Abstract: A charged particle beam apparatus includes a charged particle beam generating system for causing a charged particle source to generate a charged particle beam. A focusing system focuses the charged particle beam onto a sample. A deflecting system causes the focused charged particle beam to scan the surface of the sample. An evacuating system evacuates a space through which the charged particle beam passes. A detector detects information obtained by irradiating the charged particle beam onto the sample. An image display system displays as an image the status of distribution of the information over the sample surface based on a detection signal forwarded from the detector. The focusing system is entirely constituted by an electrostatic lens containing a plurality of lens electrodes, one of the lens electrodes being a final electrode located closest to the sample.

Abstract: A charged particle beam apparatus includes a charged particle beam generating system for causing a charged particle source to generate a charged particle beam. A focusing system focuses the charged particle beam onto a sample. A deflecting system causes the focused charged particle beam to scan the surface of the sample. An evacuating system evacuates a space through which the charged particle beam passes. A detector detects information obtained by irradiating the charged particle beam onto the sample. An image display system displays as an image the status of distribution of the information over the sample surface based on a detection signal forwarded from the detector. The focusing system is entirely constituted by an electrostatic lens containing a plurality of lens electrodes, one of the lens electrodes being a final electrode located closest to the sample.

Abstract: An industrial compact synchrotron radiation source includes, for the purpose of prolonging lifetime of a charged particle beam, beam absorbers made of a material having a low photodesorption yield and disposed inside a bending section/vacuum chamber at at least positions upon which the synchrotron radiation is irradiated, and electrically conductive beam stabilizers disposed at positions inside the bending section/vacuum chamber which are distant by a predetermined distance from an orbit of the charged particle beam toward the outer circumferential wall of the bending section/vacuum chamber.

Abstract: The present invention consists in that a nitrogen gas line and a liquid nitrogen line are subjected to hot-blast baking with clean nitrogen gas and a gas containing oxygen, whereby outgasses such as moisture to develop from heat exchangers, valves and piping can be excluded. Moreover, in order to obtain nitrogen gas of very high purity, liquid nitrogen of low contents of high-boiling components as subjected to rectifying separation is derived and gasified, and the liquid nitrogen is introduced into co-adsorbers so as to absorb and remove carbon monoxide difficult of separation by the rectifying separation, whereupon the liquid nitrogen and the nitrogen gas are obtained as products.

Abstract: This invention concerns a production method and a processing apparatus for semiconductor devices, as well as an evacuating apparatus used for the processing apparatus. According to this invention, since the evacuation system of pressure-reduction processing apparatus for conducting various wafer processings during production steps of semiconductor devices is constituted only with oil-free vacuum pump, deleterious oil contaminations or carbonation products of oils produced from oils upon heating are not present in the pressure-reducing processing chamber as compared with conventional pressure-reducing processing apparatus using a vacuum oil pump as an evacuation pump and the production method of semiconductor devices using such apparatus.

Abstract: Since a peripheral-flow pump according to the present invention has a peripheral-flow impeller having a cylindrical staircase shape whose outer diameter increases in one direction only like a staircase, a stator, which conventionally has been of a complicated configuration composed of two pieces, can be formed into an integral molding without any deterioration in pump performance. Accordingly, the production of pumps is facilitated.

Abstract: An industrial compact synchrotron radiation source includes, for the purpose of prolonging lifetime of a charged particle beam, beam absorbers made of a material having a low photodesorption yield and disposed inside a bending section/vacuum chamber at at least positions upon which the synchrotron radiation is irradiated, and electrically conductive beam stabilizers disposed at positions inside the bending section/vacuum chamber which are distant by a predetermined distance from an orbit of the charged particle beam toward the outer circumferential wall of the bending section/vacuum chamber.

Abstract: An industrial compact synchrotron radiation source which can improve vacuum evacuation performance to prolong life-time of a charged particle beam and supply highly intensive stable synchrotron radiation. In the source, a charged particle beam bending duct forming a vacuum chamber through which the charged particle beam circulates is encompassed by a bending electromagnet, and at least one SR guide duct for guiding the radiation to outside extends from the outer circumferential wall of the bending duct. The SR guide duct is connected through a gate valve to an SR beam line duct for guiding the SR beam to an object to be worked and a vacuum pump is disposed on the side, close to an orbit of the charged particle beam, of the gate valve. The SR guide duct extending from the outer circumferential wall of the bending duct takes a form of a divergent duct which is widened in accordance with a spreading angle of the SR beam traveling through the SR guide duct.

Abstract: This invention concerns a production method and a processing apparatus for semiconductor devices, as well as an evacuating apparatus used for the processing apparatus. According to this invention, since the evacuation system of pressure-reduction processing apparatus for conducting various wafer processings during production steps of semi-conductor devices is constituted only with oil-free vacuum pump, deleterious oil contaminations or carbonation products of oils produced from oils upon heating are not present in the pressure-reducing processing chamber as compared with conventional pressure-reducing processing apparatus using a vacuum oil pump as an evacuation pump and the production method of semiconductor devices using such apparatus.

Abstract: A turbomolecular pump for evacuating a space by a plurality of turbine grooves located on a rotor and a stator located in face-to-face relationship to the rotor, with the turbine grooves, including rotor grooves on an outer peripheral surface of a rotor extending peripherally at a predetermined angle with respect to the axis of the rotor, and stator grooves on a surface of a stator facing the rotor which extend at the same angle as the rotor grooves but are oriented in an opposite direction to the rotor grooves. The rotor grooves and stator grooves overlap in part as viewed axially of the rotor. A pumping action is performed by surfaces of blades of an axial flow turbomolecular pump and a pumping action is performed by the rotor and the bottom surface of the groove of a helical groove turbomolecular pump, whereby a high compression ratio and a high gas discharge or evacuation speed can be achieved.