Abstract: In an SEM provided with an ExB deflector for deflecting secondary electrons outside an optical axis of a primary electron beam between an electronic source and an object lens for condensing the primary electron beam and irradiating a sample with the beam, a unit to decelerate the secondary electrons deflected in the ExB deflector, and a magnetic generator for deflecting the decelerated secondary electron are provided, and a plurality of energy filters and detectors are arranged around the magnetic generator. That is, by separating loci of the secondary electrons incident on the energy filters and of the secondary electrons reflected at the energy filters by the magnetic generator, both of the secondary electrons are concurrently detected.

Abstract: An automatic setting method of an observation condition to facilitate analysis of an image and a sample observation method by automatic setting in an observation method of a structure of a sample by the electronic microscope and an electronic microscope having an automatic setting function are provided. The method includes a step of irradiating a fixed position in an observation region with an intermittent pulsed electron beam; a step of detecting a time change of an emission electron from the sample by the intermittent electron beam; and a step of setting the observation condition of the electronic microscope from the time change of the emission electron.

Abstract: The charged particle beam application device is provided with a charged particle source and an objective lens that converges charged particle beam generated by the charged particle source onto a sample. In this case, the charged particle beam application device is further provided with an aberration generating element installed between the charged particle beam source and the objective lens, a tilt-use deflector installed between the aberration generating element and the objective lens, a deflection aberration control unit for controlling the aberration generating element, a first electromagnetic field superposing multipole installed between the aberration generating element and the objective lens, and an electromagnetic field superposing multipole control unit for controlling the first electromagnetic field superposing multipole.

Abstract: An objective of the present invention is to provide a charged particle beam device with which information based on a charged particle which is discharged from a bottom part of high-aspect structure is revealed more than with previous technology. To achieve the objective, proposed is a charged particle beam device comprising: a first orthogonal electromagnetic field generator which deflects charged particles which are discharged from a material; a second orthogonal electromagnetic field generator which further deflects the charged particles which are deflected by the first orthogonal electromagnetic field generator; an aperture forming member having a charged particle beam pass-through aperture; and a third orthogonal electromagnetic field generator which deflects the charged particles which have passed through the aperture forming member.

Abstract: There is provided a charged particle beam apparatus that includes a trajectory monitoring unit which is disposed above an objective lens (14) and which includes an optical element (12) having a lens action and a trajectory correcting deflector (10). An applied voltage and an excitation current of the optical element (12) are set to zero after a trajectory correction of a primary charged particle beam (30). Accordingly, the lens action and an aberration of the optical element (12) have no influence on resolution.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide a charged particle beam apparatus capable of performing high-precision measurement even on a pattern in which a width of edges is narrow and inherent peaks of the edges cannot be easily detected.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus capable of measuring a potential of a sample surface by using a charged particle beam, or of detecting a compensation value of a variation in an apparatus condition which changes due to sample charging, by measuring a sample potential caused by irradiation with the charged particle beam. In order to achieve the object, a method and an apparatus are provided in which charged particle beams (2(a), 2(b)) emitted from a sample (23) are deflected by a charged particle deflector (33) in a state in which the sample (23) is irradiated with a charged particle beam (1), and information regarding a sample potential is detected by using a signal obtained at that time.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a scanning electron microscope for discriminating an angle of an electron ejected from a sample without providing an opening for restricting the angle at outside of an axis. In order to achieve the object described above, there is proposed a scanning electron microscope which includes a deflector to deflect an irradiating position of an electron beam, and a control unit to control the deflector, and further includes a detector to detecting an electron provided by irradiating a sample with the electron beam, an opening configuring member arranged between the detector and the deflector and having an opening for passing the electron beam, and a secondary signal deflector to deflect an electron ejected from the sample, in which the secondary signal deflector is controlled to deflect the electron ejected from the sample toward an opening of passing the electron beam in accordance with a deflection control of the deflector.

Abstract: The invention relates to a technique of improving a contrast of a lower-layer pattern in a multi layer by synthesizing detected signals from a plurality of detectors by using an appropriate allocation ratio in accordance with pattern arrangement. In a charged particle beam device capable of improving image quality by using detected images obtained from a plurality of detectors and in a method of improving the image quality, a method of generating one or more output images from detected images corresponding to respective outputs of the detectors that are arranged at different locations is controlled by using information of a pattern direction, an edge strength, or others calculated from a design data or the detected image.

Abstract: Pattern critical dimension measurement equipment includes an electron source configured to generate a primary electron beam, a deflector configured to deflect the primary electron beam emitted from the electron source, a focusing lens configured to focus the primary electron beam deflected by the deflector, a decelerator configured to decelerate the primary electron beam that irradiates the sample, a first detector located between the electron source and the focusing lens, the first detector being configured to detect electrons at part of azimuths of electrons generated from the sample upon irradiation of the sample with the primary electron beam, and a second detector located between the electron source and the first detector, the second detector being configured to detect electrons at substantially all azimuths of the electrons generated from the sample.

