Patents by Inventor Xin Man

Xin Man has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11600463
    Abstract: This cross-section observation device bombards an object with a charged particle beam to repeatedly expose cross-sections of the object, bombards at least some of the cross-sections from among the plurality of the exposed cross-sections with a charged particle beam to acquire cross-sectional image information describing each of the at least some of the cross-sections, generates for each of these cross-sections a cross-sectional image described by the cross-sectional image information acquired, and generates a three-dimensional image in which the generated cross-sectional images are stacked together.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH SCIENCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Xin Man, Junzo Azuma
  • Patent number: 11424100
    Abstract: The charged particle beam irradiation apparatus includes: a focused ion beam column; an electron beam column; an electron detector; an image forming unit configured to form an observation image based on a signal output from the electron detector; and a control unit configured to repeatedly perform exposure control in which the focused ion beam column is controlled to expose a cross section of a multilayered sample toward a stacking direction with the focused ion beam, the control unit being configured to perform, every time exposure of an observation target layer at a cross section of the multilayered sample is detected in a process of repeatedly performing the exposure control, observation control in which the electron beam column is controlled to radiate the electron beam, and the image forming unit is controlled to form an observation image of the cross section of the multilayered sample.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2022
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH SCIENCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takuma Aso, Xin Man, Makoto Sato, Tatsuya Asahata
  • Patent number: 11335534
    Abstract: The particle beam irradiation apparatus includes: an irradiation unit configured to radiate a particle beam; a first detection unit configured to detect first particles; a second detection unit configured to detect second particles; an image forming unit configured to form an observation image based on a first signal obtained by the detection of the first particles, which is performed by the first detection unit, and to form an observation image based on a second signal obtained by the detection of the second particles, which is performed by the second detection unit; and a control unit configured to calculate a brightness of a first region in the formed first observation image and perform a brightness adjustment of the first detection unit based on a first target brightness as a first brightness adjustment when the brightness of the first region is different from the first target brightness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH SCIENCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takuma Aso, Xin Man, Makoto Sato, Tatsuya Asahata
  • Publication number: 20210293668
    Abstract: A method for observing a biological tissue sample includes: forming a sample block; cutting up the sample block into a plurality of sample pieces and fixing each of the sample pieces to a sample piece placement member to form a plurality of observation samples; specifying an observation target area for performing precise observation; specifying and registering a coordinate of the observation target area on the sample piece for each of the observation samples; milling including irradiating the observation target area of the sample piece with an ion beam using gas as an ion source or a neutral particle beam with reference to the coordinate and exposing an observation surface inside the sample piece; and obtaining a SEM image of the observation surface with a scanning electron microscope.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 16, 2021
    Publication date: September 23, 2021
    Inventors: Xin MAN, Tatsuya ASAHATA
  • Patent number: 11114276
    Abstract: An apparatus for processing and observing a cross-section includes: a sample bed holding a sample; a focused ion beam column radiating a focused ion beam to the sample; an electron beam column radiating an electron beam to the sample, perpendicularly to the focused ion beam; an electron detector detecting secondary electrons or reflection electrons generated from the sample; a irradiation position controller controlling irradiation positions of the focused ion beam and the electron beam based on target irradiation position information showing target irradiation positions of beams on the sample; a process controller controlling a cross-section-exposing process that exposes a cross-section of the sample by radiating the focused ion beam to the sample and a cross-section image-obtaining process that obtains a cross-section image of the cross-section by radiating the electron beam to the cross-section; and an image quality corrector correcting image quality of the cross-section image obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH SCIENCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Xin Man, Tatsuya Asahata, Makoto Sato
  • Publication number: 20210090855
    Abstract: The charged particle beam irradiation apparatus includes: a focused ion beam column; an electron beam column; an electron detector; an image forming unit configured to form an observation image based on a signal output from the electron detector; and a control unit configured to repeatedly perform exposure control in which the focused ion beam column is controlled to expose a cross section of a multilayered sample toward a stacking direction with the focused ion beam, the control unit being configured to perform, every time exposure of an observation target layer at a cross section of the multilayered sample is detected in a process of repeatedly performing the exposure control, observation control in which the electron beam column is controlled to radiate the electron beam, and the image forming unit is controlled to form an observation image of the cross section of the multilayered sample.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2020
    Publication date: March 25, 2021
    Inventors: Takuma ASO, Xin MAN, Makoto SATO, Tatsuya ASAHATA
  • Publication number: 20210090853
    Abstract: The particle beam irradiation apparatus includes: an irradiation unit configured to radiate a particle beam; a first detection unit configured to detect first particles; a second detection unit configured to detect second particles; an image forming unit configured to form an observation image based on a first signal obtained by the detection of the first particles, which is performed by the first detection unit, and to form an observation image based on a second signal obtained by the detection of the second particles, which is performed by the second detection unit; and a control unit configured to calculate a brightness of a first region in the formed first observation image and perform a brightness adjustment of the first detection unit based on a first target brightness as a first brightness adjustment when the brightness of the first region is different from the first target brightness.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2020
