Electron gun and electron beam application device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12334297-B2
Application number	US-202018036217-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 22, 2020
Priority date	Dec 22, 2020
Publication date	Jun 17, 2025
Grant date	Jun 17, 2025

Abstract

The apparatus includes: a photocathode including a substrate and a photoelectric film formed on the substrate; a light source configured to emit a pulsed excitation light; a condenser lens facing the substrate of the photocathode and configured to condense the pulsed excitation light toward the photocathode; a first anode electrode and a second anode electrode facing the photoelectric film of the photocathode; a first power supply configured to apply a first control voltage between the first anode electrode and the second anode electrode; and a second power supply configured to apply an acceleration voltage between the photocathode and the second anode electrode. The first anode electrode is disposed between the photocathode and the second anode electrode. A surface of the first anode electrode facing the second anode electrode has a recessed shape, and a surface of the second anode electrode facing the first anode electrode has a protruding shape.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electron gun, comprising:
a photocathode including a substrate and a photoelectric film formed on the substrate;
a light source configured to emit a pulsed excitation light;
a condenser lens facing the substrate of the photocathode and configured to condense the pulsed excitation light toward the photocathode;
a first anode electrode and a second anode electrode facing the photoelectric film of the photocathode;
a first power supply configured to apply a first control voltage between the first anode electrode and the second anode electrode; and
a second power supply configured to apply an acceleration voltage between the photocathode and the second anode electrode, wherein
the first anode electrode is disposed between the photocathode and the second anode electrode,
a surface of the first anode electrode facing the second anode electrode has a recessed shape, and a surface of the second anode electrode facing the first anode electrode has a protruding shape, and
the first control voltage is set such that the photocathode has a surface electric field intensity higher than a surface electric field intensity when the acceleration voltage is applied to the second anode electrode in the absence of the first anode electrode.

2. The electron gun according to claim 1 , wherein
when the acceleration voltage is applied between the photocathode and the second anode electrode, and the first control voltage is applied between the first anode electrode and the second anode electrode, the surface electric field intensity of the photocathode is 5 MV/m or more.

3. The electron gun according to claim 1 , wherein
when the acceleration voltage is applied between the photocathode and the second anode electrode, and the first control voltage is applied between the first anode electrode and the second anode electrode, an axial potential distribution between the photocathode and the second anode electrode does not have an extreme value, and an axial electric field intensity between the photocathode and the second anode electrode has a local maximum value and a local minimum value.

4. The electron gun according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a third anode electrode disposed between the first anode electrode and the second anode electrode; and
a third power supply configured to apply a second control voltage between the third anode electrode and the second anode electrode, wherein
the surface of the first anode electrode facing the third anode electrode has a recessed shape, and a surface of the third anode electrode facing the first anode electrode has a protruding shape, and
a surface of the third anode electrode facing the second anode electrode has a recessed shape, and the surface of the second anode electrode facing the third anode electrode has a protruding shape.

5. The electron gun according to claim 1 , wherein
the photoelectric film is a semiconductor whose surface has a negative electron affinity.

6. The electron gun according to claim 1 , wherein
the first anode electrode or the second anode electrode includes partial electrodes obtained by equally dividing the first anode electrode or the second anode electrode in an azimuthal direction, and the partial electrodes are disposed symmetrically about an optical axis.

7. An electron beam application device, comprising:
an electron optical system including an electron gun and configured to irradiate a sample with a pulsed electron beam emitted from the electron gun;
a detector configured to detect, by irradiating the sample with the pulsed electron beam, electrons transmitted through the sample or electrons emitted by interaction with the sample; and
a control unit configured to control an irradiation condition of the pulsed electron beam emitted from the electron optical system to the sample, wherein
the electron gun includes:
a photocathode including a substrate and a photoelectric film formed on the substrate;
a light source configured to emit a pulsed excitation light;
a condenser lens facing the substrate of the photocathode and configured to condense the pulsed excitation light toward the photocathode; and
a first anode electrode and a second anode electrode disposed facing the photoelectric film of the photocathode,

the first anode electrode is disposed between the photocathode and the second anode electrode, a surface of the first anode electrode facing the second anode electrode has a recessed shape, and a surface of the second anode electrode facing the first anode electrode has a protruding shape, and
the control unit optimizes the irradiation condition of the pulsed electron beam emitted from the electron optical system to the sample according to a parameter of the electron gun under a predetermined pulse condition set for the electron gun.

8. The electron beam application device according to claim 7 , wherein
the parameter of the electron gun includes a virtual light source position, a virtual light source radius, an irradiation aperture angle, and a converted brightness value.

9. The electron beam application device according to claim 7 , wherein
the control unit stores in advance, as an internal parameter, a parameter of the electron gun obtained by performing a simulation with a plurality of pulse conditions set for the electron gun, and obtains, with reference to the internal parameter, the parameter of the electron gun under the predetermined pulse condition set for the electron gun.

10. The electron beam application device according to claim 7 , wherein
the control unit controls a control voltage applied between the first anode electrode and the second anode electrode of the electron gun in order to control an irradiation angle of the pulsed electron beam with respect to the sample.

11. The electron beam application device according to claim 7 , wherein
the electron beam application device is a scanning electron microscope, and
the electron optical system is an electron optical system to which a deceleration method is applied.

12. The electron beam application device according to claim 11 , wherein
an end portion of the second anode electrode of the electron gun is extended to the vicinity of the sample to form an accelerating tube.

13. The electron beam application device according to claim 7 , wherein
when an acceleration voltage is applied between the photocathode and the second anode electrode, and a control voltage is applied between the first anode electrode and the second anode electrode, the photocathode has a surface electric field intensity higher than a surface electric field intensity of the photocathode when the acceleration voltage is applied to the second anode electrode in the absence of the first anode electrode.

14. The electron beam application device according to claim 7 , wherein
when an acceleration voltage is applied between the photocathode and the second anode electrode, and a control voltage is applied between the first anode electrode and the second anode electrode, a surface electric field intensity of the photocathode is 5 MV/m or more.

Assignees

• Hitachi High Tech Corp

Inventors

• Morishita Hideo
• Ohshima Takashi
• Ose Yoichi
• Agemura Toshihide
• Kuwahara Makoto

Classifications

• H01J2237/06333

  Photo emission · CPC title

• H01J3/021 Primary

  Electron guns using a field emission, photo emission, or secondary emission electron source · CPC title

• H01J2237/2626

  Pulsed source · CPC title

• H01J2237/06375

  Arrangement of electrodes · CPC title

• H01J1/34

  Photo-emissive cathodes (H01J1/35 takes precedence) · CPC title