Particle beam system

1. A particle beam system, comprising:

a particle source configured to generate a first beam of charged particles;

a first multi-aperture plate having a multiplicity of first openings, the first multi-aperture plate being arranged so that a first portion of the charged particles in the first beam strike the first multi-aperture plate and a second portion of the charged particles in the first beam pass through the first openings to provide a plurality of second beams of charged particles downstream of the first multi-aperture plate, each second beam having a cross section defined by a cross section of a respective first opening through which the second beam passed;

a second multi-aperture plate having a multiplicity of second openings, the second multi-aperture plate being arranged so that each second beam passes through a respective second opening;

an aperture plate arranged at a distance from the second multi-aperture plate, the aperture plate having an opening configured so that each second beam passes through the opening in the aperture plate;

a third multi-aperture plate having a multiplicity of third openings, the third multi-aperture plate being arranged so that each second beam passes through a respective third opening;

a multiplicity of field generators supported by the third multi-aperture plate, each field generator being assigned to a respective third opening, each field generator being configured to provide a field which acts on the second beam passing through its respective third opening, each field comprising a field selected from the group consisting of a dipole field and a quadrupole field; and

a controller configured to provide a first electric potential to the aperture plate and a second electric potential to the second multi-aperture plate, the first and second electric potentials being configured so that the second openings act as a lens on the charged particles in the second beams, and the controller being configured to provide adjustable excitations to the field generators.

2. The particle beam system of claim 1 , wherein, for each field generator and excitations to be fed to the field generator, the field generator and the excitations are configured so that: an intensity of the field is adjustable in a circumferential direction around the respective third opening; and an orientation of the field adjustable in the circumferential direction around the respective third opening.

3. The particle beam system of claim 1 , wherein, for each second beam, a diameter of the second opening through which the second beam passes is at least 1.05 times larger than a diameter of the first opening through which the second beam passes.

4. The particle beam system of claim 3 , wherein, for each second beam, a diameter of the third opening through which the second beam passes is at least 1.05 times larger than the diameter of the first opening through which the second beam passes.

5. The particle beam system of claim 1 , wherein, for each second beam, a diameter of the second opening through which the second beam passes is at least 1.8 times larger than a diameter of the first opening through which the second beam passes.

6. The particle beam system of claim 1 , wherein, for each second beam, a diameter of the third opening through which the second beam passes is at least 1.05 times larger than a diameter of the first opening through which the second beam passes.

7. The particle beam system of claim 1 , wherein the third multi-aperture plate is upstream of the second multi-aperture plate along a path of the second beams.

8. The particle beam system of claim 7 , wherein the first multi-aperture plate is upstream of the third multi-aperture plate along the path of the second beams.

9. The particle beam system of claim 8 , wherein a distance between the first multi-aperture plate and the third multi-aperture plate along the path of the second beams is from 0.1 to 10.0 times a diameter of the openings of the first multi-aperture plate.

10. The particle beam system of claim 9 , wherein a distance between the third multi-aperture plate and the second multi-aperture plate along the path of the second beams is from 0.1 to 10.0 times the diameter of the openings of the first multi-aperture plate.

11. The particle beam system of claim 9 , wherein a distance between the third multi-aperture plate and the second multi-aperture plate along the path of the second beams is from 0.3 to 3.0 times the diameter of the openings of the first multi-aperture plate.

12. The particle beam system of claim 8 , wherein a distance between the first multi-aperture plate and the third multi-aperture plate along a path of the second beams is from 0.3 times to 3.0 times a diameter of the openings of the first multi-aperture plate.

13. The particle beam system of claim 7 , wherein the aperture plate is downstream of the second multi-aperture plate along the path of the second beams.

14. The particle beam system of claim 1 , wherein the second multi-aperture plate is downstream of the first multi-aperture plate along a path of the second beams.

15. The particle beam system of claim 14 , wherein the third multi-aperture plate is downstream of the first multi-aperture plate along the path of the second beams.

16. The particle beam system of claim 14 , wherein the aperture plate is upstream of the second multi-aperture plate along the path of the second beams.

