Electron microscope and image processing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10957513-B2
Application number	US-201916668225-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 30, 2019
Priority date	Nov 5, 2018
Publication date	Mar 23, 2021
Grant date	Mar 23, 2021

Abstract

An electron microscope includes: an electron detector which detects electrons emitted from a specimen upon irradiation of the specimen with an electron beam; an X-ray detector which detects X-rays emitted from the specimen upon irradiation of the specimen with the electron beam; and a processor which generates a three-dimensional element map based on output signals from the electron detector and the X-ray detector. The processor performs processing for generating a electron microscopic image based on the output signal from the electron detector, processing for generating a three-dimensional image of the specimen based on the electron microscopic image, processing for generating a two-dimensional element map based on the output signal from the X-ray detector, and processing for generating the three-dimensional element map by projecting the two-dimensional element map on the three-dimensional image.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electron microscope comprising:
an electron source which emits an electron beam;
an optical system which irradiates a specimen with the electron beam;
a first detector which detects electrons emitted from the specimen or transmitted through the specimen upon irradiation of the specimen with the electron beam;
a second detector which detects a signal emitted from the specimen upon irradiation of the specimen with the electron beam; and
a processor which generates a three-dimensional element map representing three-dimensional element distribution of the specimen based on an output signal from the first detector and an output signal from the second detector,
the processor performing:
processing for generating an electron microscopic image based on the output signal from the first detector;
processing for generating a three-dimensional image of the specimen based on the electron microscopic image;
processing for generating a two-dimensional element map representing two-dimensional element distribution of the specimen based on the output signal from the second detector; and
processing for generating the three-dimensional element map by projecting the two-dimensional element map on the three-dimensional image.

2. The electron microscope of claim 1 , wherein,
in the processing for generating the two-dimensional element map, a plurality of the two-dimensional element maps are generated, and
in the processing for generating the three-dimensional element map, the plurality of two-dimensional element maps are projected on the three-dimensional image.

3. The electron microscope of claim 2 , wherein,
in the processing for generating the two-dimensional element map, the hue of a pixel which forms the two-dimensional element map is set to correspond to the kind of the element, and the brightness of the pixel which forms the two-dimensional element map is set to correspond to the signal intensity of the element.

4. The electron microscope of claim 1 , wherein,
when an arbitrary section is specified in the three-dimensional element map, the processor performs processing for generating a graph including a signal intensity profile of the element in the section and a height profile of the specimen in the section.

5. The electron microscope of claim 1 , wherein
the signal is a characteristic X-ray.

6. An image processing method in an electron microscope that includes: a first detector which detects electrons emitted from a specimen or transmitted through the specimen upon irradiation of the specimen with an electron beam; and a second detector which detects a signal emitted from the specimen upon irradiation of the specimen with the electron beam, the image processing method comprising:
generating an electron microscopic image based on an output signal from the first detector;
generating a three-dimensional image of the specimen based on the electron microscopic image;
generating a two-dimensional element map representing two-dimensional element distribution of the specimen based on an output signal from the second detector; and
generating a three-dimensional element map representing three-dimensional element distribution of the specimen by projecting the two-dimensional element map on the three-dimensional image.

Assignees

• Jeol Ltd

Inventors

• Katagiri Shinichi

Classifications

• H01J37/244

  Detectors; Associated components or circuits therefor · CPC title

• H01J37/28

  with scanning beams {(H01J37/268, H01J37/292, H01J37/2955 take precedence)} · CPC title

• H01J37/222 Primary

  Image processing arrangements associated with the tube · CPC title

• H01J2237/2802

  Transmission microscopes · CPC title

• H01J2237/225

  Displaying image using synthesised colours · CPC title