Vacuum Environment (epo) Patents (Class 850/16)
  • Patent number: 11757428
    Abstract: This invention provides electromechanical resonators based on metal chalcogenide nanotubes. The invention further provides methods of fabrication of electromechanical resonators and methods of use of such electromechanical resonators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: YEDA RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CO. LTD.
    Inventors: Reshef Tenne, Ernesto Joselevich, Yiftach Divon, Roi Levi, Assaf Yaakobovitz, Dan Yudilevich
  • Patent number: 11668746
    Abstract: Systems, devices, and methods for performing a non-contact electrical measurement (NCEM) on a NCEM-enabled cell included in a NCEM-enabled cell vehicle may be configured to perform NCEMs while the NCEM-enabled cell vehicle is moving. The movement may be due to vibrations in the system and/or movement of a movable stage on which the NCEM-enabled cell vehicle is positioned. Position information for an electron beam column producing the electron beam performing the NCEMs and/or for the moving stage may be used to align the electron beam with targets on the NCEM-enabled cell vehicle while it is moving.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: PDF SOLUTIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Indranil De, Marian Mankos, Dennis Ciplickas, Christopher Hess, Jeremy Cheng, Balasubramanian Murugan, Qi Hu
  • Patent number: 11574795
    Abstract: A UI image includes a reference image, which includes a background image and a schematic image. The background image corresponds to a cross section of a specimen having a multilayer structure. The schematic image includes a figure indicating an electron penetration depth, a figure indicating a characteristic X-ray generation depth, and a figure indicating a back-scattered electron generation depth. These figures are displayed in an overlapping manner or in parallel to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: JEOL Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazutaka Watakabe
  • Patent number: 11545338
    Abstract: A charged particle beam apparatus with a charged particle source to generate a primary charged particle beam, a sample holder to hold a sample for impingement of the primary charged particle beam on the sample, a pulsed laser configured to generate a pulsed light beam for impingement onto an area on the sample, and an electrode to collect electrons emitted from the sample in a non-linear photoemission.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: ICT Integrated Circuit Testing Gesellschaft für Halbleiterriftechnik mbH
    Inventors: Dominik Patrick Ehberger, John Breuer, Alex Goldenshtein
  • Patent number: 11513079
    Abstract: Methods for locating and characterizing defects can include performing a first scan of a substrate to produce a first defect map including a first set of coordinates of one or more defects of the substrate and performing a second scan of one or more regions of the substrate associated with the defects based on the first defect map to produce one or more electron channeling contrast (ECC) images of the defects. Characterization of the defects can be based on the ECC images alone or in combination with other techniques. Such methods can include determining a second set of coordinates associated with the one or more defects based on the ECC images and directing an ion beam toward the substrate and milling the substrate based on the second set of coordinates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: FEI Company
    Inventors: Roger Alvis, John Fretwell, Laurens Kwakman, Tomas Vystavel
  • Patent number: 11515118
    Abstract: Provided is an electron beam irradiation apparatus including: an aligner configured to perform an alignment of an electron beam by deflecting the electron beam; a deflector having a plurality of electrodes and configured to deflect the electron beam after passing through the aligner; and an adjuster configured to adjust deflection caused by the aligner, wherein the adjuster is configured to perform, on each of the plurality of electrodes, detecting an image of the electron beam by applying a test voltage to one of the plurality of electrodes and applying a reference voltage to the other electrodes, determine a position shift of the electron beam based on each position of the image of the electron beam corresponding to each electrode, and adjust deflection of the aligner so as to cancel the position shift of the electron beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenji Watanabe, Shinichi Okada, Ryo Tajima, Tsutomu Karimata
  • Patent number: 11474009
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a sample transfer apparatus (100) for transferring a sample holder (200) into and out of a vacuum chamber (810), comprising: a holding device (110) including at least one cam (120) configured to cooperate with at least one follower (210) of a sample holder (200), wherein the at least one cam (120) includes a curved track having an open end portion (122), a locking portion (126), a locking track portion (124) and a releasing track portion (128), wherein the locking track portion (124) and the releasing track portion (128) respectively connect the open end portion (122) and the locking portion (126), wherein the curved track is configured such that the at least one follower (210) of the sample holder (200) is guided from the open end portion (122) to the locking portion (126) via the locking track portion (124) for attaching the sample holder (200) to the holding device (110), and wherein the curved track is further configured such that the at least one follower (210) of the sa
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: KIUTRA GMBH
    Inventors: Alexander Regnat, Jan Spallek, Klaus Eibensteiner
  • Patent number: 11459232