17. The particle beam system of claim 1 , wherein each field generator comprises eight electrodes distributed in a circumferential direction around its respective third opening, and the adjustable excitations are adjustable voltages.

18. The particle beam system of claim 1 , wherein each field generator comprises at least eight coils distributed in a circumferential direction around its respective third opening, and the adjustable excitations are adjustable currents.

19. The particle beam system of claim 1 , further comprising an electronic circuit supported by the third multi-aperture plate or a carrier which supports the third multi-aperture plate, wherein:

the controller is configured to generate data representing excitations of the field generators and to transmit the data to the electronic circuit via a serial data link;

each one of the field generators is connected to the electronic circuit via at least eight feeders; and

the electronic circuit is configured so that, based on the data, the electronic circuit generates the excitations of each field generator and applies the excitations to the at least eight feeders by which the field generator is connected to the electronic circuit.

20. A particle beam system, comprising:

a particle source configured to generate a first beam of charged particles;

a first multi-aperture plate having a multiplicity of first openings, the first multi-aperture plate being arranged so that a first portion of the charged particles in the first beam strike the first multi-aperture plate and a second portion of the charged particles in the first beam pass through the first openings to provide a plurality of second beams of charged particles downstream of the first multi-aperture plate, each second beam having a cross section defined by a cross section of a respective first opening through which the second beam passed;

a second multi-aperture plate having a multiplicity of second openings, the second multi-aperture plate being arranged so that each second beam passes through a respective second opening;

an aperture plate arranged at a distance from the second multi-aperture plate, the aperture plate having an opening configured so that each second beam passes through the opening in the aperture plate;

a third multi-aperture plate having a multiplicity of third openings, the third multi-aperture plate being arranged so that each second beam passes through a respective third opening;

a multiplicity of field generators supported by the third multi-aperture plate, each field generator being assigned to a respective third opening, each field generator being configured to provide a field which acts on the second beam passing through its respective third opening, each field comprising a field selected from the group consisting of a dipole field and a quadrupole field; and

a controller configured to provide a first electric potential to the aperture plate and a second electric potential to the second multi-aperture plate, the first and second electric potentials being configured so that the second openings act as a lens on the charged particles in the second beams, and the controller being configured to provide adjustable excitations to the field generators,

wherein:

for each field generator and excitations to be fed to the field generator, the field generator and the excitations are configured so that: an intensity of the field is adjustable in a circumferential direction around the respective third opening; and an orientation of the field adjustable in the circumferential direction around the respective third opening;

for each second beam, a diameter of the second opening through which the second beam passes is at least 1.05 times larger than a diameter of the first opening through which the second beam passes;

for each second beam, a diameter of the third opening through which the second beam passes is at least 1.05 times larger than the diameter of the first opening through which the second beam passes;

the third multi-aperture plate is upstream of the second multi-aperture plate along a path of the second beams;

the first multi-aperture plate is upstream of the third multi-aperture plate along the path of the second beams;

the aperture plate is downstream of the second multi-aperture plate along the path of the second beams;

a distance between the first multi-aperture plate and the third multi-aperture plate along the path of the second beams is from 0.1 to 10.0 times a diameter of the openings of the first multi-aperture plate; and

a distance between the third multi-aperture plate and the second multi-aperture plate along the path of the second beams is from 0.1 to 10.0 times the diameter of the openings of the first multi-aperture plate.

21. The particle beam system of claim 20 , wherein each field generator comprises eight electrodes distributed in a circumferential direction around its respective third opening, and the adjustable excitations are adjustable voltages.

22. The particle beam system of claim 20 , wherein each field generator comprises at least eight coils distributed in a circumferential direction around its respective third opening, and the adjustable excitations are adjustable currents.

23. The particle beam system of claim 20 , further comprising an electronic circuit supported by the third multi-aperture plate or a carrier which supports the third multi-aperture plate, wherein:

the controller is configured to generate data representing excitations of the field generators and to transmit the data to the electronic circuit via a serial data link;

each one of the field generators is connected to the electronic circuit via at least eight feeders; and

the electronic circuit is configured so that, based on the data the electronic circuit generates the excitations of each field generator and applies the excitations to the at least eight feeders by which the field generator is connected to the electronic circuit.