Abstract: In an X-ray analysis apparatus and an X-ray analysis method, a quantitative analysis is stably performed by stably behaving an X-ray source. There are possessed an X-ray tubular bulb irradiating a primary X-ray to a sample, a primary X-ray adjustment mechanism capable of adjusting an intensity of the primary X-ray, an X-ray detector detecting a characteristic X-ray radiated from the sample, thereby outputting a signal including energy informations of the characteristic X-ray and a scattered X-ray, an analyzer analyzing the above signal, and an incident X-ray adjustment mechanism disposed between the sample and the X-ray detector, and capable of adjusting a total intensity of the characteristic X-ray and the scattered x-ray, which are entered to the X-ray detector.

Abstract: A wafer holder includes: a frame-shaped holder main body which has an opening at its center and carries a wafer on its upper surface; guide members which contact the outer periphery of the wafer placed on the holder main body and position the wafer on the holder main body; and cross section sample holding members which are disposed on an outer circumference of the holder main body and holds a cross section sample produced from the wafer. Each of the cross section sample holding members includes plate-shaped sample stands to which the cross section sample is fixed, and fixing stands each of which is detachably attached to the holder main body and pinches the sample stand such that the sample stand is attachable to and detachable from the fixing stand.

Abstract: An opaque defect is processed by scanning with a high load or height fixed mode using a probe harder than a pattern material of a photomask at the time of going scanning, and is observed by scanning with a low load or intermittent contact mode at the time of returning scanning so as to detect an ending point of the opaque defect by the height information. When there is a portion reaching to a glass substrate as an ending point, this portion is not scanned by the high load or height fixed mode in the next processing, and only a portion not reaching to the ending point is scanned by the high load or height fixed mode.

Abstract: A preliminary processing technology for a sample locally cuts out a sample part of a device to be analyzed and processes it into a needle-like projection, and a technology of realizing SAP analysis on an atomic level by ensuring stabilized ion evaporation sequentially even in the case of a sample of multilayer structure including an element layer of small evaporation electric field. The preliminary processing method for a sample used on atom probe apparatus comprises a step for cutting the desired observing part of the sample into a block using an FIB equipment, a step for transferring the sample block onto a sample substrate and fixing the sample block in place, and a step for processing the sample block fixed onto the sample substrate into a needle-point shape by FIB etching. The sample processed into a needle-point shape is shaped such that the layer direction of the multilayer structure becomes parallel to the longitudinal direction of the needle.

Abstract: Detected is a secondary electron generated by irradiating a focused ion beam while performing etching a sample section and the around through scan-irradiating the focused ion beam. From a changing amount of the detected secondary electron signal an end-point detecting mechanism detects an end point to thereby terminate the etching, so that a center position of a defect or a contact hole is effectively detected even with an FIB apparatus not having a SEM observation function.

Abstract: In a method of measuring a thin film sample of irradiating an electron beam to a thin film sample, detecting a generated secondary electron and measuring a film thickness of the thin film sample by utilizing the secondary electron, it is provided that the film thickness is measured accurately, in a short period of time and easily even when a current amount of the irradiated electron beam is varied. An electron beam 2b is irradiated, and a generated secondary electron 4 is detected by a secondary electron detector 6. A calculated value constituted by an amount of a secondary electron detected at a film thickness measuring region and an amount of a secondary electron detected at a reference region is calculated by first calculating means 11. A film thickness of the film thickness measuring region can be calculated from a calibration data of a standard thin film sample and the calculated value calculated by a sample 5.

Abstract: A processing apparatus uses a focused charged particle beam to process a micro sample that is supported on a micro mount part. The micro mount part is supported on a micro sample stage and locally cooled by a cooling unit. The micro mount part is thermally independent of the micro sample stage and, due to its small size, can be cooled rapidly by the cooling unit.

Abstract: A working method of performing beam assist deposition or beam assist etching of a sample comprises irradiating a focused charged particle beam onto a region of the sample, and blowing a predetermined gas through a gas blowing nozzle toward the sample region while the focused charged particle beam passes through a passage in a side portion of the gas blowing nozzle and irradiates the sample region. The passage may be a slot provided in the side portion of the gas blowing nozzle such that the focused charged particle beam passes through an inside of the slot. The slot terminates at one end near a tip of the gas blowing nozzle, and the one end of the slot terminates at and opens into the interior of the gas blowing nozzle.

Abstract: A method of approaching a probe to a target position on a sample mounted on a sample stage tilted at a preselected tilt angle about a tilt axis of the sample stage. A distance between the tip of the probe and the target position of the sample is observed with a charged particle beam microscope while approaching the tip of the probe to the target position on the sample. The probe is moved in a direction so that on a display of the charged particle beam microscope, the tip of the probe and the tip of a shadow of the probe on the sample coincide at the target position on the sample.

Abstract: A problem to be resolved by the invention resides in providing a multifunction analyzing apparatus for detecting a shape with high resolution and physical property information capable of not only successively reading a base arrangement from end to end but also specifying a position hybridized by known RNA with regard to a single piece of DNA elongated in one direction on a board. A microscope system of the invention is provided with a fluorescence microscope, a scanning near field microscope and a scanning probe microscope as a detecting system, the microscopes are fixed to a switching mechanism and can be moved to a position at which the various microscopes can observe the same portion of a sample by switching operation of the mechanism. The microscope system of the invention is provided with a function capable of directly detecting a shape and physical property information of one piece of DNA by the scanning probe microscope by multifunction scanning.

