Automatic mesh finger detection

Abstract

The invention relates to automatic mesh finger detection. Embodiments herein relate to sample support imaging and sample position identification at a sample support for microscopic imaging. A system may include a memory storing computer executable components and a processor executing the computer executable components. The computer executable components may include: a beam guiding component that instructs a focused ion beam (FIB) device of the beam system to guide an ion beam at a sample support; and a field application component that affects secondary charged particles emitted from the sample support due to the ion beam by directing activation of a negative field from the beam system during application of the ion beam by the FIB device.

Description

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application is a non - provisional application claiming priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 601,422, filed on November 21, 2023, entitled "Automatic GridFinger Detection", with Attorney Docket Nos. TFSP106US and TP387247USUTL1. The entire text of the prior application is hereby incorporated by reference. Background Art

[0003] Scientific instruments for material analysis can help determine the composition and properties of unknown components. In one or more examples, a scientific instrument can provide positioning, manipulation, and / or analysis with high resolution relative to a sample in a range of hundreds of nanometers or less in one dimension. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0004] The various embodiments will be readily understood from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. For ease of description, the same reference numerals indicate the same structural elements. The various embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

[0005] Note that one or more of the drawings include one or more grayscale images showing output images from a scientific instrument and are intended to depict a particular output observable by a user entity.

[0006] Figure 1 A block diagram of an example scientific instrument for performing operations in accordance with one or more embodiments described herein is illustrated.

[0007] Figure 2 An example method of using a scientific instrument for performing operations in accordance with one or more embodiments described herein is illustrated. Figure 1 The flowchart of an example method of using a scientific instrument for performing operations in accordance with one or more embodiments described herein is illustrated.

[0008] Figure 3 A graphical user interface (GUI) that can be used to perform one or more of the methods described herein in accordance with one or more embodiments described herein is illustrated.

[0009] Figure 4 A block diagram of an example computing device that can perform one or more of the methods disclosed herein in accordance with one or more embodiments described herein is illustrated.

[0010] Figure 5Illustrated is a block diagram of an example non-limiting system that can facilitate a process for identifying an edge of a sample support via a system associated with a focused ion beam (FIB) apparatus and an electron microscope (EM) according to one or more embodiments described herein.

[0011] Figure 6 Illustrated is a block diagram of another example non-limiting system that can facilitate a process for identifying an edge of a sample support via a system associated with a focused ion beam (FIB) apparatus and an electron microscope (EM) in accordance with one or more embodiments described herein.

[0012] Fig. 7A Illustrated is a block diagram of an example non-limiting dual beam system including EM and FIB equipment according to one or more embodiments described herein.

[0013] Figure 7B Another block diagram illustrating another example portion of a non-limiting dual beam system including EM and FIB equipment according to one or more embodiments described herein.

[0014] Figure 8 According to one or more embodiments described herein, Figure 6 A set of schematic diagrams of the arrangement of various aspects of a non-limiting system relative to each other.

[0015] Fig. 9 Illustrate that according to one or more embodiments described herein, Figure 6 A set of image generation performed by a non-limiting system.

[0016] Fig.10 Illustrate that according to one or more embodiments described herein, Figure 6 A flowchart of a set of processes performed and / or indicated by a non-limiting system.

[0017] Fig.11 Illustrate that according to one or more embodiments described herein, Figure 6 A set of images generated by a non-limiting system executed and / or instructed by, and which exemplifies the use of Figure 6 The result of the automatic positioning system 602.

[0018] Fig.12 Illustrate that according to one or more embodiments described herein, Figure 6 A flow chart of one or more processes performed by an automatic positioning system.

[0019] Fig.13 Illustrate that according to one or more embodiments described herein, Figure 6The automatic positioning system performs one or more processes Fig.12 Continuation of the flowchart.

[0020] Fig.14 Illustrate that according to one or more embodiments described herein, Figure 6 A flow chart of one or more processes performed by an automatic positioning system.

[0021] Fig.15 Illustrate that according to one or more embodiments described herein, Figure 6 The automatic positioning system performs one or more processes Fig.14 Continuation of the flowchart.

[0022] Fig.16 Illustrate that according to one or more embodiments described herein, Figure 6 A flow chart of one or more processes performed by an automatic positioning system.

[0023] Fig.17 Illustrate that according to one or more embodiments described herein, Figure 6 The automatic positioning system performs one or more processes Fig.16 Continuation of the flowchart.

