Multi beam charged particle device

US6943349B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• ICT Integrated Circuit Testing Gesellschaft für Halbleiterprüftechnik mbH · DE

Inventors

• Pavel Adamec · Haar, DE
• Ralf Degenhardt · Landsham, DE
• Hans-Peter Feuerbaum · Hersbruck, DE
• Harry Munack · Heimstetten, DE
• Dieter Winkler · Munich, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 27, 2001
• Grant date: Sep 13, 2005
• Expiry date: Mar 20, 2022

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01J37/266
• WIPO field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

The present invention provides an improved column for a charged particle beam device. The column comprises an aperture plate having multiple apertures to produce multiple beams of charged particles and a deflector to influence the beams of charged particles so that each beam appears to come from a different source. Furthermore, an objective lens is used in order to focus the charged-particle beams onto the specimen. Due to the deflector, multiple images of the source are created on the surface of the specimen whereby all the images can be used for parallel data acquisition. Accordingly, the speed of data acquisition is increased. With regard to the focusing properties of the objective lens, the beams of charged particles can basically be treated as independent particle beams which do not negatively affect each other. Accordingly, each beam basically provides the same resolution as the beam of a conventional charged particle beam device.