Charged Particle Beam Apparatus, Alignment Method of Charged Particle Beam Apparatus, Alignment Program, and Storage Medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018108512-A1
Application number	US-201515556400-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 31, 2015
Priority date	Mar 31, 2015
Publication date	Apr 19, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

The present invention shortens the time spent in a search for a visual field by a user in a charged particle beam apparatus in which an observation range on a sample is set by using a captured image of the sample. When the contour of a sample table is circularly configured, for example, the central position of a sample table image on an optical image is quickly, easily, and accurately obtained by calculating, from the coordinates of the respective vertices of a triangle circumscribed about the contour created on the optical image by the user, the incenter of the triangle without direct recognition by automatic image analysis, which is complex and time-consuming, of the contour of the sample table image on the optical image.

First claim

1 . A charged particle beam apparatus comprising:
a charged particle source that emits a charged particle beam; a charged particle optical system that irradiates a sample with the charged particle beam from the charged particle source; a sample chamber in which a sample table on which the sample is placed is accommodated; a stage that holds the sample table within the sample chamber and moves the sample together with the sample table within the sample chamber to change an irradiation position and/or an irradiation direction of the charged particle beam from the charged particle optical system with respect to the sample; a detector that detects signal particles generated from the sample placed on the sample table by irradiation with the charged particle beam; an image processing portion that generates an observation image of an observation range on the sample irradiated with the charged particle beam based on the signal particles detected by the detector; an image display portion that displays a captured image including a sample table image of the acquired sample table by an imaging device; an operation input portion that sets and inputs measurement reference point by designating points positioned apart from each other on a contour of the sample table image on a captured image displayed on the image display portion; a sample table image size calculation portion that calculates a size of the sample table image on the captured image based on a distance on the captured image between a plurality of measurement reference points which are set and input by an operation of the operation input portion; and an imaging magnification calculation portion that calculates an imaging magnification of the captured image from a size of the sample table image calculated by the sample table image size calculation portion and an actual size of the sample table.

2 . The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein an observation range on the sample for acquiring the observation image by being irradiated with the charged particle beam on the captured image of the sample table on which the sample is placed, which is acquired with the same magnification as the imaging magnification calculated by the imaging magnification calculation, portion, is set as a viewing field range, and when acquiring an observation image of an observation range on the sample corresponding to the viewing field range, the imaging magnification calculated by the imaging magnification calculation portion is used in an alignment of the charged particle optical system and/or the stage related to an irradiation position of the charged particle beam.

3 . The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the plurality of measurement reference points which are set and input by the operation of the operation input portion are each vertex of a polygon circumscribing or inscribing a contour of the sample table image in the captured image displayed on the image display portion.

4 . The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the measurement reference points are displayed on the image display portion together with the captured image and are set and input by respectively moving a plurality of linear guide lines of which extending directions are different from each other on a display screen of the image display portion in accordance with the operation of the operation input portion and designating a contact point between each linear guide line and a contour of the sample table image in the captured image, or an intersection point between two linear guide lines having different combination from each other and the contour of the sample table image in the captured image.

5 . The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 4 ,
wherein the plurality of linear guide lines having different extending direction from each other are a plurality of parallel moving linear guide lines which are able to be moved in parallel on the display screen of the image display portion, or are a combination of at least one parallel moving linear guide line which is able to be moved in parallel on the display screen of the image display portion and a remaining inclined displacement linear guide line which is able to be inclined and displaced on the display screen of the image display portion.

6 . The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the measurement reference points are set and input by directly plotting the operation of the operation input portion on the contour of the sample table image on the display screen of the image display portion on which the captured image including the sample table image is displayed.

7 . The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 6 ,
wherein if the measurement reference points which are already set and input are displayed and a pair of measurement reference points is set, remaining vertices of a right triangle or a rectangle in which a linear line connecting the pair of measurement reference points is set as a hypotenuse or a diagonal is displayed to be guided on the display screen of the image display portion on which the captured image including the sample table image is displayed.

8 . An alignment method of a charged particle beam apparatus, the method comprising:
a viewing field range setting step of setting an observation range on a sample for acquiring an observation image by a charged particle beam apparatus on a captured image of the sample acquired by an imaging device as a viewing field range; an alignment step of using an imaging magnification of a captured image by the imaging device used in setting of the viewing field range for an alignment of an irradiation position of a charged particle beam when acquiring the observation image of the sample by irradiating the observation range on the sample corresponding to the viewing field range with the charged particle beam by the charged particle beam apparatus; a sample table image display step of displaying the captured image including the sample table image of the sample table on which the sample is placed which is acquired by the imaging device on an image display portion; an operation setting step of setting and inputting a measurement reference point by designating points that are positioned apart from each other on a contour of the sample table image based on an operation of an operation input portion on the captured image displayed on the image display portion by the sample table image display step; a sample table image size calculating step of calculating a size of the sample table image on the captured image based on a distance on the captured image between a plurality of measurement reference points which are set and input by the operation setting step; and an imaging magnification calculating step of calculating an imaging magnification of the captured image from a size of the sample table image calculated by the sample table image size calculating step and an actual size of the sample table.

9 . The alignment method of a charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 8 ,
wherein in the operation setting step, the plurality of measurement reference points which are set and input by the operation of the operation input portion are respectively vertices of a polygon circumscribing or inscribing a contour of the sample table image in the captured image displayed on the image display portion.

10 . The alignment method of a charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 8 ,
wherein in the operation setting step, the measurement reference points are displayed on the image display portion together with the captured image and are set and input by respectively moving a plurality of line

Assignees

• Hitachi High Tech Corp

Inventors

• Ishizawa Kazuki
• Chiba Hiroyuki
• Takahoko Yoshihiro
• NARA Daichi

Classifications

• H01J2237/1501

  Beam alignment means or procedures · CPC title

• H01J37/28 Primary

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

• H01J37/1471

  for centering, aligning or positioning of ray or beam · CPC title

• H01J2237/2826

  Calibration · CPC title

• H01J2237/2816

  Length · CPC title