims (162, 163, 164)
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Specification