Specimen preparation and inspection in a dual-beam charged particle microscope

A dual-beam charged particle microscope comprising:

• an ion beam column, for producing an ion beam that propagates along an ion axis;
• an electron beam column, for producing an electron beam that propagates along an electron axis;
• a sample holder, for holding a sample;
• a manipulator needle, which can be attached to a portion of said sample;
• a detector, for detecting radiation emanating from said portion in response to irradiation by said electron beam;
• and
• a controller, for at least partially controlling operation of said microscope,
• wherein said needle has multiple degrees of motional freedom, comprising at least:
• eucentric tilt θ about a tilt axis that passes through an intersection point of said ion and electron axes and is perpendicular to said electron axis;
• and
• rotation φ about a longitudinal axis of the needle.

An apparatus comprising:

• a sample stage for supporting a sample;
• a manipulator needle arranged to pivot about an axis that passes through an intersection point of ion and electron column axes and is perpendicular to the electron column axis, and further arranged to rotate around a longitudinal axis of the manipulator needle;
• and
• a controller coupled to control at least the manipulator needle during lift-out, milling and imaging operations, the controller causing the manipulator to:
• during the lift-out operation, move the manipulator to a first location about the pivot point;
• during the milling operation move the manipulator to a second location about the pivot point, the second location different than the first location, wherein the portion is milled by an ion beam;
• and
• during the imaging operation, causes the manipulator to rotate around the longitudinal axis, wherein images are acquired with an electron beam.