Abstract: An object of the invention is to realize a method and an apparatus for processing and observing a minute sample which can observe a section of a wafer in horizontal to vertical directions with high resolution, high accuracy and high throughput without splitting any wafer which is a sample. In an apparatus of the invention, there are included a focused ion beam optical system and an electron optical system in one vacuum container, and a minute sample containing a desired area of the sample is separated by forming processing with a charged particle beam, and there are included a manipulator for extracting the separated minute sample, and a manipulator controller for driving the manipulator independently of a wafer sample stage.

Abstract: An emitter of a Ga liquid metal ion source is constituted to include W12 of a base material and Ga9 of an ion source element covering a surface as construction materials. By making back-sputtered particles become elements (W and Ga) of the Ga liquid metal ion sour source, if back-sputtered particles attach to the Ga liquid metal ion source, contamination which may change physical characteristics of Ga9 does not occur. A W aperture is used as a beam limiting (GUN) aperture to place Ga of approx. 25 mg (of melting point of 30° C.) on a surface of a portion included in a beam emission region (Ga store). When emitting ions to the beam limiting (GUN) aperture, Ga in the emission region melts and diffuses on a surface of the beam emission region of the W aperture.

Abstract: A specimen fabrication apparatus, including: an ion beam irradiating optical system to irradiate a sample placed in a chamber, with an ion beam; a specimen holder to mount a specimen separated by the irradiation with the ion beam; a holder cassette to hold the specimen holder; a sample stage to hold the sample and the holder cassette; and a probe to move the specimen to the specimen holder, wherein the holder cassette is transferred to outside of the chamber in a condition of holding the specimen holder with the specimen mounted.

Abstract: A charged particle beam system, a sample processing method, and a semiconductor inspection system enable an accurate detection of a particle in a film without causing LMIS contamination and allow observation with an electron microscope quickly. A particle 65 causing a defect in a film 66 that has been detected with a separate optical inspection system is detected with an optical microscope 43 based on position information acquired by the separate optical inspection system. A sample 31 is processed with a nonmetal ion beam 22 so as to allow observation of the particle 65 with an electron microscope image or an ion microscope image, or ultimate analysis of the particle 65 with an EDX.

Abstract: An ion beam processing apparatus includes an ion beam irradiation optical system that irradiate a rectangular ion beam to a sample held on a first sample stage, an electron beam irradiation optical system that irradiates an electron beam to the sample, and a second sample stage on which a test piece, extracted from the sample by a probe, is mounted. An angle of irradiation of the ion beam can be tilted by rotating the second sample stage about a tilting axis. A controller controls the width of skew of an intensity profile representing an edge of the rectangular ion beam in a direction perpendicular to a first direction in which the tilting axis of the second sample stage is projected on the second sample stage surface so that the width will be smaller than the width of skew of an intensity profile representing another edge of the ion beam in a direction parallel to the first direction.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention prevent data loss due to very frequent writing onto adjacent data tracks. In one embodiment, an alternate zone made up of multiple adjacent data tracks is formed by setting data tracks whose usage is to be prohibited for every other data track. The data updated very frequently and data not updated too frequently are recorded in the alternate zone. Data tracks for recording the data updated very frequently, and data tracks for recording data not updated too frequently, each have one cylinder of spacing. Data loss due to leakage fluxes can thus be prevented.

Abstract: After completion of an arbitrary device process, an apparatus for micro-sample extraction extracts a part of a wafer as a micro-sample of a size equal to or larger than a repetition pattern with a probe and places the extracted micro-sample to a micro-sample storage, and the micro-sample storage is stored into an apparatus for micro-sample storage. The wafer is subjected to a post process and an observation desired position is determined in response to a failure analysis requirement. After that, the micro-sample is unloaded from the micro-sample storage by an apparatus for additional processing of the micro-sample and is placed onto an observation sample holder. By performing an additional process in the observation desired position, a failure analysis sample is prepared, and analysis information obtained by an apparatus for failure analysis is output.

Abstract: A hole in a sample from which a sample piece has been extracted with a focused ion beam is filled at high speed using ion beam gas assisted deposition. A method of filling the hole by using the ion beam includes a step of irradiating the hole formed in a face of the sample with the ion beam to thereby form an ion beam gas-assisted deposition layer in the hole. The ion beam gas-assisted deposition layer is formed in the hole while controlling the area to which the ion beam is irradiated so as to cause the ion beam to fall on a part of a side wall of the hole and to not fall on another part of the side wall in an area scanned with the ion beam. The filled hole may then be covered with a protective film.

Abstract: The present invention provides an ion beam processing technology for improving the precision in processing a section of a sample using an ion beam without making a processing time longer than a conventionally required processing time, and for shortening the time required for separating a micro test piece without breaking the sample or the time required for making preparations for the separation. An ion beam processing apparatus is structured so that an axis along which an ion beam is drawn out of an ion source and an ion beam irradiation axis along which the ion beam is irradiated to a sample mounted on a first sample stage will meet at an angle. Furthermore, the ion beam processing apparatus has a tilting ability to vary an angle of irradiation, at which the ion beam is irradiated to the sample, by rotating a second sample stage, on which a test piece extracted from the sample by performing ion beam processing is mounted, about the tilting axis of the second sample stage.

Abstract: The apparatus for ion beam fabrication, which has been able to detect any anomalous condition of ion beams only by means of the current irradiated on the specimen, could not compensate the failure by investigating the cause and could not realize stable processing. To solve the problem described above, the present invention includes the first and second blankers and Faraday cups switches ON and OFF the first and second blankers and monitors beam current at two positions above and below the projection mask. By adopting this configuration, it will be possible to acquire the information on failure in ion beam, sort out the cause of the failure and to compensate the failure while limiting damages to the projection mask. As a result, it will be possible to realize stable processing by means of ion beam, and to use the ion beam fabricating device on a stable basis.