[0024] Fig.18 A block diagram of an example scientific instrument system is illustrated in which one or more of the methods described herein may be performed, according to one or more embodiments described herein.

[0025] Fig.19 A block diagram illustrating an example operating environment in which implementations of the subject matter described herein may be incorporated.

[0026] Fig. 20 An example schematic block diagram illustrating a computing environment with which the subject matter described herein may interact and / or be at least partially implemented is illustrated. Summary of the invention

[0027] An overview is presented below to provide a basic understanding of one or more embodiments described herein. This overview is not intended to identify key or important elements and / or to delineate the scope of a particular embodiment or the scope of the claims. Its sole purpose is to present concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description presented later. In one or more embodiments, the systems, computer-implemented methods, devices, and / or computer program products described herein may provide a process for identifying an edge of a sample support by a system associated with and / or including a focused ion beam (FIB) device and / or an electron microscope (EM).

[0028] According to one embodiment, a system may include a memory storing computer executable components and a processor executing the computer executable components. The computer executable components may include: a beam guiding component that instructs a focused ion beam (FIB) device of a beam system to guide an ion beam to a sample support; and a field applying component that affects secondary charged particles emitted from the sample support due to the ion beam by directing activation of a negative field from the beam system during application of the ion beam by the FIB device.

[0029] According to another embodiment, a computer-implemented method may include: scanning a sample support by a system operably coupled to a processor using an ion beam of a focused ion beam (FIB) device of a beam system; generating a repulsive charge by the system that repels a first set of secondary charged particles originating from the sample support based on the scan away from a detector of the beam system; and allowing a second set of secondary charged particles to be aligned at the beam system regardless of the repulsive charge, the second set of secondary charged particles also originating from the sample support based on the scan.

[0030] According to yet another embodiment, a computer program product facilitates a process for identifying an edge of a sample support by a system associated with a beam system comprising a focused ion beam (FIB) apparatus and an electron microscope (EM), program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to register by the processor secondary charged particles originating from the sample support aligned relative to the FIB apparatus and the EM, and to generate by the processor an image of the sample support based on the registration, wherein the image includes a first region having a higher signal, the first region being bounded by a second region having a lower signal, and wherein a boundary between the first region and the second region corresponds to an edge of the sample support.

[0031] One or more embodiments disclosed herein can achieve improved performance relative to existing methods. For example, based on applying a negative field during imaging by a dual beam system (which applies an ion beam to a sample and detects the generated secondary charged particles), an image of a larger area with a higher contrast signal can be generated. Compared to the prior art, this can allow for more efficient and accurate identification of the edges of a sample support imaged by a dual beam system. In turn, this can allow for more accurate placement of a sample on and / or at a sample support compared to the prior art.

[0032] In view of one or more embodiments described herein, sample placement can be performed more efficiently and accurately because the attachment area on the sample support can be more accurately identified. In addition, compared to the prior art, since the attachment area on the sample support is more efficiently and accurately identified, a reduced number and / or smaller area of ​​sample substrate can be removed from the identified area.

[0033] In one or more embodiments described herein, identification of the attachment area of ​​the sample support can be automated, thereby reducing and / or eliminating manual identification of the attachment area, which in turn can reduce position identification errors, increase position identification accuracy, and / or time to successful position identification compared to what is available in the prior art.

[0034] Additionally, the embodiments described herein may be adapted to work with sample supports having surfaces of various shapes, sample supports combined with background and / or non-sample support applications such as, but not limited to, imaging of samples. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The following detailed description is only illustrative and is not intended to limit the application or utilization of the embodiments and / or embodiments. In addition, there is no intention to be constrained by any express or implied information presented in the previous summary of the invention or the specific implementation part. One or more embodiments are now described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same reference numerals are used throughout to refer to the same elements. In the following description, for the purpose of explanation, many specific details are set forth to provide a more thorough understanding of one or more embodiments. However, it is apparent that in various cases, one or more embodiments can be practiced without these specific details.

[0036] Various operations may be described as multiple discrete actions or operations in a manner that is most helpful for understanding the subject matter disclosed herein. However, the described order should not be interpreted as implying that these operations must rely on the order. In particular, these operations may be performed in an order different from the order of presentation. The described operations may be performed in an order different from the described embodiments. Various additional operations may be performed, and / or the described operations may be omitted in additional embodiments.

[0037] Turning now to the subject of materials analysis and one or more embodiments described herein, one method of obtaining combined imaging can be electron microscopy, in which a sample is targeted by an ion source, ultimately resulting in the emission (and / or generation) of secondary charged particles, such as secondary electrons and / or secondary ions that can be detected and aligned to subsequently generate an image of the sample.

