Abstract: The invention relates to a charged-particle microscope comprising a charged-particle source; a sample holder; a charged-particle lens system; a detector; and a beam pulsing device, for causing the beam to repeatedly switch on and off so as to produce a pulsed beam. The beam pulsing device comprises a unitary resonant cavity disposed about a particle-optical axis and has an entrance aperture and an exit aperture for the beam. The resonant cavity is configured to simultaneously produce a first oscillatory deflection of the beam at a first frequency in a first direction and a second oscillatory deflection of the beam at a second, different frequency in a second, different direction. The resonant cavity may have an elongated (e.g. rectangular or elliptical) cross-section, with a long axis parallel to said first direction and a short axis parallel to said second direction.

Abstract: The invention relates to a charged-particle microscope comprising a charged-particle source; a sample holder; a charged-particle lens system; a detector; and a beam pulsing device, for causing the beam to repeatedly switch on and off so as to produce a pulsed beam. The beam pulsing device comprises a unitary resonant cavity disposed about a particle-optical axis and has an entrance aperture and an exit aperture for the beam. The resonant cavity is configured to simultaneously produce a first oscillatory deflection of the beam at a first frequency in a first direction and a second oscillatory deflection of the beam at a second, different frequency in a second, different direction. The resonant cavity may have an elongated (e.g. rectangular or elliptical) cross-section, with a long axis parallel to said first direction and a short axis parallel to said second direction.

Abstract: The invention relates to an electrostatic beam blanker for a particle-optical apparatus, in which the blanker is used to generate a train of pulses with a fixed repetition rate. Such pulse trains with a sub-picosecond pulse length are for example used in the study of chemistry in the femtosecond scale. The beam blanker according to the invention uses a resonant structure, as a result of which the voltage is amplified by the quality factor Q of the resonant structure. During each zero-crossing of the signal, thus twice per period of the resonant frequency, the beam is transmitted, and the beam is blanked during the rest of the time. In a preferred embodiment the resonant structure comprises a transmission line. Impedance matching of signal source and resonant structure may be performed by tuning stubs.

Abstract: The invention relates to an electrostatic beam blanker for a particle-optical apparatus, in which the blanker is used to generate a train of pulses with a fixed repetition rate. Such pulse trains with a sub-picosecond pulse length are for example used in the study of chemistry in the femtosecond scale. The beam blanker according to the invention uses a resonant structure, as a result of which the voltage is amplified by the quality factor Q of the resonant structure. During each zero-crossing of the signal, thus twice per period of the resonant frequency, the beam is transmitted, and the beam is blanked during the rest of the time. In a preferred embodiment the resonant structure comprises a transmission line. Impedance matching of signal source and resonant structure may be performed by tuning stubs.