Method for operating a multiple particle beam system while altering the numerical aperture, associated computer program product and multiple particle beam system
AssigneeCarl Zeiss MultiSEM GmbH
InventorsHans Fritz, Ingo Mueller
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method includes operating a multiple particle beam system at different working points. The numerical aperture can be set for each of the working points in such a way that the resolution of the multiple particle beam system is optimal. In the process, the beam pitch between adjacent individual particle beams on the sample to be scanned is kept constant as a boundary condition. There are no mechanical reconfigurations of the system whatsoever for the purposes of varying the numerical aperture.
Claims22
A method of operating a multiple particle beam system, the particle-optical system comprising a plurality of particle-optical components, the plurality of particle-optical components comprising a multi-beam generator to generate a multiplicity of charged individual particle beams from one particle beam so that particle-optical components are substantially passed through by the individual particle beam or by the multiplicity of individual particle beams, effects of the particle-optical components on the individual particle beam or on the multiplicity of individual particle beams being adjustable, the method comprising:
- setting the effects of the particle-optical components at a first working point of the system so that a first plane with particles of the individual particle beams is imaged in particle-optical fashion into a second plane,
- wherein:
- when applying the settings for the first working point, the particle-optical imaging is characterizable via a multiplicity of n mutually independently adjustable particle-optical parameters p (p11 . . . pn1);
- p11 represents the beam pitch between adjacent individual particle beams in the first plane;
- p21 represents the beam pitch between adjacent individual particle beams in the second plane;
- p31 represents the numerical aperture of the multi-beam particle optical unit in relation to the second plane;
- the values of p11 and p31 are altered when applying the settings at the first working point;
- and
- the values of the remaining parameters p are kept substantially constant when applying the settings at the first working point so that p21 is kept substantially constant.
A method for operating a multiple particle beam system comprising a plurality of particle-optical components, the plurality of particle-optical components comprising a multi-beam generator to generate a multiplicity of charged individual particle beams from one particle beam so that particle-optical components are substantially passed through by the individual particle beam or by the multiplicity of individual particle beams, effects of the particle-optical components on the individual particle beam or on the multiplicity of individual particle beams being adjustable, the method comprising:
- setting the effects of the particle-optical components at a first working point of the system so that a first plane with particles of the individual particle beams is imaged in particle-optical fashion into a second plane,
- wherein, when applying the settings for the first working point, the beam pitch between adjacent individual particle beams in the first plane is altered, the numerical aperture of the multi-beam particle optical unit in relation to the second plane is altered, and the beam pitch between adjacent individual particle beams in the second plane is kept substantially constant.
A method for operating a multiple particle beam system comprising a plurality of particle-optical components, the plurality of particle-optical components comprising a multi-beam generator to generate a multiplicity of charged individual particle beams from one particle beam so that particle-optical components are substantially passed through by the individual particle beam or by the multiplicity of individual particle beams, effects of the particle-optical components on the individual particle beam or on the multiplicity of individual particle beams being adjustable, the method comprising:
- setting the effects of the particle-optical components at a first working point of the system so that a first plane with particles of the individual particle beams is imaged in particle-optical fashion into a second plane while altering the beam pitch between adjacent individual particle beams in the first plane, altering the numerical aperture of the multi-beam particle optical unit in relation to the second plane, and keeping substantially constant the beam pitch between adjacent individual particle beams in the second plane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.