Abstract: In a projection ion beam machining apparatus having a liquid metal ion source, a combination of two or three electrostatic lenses arranged between the liquid metal ion source and a sample and a stencil mask exchangeably arranged in the combination of the electrostatic lenses, when a distance from substantial center of the electrostatic lens most proximate to the ion source and an ion emitting portion of the ion source is designated by Lo, a distance from the substantial center of the electiostatic lens most proximiate to the sample and the surface of the sample is designated by Li and a distance between the substantial centers of the two lenses is designated by L, by making a value of (L/Lo)(L/Li) equal to or larger than 400, current density on the sample of ion beam accelerated to several 10 kV for projecting a pattern of a stencil mask can be made equal to or larger than 20 mA per 1 square cm and resolution of edge can be made equal to or smaller than 0.2 &mgr;m when the size of the ion beam is 5 &mgr;m.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for fabrication of a specimen including a semiconductor wafer or a semiconductor device chip and the tip of a probe firmly joined to the vicinity of an area to be observed on the specimen substrate which is mounted on a sample stage. A micro-specimen including the area to be observed is separated from the specimen substrate. Firmly joined to the tip of the probe, the micro-specimen separated from the specimen substrate is then transferred to a specimen holder of an apparatus for carrying out an observation, an analysis and/or a measurement on the micro-specimen to be fixed to the specimen holder. Subsequently, the tip of the probe is separated from the micro-specimen fixed to the specimen holder.

Abstract: Disclosed is an observation apparatus and method using an electron beam, capable of measuring information regarding a crystal structure in a specimen (such as information regarding stress and strain in the specimen) with high sensitivity and high resolution from an electron beam diffraction image obtained by irradiating the specimen with an electron beam.

Abstract: There are disclosed a method for fabricating (processing) a micro-sample used for the observation, analysis, and measurement by, for example, a transmission electron microscope (TEM), and an equipment for specimen fabrication (processing) used for carrying out the method. With the method for specimen fabrication (processing) of the present invention, a micro-sample to be separated and extracted from a specimen substrate is sandwiched and held between a plurality of branch beams formed at the tip of a beam. The beam holding the micro-sample is transferred onto a sample holder, and the micro-sample is mounted (firmly held) on the sample holder. After mounting the micro-sample on the sample holder, the beam is detached and separated from the mounted micro-sample.

Abstract: In a pattern inspection device of the present invention having at least three electron-optical systems, detection signals approximately simultaneously obtained from identical circuit patterns are compared with each other. Further, areas around plural electron sources can be maintained at high degrees of vacuum by evacuating an electron gun chamber mounted with plural electron guns independently of a sample chamber. Further, electric fields and magnetic fields are confined in each electron-optical system by a shield electrode which makes it possible to evacuate an electron beam path to a high degree of vacuum, and at the same time, secondary electrons and reflected electrons are detected in the same electron-optical system by setting the samples to a negative voltage and accelerating secondary electrons and reflected electrons toward the electron source side in the direction of the electron beam axis.

Abstract: In addition to the conventional test pattern writing in a center of each track and inspection of burst patterns (A and B patterns) through a writing test in a SAT, there is also performed a test pattern data writing test, which is done at each boundary between tracks. With this additional test, it is possible to accurately inspect both C and D burst patterns that are sensitive to a PES signal at each boundary between tracks.

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: An electron beam (area beam) having a fixed area is irradiated onto the surface of a semiconductor sample, and reflected electrons from the sample surface are imaged by the imaging lens, and images of a plurality of regions of the surface of the semiconductor sample are obtained and stored in the image storage unit, and the stored images of the plurality of regions are compared with each other, and the existence of a defect in the regions and the defect position are measured. By doing this, in an apparatus for testing a pattern defect of the same design, foreign substances, and residuals on a wafer in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor apparatus by an electron beam, speeding-up of the test can be realized.

Abstract: The present invention provides a solution business for serving high speed and diversified analysis work/result and apparatus maintenance, and provides a function to control the apparatus of a customer and analysis organization with a common command through a network. The analysis organization provides the work involving high level operation and apparatus maintenance, and the interpretation and analysis of the acquired data. The customer participates to the analysis work on line through the video conference. The charge system corresponding to the analysis apparatus and operation content is set in a host computer of the network, the charge is presented to the customer on line as the analysis work proceeds, and the final cost is collected through a bank. Furthermore, the host computer is provided with a library function that stores the past data and literatures for viewing.

Abstract: The invention provides a sample fabricating method of irradiating a sample with a focused ion beam at an incident angle less than 90 degrees with respect to the surface of the sample, eliminating the peripheral area of a micro sample as a target, turning a specimen stage around a line segment perpendicular to the sample surface as a turn axis, irradiating the sample with the focused ion beam while the incident angle on the sample surface is fixed, and separating the micro sample or preparing the micro sample to be separated.

Abstract: An ion source includes a gas supplier which supplies a gas through a gas inlet into a gas passage defined in a body to form a gas flow through the gas passage along a capillary inserted into the body and through an orifice defined in the body past a tip of the capillary so that the gas flow sprays a sample solution from the tip of the capillary. The gas supplier 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 a tip portion of the capillary in the orifice.

