Charged particle beam devices
US8859992B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 14, 2011 |
| Grant date | Oct 14, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 5, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J2237/2608
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In a charged particle beam device, such as an electron microscope, a beam generating apparatus generates a focussed charged particle beam e− that is incident on a specimen in a specimen chamber which holds the specimen in a gaseous environment. A pressure limiting aperture provides partial gaseous isolation of the specimen chamber from the beam generating means, and is located in a lens of the latter. The device includes a conduit, such as an intermediate chamber in the lens, through which, in use, gas is supplied to set up a flow of gas from the region of the lens towards the specimen, thereby to prevent material released from the specimen from impinging on the pressure limiting aperture, to prevent contamination of the latter. The device can be used in a method of scanning a specimen with a charged particle beam, for example in a method of electron microscopy.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.