    Publication date: March 25, 2021
    Inventors: Takuma ASO, Xin MAN, Makoto SATO, Tatsuya ASAHATA
  • Patent number: 10692695
    Abstract: Provided is a cross-section processing observation method capable of easily and accurately forming a cross-section used to observe a sample's inside, and a cross-section processing observation apparatus for cross-section processing. The method includes a design data acquisition step acquiring design data of a three-dimensional structure of a sample having three-dimensional structure, a moving step moving the sample based on coordinate information of the design data, a surface observation step acquiring an observation image of a surface of the sample, a cross-section forming step irradiating the sample's surface with an ion beam to form a cross-section of the three-dimensional structure, a cross-section observation step acquiring an observation image of the sample's cross-section, and a display step displaying image data, among pieces of the design data, of surface and cross section corresponding to respective locations of the surface and the cross section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH SCIENCE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Xin Man
  • Publication number: 20200111639
    Abstract: This cross-section observation device bombards an object with a charged particle beam to repeatedly expose cross-sections of the object, bombards at least some of the cross-sections from among the plurality of the exposed cross-sections with a charged particle beam to acquire cross-sectional image information describing each of the at least some of the cross-sections, generates for each of these cross-sections a cross-sectional image described by the cross-sectional image information acquired, and generates a three-dimensional image in which the generated cross-sectional images are stacked together.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2018
    Publication date: April 9, 2020
    Inventors: XIN MAN, Junzo AZUMA
  • Publication number: 20190279843
    Abstract: An apparatus for processing and observing a cross-section includes: a sample bed holding a sample; a focused ion beam column radiating a focused ion beam to the sample; an electron beam column radiating an electron beam to the sample, perpendicularly to the focused ion beam; an electron detector detecting secondary electrons or reflection electrons generated from the sample; a irradiation position controller controlling irradiation positions of the focused ion beam and the electron beam based on target irradiation position information showing target irradiation positions of beams on the sample; a process controller controlling a cross-section-exposing process that exposes a cross-section of the sample by radiating the focused ion beam to the sample and a cross-section image-obtaining process that obtains a cross-section image of the cross-section by radiating the electron beam to the cross-section; and an image quality corrector correcting image quality of the cross-section image obtained.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2019
    Publication date: September 12, 2019
    Inventors: Xin MAN, Tatsuya ASAHATA, Makoto SATO
  • Publication number: 20190164722
    Abstract: Provided is a cross-section processing observation method capable of easily and accurately forming a cross-section used to observe a sample's inside, and a cross-section processing observation apparatus for cross-section processing. The method includes a design data acquisition step acquiring design data of a three-dimensional structure of a sample having three-dimensional structure, a moving step moving the sample based on coordinate information of the design data, a surface observation step acquiring an observation image of a surface of the sample, a cross-section forming step irradiating the sample's surface with an ion beam to form a cross-section of the three-dimensional structure, a cross-section observation step acquiring an observation image of the sample's cross-section, and a display step displaying image data, among pieces of the design data, of surface and cross section corresponding to respective locations of the surface and the cross section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 19, 2018
    Publication date: May 30, 2019
    Inventor: Xin Man
  • Patent number: 10242842
    Abstract: A method for cross-section processing and observation, and apparatus therefor, includes performing a position information obtaining process of observing the entirety of a sample by using an optical microscope or an electron microscope, and obtaining three-dimensional position coordinate information of a particular observation target object included in the sample; performing a cross-section processing process of irradiating a particular region in which the object is present by using a focused ion beam based on the information, and exposing a cross section of the region; performing a cross-section image obtaining process of irradiating the cross section by using an electron beam, and obtaining a cross-section image of a predetermined size region including the object; and performing a three-dimensional image obtaining process of repeating the cross-section processing process and the cross-section image obtaining process at predetermined intervals in a predetermined direction, and obtaining a three-dimensional im
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH SCIENCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Xin Man, Atsushi Uemoto
  • Patent number: 10096449
    Abstract: A cross-section processing-and-observation method includes: a cross-section exposure step of irradiating a sample with a focused ion beam to expose a cross-section of the sample; a cross-sectional image acquisition step of irradiating the cross-section with an electron beam to acquire a cross-sectional image of the cross-section; and a step of repeatedly performing the cross-section exposure step and the cross-sectional image acquisition step along a predetermined direction of the sample at a setting interval to acquire a plurality of cross-sectional images of the sample. In the cross-sectional image acquisition step, a cross-sectional image is acquired under different condition settings for a plurality of regions of the cross-section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH SCIENCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Xin Man, Tatsuya Asahata, Atsushi Uemoto
  • Patent number: 9966226
