Methods and devices for examining an electrically charged specimen surface
AssigneeCarl Zeiss SMT GmbH
InventorsMichael Budach, Michael Schnell, Bernd Schindler, Markus Boese
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Abstract
A method for examining a specimen surface with a probe of a scanning probe microscope, the specimen surface having an electrical potential distribution. The method includes (a) determining the electrical potential distribution of at least one first partial region of the specimen surface; and (b) modifying the electrical potential distribution in the at least one first partial region of the specimen surface and/or modifying an electrical potential of the probe of the scanning probe microscope before scanning at least one second partial region of the specimen surface.
Claims25
A method for examining a specimen surface with a probe of a scanning probe microscope, the specimen surface having an electrical potential distribution of an electrostatic charge, the method comprising the steps of:
- a. scanning a particle beam across at least one first partial region of the specimen surface;
- b. determining an energy spectrum of at least one of secondary particles or back-scattered particles that result from the scanning of the particle beam across the at least one first partial region of the specimen surface;
- c. determining the electrical potential distribution of the electrostatic charge of the at least one first partial region of the specimen surface based on the energy spectrum of the at least one of secondary particles or back-scattered particles;
- and
- d. modifying the electrical potential distribution of the electrostatic charge in the at least one first partial region of the specimen surface and/or modifying an electrical potential of the probe of the scanning probe microscope before scanning at least one second partial region of the specimen surface.
A device for examining a specimen surface with a probe of a scanning probe microscope, the specimen surface having an electrical potential distribution of an electrostatic charge, the device comprising
- a. means for scanning a particle beam across at least one first partial region of the specimen surface;
- b. means for determining an energy spectrum of at least one of secondary particles or back-scattered particles that result from the scanning of the particle beam across the at least one first partial region of the specimen surface;
- c. means for determining the electrical potential distribution of the electrostatic charge of the at least one first partial region of the specimen surface based on the energy spectrum of the at least one of secondary particles or back-scattered particles;
- and
- d. means for modifying the electrical potential distribution of the electrostatic charge of the at least one first partial region of the specimen surface and/or means for modifying an electrical potential of the probe of the scanning probe microscope before scanning at least one second partial region of the specimen surface if an absolute value of the electrical potential distribution of the electrostatic charge in the at least one first partial region of the specimen surface exceeds a first threshold.
A system comprising:
- a scanning probe microscope comprising a probe and configured to examine a specimen surface having an electrical potential distribution of an electrostatic charge;
- a scanning particle microscope configured to scan a particle beam across at least one first partial region of the specimen surface;
- and
- a computer configured to determine the electrical potential distribution of the electrostatic charge of the at least one first partial region of the specimen surface based on scanning data obtained from the scanning particle microscope, in which the system is configured to at least one of modify the electrical potential distribution of the electrostatic charge in the at least one first partial region of the specimen surface, or modify an electrical potential of the probe of the scanning probe microscope, before scanning at least one second partial region of the specimen surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.