[0038] With the prior art, the setup for this type of imaging currently relies on manual alignment of a dual beam system relative to a sample support, whereby the sample is subsequently attached to the sample support based on identification of an attachment area of ​​the sample support using the dual beam system. A dual beam system may typically include a focused ion beam (FIB) device and an electron microscope, such as a scanning electron microscope or a transmission electron microscope (S / TEM).

[0039] Existing techniques for identifying the attachment area may include: manual angular alignment; manual identification of weak contrast changes from imaging; manual driving of an attachment tool (e.g., a needle, micromanipulator, and / or nanomanipulator) into the sample support, which may damage or move the sample support; detecting the shadow of the sample or attachment tool when in proximity to the sample support as a means of relative position identification (e.g., manually and / or using image processing). Each of these techniques relies on indirect and / or interpolated identification of the attachment area of ​​the sample support.

[0040] In conjunction with these techniques, a repulsive field (such as a positive field) is applied relative to the secondary charged particle detector to pull secondary charged particles (emitted using an ion beam from the FIB) toward the detector. Detection and subsequent registration of secondary charged particles can allow image generation of the sample support.

[0041] However, given the inaccurate and manual nature of these prior art techniques, identification of the attachment area is slow, error-prone, and may be subjective due to the user's physical identification of the attachment area. In addition, also due to the slow, error-prone, or subjective identification, the exact angle of the surface of the attachment area may be inaccurately and / or imprecisely determined. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible to identify the attachment area at a known angle (e.g., as in Fig.11 The sample, such as a thin sheet, can be precisely attached to the sample support at an angle β, such as about 10 degrees, as shown in image 1100. It should be noted that such an angle can be used to reduce sample draping during thinning and / or polishing of the sample when the sample is attached to the sample support.

[0042] Additionally, with respect to the prior art, inaccurate identification of the attachment area may result in the need to remove (e.g., by cutout) a greater amount of sample support material prior to attaching the sample. That is, the material is removed so as not to interfere with the attachment of the sample or the imaging of the sample while attached to the sample support.

[0043] Further with respect to the prior art, none of the techniques are suitable, sufficiently accurate, and / or sufficiently objective for automation (eg, as an automatic identification technique).

[0044] As another result of existing inaccurate and manual attachment area identification techniques, welding the sample to the sample support may be inaccurate, which results in a weak minimum attachment and can allow the sample to move during sample modification and / or sample imaging, both of which are undesirable.

[0045] In order to compensate for one or more deficiencies or defects of existing frameworks (e.g., existing attachment area identification frameworks), one or more embodiments are described herein that may employ a unique attachment area identification framework to enable height information collection relative to a sample support, resulting in more accurate identification of smaller and more precise attachment areas, and may also employ automated methods. The attachment area identification framework may include applying a negative field during an ion beam scan of a FIB device of a dual beam system, such as applying a negative field at and / or adjacent to a secondary charged particle detector (e.g., a cage pipette of a charged particle detector). This may result in repelling at least some of the secondary charged particles emitted from the sample support due to the use of an ion beam. Although counterintuitive, reducing the detection of secondary charged particles relative to only a portion of the surface area of ​​the sample support may allow for enhanced and automated imaging using the automatic positioning system embodiments described herein.

[0046] The following discussion turns to a general discussion of one or more scientific instrument systems and related methods, computing devices, and computer-readable media disclosed herein. For example, in one or more embodiments, a system may include a memory storing computer executable components and a processor executing the computer executable components stored in the memory. The computer executable components include: a beam guiding component that instructs a focused ion beam (FIB) device to guide an ion beam to a sample support; and a field applying component that affects secondary charged particles emitted from a sample support due to an ion beam by guiding activation of a negative field from an electron microscope (EM) during application of an ion beam by the FIB device.

[0047] As noted above, one or more embodiments disclosed herein may achieve improved performance relative to prior art methods. For example, based on applying a negative field to a conductive component such as a screen, cage, or tube, such as one arranged adjacent to and / or coupled to a charged particle detector, during imaging by a dual beam system that applies an ion beam to a sample and detects the generated secondary charged particles, an image of a larger area with a higher contrast signal may be generated. This may allow for more efficient and / or accurate identification of the edges of a sample support imaged by a dual beam system as compared to the prior art. In turn, this may allow for more accurate placement of the sample on and / or at the sample support as compared to the prior art. In conjunction with sample placement, a reduced number and / or smaller area of ​​sample substrate may be removed from the identification area as compared to the prior art due to more efficient and accurate identification of attachment areas on the sample support.

