Abstract: The invention relates to a method and apparatus for dimension measurement and inspection of structures having a high aspect ratio, wherein a corpuscular beam is directed onto an interesting feature of the structure and backscattered corpuscles and/or secondary corpuscles released by the corpuscular beam are detected and evaluated. To increase the detection efficiency surroundings of the interesting feature are removed before measurement and inspection thereof.

Abstract: An optical unit having an electrostatic lens for influencing a particle beam wherein the lens has at least one first and one second electrode downstream of one another in the direction of the particle beam, each of the electrodes being chargeable with a potential and in electrical contact with a high-resistance body having a channel therethrough for the particle beam. A further component is provided for influencing the particle beam in the region of the electrostatic lens.

Abstract: The invention relates to a gun lens for generating a particle beam with a cathode, an extraction electrode, an anode and a condenser lens, wherein a deceleration field is generated between the extraction electrode and the anode and the condenser lens produces a magnetic field which is superimposed on both the cathode, the extraction electrode and the anode.

Abstract: The invention relates to a detector objective lens and a charged particle am device with such a detector objective lens containing a main lens for focussing a charged particle beam on a specimen, which consists of a magnetic lens (60) and an electrostatic lens (61) and a detector (62) disposed in front of the magnetic lens (60) in the direction of the charged particle beam (2) for detecting the charged particles released at the specimen (8). An additional lens is provided for influencing the released charged particles, which generates an electrostatic and/or magnetic field and is disposed between the main lens and the detector, the fields of the main lens and said additional lens being substantially separated from each other.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and to apparatus for processing a specimen, particularly an integrated circuit, in which an area of the specimen to be processed is scanned with a corpuscular beam and at least one gas is supplied above the area to be processed so that with the aid of the corpuscular beam a chemical reaction takes place on the area to be processed. The processing speed can be markedly increased by the use of a magnetic field in the region of the probe.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method as well as to apparatus for testing the function of microstructure elements, wherein the microstructure element is driven for testing the emission and/or mechanical properties and the corpuscles emitted or reflected by it are detected and evaluated.

Abstract: The invention relates to apparatus for generating an electron beam with an ptical waveguide, a light source which is coupled on one end of the optical waveguide, a coating for generated electrons which is applied to the other end of the optical waveguide as well as field-generating means in order to lower the electron work function of the coating so far that a photoemission current can be generated. According to the invention a metal carbide is used as the coating.

Abstract: An electrostatic-magnetic lens arrangement is for focusing charged particles as well as a charged particle beam device with such a lens arrangement which has a magnetic lens and an electrostatic lens incorporated into the magnetic lens, the magnetic lens being constructed as a single-pole lens.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and to apparatus for processing a specimen, particularly an integrated circuit, in which an area of the specimen to be processed is scanned with a corpuscular beam and at least one gas is supplied above the area to be processed so that with the aid of the corpuscular beam a chemical reaction takes place on the area to be processed. The processing speed can be markedly increased by the use of a magnetic field in the region of the probe.

Abstract: The invention relates to a scanning electron beam device in which at least one electrostatic reflector is provided for reflection of a secondary electron beam emitted by the primary electron beam on the object. This reflector is preferably located outside the beam path of the primary electron beam, and at least one electron-optical element which effects a preliminary deflection of the secondary electron beam by a small angle with respect to the beam path of the primary electron beam is provided between the object and the reflector. Such an arrangement makes it possible with comparatively low technical expenditure to reflect the secondary electron beam by a relatively large angle with respect to the unaffected primary electron beam which travels on a straight axis.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for the potential measurement on conductive tracks of a program-controlled integrated circuit. The integrated circuit is scanned by an electron beam in one single scan line crossing at least one conductive track during a specific time range of the program. In an initial auxiliary measurement, the spatial displacement of a logic image caused by electrical and/or magnetic disturbances is determined over time and stored. A principal measurement then takes place during the same time range of the program as the auxiliary measurement. In the principal measurement, an electron beam is directed statically onto the conductive track to be measured and the time dependence of the spatial displacement determined by the auxiliary measurement is used as a compensation value for correcting deflections of the electron beam caused by electrical and/or magnetic disturbances.

