Abstract: A secondary-ion mass spectrometry apparatus using a field limiting method includes an optical system for primary ions, a sample chamber, and an optical system for secondary ions, and a total ion monitor (TIM) interposed between an electric sector and a magnetic sector of the optical system for secondary ions. A field-limited image (or TIM image) from the TIM can be observed or monitored continually by a CRT, thereby making it possible to grasp quantitatively the charging state of a sample surface. The apparatus may further include an adjuster for adjusting quantatively the charging state of the sample surface.

Abstract: A secondary ion mass analyzing apparatus is suitable for a depth directional analysis of a specimen. The apparatus includes means for forming an image of said secondary ions, an aperture disposed on a position in which the secondary ion image is formed, means for detecting the secondary ions which have passed through the aperture and for converting the detected ions into electrical signals, and means for displaying an image of said aperture based on the electrical signals. In such a manner, the aperture is disposed on the secondary ion image forming position. The image of the aperture is displayed on the image displaying apparatus by using the secondary ions which have passed through the aperture. If the ion image is not formed on the position of the aperture, the contour of the aperture image would be unclear while if the ion image is formed on the position of the aperture, the contour of the aperture image would be clear.

Abstract: A composite apparatus is disclosed which includes in combination a secondary ion mass spectrometry instrument and a scanning electron microscope. A liquid metal ion source and an ion source other than the liquid metal ion source are installed in the same apparatus so that an ion beam emitted from the liquid metal ion source and an ion beam emitted from the ion source other than the liquid metal ion source are aligned with each other on a primary beam axis which is an optical axis of an irradiating system. The liquid metal ion source is disposed in rear of a primary ion separating device which mass-separates the ion beam emitted from the ion source other than the liquid metal ion source. Further, an electron gun is installed in the same apparatus so that an electron beam emitted from the electron gun is aligned with the ion beam on the primary beam axis.

Abstract: A method of neutralizing an accumulated charge on a surface of a specimen which is examined in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) or a scanning ion microprobe mass analyzer (IMA), utilizes an electrically conductive thin film deposited on a part of the specimen surface. The charge is due to irradiation by a primary charged particle beam from the SEM or IMA. The thin film is made conductivity with a specimen mount mounting the specimen, and the irradiating range of the primary beam covers at least a part of the thin film. Thus, the accumulated charge can be neutralized, thereby a resolution of the SEM being improved due to applying higher accelerating voltage for the primary beam, and measured data of higher reliability being obtained in the IMA.

Abstract: A charged particle source for emitting a positive ion or electron by applying a positive or negative potential to a tip electrode covered with a liquid substance is disclosed in which mechanical vibration is applied to the tip electrode so that a favorable standing wave is formed in the liquid substance, to vary the shape of a charged-particle emitting portion of the liquid substance periodically, thereby changing the intensity of an emitted, charged-particle beam periodically, and thus a pulsed beam having a repetition rate up to the GHz band can be obtained without increasing the energy dispersion of the beam.

Abstract: An EHD ion source includes an extractor and a control electrode with extractor being disposed below a tip of an electrode, and functioning to apply an electric field to a substance to-be-ionized wetting a pointed end of the tip, so as to derive ions from the pointed tip end. The control electrode is disposed in the vicinity of the pointed end of the tip, and it functions to apply an electric field to the substance to-be-ionized in its molten state so as to supply the pointed tip end with the substance to-be-ionized in a suitable amount. As a result, a great ion current which is substantially proportional to an extracting voltage can be derived from the pointed tip end.

Abstract: A charged particle beam apparatus is disclosed, which comprises a charged particle source; focusing means for focusing a charged particle beam emitted by the charged particle source on a sample and irradiating it therewith; deflecting means for deflecting the charged particle beam so as to scan the sample therewith; secondary ion separating means disposed approximately symmetrically with respect to the axis of the charged particle beam at the proximity of said sample and separating positive and negative secondary ions generated by the irradiation of the sample into positive and negative ions; and mass analyzers for analyzing the mass of the separated positive and negative secondary ions, respectively.

Abstract: Positive and negative particles are emitted from the same emission portion of a charged particle source. In a charged particle optical system, the ions or electrons having a particularly energy among the emitted charged particles are selectively passed and their blanking is performed. The magnetic field strength and electric strength in the charged particle optical system are preferably controlled by an E.times.B type mass separator or quadrupole mass separator provided in the charged particle optical system.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method of holding an electrically insulating sample to be bombarded with a corpuscular beam. It is desired that the electrically insulating sample is not charged up when it is placed under the bombardment of the corpuscular beam. To achieve this problem to be solved, an electrically conductive metallic material is placed in a liquefied form on a support member, and the electrically insulating sample is buried in the metallic material except at least the portion that is to be bombarded with the corpuscular beam.

Abstract: This invention relates to a liquid metal ion source which melts a source material and extracts ions. Stable extraction of ions of at least one element selected from among As, P and B for a long period of time can be attained by using as a source material an alloy having a composition represented by the formula L.sub.X R.sub.Y M.sub.A wherein X, Y and A each stands for atomic percentage; L at least one element selected from among Pt, Pd and Ag; R at least one element selected from among As, P and B; M at least one element selected from among Ge, Si and Sb; 5<A<50; 40<X<70; and X+Y+A=100.