[0048] Thus, the embodiments disclosed herein provide improvements in scientific instrumentation technology (e.g., improvements in computer technology to support such scientific instrumentation, among other improvements) that may be used in a variety of fields including, but not limited to, microscopy, optics, signal processing, spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).

[0049] Various embodiments of the embodiments disclosed herein can improve existing methods to achieve technical advantages of increased contrast imaging, reduced attachment area identification, reduced sample support modifications for sample attachment, and / or more stable sample attachment. That is, the use of the microscopic imaging preparation frame provided herein can allow the attachment area of ​​the sample support to be automatically and more specifically positioned before the sample is attached to the sample support, and therefore also before the microscopic imaging of the sample. One or more frames used herein can employ an automatic positioning system as described herein and the same dual-beam system that can be used for subsequent microscopic imaging of the sample. It should be noted that the following relative to Fig. 7A and Figure 7B An exemplary dual beam system is described in detail.

[0050] The above-described technical advantages cannot be achieved through routine and existing methods, and all user entities of systems including such embodiments can benefit from these advantages (e.g., by assisting the user entities in performing technical tasks, such as identifying attachment areas of sample supports, with the aid of the imaging framework discussed herein).

[0051] Therefore, in addition to the fields of optics, signal processing, spectroscopy and / or NMR, the technical features of the embodiments disclosed herein (e.g., applying a negative field and generating a resulting image of a sample support having high contrast areas, both performed automatically) are undoubtedly unconventional in the field of microscopic imaging, but are not limited to this, and the same is true for the combination of features of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0052] As further discussed herein, various aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein can improve the functionality of the computer itself. That is, the computational and user interface features disclosed herein not only involve the collection and comparison of information, but also apply new analytical and technical means to change the operation of computer analysis of material compounds. For example, based on the application of a negative field to cause a repulsive bias, a reduced number of secondary charged particles corresponding to at least one surface of the sample support can be received at the detector of the dual-beam system. Based on this reduced reception of secondary charged particles, an image of the sample support including a high contrast area can be generated. These processes can all be performed automatically because the imaging of the sample support does not rely on manual input as in existing frameworks. Therefore, by reducing the detection of secondary charged particles (such as secondary electrons and / or secondary ions) on one or more surfaces (or other environmental surfaces) of the sample support relative to one or more other surfaces (or other environmental surfaces) of the sample support, the corresponding computer-guided process of the sample support imaging itself can be made easier and more efficient. Therefore, the non-limiting system described herein including an automatic positioning system can be self-improving.

[0053] Thus, the present disclosure introduces functionality that neither existing computing devices nor humans can perform. More specifically, such existing computing devices would instead require manual input to accurately identify the attachment area of ​​the sample support, or simply fail to accurately identify the attachment area of ​​the sample support as described in one or more embodiments herein due to limited contrast imaging of the sample support. Given the time, energy, human error, and lack of automation involved, in addition to the lack of accurate sample attachment, it is not practical to operate within the scope of existing methods.

[0054] Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure may serve any of a number of technical purposes, such as controlling a particular technical system or process; determining how to control a machine based on a measurement result; digital audio, image, or video enhancement or analysis; separation of material sources in a mixed signal; generating data for reliable and / or efficient transmission or storage; providing estimates and confidence intervals for material samples; or providing faster processing of sensor data. Specifically, the present disclosure provides technical solutions to technical problems, including but not limited to accurate and repeatable attachment area identification, accurate and repeatable sample attachment, and the ability to perform accurate subsequent processing (such as sample thinning or polishing and / or sample imaging), resulting in faster, more thorough, and / or more efficient processing of material samples.

[0055] Thus, embodiments disclosed herein provide improvements to materials analysis technology (eg, improvements in computer technology to support materials analysis, among other improvements).

[0056] As used herein, the phrase "based on" should be understood to mean "based, at least in part, on" unless otherwise specified.

[0057] As used herein, the term "component" may refer to an atomic element, a molecular element, a phase of atomic or molecular elements, or a combination thereof.

[0058] As used herein, the terms "compound" and "precursor" are used interchangeably.

[0059] As used herein, the term "data" may include metadata.