    Abstract: A cross-section processing and observation method performed by a cross-section processing and observation apparatus comprises a cross-section processing step of forming a cross-section by irradiating a sample with an ion beam; a cross-section observation step of obtaining an observation image of the cross-section by irradiating the cross-section with an electron beam; and repeating the cross-section processing step and the cross-section observation step so as to obtain observation images of a plurality of cross-sections. In a case where Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDS) measurement of the cross-section is performed and an X-ray of a specified material or of a non-specified material that is different from a pre-specified material is detected, an irradiation condition of the ion beam is changed so as to obtain observation images of a plurality of cross-sections of the specified material, and the cross-section processing and observation of the specified material is performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH SCIENCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsushi Uemoto, Xin Man, Tatsuya Asahata
  • Patent number: 9934938
    Abstract: A focused ion beam apparatus includes a focused ion beam irradiation mechanism that forms first and second cross-sections in a sample. A first image generation unit generates respective first images, either reflected electron images or secondary electron images, of the first and second cross-sections, and a second image generation unit generates a second image that is an EDS image of the first cross-section. A control section generates a three-dimensional image of a specific composition present in the sample based on the first images and the second image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH SCIENCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsushi Uemoto, Xin Man, Tatsuya Asahata
  • Publication number: 20170278668
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method for cross-section processing and observation, and apparatus therefore, the method including: performing a position information obtaining process of observing the entirety of a sample by using an optical microscope or an electron microscope, and of obtaining three-dimensional position coordinate information of a particular observation target object included in the sample; performing a cross-section processing process of irradiating a particular region in which the object is present by using a focused ion beam based on the information, and of exposing a cross section of the region; performing a cross-section image obtaining process of irradiating the cross section by using an electron beam, and of obtaining a cross-section image of a predetermined size region including the object; and performing a three-dimensional image obtaining process of repeating the cross-section processing process and the cross-section image obtaining process at predetermined intervals in a predetermined dire
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2017
    Publication date: September 28, 2017
    Inventors: Xin MAN, Atsushi UEMOTO
  • Publication number: 20160343541
    Abstract: A cross-section processing-and-observation method includes: a cross-section exposure step of irradiating a sample with a focused ion beam to expose a cross-section of the sample; a cross-sectional image acquisition step of irradiating the cross-section with an electron beam to acquire a cross-sectional image of the cross-section; and a step of repeatedly performing the cross-section exposure step and the cross-sectional image acquisition step along a predetermined direction of the sample at a setting interval to acquire a plurality of cross-sectional images of the sample. In the cross-sectional image acquisition step, a cross-sectional image is acquired under different condition settings for a plurality of regions of the cross-section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2016
    Publication date: November 24, 2016
    Inventors: Xin MAN, Tatsuya ASAHATA, Atsushi UEMOTO
  • Patent number: 9470642
    Abstract: A crystal analysis apparatus includes: a measurement data storage configured to store electron back-scattering pattern (EBSP) data measured at electron beam irradiation points on a plurality of cross-sections of a sample formed substantially in parallel at prescribed intervals; a crystal orientation database configured to accumulate therein information of crystal orientations corresponding to EBSPs; and a map constructing unit that constructs a three-dimensional crystal orientation map based on distribution of crystal orientations in normal directions of a plurality of faces of a polyhedral image having the cross-sections arranged at the prescribed intervals by reading out the crystal orientations in the normal directions of the faces from the crystal orientation database on the basis of the EBSP data stored in the measurement data storage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2016
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH SCIENCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Xin Man, Toshiaki Fujii
  • Patent number: 9384941
    Abstract: A charged particle beam apparatus includes an electron beam column and an FIB column, in which an irradiation axis of the electron beam column and an irradiation axis of the FIB column are disposed to be perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to each other on a sample without interference. In addition, the first sample stage and a second sample stage are independently provided and moved to be tilted centering on an axial direction. The sample is moved by the first sample stage and a sample piece which is cut off from the sample is moved to be fixed to a tip end of a probe which is rotatable centering on the axial direction, thereby manufacturing the sample piece which reduces the influence of a curtaining effect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2016
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH SCIENCE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Xin Man
  • Patent number: 9368323
    Abstract: A cross-section processing observation apparatus includes an ion beam control unit which controls a charged particle beam generation-focusing portion and a deflector, and a DAC which converts an input digital signal into an analog signal which is to be input to the deflector. A field-of-view setting portion sets a value of a field of view of a charged particle beam where the scanning performed by the deflector is performed on the basis of a set value of a slice amount, and the field-of-view setting portion is configured to set a value of one-nth of the slice amount, where n is a first natural number, as an input digital value “1” of the digital/analog converter and to set a value obtained by multiplying said value set as the input digital value “1” by a second natural number as a value of the field of view.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH SCIENCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsushi Uemoto, Xin Man, Tatsuya Asahata