Abstract: An automatic setting method of an observation condition to facilitate analysis of an image and a sample observation method by automatic setting in an observation method of a structure of a sample by the electronic microscope and an electronic microscope having an automatic setting function are provided. The method includes a step of irradiating a fixed position in an observation region with an intermittent pulsed electron beam; a step of detecting a time change of an emission electron from the sample by the intermittent electron beam; and a step of setting the observation condition of the electronic microscope from the time change of the emission electron.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a scanning electron microscope for discriminating an angle of an electron ejected from a sample without providing an opening for restricting the angle at outside of an axis. In order to achieve the object described above, there is proposed a scanning electron microscope which includes a deflector to deflect an irradiating position of an electron beam, and a control unit to control the deflector, and further includes a detector to detecting an electron provided by irradiating a sample with the electron beam, an opening configuring member arranged between the detector and the deflector and having an opening for passing the electron beam, and a secondary signal deflector to deflect an electron ejected from the sample, in which the secondary signal deflector is controlled to deflect the electron ejected from the sample toward an opening of passing the electron beam in accordance with a deflection control of the deflector.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide a scanning electron microscope which forms an electric field to lift up, highly efficiently, electrons discharged from a hole bottom or the like even if a sample surface is an electrically conductive material. To achieve the above object, according to the invention, a scanning electron microscope including a deflector which deflects a scanning position of an electron beam, and a sample stage for loading a sample thereon, is proposed. The scanning electron microscope includes a control device which controls the deflector or the sample stage in such a way that before scanning a beam on a measurement target pattern, a lower layer pattern situated in a lower layer of the measurement target pattern undergoes beam irradiation on another pattern situated in the lower layer.

Abstract: The present invention is characterized by an electron microscope which intermittently applies an electron beam to a sample and detects a secondary electron signal, wherein an arbitrarily defined detection time (T2) shorter than the pulse width (Tp) of the applied electron beam is selected, and a secondary electron image is formed using the secondary electron signal acquired during the detection time. Consequently, it is possible to reflect necessary sample information including the internal structure and laminated interface of the sample in the contrast of an image and prevent unnecessary information from being superimposed on the image, thereby making it possible to obtain the secondary electron image with improved sample information selectivity and image quality.

Abstract: In an SEM provided with an ExB deflector for deflecting secondary electrons outside an optical axis of a primary electron beam between an electronic source and an object lens for condensing the primary electron beam and irradiating a sample with the beam, a unit to decelerate the secondary electrons deflected in the ExB deflector, and a magnetic generator for deflecting the decelerated secondary electron are provided, and a plurality of energy filters and detectors are arranged around the magnetic generator. That is, by separating loci of the secondary electrons incident on the energy filters and of the secondary electrons reflected at the energy filters by the magnetic generator, both of the secondary electrons are concurrently detected.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for measuring a potential on a surface of a sample using a charged particle beam while restraining a change in the potential on the sample induced by the charged particle beam application, or detecting a compensation value for a change in a condition for the apparatus caused by the sample being electrically charged. In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for applying a voltage to a sample so that a charged particle beam does not reach the sample (hereinafter, this may be referred to as “mirror state”) in a state in which the charged particle beam is applied toward the sample, and detecting information relating to a potential on the sample using signals obtained by that voltage application.

Abstract: The present invention provides a charged particle beam apparatus which is provided with a tilting deflector which is disposed between a charged particle source and an objective lens and tilts a charged particle beam, wherein a first optical element includes an electromagnetic quadrupole which generates dispersion to suppress the dispersion which is generated by deflection by the tilting deflector, and a second optical element is composed of a deflector for deflecting the charged particle beam which enters the first optical element or an electromagnetic quadrupole which causes the charged particle beam to generate a dispersion different from the dispersion generated by the first optical element.

Abstract: The present invention is characterized by an electron microscope which intermittently applies an electron beam to a sample and detects a secondary electron signal, wherein an arbitrarily defined detection time (T2) shorter than the pulse width (Tp) of the applied electron beam is selected, and a secondary electron image is formed using the secondary electron signal acquired during the detection time. Consequently, it is possible to reflect necessary sample information including the internal structure and laminated interface of the sample in the contrast of an image and prevent unnecessary information from being superimposed on the image, thereby making it possible to obtain the secondary electron image with improved sample information selectivity and image quality.

Abstract: The charged particle beam apparatus having an opening formation member formed with an opening for passage of a charged particle beam emitted from a charged particle source, and either a detector adapted to detect charged particles having passed through the passage opening or a detector adapted to detect charged particles resulting from bombardment on another member of the charged particles having passed through the opening, comprises an aligner for aligning charged particles discharged from the sample and a control unit for controlling the aligner, wherein the control unit controls the aligner to cause it to shift trajectories of the charged particles discharged from the sample so that length measurement may be executed on the basis of detection signals before and after the alignment by the aligner.

Abstract: The present invention provides a charged particle beam apparatus which is provided with a tilting deflector which is disposed between a charged particle source and an objective lens and tilts a charged particle beam, wherein a first optical element includes an electromagnetic quadrupole which generates dispersion to suppress the dispersion which is generated by deflection by the tilting deflector, and a second optical element is composed of a deflector for deflecting the charged particle beam which enters the first optical element or an electromagnetic quadrupole which causes the charged particle beam to generate a dispersion different from the dispersion generated by the first optical element.