Charged particle source with multiple selectable particle emitters

An electron beam system, comprising:

• a column for focusing an electron beam along an axis onto the surface of a target;
• an electron source comprising a multiplicity of electron emitters located about the axis, each configured to emit electrons along and generally parallel to the axis of the column;
• a multiplicity of electrical connections, configured with one connection to each emitter in the multiplicity of electron emitters;
• and
• an emitter control circuit.

A focused ion beam system, comprising:

• a column for focusing an ion beam along an axis onto the surface of a target;
• an ion source comprising a multiplicity of ion emitters located about the axis, each configured to emit ions along and generally parallel to the axis of the column;
• a multiplicity of electrical connections, configured with one connection to each emitter in the multiplicity of ion emitters;
• and
• an emitter control circuit.

A method of operating a charged particle beam system;

• providing multiple charged particle emitters located about an axis;
• providing a focusing column along the axis capable of focusing the charged particles from the multiple emitters along the axis onto the sample surface;
• and
• causing charged particles to be emitted sequentially from the multiple charged particles emitters and focused by the focusing column.