Abstract: A pattern generation method and system in which hierarchical image data (determining a pattern to be imaged on a target) is received at a graphics engine having a memory, at least one cell determining a repeated feature or set of features of the pattern is stored in the memory, and beam control data is generated in response to the image data. The image data includes residual data including at least two subroutine call commands for each cell stored in the memory. In response to each subroutine call command, the graphics engine retrieves a cell (identified by the command) from the memory, and asserts beam control data that determines a feature or feature set determined by the cell to be imaged at (or beginning at) a location on the target identified by the command. The subroutine call commands can be distributed throughout the image data, including in at least one cell to be cached as well as in the residual data.

Abstract: In a method for detecting and identifying bioaerosol particles in the air, the bioaerosol particles in a particle stream are selected in an ATOFMS (aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer) by means of fluorescence techniques, and only the selected bioaerosol particles are ionized, for instance on the basis of MALDI (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization), after which the resulting ions are detected and the bioaerosol particles are identified. The selection of bioaerosol particles takes place by means of laser radiation, generated by a first laser device, of a wavelength which in specific substances in bioaerosol particles effects a fluorescence, after which by means of a fluorescence detector the bioaerosol particles are selected and a second laser device is triggered to emit light of a wavelength which effects the ionization of the bioaerosol particles selected only by the fluorescence detector.

Abstract: A scintillator for an electron microscope includes a substrate (24) of optically transparent material in disc shaped form, a retaining ring (20) of highly conductive material having a non-oxidizing surface around the substrate and having a radially inwardly extending lip (22) on one end, a coating of indium tin oxide (26) on surface (28) of the substrate, electrically conductive adhesive material (32) between the lip and the radially outer part of the coating, and scintillator material (36) bonded to surface (38) of the coating. The indium tin oxide coating may be applied by sputtering and the scintillator material may br deposited onto the coating by settlement deposition. All contacting surfaces are intimately bonded to provide maximum conductivity resulting in better signal to noise ratio. The conductive substrate minimizes pinhole interference, the scintillator is easier to handle during installation and no aluminum overcoating is required.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for monitoring the quality of lubricant that is in a gear mechanism or machine that contains effective materials. A sample of the lubricant or of the vapor that escapes from the lubricant is withdrawn from the gear mechanism or machine. The sample is conveyed to an ion mobility spectrometer, where materials present in the vapor phase above the lubricant are analyzed. The change of the content and of the type of the analyzed materials in the sample is utilized as the actual condition for the aging of the lubricant.

Abstract: The ion implanting apparatus is provided with a control device which controls the operating state thereof in a period during which ion implantation is not carried out for a substrate in the state in any mode selected from the above (a) twilight mode in which the flow rate of the raw gas supplied to an ion source and the power supplied from a plasma producing power source are reduced to values capable of keeping plasma production in the ion source, (b) magnet-off mode in which in addition to the state in the twilight mode, the outputs from an energy separating magnet power source, scanning magnet power source and beam paralleling magnet power source are stopped, and (c) shut-down mode in which the supply of the raw gas is stopped and the outputs from the power sources are stopped.

Abstract: The coated nanotube surface signal probe constructed from a nanotube, a holder which holds the nanotube, a coating film fastening a base end portion of the nanotube to a surface of the holder by way of adhering the base end portion on the surface of holder in a range of a base end portion length with an electric contact state and covering a specified region including the base end portion with the coating film maintaining the electric contact state between the nanotube and the holder, a tip end portion of the nanotube being caused to protrude from the holder; and the tip end portion is used as a probe needle so as to scan surface signals. The coated nanotube surface signal probe can be used as a probe in AFM (Atomic Force Microscope), STM (Scanning Tunneling Microscope) other SPM (Scanning Probe Microscope).

