Systems and methods for pulsed voltage contrast detection and capture of charging dynamics

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a set of instructions that is executable by one or more processors of a charged-particle beam apparatus comprising a charged-particle source, an optical source, a charged-particle detector, and a controller, to cause the charged-particle beam apparatus to perform operations for forming an image of a sample, the operations comprising:

• activating the charged-particle source to generate a primary charged-particle beam along a primary optical axis;
• activating the optical source to generate a pulsed optical beam with a first timing that interacts with the sample, the interaction generating a first plurality of charged particles;
• applying a signal with a second timing to the charged-particle detector to detect a second plurality of charged-particles generated from a probe spot on the sample formed by the primary charged-particle beam and modified by interaction with a portion of the first plurality of charged particles;
• adjusting a time delay that is based on a timing difference between pulses of the pulsed optical beam and the signal;
• and
• forming an image of the sample based on the detected second plurality of charged-particles and the adjusted time delay.

A controller of a charged-particle beam apparatus, the controller comprising:

• circuitry configured to:
• apply a first signal with a first timing to cause an optical source to generate a pulsed optical beam interacting with a sample, the interaction generating a first plurality of charged particles;
• apply a second signal with a second timing to a charged-particle detector to detect a second plurality of charged-particles generated from a probe spot on the sample formed by a primary charged-particle beam and modified by interaction with a portion of the first plurality of charged particles;
• and
• adjust a time delay that is based on a timing difference between pulses of the pulsed optical beam and the signal.