US 10,312,053 B2Granted

Charged particle beam apparatus, alignment method of charged particle beam apparatus, alignment program, and storage medium

AssigneeHitachi High-Technologies Corporation

InventorsKazuki Ishizawa, Hiroyuki Chiba, Yoshihiro Takahoko, Daichi Nara

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Abstract

The present invention shortens the time spent in a search for a visual field by a user in a charged particle beam apparatus in which an observation range on a sample is set by using a captured image of the sample. When the contour of a sample table is circularly configured, for example, the central position of a sample table image on an optical image is quickly, easily, and accurately obtained by calculating, from the coordinates of the respective vertices of a triangle circumscribed about the contour created on the optical image by the user, the incenter of the triangle without direct recognition by automatic image analysis, which is complex and time-consuming, of the contour of the sample table image on the optical image.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A charged particle beam apparatus comprising:

a charged particle source that emits a charged particle beam;
a charged particle optical system that irradiates a sample with the charged particle beam from the charged particle source;
a sample chamber in which a sample table on which the sample is placed is accommodated;
a stage that holds the sample table within the sample chamber and moves the sample together with the sample table within the sample chamber to change an irradiation position and/or an irradiation direction of the charged particle beam from the charged particle optical system with respect to the sample;
a detector that detects signal particles generated from the sample placed on the sample table by irradiation with the charged particle beam;
an image processing portion that generates an observation image of an observation range on the sample irradiated with the charged particle beam based on the signal particles detected by the detector;
an image display portion that displays a captured image including a sample table image of the acquired sample table by an imaging device;
an operation input portion that sets and inputs a measurement reference point by designating points positioned apart from each other on a contour of the sample table image on a captured image displayed on the image display portion;
a sample table image size calculation portion that calculates a size of the sample table image on the captured image based on a distance on the captured image between a plurality of measurement reference points which are set and input by an operation of the operation input portion;
and
an imaging magnification calculation portion that calculates an imaging magnification of the captured image from a size of the sample table image calculated by the sample table image size calculation portion and an actual size of the sample table.

8 more elements

An alignment method of a charged particle beam apparatus, the method comprising:

a viewing field range setting step of setting an observation range on a sample for acquiring an observation image by a charged particle beam apparatus on a captured image of the sample acquired by an imaging device as a viewing field range;
an alignment step of using an imaging magnification of a captured image by the imaging device used in setting of the viewing field range for an alignment of an irradiation position of a charged particle beam when acquiring the observation image of the sample by irradiating the observation range on the sample corresponding to the viewing field range with the charged particle beam by the charged particle beam apparatus;
a sample table image display step of displaying the captured image including the sample table image of the sample table on which the sample is placed which is acquired by the imaging device on an image display portion;
an operation setting step of setting and inputting a measurement reference point by designating points that are positioned apart from each other on a contour of the sample table image based on an operation of an operation input portion on the captured image displayed on the image display portion by the sample table image display step;
a sample table image size calculating step of calculating a size of the sample table image on the captured image based on a distance on the captured image between a plurality of measurement reference points which are set and input by the operation setting step;
and
an imaging magnification calculating step of calculating an imaging magnification of the captured image from a size of the sample table image calculated by the sample table image size calculating step and an actual size of the sample table.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/556,400Filed 31 Mar 2015
Published: US 2018/0108512 A119 Apr 2018
Granted: 4 Jun 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

H01J 37/28
Electron or ion microscopes; Electron or ion diffraction tubes: with scanning beams
H01J 37/1471
Arrangements for directing or deflecting the discharge along a desired path: for centering, aligning or positioning of ray or beam
H01J 37/20
Details: means for supporting or positioning the object or the material; Means for adjusting diaphragms or lenses associated with the support
H01J 37/22
Details: optical , image processing or photographic arrangements associated with the tube

Family

US 2018/0108512 A1Pre-grant publication · published 19 Apr 2018
US 10,312,053 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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