[0060] As used herein, the terms "entity," "requesting entity," and "user entity" may refer to machines, devices, components, hardware, software, intelligent devices, parties, organizations, individuals, and / or humans.

[0061] One or more embodiments are now described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same reference numerals are used throughout to refer to the same drawing elements. In the following description, for the purpose of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of one or more embodiments. However, it is apparent that in various circumstances, one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details.

[0062] In addition, it should be understood that the embodiments depicted in one or more of the figures described herein are for illustrative purposes only, and therefore the architecture of the embodiments is not limited to the systems, devices and / or components depicted therein, nor is it limited to any specific order, connection and / or coupling of the systems, devices and / or components depicted therein.

[0063] Turning now in particular to one or more of the accompanying drawings, first to Figure 1 , shows a block diagram of a scientific instrument module 100 for use in preparation and setup associated with performing material analysis operations using microscopic imaging techniques, according to various embodiments described herein. The scientific instrument module 100 may be implemented by circuitry (e.g., including electrical and / or optical components) such as a programmed computing device. The logic of the scientific instrument module 100 may be included in a single computing device or may be distributed across multiple computing devices that communicate with each other, as appropriate. Reference is made herein to Figure 4 Examples of computing devices that may implement the scientific instrument support module 100, either alone or in combination, are discussed in conjunction with computing device 400 and are referenced herein. Fig.18 An example of a system of interconnected computing devices is discussed in scientific instrument system 1800 , where scientific instrument module 100 may be implemented across one or more computing devices.

[0064] The scientific instrument module 100 can function corresponding to a FIB (focused ion beam) device and an EM (electron microscope), such as they are combined in a dual beam system. The scientific instrument support module 100 may include a first logic 102, a second logic 104, a third logic 106, a fourth logic 108, and a fifth logic 110. As used herein, the term "logic" may include a device that performs a set of operations associated with logic. For example, any of the logic elements included in the module 100 may be implemented by one or more computing devices, which are programmed with instructions to enable one or more processing devices of the computing device to perform an associated set of operations. In a specific embodiment, the logic element may include one or more non-transient computer-readable media, which have instructions on them, which, when executed by one or more processing devices in one or more computing devices, enable the one or more computing devices to perform an associated set of operations. As used herein, the term "module" may refer to a collection of one or more logic elements, which together perform functions associated with the module. Different logic elements in the logic elements in the module may take the same form or may take different forms. For example, some of the logic in a module may be implemented by a programmed general-purpose processing device, while other logic in the module may be implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In another example, different ones of the logic elements in a module may be associated with different instruction sets executed by one or more processing devices. A module may omit one or more logic elements depicted in the associated figures; for example, when the module is to perform a subset of the operations discussed herein with reference to the module, the module may include a subset of the logic elements depicted in the associated figures.

[0065] The first logic 102 can cause and / or direct the reception, search, positioning and / or alignment of an ion beam of a FIB device to a support grid (such as including one or more sample supports). That is, more generally, the first logic 102 can cause the ion beam of the FIB device to be aligned with the support grid.

[0066] The second logic 104 can cause and / or direct the application of a negative field to at least a portion of a sample grid including a sample support for imaging. That is, the second logic 104 can direct the generation of a negative field through EM, such as EM of a dual beam system that also includes a FIB device mentioned relative to the first logic 102. For example, a bias voltage can be applied to a component adjacent to or coupled to a receiving end of a detector that can attract and / or reflect charged particles in order to achieve the improved imaging disclosed herein.

[0067] The third logic 106 can cause and / or direct the detection of secondary charged particles emitted and / or generated relative to the sample support in response to applying the ion beam (first logic 102) to the sample support. That is, the third logic 106 can perform the detection of secondary charged particles based on the operation of the first logic 102 and the second logic 104.

[0068] The fourth logic 108 may cause and / or direct the generation of an image of the sample support. That is, based on the detection (third logic 106), the fourth logic 108 may generate an image.

[0069] The fifth logic 110 may cause and / or direct modification of the image generated by the fourth logic 108. That is, the fifth logic 110 may cause specific identification of a boundary as a contrasting portion of the sample support, which may include an attachment area for attaching the sample to the sample support.

[0070] Figure 2 A flow chart illustrating a method 200 of performing operations of the scientific instrument module 100 according to various embodiments. Although reference may be made to specific embodiments disclosed herein (e.g., Figure 1 The scientific instrument module 100 discussed in this article is referenced Figure 3 GUI 300 discussed herein, reference Figure 4 The computing device 400 discussed herein and / or referenced herein Fig.18 The operation of method 200 is illustrated using the scientific instrument system 1800 discussed above, but method 200 can be used in any suitable setting to perform any suitable operation. Figure 2 The operations are each illustrated once in a particular order, but the operations may be reordered and / or repeated as needed and appropriate (eg, different operations performed may be performed in parallel where appropriate).

