Total release method for sample extraction in an energetic-beam instrument
US9349573B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 11, 2015 |
| Grant date | May 24, 2016 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 11, 2035 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J2237/31749
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A substrate located in an energetic-beam instrument has a region of interest to be extracted as a sample for further analysis. Cuts are made in the substrate to define a sample, and a stress-buffer layer is formed over the region of interest or adjacent to it. An isolating cut is made to separate the portion of the substrate containing the region of interest from the bulk substrate; however, the isolated area remains attached to the stress-buffer layer. An end-effector, such as the probe of a nano-manipulator, is attached to the stress-buffer layer, and the stress-buffer layer is cut to free the sample. The sample may then be attached to a holder by attachment of the stress-buffer layer thereto. Thus the sample is never at the same time connected directly and rigidly to two different objects that may move relatively to one another, creating undesirable stresses in the sample.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.