Charged Particle Beam System and Replacement Method for Charged Particle Source Unit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025292992-A1
Application number	US-202519078388-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 13, 2025
Priority date	Mar 14, 2024
Publication date	Sep 18, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A charged particle beam system includes a chamber; a charged particle source unit that has a charged particle source; a supporting member that is provided on a side wall of the chamber and detachably supports the charged particle source unit inside the chamber; and a chamber door that is provided on the side wall of the chamber for access to an interior of the chamber.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A charged particle beam system comprising:
a chamber; a charged particle source unit that has a charged particle source; a supporting member that is provided on a side wall of the chamber and detachably supports the charged particle source unit inside the chamber; and a chamber door that is provided on the side wall of the chamber for access to an interior of the chamber.

2 . The charged particle beam system according to claim 1 , wherein
the supporting member extends from the side wall of the chamber toward a center of the chamber, and the charged particle source unit is pushed into the supporting member from a direction opposite to a direction in which the supporting member extends.

3 . The charged particle beam system according to claim 1 , wherein
the supporting member extends from the side wall of the chamber toward the center of the chamber, the supporting member has a guide that extends in a direction in which the supporting member extends, and the charged particle source unit has an engaging part that engages with the guide.

4 . The charged particle beam system according to claim 1 , wherein
the supporting member extends in a first direction from the side wall of the chamber, and the chamber door is positioned in the first direction from the supporting member.

5 . The charged particle beam system according to claim 2 , wherein
an optical axis of the charged particle source is perpendicular to the direction in which the supporting member extends.

6 . The charged particle beam system according to claim 1 , wherein
the supporting member includes an insulator, the insulator holds a first terminal electrically connected to a power supply, the charged particle source unit has a second terminal electrically connected to the charged particle source, and the first terminal and the second terminal are electrically connected by attaching the charged particle source unit to the supporting member.

7 . The charged particle beam system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an optical system that illuminates a sample with a charged particle beam emitted from the charged particle source.

8 . The charged particle beam system according to claim 1 , wherein
the charged particle source generates an electron beam.

9 . The charged particle beam system according to claim 8 , further comprising:
an illumination optical system that illuminates a sample with an electron beam; and an imaging optical system that forms an image with electrons that have passed through the sample.

10 . The charged particle beam system according to claim 9 , further comprising:
a housing that houses an electron optical column and the chamber, wherein the electron optical column houses the illumination optical system and the imaging optical system, and a side surface of the housing has a housing door that is provided for access to the chamber door.

11 . A replacement method for a charged particle source unit in a charged particle beam system that comprises:
a chamber; a charged particle source unit that has a charged particle source; a supporting member that is provided on a side wall of the chamber and detachably supports the charged particle source unit inside the chamber; and a chamber door that is provided on the side wall of the chamber for access to an interior of the chamber, the replacement method comprising: opening the chamber door; removing a first charged particle source unit from the supporting member; and introducing a second charged particle source unit into the chamber through the chamber door and attaching the second charged particle source unit to the supporting member.

12 . The replacement method for the charged particle source unit according to claim 11 , wherein
the removing of the first charged particle source unit involves attaching a jig to the first charged particle source unit supported by the supporting member, and removing the first charged particle source unit from the supporting member, with the jig being gripped.

13 . The replacement method for the charged particle source unit according to claim 12 , wherein
the jig comprises an electrode, and wiring that electrically connects the first charged particle source unit and the electrode, and the removing of the first charged particle source unit involves electrically connecting the first charged particle source unit and the electrode through the wiring and bringing the electrode into contact with the chamber.

14 . The replacement method for the charged particle source unit according to claim 11 , wherein
the supporting member extends from the side wall of the chamber toward a center of the chamber, and the attaching of the second charged particle source unit to the supporting member involves pushing the second charged particle source unit into the supporting member in a direction opposite to a direction in which the supporting member extends.

15 . The replacement method for the charged particle source unit according to claim 11 , wherein
the charged particle beam system comprises a housing that houses an electron optical column and the chamber, a side surface of the housing has a housing door that is provided for access to the chamber door, and the replacement method further comprises opening the housing door prior to the opening of the chamber door.

Assignees

• Jeol Ltd

Inventors

• Ikeda Yuta
• Arima Norikazu
• Yamazaki Yuji
• Matsuzaki Mizuki
• Nomura Takumi
• Ichikawa Katsunori
• Yoshida Takuya
• Sato Hiroyuki
• Oyama Yoshiki

Classifications

• H01J2237/24455

  Transmitted particle detectors · CPC title

• H01J37/26

  Electron or ion microscopes; Electron or ion diffraction tubes · CPC title

• H01J37/16

  Vessels; Containers · CPC title

• H01J2237/16

  Vessels · CPC title

• H01J2237/2802

  Transmission microscopes · CPC title