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 RW offset setting method which includes recording a test pattern by a write head, reading the test pattern by a read head, measuring an amplitude of a read back signal at each tracking position, finding an approximate expression of a profile of the measured amplitude, finding a tracking position, and finding a RW offset based on this tracking position, setting a RW offset for all tracks in the disk device based on the RW offsets about the plurality of tracks to be measured. A read data error recovery method that includes the steps of determining an off-track direction where the amplitude increases, searching an off-track position where the amplitude becomes a local maximum, measuring the amplitude at each off-track position reading data recorded in the data sector.

Abstract: A mass spectrometer includes a sample passage through which a sample solution flows towards a tip of the sample passage, a gas passage which produces a gas flow along the sample passage towards an orifice of the gas passage, a gas supplier which supplies a gas to the gas passage so that the gas flow has a velocity effective for spraying the sample solution near the tip of the sample passage, and an analyzer which analyzes a mass of gaseous ions formed from the sample solution sprayed by the gas flow. The gas flow has a characteristic value F/S between 350 meters/second (m/s) and 700 m/s, where F is a flow rate of the gas at standard conditions (20.degree. C., 1 atmosphere), and S is a difference between a cross section of the orifice and a cross section of the sample passage at the orifice. An exposed length of the sample passage between an external opening of the orifice and the tip of the sample passage may be between -0.25 mm and 1.2 mm.

Abstract: The track width of a magnetic head is specified by the interval between a pair of grooves in the slider surface that are formed by a projection ion beam. Specifically, the grooves are processed by projecting a mask having the pattern of the pair of grooves with a projection ion beam with reduction to a magnification of 1/10, for example. Although the peripheral strain of the pattern thus formed is large and the current distortion is not uniform when the projection ion beam batch irradiation area is limited, the increase in depth of the grooves formed at the periphery of the grooves does not affect the track narrowing process at the center portion of the projection ion beam since the strain thereof is negligibly small. As a result, a narrow track width is processed with high precision.

Abstract: A processing method using a plasma ion source for generating a focused ion beam, characterized by covering, with an insulator, an inner wall of a plasma holding vessel excluding a reference electrode for applying a voltage to a plasma and an ion extraction electrode for extracting ions from the plasma, and employing means of continuously controlling the absolute value of an ion beam current in a range of from 1 to 10 .mu.A by changing the absolute value of an ion extraction voltage applied between the reference electrode and the ion extraction electrode in a range of from 0 to 100 V; and an apparatus for carrying out the processing method. This is advantageous in stabilizing the ion beam current and in preventing the ion beam from being made dim even when the current value of the ion beam is changed.

Abstract: A processing method and a processing apparatus realizing the method use a focused ion beam generator. The apparatus includes a plasma or liquid metal ion source producing ions not influencing electric characteristics of a sample, an ion beam generator for extracting ions from the ion source into an ion beam, an ion beam focusing device for focusing the ion beam, an irradiator for irradiating the focused ion beam onto the sample, and a sample chamber in which the sample to be irradiated for processing is installed. The focused ion beam is irradiated onto a sample such as a silicon wafer or device to conduct on a particular position of the sample a fine machining work, a fine layer accumulation, and an analysis.

Abstract: A processing method and a processing apparatus realizing the method use a focused ion beam generator. The apparatus includes a plasma or liquid metal ion source producing ions not influencing electric characteristics of a sample, an ion beam generator for extracting ions from the ion source into an ion beam, an ion beam focusing device for focusing the ion beam, an irradiator for irradiating the focused ion beam onto the sample, and a sample chamber in which the sample to be irradiated for processing is installed. The focused ion beam is irradiated onto a sample such as a silicon wafer or device to conduct on a particular position of the sample a fine machining work, a fine layer accumulation, and an analysis.

Abstract: A liquid metal ion source (LMIS) has a reservoir for containing an ion material and an emitter disposed in relation to the reservoir such that molten ion material heated in the reservoir wets the surface of the emitter and flows to the emitter apex. Prior to charging the reservoir with the ion material, the reservoir and emitter are cleaned by a high temperature cleaning operation. For cleaning, the LMIS is placed in a vacuum chamber. A current is applied through the electric feed through terminals to heat the reservoir until it becomes red hot. Then, the emitter is heated by electron bombardment by keeping the emitter voltage at ground potential while applying a high negative voltage to the reservoir. After cleaning, the emitter and reservoir are immersed in a liquid ion material contained in the vacuum chamber and maintained in the molten state by a separate melting unit having a heater.

Abstract: Cs LMIS with pure Cs or a cesium compound as a source material is specifically employed in a FIB so that the total ion current I.sub.T at the time of ion emission is not greater than 5 .mu.A, whereby the current density distribution of a Cs FIB exhibits a sharp peak and the tailing of the distribution is reduced. By setting the I.sub.T in the range of 0.1 to 2 .mu.A, a high current density of a Cs.sup.+ FIB whose diameter is 0.1 .mu.m is formed. The FIB is particularly used in secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis of a semiconductor material in electronic device manufacturing.