Electron beam apparatus

An electron beam apparatus comprising:

• a photocathode;
• a means for irradiating said photocathode so that the photocathode will emit electrons from a surface of the photocathode, wherein the trajectory of an electron is such that it can be extrapolated to intersect a region within the photocathode, the region defining a virtual source;
• a means for configuring the emitted electrons into an electron beam;
• a means for focusing the electron beam onto a specimen so that an image of the virtual source can be formed on the specimen;
• and wherein the photocathode comprises a rounded tip which has a radius of curvature, so that the size of the virtual source is reduced and thus the smaller image of the virtual source is achievable, wherein the tip of the photocathode is configured to be aspheric so that electrons emitted from the cathode follow a plurality of different trajectories, and the plurality of trajectories of the electrons are such that they can be extrapolated to intersect at a plurality of different regions within the photocathode, the plurality of different regions defining a plurality of virtual sources located within the photocathode, wherein each of the plurality of virtual sources is positioned so as to compensate for optical aberration, such that images of each of the plurality of virtual sources are located within a selected predefined region on the specimen to achieve an reduction in the size of the virtual source image.

A method suitable for preparing a specimen for inspection, the method comprising the steps of:

• irradiating a photocathode so that the photocathode emits electrons from a surface of the photocathode, wherein the emitted electrons each follow a trajectory, and the trajectories of the electrons are such that they can be extrapolated to intersect at a region within the photocathode, the region defining a virtual source, and wherein the photocathode comprises a rounded tip which has a radius of curvature;
• configuring the emitted electrons so that they form an electron beam;
• focusing the electron beam onto a specimen to form an image of the virtual source on the specimen;
• irradiating a photocathode which is configured to be aspheric so that electrons emitted from photocathode follow a plurality of different trajectories, the plurality of trajectories can be extrapolated to intersect at a plurality of different regions within the photocathode, each of the plurality of different regions defining a plurality of virtual sources located within the photocathode which is configured to be aspheric, wherein each of the plurality of virtual sources is positioned so as to compensate for optical aberration such that images of each of the plurality of virtual sources are located within a selected predefined region on the specimen so that the predefined region is irradiated, wherein the predefined region is selected so that each of the plurality of virtual sources images are located on the specimen so as to achieve a reduction in the size of a probe, wherein the probe is the sum of all the virtual source images.

A method suitable for preparing a specimen for inspection, the method comprising the steps of:

• irradiating a photocathode so that the photocathode emits electrons from a surface of the photocathode, wherein the emitted electrons each follow a trajectory, and the trajectories of the electrons are such that they can be extrapolated to intersect at a region within the photocathode, the region defining a virtual source, and wherein the photocathode comprises a rounded tip which has a radius of curvature;
• configuring the emitted electrons so that they form an electron beam;
• focusing the electron beam onto a specimen to form an image of the virtual source on the specimen;
• irradiating a photocathode which is configured to be aspheric so that electrons emitted from photocathode follow a plurality of different trajectories, the plurality of trajectories can be extrapolated to intersect at a plurality of different regions within the photocathode, each of the plurality of different regions defining a plurality of virtual sources located within the photocathode which is configured to be aspheric, wherein each of the plurality of virtual sources is positioned so as to compensate for optical aberration so that the electrons emitted from the plurality of virtual sources are all incident on the same point on the specimen so as to achieve a reduction in the size of the size of a probe, wherein the probe is the sum of all the virtual source images.