Abstract: The present invention relates to providing the manufacturing method for a magnetic disk drive that includes the process steps of detecting and processing in a simplified way the defective sectors causing a reading error at low operating environmental temperatures. In one example, defective sectors are detected by read/write testing at high operating environmental temperatures from, for example, 40° C. to 65° C. Reading the data written on the defective sectors makes it obvious that the gain in a high-frequency band is reduced. After test data has been written onto each sector, the filtering coefficient of an FIR element that is set for a data-reading system is changed from the optimum value. The frequency gain is thus reduced. Next, the test data is read and the sectors that have caused a reading error are registered as defectives.

Abstract: An ion source includes a body having a gas passage and an orifice. A capillary is inserted into the gas passage so that a tip portion of the capillary extends into the orifice. A gas supplier supplies a gas into the gas passage to form a gas flow through the gas passage along the capillary and through the orifice past a tip of the capillary so that the gas flow sprays a sample solution flowing through the capillary from the tip of the capillary. A flow controller regulates a pressure of the gas in the gas passage to adjust a characteristic value F/S to a predetermined value, where F is a flow rate of the gas flow at standard conditions (20° C., 1 atmosphere), and S is a difference between a cross section of the orifice and a cross section of the tip portion of the capillary in the orifice.

Abstract: Provided is a charged particle beam processing apparatus capable of improving yields by suppressing the spread of metal pollution to a semiconductor manufacturing process to a minimum. The charged particle beam processing apparatus includes an ion beam column 1 that is connected to a vacuum vessel 10 and irradiates a sample 35 with an ion beam 11 of nonmetal ion species, a microsampling unit 3 having a probe 16 that extracts a microsample 43 cut out from a sample 35 by the ion beam 11, a gas gun 2 that discharges a gas for bonding the microsample 43 and the probe 16, a pollution measuring beam column 6A that is connected to the same vacuum vessel 10 to which the ion beam column 1 is connected and irradiates an ion beam irradiation traces by the ion beam column 1 with a pollution measuring beam 13, and a detector 7 that detects characteristic X-rays emitted from the ion beam irradiation traces by the ion beam column 1 upon irradiation with the pollution measuring beam 13.

Abstract: An ion beam machining and observation method relevant to a technique of cross sectional observation of an electronic component, through which a sample is machined by using an ion beam and a charged particle beam processor capable of reducing the time it takes to fill up a processed hole with a high degree of flatness at the filled area. The observation device is capable of switching the kind of gas ion beam used for machining a sample with the kind of a gas ion beam used for observing the sample. To implement the switch between the kind of a gas ion beam used for sample machining and the kind of a gas ion beam used for sample observation, at least two gas introduction systems are used, each system having a gas cylinder a gas tube, a gas volume control valve, and a stop valve.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a method of semiconductor defect inspection in which an optimal process condition can be determined without performing electrical evaluation. To achieve the object, the present invention includes a configuration in which the type of an extracted defect is identified with reference to a database that stores the types of defects obtained by inspecting a sample, a defect density according to each defect type is obtained for each region of the sample, and the defect density is displayed. Moreover, the present invention includes a configuration in which the type of an extracted defect is identified with reference to a database that stores the types of defects obtained by inspecting a sample, a defect density according to each defect type is determined for each production process of the sample, and the defect density is displayed on a display.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to realize a method and an apparatus for processing and observing a minute sample which can observe a section of a wafer in horizontal to vertical directions with high resolution, high accuracy and high throughput without splitting any wafer which is a sample. In an apparatus of the invention, there are included a focused ion beam optical system and an electron optical system in one vacuum container, and a minute sample containing a desired area of the sample is separated by forming processing with a charged particle beam, and there are included a manipulator for extracting the separated minute sample, and a manipulator controller for driving the manipulator independently of a wafer sample stage.

Abstract: A specimen fabrication apparatus including: a sample stage to mount or hold a sample substrate, an ion beam irradiating optical system to irradiate the sample substrate with an ion beam, a specimen holder to mount a specimen obtained from the sample substrate, a transferring means including a probe, and a deposition-gas supplying source to supply a deposition-gas for forming a deposition-film between the specimen and the probe.

Abstract: A specimen fabrication apparatus, including: an ion beam irradiating optical system to irradiate a sample placed in a chamber, with an ion beam; a specimen holder to mount a specimen separated by the irradiation with the ion beam; a holder cassette to hold the specimen holder; a sample stage to hold the sample and the holder cassette; and a probe to move the specimen to the specimen holder, wherein the holder cassette is transferred to outside of the chamber in a condition of holding the specimen holder with the specimen mounted.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to realize a method and an apparatus for processing and observing a minute sample which can observe a section of a wafer in horizontal to vertical directions with high resolution, high accuracy and high throughput without splitting any wafer which is a sample. In an apparatus of the invention, there are included a focused ion beam optical system and an electron optical system in one vacuum container, and a minute sample containing a desired area of the sample is separated by forming processing with a charged particle beam, and there are included a manipulator for extracting the separated minute sample, and a manipulator controller for driving the manipulator independently of a wafer sample stage.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to realize a method and an apparatus for processing and observing a minute sample which can observe a section of a wafer in horizontal to vertical directions with high resolution, high accuracy and high throughput without splitting any wafer which is a sample. In an apparatus of the invention, there are included a focused ion beam optical system and an electron optical system in one vacuum container, and a minute sample containing a desired area of the sample is separated by forming processing with a charged particle beam, and there are included a manipulator for extracting the separated minute sample, and a manipulator controller for driving the manipulator independently of a wafer sample stage.