[0071] At 202, a first operation can be performed. For example, the first logic 102 of the module 100 can perform the first operation 202. The first operation 202 can include directing and / or causing alignment and / or activation of an ion beam from a FIB device.

[0072] At 204, a second operation may be performed. For example, the second logic 104 of the module 100 may perform the second operation 204. The second operation 204 may include directing and / or causing the application of a negative field from the EM, but it should be understood that the negative field may also be generated by any other aspect, such as a dual beam system, a FIB apparatus, a portion of a dual beam system separate from the FIB apparatus and the EM, and / or an apparatus separate from the dual beam system. In one or more examples, the negative field may be applied to a conductive component, such as a screen or a tube, that is disposed adjacent to or coupled to a charged particle detector of the EM.

[0073] At 206, a third operation may be performed. For example, the third logic 106 of the module 100 may perform the third operation 206. The third operation 206 may include directing and / or causing detection of the secondary charged particles described above resulting from the application of the ion beam to the sample support.

[0074] At 208, a fourth operation may be performed. For example, the fourth logic 108 of the module 100 may perform the fourth operation 208. The fourth operation 208 may include directing and / or causing generation of an image of the sample support based on the detection of the secondary charged particles.

[0075] At 210, a fifth operation may be performed. For example, the fifth logic 110 of the module 100 may perform the fifth operation 210. The fifth operation 210 may include directing and / or causing modification of the generated image to highlight and / or identify boundaries between high contrast regions of the generated image.

[0076] The scientific instrument methods disclosed herein may include interaction with a user entity (e.g., via the reference Fig.18 The user local computing device 1820 discussed above. These interactions may include providing information to the user entity (e.g., about scientific instruments such as Fig.18 information about the operation of a scientific instrument such as a scientific instrument 1810, information about samples being analyzed or other tests or measurements being performed by the scientific instrument, information retrieved from a local or remote database, or other information) or provide the user entity with the option of inputting commands (e.g., controlling a scientific instrument such as Fig.18 In some embodiments, these interactions may be performed through a graphical user interface (GUI) that includes a display device (e.g., a graphical user interface such as a display device such as a display device such as a computer program product such as a computer program product, or a display device such as a computer program product, ... such as a computer program product, or a display device such as a computer program product, such as a computer program product, such as a computer program product, and a display device such as a computer program product, such as a computer program product, and a display device such as Figure 4 410) that provides output to a user entity and / or prompts the user entity to provide input (e.g., via a display device 410 discussed herein). Figure 4 Other I / O devices 412 discussed include one or more input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, trackpad, or touch screen). The scientific instrument system 1800 disclosed herein may include any GUI suitable for interacting with a user entity.

[0077] Next turn Figure 3 , depicts an example GUI 300 that can be used to perform some or all of the methods described herein according to various embodiments described herein. As described above, the GUI 300 can be provided in a scientific instrument system (e.g., Fig.18 A computing device (e.g., a scientific instrument system 1800 discussed herein) Figure 4 The computing device 400 discussed herein may include a display device (eg, Figure 4 The user entity may use any suitable input device (e.g., the display device 410 discussed herein) to input the content of the input to the display device 410. Figure 4 Any input devices (including those discussed in other I / O devices 412 ) and input techniques (e.g., cursor movement, motion capture, facial recognition, gesture detection, voice recognition, button activation, etc.) interact with GUI 300 .

[0078] GUI 300 may include a data display area 302 , a data analysis area 304 , a scientific instrument control area 306 , and a settings area 308 . Figure 3 The specific number and arrangement of regions depicted in are merely illustrative, and any number and arrangement of regions including any desired characteristics thereof may be included in GUI 300 .

[0079] The data display area 302 may display data generated by a scientific instrument (e.g., Fig.18 For example, the data display area 302 may display one or more output images 902-912 ( Fig. 9 ) and / or one or more texts, graphics, charts, matrices and / or spectra, but are not limited to these.