Abstract: A mixture of an alkali metal compound and its reducing agent is heated by a heating means, whereby alkali metal vapors are generated and stored in a vapor reserver. The thus stored vapors permeate through a porous member heated by another heating means and are ionized. The thus formed ions are withdrawn by an ion withdrawal means.

Abstract: In an ion micro beam apparatus which consists of an ion source, a beam focusing system which accelerates, focuses, mass-separates and deflects the ions emitted from said ion source, and a specimen plate for finely moving the specimen, the improvement comprising a mass separator which is constituted by: at least two stages of focusing lenses in said beam focusing system; four stages of E.times.B deflectors arranged between the two stages of lenses, each of said E.times.B deflectors being comprised of a pair of electrodes and a pair of magnetic pole pieces to generate an electric field and a magnetic field in the directions perpendicular to an ion optical axis, wherein among the four stages of E.times.B deflectors, the electric fields and magnetic fields generated by the E.times.B deflectors of the second and third stages as counted from the side of the ion source are set to be in parallel with, but opposite to, the electric field and magnetic field generated by the E.times.

Abstract: A hybrid charged particle apparatus includes a charged particle source which is made up of a field-emission electron source for emitting an electron beam, a liquid-metal ion source for emitting an ion beam, and changeover means for replacing one of the electron and ion sources by the other at a predetermined place without varying a vacuum state, hybrid focusing/deflecting means for focusing and deflecting each of the electron beam and the ion beam electrostatically and electromagnetically to irradiate a specimen with each of the electron beam and the ion beam, and image observing means for detecting secondary charged particles emitted from the specimen and for observing an image of a specimen surface formed by the secondary charged particles.

Abstract: A liquid metal ion source is disclosed, wherein it comprises an ion emitter tip, ion source material holder means holding ion source material for supplying liquid metal ion source material to said ion emitter tip, ion extracting means for extracting ions from said ion emitter tip, when a voltage is applied between the ion extracting means and the ion emitter tip, the pulsing means for pulsing the relative voltage applied between the ion extracting means and the ion emitter tip. A DC voltage corresponding to the threshold voltage V.sub.th for ion beam extraction is applied between the ion emitter tip and the extracting electrode, what permits to extract an ion beam having a high current density by superposing a pulsed voltage on the DC voltage.

Abstract: The invention is concerned with a power supply for the lens for fine adjustment among the beam-focusing lenses in an ion microbeam apparatus, and is concerned with the control thereof. In this ion microbeam apparatus, the power supply is provided for the lens for fine adjustment in addition to the power supply for the lens for rough adjustment. The power supply is served with a potential that so controls the beam as to have an optimum diameter, responsive to the signals from the ion beam detector and from the beam deflector means.

Abstract: An apparatus for implanting an ion microbeam consists of an ion source; a beam-focusing system which accelerates ions emitted from the ion source, focuses the ions, separates the ions by mass, and deflects the ions; and a sample plate which minutely moves a sample. A Wien filter in which a uniform electric field intersects a uniform magnetic field at right angles is used to separate the ions by mass in the beam-focusing system. A linear optical axis is bent in the Wien filter so that the axis of the ion beam emitted from the ion source intersects the axis of an ion beam implanted into the sample.

Abstract: An ion source includes an ion source material holder adapted to load an ion source material thereon and having an aperture at the bottom thereof, an ion emitter mounted on the ion source material holder at the aperture, heating means for heating the ion source material holder and the ion emitter, and an ion extracting electrode for extracting an ion beam from the ion emitter. The ion emitter is made of a mixture of a material having a large work function and a material having a small work function, in order to be able to emit both positive ions and negative ions from the ion emitter. The polarity of a voltage applied between the ion emitter and the ion extracting electrode is changed so that one of the positive ion beam and the negative ion beam can be selectively extracted from the ion emitter.

Abstract: The surface of a specimen such as a semiconductor wafer is processed and analyzed by the irradiator of the surface with an ion beam. The zone of the specimen to be processed and analyzed is kept by heating at a temperature higher than the melting point of an element or compound forming the ion species used for the irradiation. The means used for this heating may be an electron beam source, a light source, a resistance heating source, or a high-frequency heating source.

Abstract: A liquid metal ion source has a reservoir which holds a source material to-be-ionized in a melted state; an emitter which emits from its tip, ions of the melted source material fed from the reservoir; and an extracting electrode which applies a high electric field to the tip of the emitter, thereby to extract the ions from the tip of the emitter. The liquid metal ion source further comprises tank means for storing the source material to be fed to the reservoir, transfer means for transferring the source material from the tank means to the reservoir, and a vacuum chamber for holding the constituents in a vacuum state.

Abstract: An ion source is disclosed in which a crucible for holding an ion source material is provided with an aperture in its bottom wall, an emitter chip is disposed within the crucible in a coaxial manner so that the edge of the emitter chip passes through the aperture, a semi-closed crucible made of a conductive material and having the form of a circular cone is disposed in the vicinity of the tip of the emitter chip so as to be coaxial with the emitter chip and to have the same electric potential as the emitter chip, a filament for emitting an electron beam is disposed in the vicinity of the emitter chip, an ion extracting electrode is disposed at a place which is a little spaced apart from the tip of the emitter chip, and a lid is inserted into the ion source material holding part so as to be placed on the above-mentioned semi-closed crucible, thereby preventing the ion source material from being scattered by evaporation.