Method and System for Noise Mitigation in a Multi-Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy System
First Claim
1. A multi-beam scanning electron microscopy apparatus comprising:
- a multi-beam scanning electron microscopy sub-system comprising;
a multi-beam electron beam source configured to generate a plurality of electron beams;
a sample stage configured to secure a sample;
an electron-optical assembly including a set of electron-optical elements configured to direct at least a portion of the plurality of electron beams onto a portion of the sample; and
a detector assembly configured to detect a plurality of electron signal beams emanating from the surface of the sample to form a plurality of images, each image associated with an electron beam of the plurality of electron beams;
a controller including one or more processor configured to execute a set of program instructions stored in memory for causing the one or more processors to;
receive the plurality of images from the detector assembly;
compare two or more of the images to identify common noise components present in the two or more images; and
remove the identified common noise components from one or more images of the plurality of images.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A scanning electron microscopy system is disclosed. The system includes a multi-beam scanning electron microscopy (SEM) sub-system. The SEM sub-system includes a multi-beam electron beam source configured to generate a plurality of electron beams, a sample stage configured to secure a sample, an electron-optical assembly, and a detector assembly configured to detect a plurality of electron signal beams emanating from the surface of the sample to form a plurality of images, each image associated with an electron beam of the plurality of electron beams. The system includes a controller configured to receive the images from the detector assembly, compare two or more of the images to identify common noise components present in the two or more images, and remove the identified common noise components from one or more images of the plurality of images.
9 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A multi-beam scanning electron microscopy apparatus comprising:
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a multi-beam scanning electron microscopy sub-system comprising; a multi-beam electron beam source configured to generate a plurality of electron beams; a sample stage configured to secure a sample; an electron-optical assembly including a set of electron-optical elements configured to direct at least a portion of the plurality of electron beams onto a portion of the sample; and a detector assembly configured to detect a plurality of electron signal beams emanating from the surface of the sample to form a plurality of images, each image associated with an electron beam of the plurality of electron beams; a controller including one or more processor configured to execute a set of program instructions stored in memory for causing the one or more processors to; receive the plurality of images from the detector assembly; compare two or more of the images to identify common noise components present in the two or more images; and remove the identified common noise components from one or more images of the plurality of images. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A multi-beam scanning electron microscopy apparatus comprising:
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a multi-beam scanning electron microscopy sub-system comprising; a multi-beam electron beam source configured to generate a plurality of electron beams; a sample stage configured to secure a sample; an electron-optical assembly including a set of electron-optical elements configured to direct at least a portion of the plurality of electron beams onto a portion of the sample; and a detector assembly configured to detect a plurality of electron signal beams from the surface of the sample to form a plurality of images, each image associated with an electron beam of the plurality of electron beams; a controller including one or more processor configured to execute a set of program instructions stored in memory for causing the one or more processors to; receive the plurality of images from the detector assembly; compare two or more of the images to identify common noise components present in the two or more images; and report the identified common noise components. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A multi-beam scanning electron microscopy apparatus comprising:
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a multi-beam scanning electron microscopy sub-system comprising; a multi-beam electron beam source configured to generate a plurality of electron beams; a sample stage configured to secure a sample; an electron-optical assembly including a set of electron-optical elements configured to direct at least a portion of the plurality of electron beams onto a portion of the sample; and a detector assembly configured to simultaneously detect a plurality of electron signal beams emanating from the surface of the sample to form a plurality of simultaneously-acquired images, wherein the detector assembly is configured to acquire a set of repeat images for each electron signal beam; a controller including one or more processor configured to execute a set of program instructions stored in memory for causing the one or more processors to; receive the plurality of simultaneously-acquired images from the detector assembly; determine an alignment procedure based on a comparison of two or more of the simultaneously-acquired plurality of images; perform the alignment procedure on two or more repeat images corresponding with one or more of the electron signal beams; and combine the plurality of repeat images to form an aggregated image for each electron signal beam. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method comprising:
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simultaneously acquiring a plurality of images with a multi-beam scanning electron microscopy system; comparing two or more of the images to identify common noise components present in the two or more images; and removing the identified common noise components from one or more images of the plurality of images.
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36. A method comprising:
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simultaneously acquiring a plurality of images with a multi-beam scanning electron microscopy system; comparing two or more of the images to identify common noise components present in the two or more images; and reporting the identified common noise components.
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37. A method comprising:
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simultaneously acquiring a plurality of images with a plurality of electron signal beams of a multi-beam scanning electron microscopy system; determining an alignment procedure based on a comparison of two or more of the simultaneously-acquired plurality of images; performing the alignment procedure on two or more repeat images corresponding with one or more of the electron signal beams; and combining the plurality of repeat images to form an aggregated image for each electron signal beam.
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Specification