IP Library Granted Patent US 7,718,981
Granted Patent B2
US 7,718,981 · App. 12/134,919 · Granted May 18, 2010

Composite charged-particle beam system

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,718,981
App. No.
12/134,919
Granted
May 18, 2010
Kind
B2
Abstract

There is provided a method of arranging, as a composite charged-particle beam system, a gas ion beam apparatus, an FIB and an SEM in order to efficiently prepare a TEM sample. The composite charged-particle beam system includes an FIB lens-barrel 1 , an SEM lens-barrel 2 , a gas ion beam lens-barrel 3 , and a rotary sample stage 9 having an eucentric tilt mechanism and a rotating shaft 10 orthogonal to an eucentric tilt axis 8 . In the composite charged-particle beam system, an arrangement is made such that a focused ion beam 4 , an electron beam 5 and a gas ion beam 6 intersect at a single point, an axis of the FIB lens-barrel 1 and an axis of the SEM lens barrel 2 are orthogonal to the eucentric tilt axis 8 , respectively, and the axis of the FIB lens-barrel 1 , an axis of the gas ion beam lens-barrel 3 and the eucentric tilt axis 8 are in one plane.

Claims (3)

1. A. composite charged-particle beam system comprising at least a focused ion beam apparatus, a scanning electron microscope, a gas ion beam apparatus and a sample stage, wherein

said sample stage includes an eucentric tilt mechanism for tilting at least a sample at an identical height, and a sample stage rotating shaft orthogonal to an eucentric tilt axis serving as an axis of said eucentric tilt mechanism, and

said focused ion beam apparatus, said scanning electron microscope and said gas ion beam apparatus are arranged and adjusted such that a focused ion beam emitted from said focused ion beam apparatus, an electron beam emitted from said scanning electron microscope and a gas ion beam emitted from said gas ion beam apparatus intersect at an area defined as a single point, and are arranged such that an axis of a lens-barrel of said focused ion beam apparatus and an axis of a lens-barrel of said electron microscope are substantially orthogonal to said eucentric tilt axis, respectively, and the axis of the lens-barrel of said focused ion beam, an axis of a lens-barrel of said gas ion beam and said eucentric tilt axis are in one plane.

Assignments (4)
CHANGE OF ADDRESS Recorded Sep 17, 2025
From: HITACHI HIGH-TECH SCIENCE CORPORATION
To: HITACHI HIGH-TECH SCIENCE CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 072903/0543 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Sep 17, 2025
From: HITACHI HIGH-TECH SCIENCE CORPORATION
To: HITACHI HIGH-TECH ANALYSIS CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 072907/0356 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Sep 17, 2014
From: SII NANOTECHNOLOGY INC.
To: HITACHI HIGH-TECH SCIENCE CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 033764/0615 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 4, 2008
From: TAKAHASHI, HARUO; YAMAMOTO, YO; FUJII, TOSHIAKI
To: SII NANOTECHNOLOGY INC.
Reel/Frame 021483/0694 →