Abstract: Disclosed herein is a flood column for projecting a charged particle flooding beam along a beam path towards a sample to flood the sample with charged particles prior to assessment of the flooded sample using an assessment column, the flood column comprising: an anchor body arranged along the beam path; a lens arrangement arranged in a down-beam part of the flood column; and a lens support arranged between the anchor body and the lens arrangement; wherein the lens support is configured to position the lens arrangement and the anchor body relative to each other; the lens support comprises an electrical insulator; and the lens support is in the direct line of sight of at least a portion of the beam path in the down-beam part.