    Abstract: The present disclosure addresses methods to refine the geometry of micro features manufactured in various substrates. Such refinement includes improvement in edge roughness and roughness of aperture channel walls. The methods include deposition of material onto feature edges and surfaces as well as placement of micro fabricated inserts into coarse features. Foremost among the candidate technologies that can be employed for these purposes are two photon polymerization-based 3D nano printing and atomic force microscope nanopipette-based electroplating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Inventors: Dennis Willard Davis, Gary James Gaggiani, James Grant Wallin
  • Patent number: 11411551
    Abstract: This invention provides electromechanical resonators based on metal chalcogenide nanotubes. The invention further provides methods of fabrication of electromechanical resonators and methods of use of such electromechanical resonators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignees: YEDA RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CO. LTD., B. G. NEGEV TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS LTD., AT BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Reshef Tenne, Ernesto Joselevich, Yiftach Divon, Roi Levi, Assaf Yaakobovitz, Dan Yudilevich
  • Patent number: 9272377
    Abstract: An assembling device (a production system) includes robots that produce a piping component from a plurality of types of parts, and a display that accepts an input of lot information of at least one of the plurality of parts used in producing operations by the first to third robots and that outputs unsuitable condition information when an unsuitable condition in any of the parts is detected, the unsuitable condition information identifying a lot of the any of the parts in which the unsuitable condition is detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA YASKAWA DENKI
    Inventor: Tetsuya Miyoshi
  • Patent number: 9190245
    Abstract: A charged particle beam writing apparatus includes an emission unit to emit a charged particle beam, a stage to mount thereon a target object to be written, an objective lens to focus the charged particle beam on a surface of the target object, a chamber to house the stage, a measurement unit to measure a partial pressure of a predetermined gas in the chamber in a state where a pressure inside the chamber is controlled to be lower than an atmospheric pressure, and an adjustment unit to adjust a focus position for focusing the charged particle beam on the target object, based on the partial pressure of the predetermined gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Assignee: NuFlare Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Tomoo Motosugi, Takayuki Ohnishi, Kaoru Tsuruta, Kenji Ohtoshi
  • Patent number: 7888655
    Abstract: The invention relates to a transfer mechanism for transferring a specimen (2) from a first position in a first holder (40) to a second position in a second holder (10) and/or vice versa, each holder (10, 40) equipped to detachably hold the specimen, the transfer of the specimen between the holders taking place in a transfer position different from the second position, characterized in that when the specimen is transferred between the holders (10, 40) a mechanical guidance mechanism positions the holders with a mutual accuracy higher than the mutual accuracy in the second position, and said mechanical guidance mechanism not positioning at least one of the holders (10, 40) when the specimen is in the second position. The mechanical guidance mechanism may comprise extra parts (50). At least one of the holders (40) may be equipped to hold a multitude of specimens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2011
    Assignee: FEI Company
    Inventors: Erik Pieter van Gaasbeek, Pleun Dona, Gerbert Jeroen van de Water, Johannes Antonius Maria van den Oetelaar, Paul Johannes Leonardes Barends, Ian Johannes Bernardus van Hees
  • Publication number: 20090260112
    Abstract: A method of operating a focused ion beam device for emitting during operation a focused ion beam including ions of a gas generated at a first partial pressure, comprising cleaning an emitter tip positioned in an emitter tip region of the focused ion beam device, the cleaning comprises introducing the gas into the emitter tip region such that the gas has a second partial pressure of at least two times the first pressure. Further, a focused ion beam device is provided, comprising a gas field emitter tip (13) in an emitter tip region emitting an ion beam including ions of a gas, a gas inlet for supplying a gas with different pressures (110), a gas outlet (120), a pressure measurement device for measuring the pressure in the emitter tip region and a control unit (130) for controlling switching between an operation mode and a cleaning mode, further controlling the pressures in the emitter tip region and being connected to the pressure measurement device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 8, 2009
    Publication date: October 15, 2009
    Inventors: Dieter WINKLER, Udo WEIGEL, Stefan GRIMM
  • Publication number: 20090242763
    Abstract: The invention relates to an environmental cell for use in e.g. an electron microscope. The environmental cell shows an aperture (15) for passing the beam produced by the electron microscope to a sample (6) placed inside the environmental cell. The environmental cell according to the invention is characterized in that a part of the environmental cell (14) is transparent to secondary radiation such as back-scattered electrons or X-rays. This enables the detection of this radiation by a detector placed outside the environmental cell and thus a much simpler construction of the cell.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2009
    Publication date: October 1, 2009
    Applicant: FEI COMPANY
    Inventor: Bart Buijsse