Patents by Inventor Erwan Sourty

Erwan Sourty has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Method for obtaining a scanning transmission image of a sample in a particle-optical apparatus
    Patent number: 7825378
    Abstract: A method for improving the resolution of STEM images of thick samples. In STEM, the diameter of the cross-over depends on the opening half-angle ? of the beam and can be as low as 0.1 nm. For optimum resolution an opening half-angle is chosen at which the diameter of the cross-over R(?) shows a minimum. For thick samples the resolution is, for those parts of the sample removed from the cross-over plane, limited by the convergence of the beam, resulting in a diameter D of the beam at the surface of the sample. The opening angle is chosen to balance the contribution of convergence and of diameter of the cross-over by choosing an opening half-angle smaller than the optimum opening half-angle. Effectively the sample is then scanned with a beam that has a substantially constant diameter over the length of the sample material through which the electrons have to travel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2010
    Assignee: FEI Company
    Inventors: Alevtyna Yakushevska, Erwan Sourty, Uwe Luecken, Bert Freitag
  • METHOD FOR OBTAINING A SCANNING TRANSMISSION IMAGE OF A SAMPLE IN A PARTICLE-OPTICAL APPARATUS
    Publication number: 20090133167
    Abstract: A method for improving the resolution of STEM images of thick samples. In STEM, the diameter of the cross-over depends on the opening half-angle ? of the beam and can be as low as 0.1 nm. For optimum resolution an opening half-angle is chosen at which the diameter of the cross-over R(?) shows a minimum. For thick samples the resolution is, for those parts of the sample removed from the cross-over plane, limited by the convergence of the beam, resulting in a diameter D of the beam at the surface of the sample. The opening angle is chosen to balance the contribution of convergence and of diameter of the cross-over by choosing an opening half-angle smaller than the optimum opening half-angle. Effectively the sample is then scanned with a beam that has a substantially constant diameter over the length of the sample material through which the electrons have to travel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2008
    Publication date: May 21, 2009
    Applicant: FEI COMPANY
    Inventors: Alevtyna Yakushevska, Bert Freitag, Uwe Luecken, Erwan Sourty