Abstract: An ion beam processing apparatus comprises a beam line vacuum chamber from an ion source to a processing chamber. The apparatus further comprises a beam line structure for transporting ion beam from the ion source through the beam line vacuum chamber to the processing chamber. A mass analysis magnet unit is arranged from the outside in a partial section of the beam line vacuum chamber. An effective magnetic field area of the mass analysis magnet unit is disposed in a partial section of the beam line structure. Continuous cusp field forming magnet apparatuses are arranged at the series of beam line vacuum chamber part of the beam line structure to confine ion beam by forming continuous cusp fields.

Abstract: The invention provides devices, device configurations and methods for improved sensitivity, detection level and efficiency in mass spectrometry particularly as applied to biological molecules, including biological polymers, such as proteins and nucleic acids. Specifically, the invention relates to charged droplet sources and their use as ion sources and as components in ion sources. In addition, devices of this invention allow mass spectral analysis of a single charged droplet. Further, the charged droplet sources and ion sources of this invention can be combined with any charge particle detector or mass analyzer, but are a particularly benefit when used in combination with a time of flight mass spectrometer.

Abstract: An ion beam implanter includes an ion beam source for generating an ion beam moving along a beam line and a vacuum implantation chamber wherein a workpiece is positioned to intersect the ion beam for ion implantation of a surface of the workpiece by the ion beam. The ion beam implanter further includes a workpiece support structure coupled to the implantation chamber and supporting the workpiece. The workpiece support structure includes a chuck including a rotatable pedestal for supporting the workpiece.

Abstract: An electron emission lithography apparatus and method using a selectively grown carbon nanotube as an electron emission source, wherein the electron emission lithography apparatus includes an electron emission source installed within a chamber and a stage, which is separated from the electron emission source by a predetermined distance and on which a sample is mounted, and wherein the electron emission source is a carbon nanotube having electron emission power. Since a carbon nanotube is used as an electron emission source, a lithography process can be performed with a precise critical dimension that prevents a deviation from occurring between the center of a substrate and the edge thereof and may realize a high throughput.

Abstract: An X-ray micoanalysis test system comprising a beam generator which induces X-rays to emanate from a semiconductor device containing film stacks. The charged particle beam will penetrate at least two layers of a film stack on a semiconductor device so that these layers may be tested. The X-rays will be detected using multiple X-ray detectors that detect X-ray photons having a specific energy level. The X-rays will then be used to analyze the characteristics of the semiconductor device. Each of the multiple X-ray detectors may be wavelength dispersive system (WDS) detectors. The present invention also provides a method for measuring film stack characteristics on a semiconductor device.

Abstract: A nanodosimeter device (15) for detecting positive ions induced in a sensitive gas volume by a radiation field of primary particle, comprising an ionization chamber (10) for holding the sensitive gas volume to be irradiated by the radiation field of primary particles; an ion counter system connected to the ionization chamber (10) for detecting the positive ions which pass through the aperture opening and arrive at the ion counter (12) at an arrival time; a particle tracking system for position-sensitive detection of the primary particles passing through the sensitive gas volume; and a data acquisition system capable of coordinating the readout of all data signals and of performing data analysis correlating the arrival time of the positive ions detected by the ion counter system relative to the position sensitive data of primary particles detected by the particle tracking system.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a corrector for correcting energy-dependent first-order aberrations of the first degree as well as third-order spherical aberrations of electron-optical lens systems. The corrector includes at least one quadropole septuplet (S1) having seven quadrupoles (Q1 to Q7). The quadrupoles are mounted symmetrically to a center plane (ZS) so as to permit excitation along a linear axis. The corrector furthermore includes at least five octopoles (O1 to O7) which can be excited within the quadrupole septuplet. In an advantageous embodiment, two quadrupole septuplets are mounted in series one behind the other. The quadrupole fields of the two quadrupole septuplets are excited antisymmetrically to a center plane lying between the two quadrupole septuplets.

Abstract: An ion storage system is described that includes an ion trap that defines a volume for storing a plurality of ions. A radio frequency (RF) generator is electromagnetically coupled to the volume defined by the ion trap. The RF generator generates an RF electrical field that stores the plurality of ions in the ion trap. A switching device terminates the RF electrical field, which ejects the plurality of ions from the ion trap. An ion detector detects at least a portion of the plurality of ions that are ejected from the ion trap.