[0080] The data analysis region 304 may display the results of the data analysis (e.g., the results of analyzing the data illustrated in the data display region 302 and / or other data). For example, the data analysis region 304 may display one or more results of the sample imaging, such as corresponding to the high resolution imaging 1010 ( Fig.10 ). In one or more cases, the data analysis area 304 can display a list, flow chart, or other schematic diagram of acquisition actions taken and / or recommended with respect to the experiment. In one or more embodiments, the data display area 302 and the data analysis area 304 can be combined in the GUI 300 (e.g., including data output from a scientific instrument and some analysis of the data in a common graphic or area).

[0081] The scientific instrument control area 306 may include options that allow a user entity to control scientific instruments (e.g., Fig.18 For example, the scientific instrument control area 306 may include one or more controls for inputting one or more metrics of interest.

[0082] The settings region 308 may include options that allow the user to physically control the features and functions of the GUI 300 (and / or other GUIs), and / or to perform common computing operations with respect to the data display region 302 and the data analysis region 304 (e.g., saving data to a storage device (such as a storage device such as described herein). Figure 4 For example, the settings area 308 may include one or more options to change the graphic representation (such as with Fig. 9 or Fig.10 The color, fill, or format of an image (an icon related to an image).

[0083] As described above, the scientific instrument module 100 may be implemented by one or more computing devices. Therefore, the following discussion turns to Figure 4 , which illustrates a block diagram of a computing device 400 that can perform some or all of the scientific instrument methods disclosed herein, according to various embodiments. In one or more embodiments, the scientific instrument module 100 can be implemented by a single computing device 400 or multiple computing devices 400. In addition, as discussed below, the computing device 400 (or multiple computing devices 400) that implements the scientific instrument module 100 can be Fig.18 Part of one or more of a scientific instrument 1810, a user local computing device 1820, a service local computing device 1830, or a remote computing device 1840.

[0084] Figure 4 The computing device 400 is illustrated as having multiple components, but any one or more of these components may be omitted or duplicated depending on the application and settings. As illustrated, these components may include one or more of a processor 402, a storage device 404, an interface device 406, a battery / power circuit 408, a display device 410, and other input / output (I / O) devices 412, as will be described below.

[0085] In one or more embodiments, one or more of the components included in computing device 400 may be attached to one or more motherboards and enclosed in a housing (e.g., including plastic, metal, and / or other materials). In one or more embodiments, some of these components may be fabricated onto a single system on a chip (SoC) (e.g., an SoC may include one or more processors 402 and one or more storage devices 404). Additionally, in one or more embodiments, computing device 400 may omit Figure 4In one or more embodiments, computing device 400 may include interface circuitry (not shown) for coupling to one or more components using any suitable interface (e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) interface, a controller area network (CAN) interface, a serial peripheral interface (SPI) interface, an Ethernet interface, a wireless interface, or any other suitable interface). For example, computing device 400 may omit display device 410, but may include display device interface circuitry (e.g., a connector and driver circuitry) to which display device 410 may be coupled.

[0086] Computing device 400 may include processor 402 (e.g., one or more processing devices). As used herein, the term "processing device" may refer to any device or portion of a device that processes electronic data from registers and / or memory to convert the electronic data into other electronic data that can be stored in registers and / or memory. Processor 402 may include one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), cryptographic processors (specialized processors that execute cryptographic algorithms in hardware), server processors, or any other suitable processing devices.

[0087] The computing device 400 may include a storage device 404 (e.g., one or more storage devices). The storage device 404 may include one or more memory devices, such as a random access memory (RAM) (e.g., a static RAM (SRAM) device, a magnetic RAM (MRAM) device, a dynamic RAM (DRAM) device, a resistive RAM (RRAM) device, or a conductive bridge RAM (CBRAM) device), a hard drive-based memory device, a solid-state memory device, a networked drive, a cloud drive, or any combination of memory devices. In one or more embodiments, the storage device 404 may include a memory that shares a die with the processor 402. In such embodiments, the memory may be used as a cache memory and may include, for example, an embedded dynamic random access memory (eDRAM) or a spin transfer torque magnetic random access memory (STT-MRAM). In one or more embodiments, the storage device 404 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions thereon that, when executed by one or more processing devices (e.g., the processor 402), cause the computing device 400 to perform any appropriate method or portion of the methods disclosed herein.