Abstract: When an X-ray focused by using an X-ray lens is irradiated to a sample, there is generated an X-ray halo component at the peripheral part of the focal point of the focused X-ray in the sample and, by this, precision of an analysis of a microscopic region becomes an issue. In order to control the shape of the X-rays from the X-ray lens, a collimator is installed between the X-ray lens and the sample, with an opening part having a tapering shape in which the opening at the side toward the sample is made smaller than that at the side toward the X-ray lens.

Abstract: A thermal analysis apparatus possesses has a cylindrical furnace tube axially inserted in a cylindrical heating furnace, and a pair of sample holders extending axially inside the furnace tube. The furnace tube is supported by two axially spaced groups of butting members, each group having three or more butting members that are disposed in circumferentially spaced-apart relationship on the outside of the furnace tube and that butt against the furnace tube to restrain positional deviation thereof in a radial direction while permitting expansion and contraction thereof in the axial direction during heating of the furnace tube by the heating furnace.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a split probe tip on a cantilever comprises providing a cantilever having a surface on which is formed a probe that projects outwardly from the surface at one end of the cantilever, irradiating and scanning a tip of the probe with a focused particle beam directed in a direction that is inclined relative to the surface of the cantilever to obtain an image of the probe tip, and determining the center of the probe tip from the image of the probe tip. Then a first channel is formed in the probe tip at the center thereof by irradiating and scanning the center of the probe tip with a focused particle beam to form a split probe tip having two spaced-apart probe tip parts.

Abstract: The present invention provides a probe for a scanning magnetic force microscope having a resolution sufficient to allow observation of a magnetic storage medium with 1200 kFCI or higher recording densities, a method for producing the probe, and a method for forming a ferromagnetic alloy film on a carbon nanotube. In the context of the present invention, the probe for a scanning magnetic force microscope comprises a carbon nanotube whose surface is at least in part coated with a ferromagnetic alloy film consisting of any one of a Co—Fe alloy and a Co—Ni alloy, wherein the arithmetic mean roughness (Ra 10 ?m) of the surface of the ferromagnetic alloy film is controlled to 1.15 nm or less. A method for producing such probes for a scanning magnetic force microscope and a method for forming such a ferromagnetic alloy film on a carbon nanotube, so as to achieve such mean surface roughness by controlling the growth rate of the ferromagnetic alloy film within the range of 1.0 to 2.5 nm/min, is also disclosed.

Abstract: A computer sets a process area based on an image obtained by observing a mask, and determines the positions of representative points that form a contour of the process area for each pixel with sub-pixel accuracy that is better than a pixel, the position of each of the representative points being able to be set to either the center position of the pixel or a position displaced therefrom. Furthermore, for the pixels within the process area, the computer sets the center positions of the pixels as the representative points and corrects the positions of the representative points of the pixels within the process area on a sub-pixel basis such that nonuniformity between the representative points is reduced.

Abstract: After a scan area for observing or processing a mask is set, a computer of the charged particle beam apparatus determines a plurality of scan lines in the scan area by the following steps of: setting a scan line along the outer circumference of the scan area; determining a scan line inside and along the thus set scan line; determining a scan line inside and along the thus determined scan line; and repeating the step of determining a scan line. After the scan lines are determined, the computer controls a scanning circuit to apply an ion beam to the scan lines while thinning out scan lines and/or pixels.

Abstract: In a method for fabricating a nanometer-scale structure by arranging nanotubes in a predetermined direction at a predetermined position, the method for fabricating a nanometer-scale structure comprises a first step of planarizing a substrate by etching a predetermined part by irradiating a focused energy beam to the sample, a second step of decomposing and depositing an organic gas into a columnar structure with an objective of determining the position and direction, and a third step of attaching and fixing the nanotube by using the thus deposited columnar structure as a standard of position and direction.

Abstract: A laser mark which will be the positioning mark for a secondary charged particle image in the charged particle beam apparatus is applied by moving the sample processing/observation area in the charged particle beam apparatus so as to come into the view field while performing an observation by an infrared microscope, and by a using a laser optical system disposed coaxially with an optical observation system, the mark made at the periphery of the processing/observation object area. Next, by a superposition of an infrared transmission image and a CAD data, the processing/observation object area and the laser mark are registered onto the CAD data. And, by a correlation of the registered data read from the charged particle beam apparatus and the secondary charged particle image, it is possible to accurately and easily determine the processing position.

Abstract: There is provided a differential scanning calorimeter possessing an accommodation chamber accommodating a sample to be measured and a reference material, a heater heating the accommodation chamber, a differential heat flow detector outputting a temperature difference between the sample to be measured and the reference material as a heat flow difference signal, a cooling block cooling-controlled to a predetermined temperature, a heat resistor which mechanically connects the cooling block and the accommodation chamber and forms a heat flow path between both, a first fixation means which fixes the heat resistor to the cooling block by pressing the former while being biased by a constant elastic force, and a second fixation means which fixes the accommodation chamber to the heat resistor by pressing the former while being biased by a constant elastic force.

Abstract: To measure surface information and physical information of a sample with high accuracy by promoting linearity in Z direction by nullifying cross talk in XY directions as less as possible, there is provided a surface information measuring apparatus including a probe having a stylus, a Z actuator fixed with the probe for being elongated and contracted in Z direction orthogonal to a sample surface B when applied with a voltage, an applicator for applying the voltage to the Z actuator, and a controller for controlling to operate the applicator, in which the Z actuator includes a piezoelectric member capable of being elongated and contracted in Z direction and a plurality of divided electrodes provided to be respectively electrically independent from each other in a state of being divided by at least 3 or more in a peripheral direction at an inner peripheral face or an outer peripheral face of the piezoelectric member for applying voltages to elongate and contract the piezoelectric member within ranges of contact