Abstract: A fluid treatment apparatus comprises a duct portion (10) having an elongated tubular duct (12), inlet and outlet ports at or adjacent opposite ends of the duct (12), a separate vane portion (11), mounted internally of the duct (12) and carrying a helical guide vane (17), which extends longitudinally of the duct (12) between said inlet and outlet ports (13,14) to promote a helical fluid flow therebetween, and an elongated ultra-violet light source (22) extending longitudinally of the duct (12). The helical guide vane (17) is formed on the separate vane portion (11) f the apparatus and thus the apparatus is simple to construct, since the helical guide vane (17) is formed prior to insertion into duct (12).

Abstract: A mass spectrometer that includes an ion source, an ion trap, and a light detection module. The ion trap has two end-cap electrodes and a ring electrode. The ring electrode is positioned relative to the end-cap electrodes to confine a charged particle from the ion source within a confinement region when an audio frequency voltage having a first amplitude is applied between the ring electrode and the two end-cap electrodes. The charged particle is ejected from the ion trap when the audio frequency voltage increases to a second amplitude. The light detection module includes a light source that illuminates the ejected particle and a light detector that detects light scattered from the ejected particle.

Abstract: The ion implantation apparatus deals with an ion beam as a charged particle beam and has an accelerating tube 8 incorporating an electrostatic lens for converging/diverging it. The control of the electrostatic lens is carried out as follows. The swept ion beam 4 is received by a single Faraday cup 46 to measure the beam quantity I(n) and the beam width WD(p) of the ion beam 4. The evaluated values of the beam quantity and beam width with respect to prescribed standards are calculated. These evaluated values are assigned weights to calculate a unified evaluated value. The focusing voltage Vf applied to the electrostatic lens with the accelerating tube 8 is controlled so that the unified evaluated value is increased. A waveform shaping controller 50 and beam controller 54 constitute a device for making such control.

Abstract: Water is supplied to a water user outlet facility by maintaining a tappable flow of water in a recirculating loop that includes a pump such as a centrifugal pump driven by a substantially constant speed motor to establish the flow, a water delivery path that extends from the pump to the outlet facility, and a water return path that extends from the outlet facility back to the pump. The flow is permitted to be controllably tapped at the facility by a water user while directing any untapped portion of the flow into the water return path. Such recirculation avoids stagnation and thereby impedes deterioration in the potability of the water. Further such recirculation makes the recirculating loop and water within the loop less sensitive to the temperature of the surrounding environment. The recirculating loop may include a water purifier such as an ultra-violet lamp source to kill organic contaminants and, as well, may include a filter to remove inorganic material.

Abstract: A method and device are presented for producing an intensive flow of atoms from an input flow of a molecular gas. Effects of ignition of a gas discharge of a complex type and dissociation of the gas molecules by electron impact in a discharge cell are utilized. The flow of atoms is output from the discharge cell through at least one emitting aperture. The complex gas discharge is composed of a main discharge and two auxiliary discharges of different types ignited in substantially coinciding zones of the discharge cell. The main discharge is an arc Penning discharge ignited in the vicinity of at least one emitting aperture. The first auxiliary discharge is a magnetron discharge with heated cathode, and the second auxiliary discharge is either a Penning discharge, or a Penning discharge with hollow cathode. The dissociation of the gas molecules is thereby carried out in the complex discharge and results in creation of the flow of hot and thermally atoms.

Abstract: A feedback control system for an electrospray nozzle and counter-electrode, comprising a source of light which intersects, one or snore of the liquid cone, jet and plume of the fluid exiting the nozzle, one or more photo detectors to detect light patterns and generate photo-electronic signals in response thereto, an electronic detection and amplification system to convert the photo-electronic signals to electronic signals, a computer or micro-processor to interpret said electronic signals and a second computer or microprocessor to communicate with the first computer and generate a signal to a controller which adjusts the electric field surrounding the nozzle either by changing the distance between the nozzle and counter-electrode or changing the voltage of the nozzle or counter-electrode.