Abstract: The invention relates to an arrangement for testing and repairing an inteted circuit in which the ion beam used for the repair simultaneously forms the corpuscular beam used for the test operation and one single beam generator is provided in order to generate this beam. Testing and repairing in one arrangement, without it being necessary to transfer the integrated circuit to be examined, reduces the expenditure in terms of time and cost.

Abstract: The invention relates to a corpuscular beam device, such as an ion beam dce or an electron beam device, in which a primary corpuscular beam is focussed by means of an objective lens onto a sample. The secondary radiation emitted at the point of impact of the primary beam is accelerated onto the central electrode of the objective lens, this electrode being coated with scintillation material, and there produces light pulses which are converted by a light-sensitive detector into electrical signals and amplified.

Abstract: In modern electron beam measuring devices the thermal La/B6 or field emission source is replaced by a photocathode acted upon by a pulsed laser beam. Since the width of photoelectron pulses corresponds approximately to the width of the laser pulses, theses devices are particularly suitable for stroboscopic measurements in fast gallium arsenide circuits. The expenditure on apparatus for generating the photoelectron pulses is considerable since means for doubling the frequency of the primary laser light are necessary. It is therefore proposed to irradiate the cathode of the electron beam measuring device with photons of energy E.sub.Ph <W (W:=electron work function of the cathode material) and to reduce the work function with the aid of an external electrical field to such an extent that photoemission occurs, but not field emission.

Abstract: A sampling method for potential determination in electron beam mensuration, in which a progression of a periodic signal is to be identified at a measuring point, makes it possible to clearly increase the speed in electron beam potential measurement. The progression of the periodic signal is sampled by the pulsed electron beam repeatedly during a period of the progression of the periodic signal, namely at the specified times t.sub.1, t.sub.2. . . t.sub.n.

Abstract: An arrangement for electrically testing microinterconnections with electric test contacts may be used given drastically-reduced dimensions of electric conductors and of the grid dimensions in printed circuitboards. The electric test contacts are selectable by way of internal switches. The test contacts can be disposed in a matrix whose grid dimension corresponds to the grid dimension of a printed circuitboard to be tested.

Abstract: In order to permit good test results in the voltage measurement of buried test subjects, an arrangement is provided having a particle beam probe for voltage measurement at a test subject which is spatially separated from a surface by a solid state substance. The solid state substance provides mobile charges disposed in insulated fashion between said test subject and the particle beam probe. A charge separation due to the influence of the test subject potential is produced in the solid state substance so that a potential on the surface of the solid state substance immediately adjacent to the particle beam probe becomes proportional to the potential on the test subject.

Abstract: A method and a device used for determining the focal length of a long focal length electron optical lens particularly used with a microprojector characterized by projecting a bundle of parallel rays along the axis of the long focal length lens, said bundle of rays having a ring-shaped cross section with a radius R, providing a pinhole diaphragm having a diameter which corresponds approximately to the diameter of the circle of least confusion of the lens for a ring-shaped bundle of parallel rays, either positioning the diaphragm axially relative to the lens or holding the diaphragm fixed and changing the excitement of the lens to obtain the least influence of the diaphragm on the bundle of rays passing through the pinhole diaphragm, detecting the image of the rays passing through the diaphragm on a plane at a distance z.sub.2 from the diaphragm, measuring the radius r of the image of the ring-shaped bundle of rays on the plane and then determining the focal length f from the magnitude of R, r, z.sub.

Abstract: A method for automatically positioning a workpiece having at least one marking, specifically a wafer for integrated circuits which is to be processed in a charged-particle beam apparatus, relative to a scanning field or mask. In the method, a scanning beam scans the workpiece along the line and a marking signal is generated when the marking is reached by the beam. This marking signal controls a device which generates a control signal in response to the marking signal which is proportional to the deviation of the marking position from a reference position and which drives a device for correcting the position of the workpiece relative to the scanning field or mask.

Abstract: An improved charged-particle beam optical apparatus for imaging a first mask including a plurality of apertures on a specimen to be irradiated. The mask is uniformly illuminated by a beam through a plurality of condenser lenses and the apparatus includes means for adjusting the position of the mask relative to the specimen. A selected area of the specimen has an adjustment marking disposed thereon which is illuminated by a ray of charged particles from the beam passing through a test opening provided in the mask. The apparatus further includes means for detecting radiation emanating from the specimen.