Carl Zeiss MultiSEM GmbH

A multi-beam particle beam system comprises a particle beam source for creating a beam of charged particles, and a beam splitter for splitting the beam into a bundle of particle beams. The beam splitter comprises a multi-aperture plate having openings. A particle optical unit is provided to focus each of the particle beams in an object plane. A correction optical unit is provided for compensating for at least one aberration of the particle optical unit and comprises three or five hexapod elements and a plurality of round lens elements. The hexapod elements are successively arranged between the particle source and the multi-aperture plate in the beam path. A round lens element is arranged between each pair of hexapod elements arranged directly in succession in the beam path.

A multiple particle beam microscope and an associated method set a desired focal plane with an optical resolution and set a telecentric irradiation with the plurality of the primary beams. A method determines an optimal setting plane, into which an object surface is brought. Further, a system provides an improved resolution and telecentric irradiation for a large number of primary beams. Targeted selection and targeted individual influencing of individual primary beams and/or a mechanism means for influencing the plurality of primary beams in collective fashion can be implemented.

A particle-optical arrangement provides a primary particle-optical beam path for a plurality of first individual particle beams which, emanating from a multi-beam particle generator, are directed at an object positionable in an object plane of the arrangement, and a secondary particle-optical beam path for a plurality of second individual particle beams which emanate from the object. The particle-optical arrangement has a magnet arrangement having a first magnetic field region through which the primary particle-optical beam path and the second particle-optical beam path pass, for separating the primary particle-optical beam path and the secondary particle-optical beam path from one another. The magnet arrangement also has a second magnetic field region arranged in the primary particle-optical beam path and not arranged in the secondary particle-optical beam path, the second magnetic field region being arranged upstream of the first magnetic field region in relation to the primary particle-optical beam path.

A multi-beam particle beam system has a better resolution and a faster recording speed. An electrostatic booster lens is arranged in an upper focal plane of the objective lens level with the crossover region of the primary particle beams. The electrostatic booster lens is used to significantly increase the kinetic energy of the primary beams in the crossover region in a targeted manner, reducing the Coulomb interaction between the charged particles.

A multi-beam charged particle inspection system and a method of operating a multi-beam charged particle inspection system for wafer inspection with high throughput and with high resolution and high reliability comprise a mechanism for reduction and compensation of a scanning induced aberration, such as a scanning distortion of a collective multi-beam raster scanner for beamlets propagating at an angle with respect to the optical axis of the multi-beam charged particle inspection system.

A multi-beam charged particle system is configured for selecting a first and a second, different image acquisition property, and for acquiring a first image and a second image of a surface of a wafer with a plurality of primary charged particle beamlets. The multi-beam charged particle system is configured for image processing of the first and the second images to obtain at least one processed image. The technology can be used in applications of multi-beam charged particle system, where relatively high beam uniformity and throughput are often desirable. A corresponding method is disclosed. The system and method can yield improved image contrast.

A multi-beam charged particle system and a method of setting a working distance WD of the multi beam charged particle system are provided. With the method, the working distance is adjusted while the imaging performance of a wafer inspection task is maintained by computing parameter values of components from predetermined calibration parameter values. The method can allow a relatively fast wafer inspection task even with a wafer stage with a fixed z-position parallel to an optical axis of the multi-beam charged particle system.

A multiple particle beam system comprises a magnetic immersion lens and a detection system. A cross-over of the second individual particle beams is provided in the secondary path between the beam switch and the detection system, and a contrast aperture with a central cutout for cutting out the secondary beams is arranged in the region of the cross-over. A contrast correction lens system with a first magnetic contrast correction lens is arranged between the objective lens and the contrast aperture. The contrast correction lens system is configured to generate a magnetic field with an adjustable strength and correct beam tilts of the secondary beams in the cross-over in relation to the optical axis of the multiple particle beam system. It is possible to obtain a more uniform contrast for different individual images and the contrast can be improved overall.

A multiple particle beam system comprises: a magnetic lens through which a plurality of individual charged particle beams pass; and a controller configured to control, such as dynamically control, the magnetic lens. The magnetic lens comprises a coil, a winding body and a pole shoe. The coil is arranged around the winding body and the winding body is a hollow body through which the plurality of individual particle beams pass. The coil, together with the winding body, is arranged within the pole shoe. The pole shoe has an opening through which a magnetic field created by the magnetic lens emerges from the pole shoe and interacts with the plurality of individual particle beams to obtain a lens effect. The winding body is electrically conductive and has an interruption, by which the electrical conductivity of the winding body is interrupted in the circumferential direction around the particle-optical axis.

Certain improvements of multi-beam raster units such as multi-beam generating units and multi-beam deflector units of a multi-beam charged particle microscopes are provided. The improvements include design, fabrication and adjustment of multi-beam raster units including apertures of specific shape and dimensions. The improvements can enable multi-beam generation and multi-beam deflection or stigmation with higher precision. The improvements can be relevant for routine applications of multi-beam charged particle microscopes, for example in semiconductor inspection and review, where high reliability and high reproducibility and low machine-to-machine deviations are desirable.