[0088] The computing device 400 may include an interface device 406 (e.g., one or more interface devices 406). The interface device 406 may include one or more communication chips, connectors, and / or other hardware and software to manage communications between the computing device 400 and other computing devices. For example, the interface device 406 may include circuits for managing wireless communications for transmitting data to and from the computing device 400. The term "wireless" and its derivatives may be used to describe circuits, devices, systems, methods, techniques, communication channels, etc. that can transmit data through a non-solid medium using modulated electromagnetic radiation. The term does not mean that the associated device does not contain any wires, but in one or more embodiments, the associated device may not contain any wires. The circuitry included in the interface device 406 for managing wireless communications may implement any of a variety of wireless standards or protocols, including, but not limited to, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards, including Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 family), IEEE 802.16 standards (e.g., IEEE 802.16-2005 amendments), Long Term Evolution (LTE) projects and any amendments, updates and / or revisions (e.g., Advanced LTE projects, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) projects (also known as "3GPP2"), etc.). In one or more embodiments, the circuitry included in the interface device 406 for managing wireless communications may operate in accordance with a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Evolved HSPA (E-HSPA), or LTE network. In one or more embodiments, the circuitry included in the interface device 406 for managing wireless communications may operate in accordance with Enhanced Data GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM The interface device 406 may be configured to operate in accordance with an EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), a Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), or an Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN). In one or more embodiments, the circuitry included in the interface device 406 for managing wireless communications may operate in accordance with Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO) and its derivatives, and any other wireless protocols designated as 3G, 4G, 5G, etc. In one or more embodiments, the interface device 406 may include one or more antennas (e.g., one or more antenna arrays) to receive and / or send wireless communications.

[0089] In one or more embodiments, interface device 406 may include a circuit for managing wired communication, such as electrical communication protocol, optical communication protocol or any other suitable communication protocol. For example, interface device 406 may include a circuit supporting communication according to Ethernet technology. In one or more embodiments, interface device 406 may support wireless and wired communication, and / or may support multiple wired communication protocols and / or multiple wireless communication protocols. For example, a first group of circuits of interface device 406 may be dedicated to short-range wireless communication such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and a second group of circuits of interface device 406 may be dedicated to long-range wireless communication such as global positioning system (GPS), EDGE, GPRS, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE, EV-DO, etc. In one or more embodiments, a first group of circuits of interface device 406 may be dedicated to wireless communication, and a second group of circuits of interface device 406 may be dedicated to wired communication.

[0090] Computing device 400 may include battery / power circuitry 408. Battery / power circuitry 408 may include one or more energy storage devices (e.g., batteries or capacitors) and / or circuitry for coupling components of computing device 400 to an energy source separate from computing device 400 (e.g., AC line power).

[0091] Computing device 400 may include display device 410 (eg, multiple display devices). Display device 410 may include any visual indicator, such as a heads-up display, a computer monitor, a projector, a touch screen display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode display, or a flat panel display.

[0092] The computing device 400 may include other input / output (I / O) devices 412. For example, the other I / O devices 412 may include one or more audio output devices (e.g., speakers, headphones, earbuds, alarms, etc.), one or more audio input devices (e.g., microphones or microphone arrays), a positioning device (e.g., a GPS device that communicates with a satellite-based system to receive the location of the computing device 400 as is known in the art), an audio codec, a video codec, a printer, a sensor (e.g., a thermocouple or other temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a pressure sensor, a vibration sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, etc.), an image capture device such as a camera, a keyboard, a cursor control device such as a mouse, a stylus, a trackball, or a touchpad, a barcode reader, a quick response (QR) code reader, or a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader.

[0093] The computing device 400 can have any suitable form factor suitable for its applications and settings, such as a handheld or mobile computing device (e.g., a cell phone, a smart phone, a mobile Internet device, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook computer, an ultrabook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an ultra-mobile personal computer, etc.), a desktop computing device, or a server computing device or other networked computing component.

[0094] Next reference Figure 5 and Figure 6 , in one or more embodiments, Figure 5 and Figure 6 The non-limiting systems 500 and / or 600 illustrated in the drawings and / or the systems thereof may also include computing environments (such as Fig. 20 One or more computers and / or computing-based elements described in the computing environment 2000 shown in FIG. In one or more of the described embodiments, the computers and / or computing-based elements may be combined to implement the combined Figure 5 and / or Figure 6 and / or used in combination with one or more of the systems, devices, components, and / or computer-implemented operations illustrated and / or described in other figures described herein.

[0095] First turn Figure 5 , which illustrates a block diagram of an example, non-limiting system 500 that may include an automated positioning system 502 and a dual beam system 501. The automated positioning system 502 may facilitate identifying an attachment area (such as an edge) of a sample support by a system associated with a focused ion beam (FIB) apparatus such as the dual beam system 501 and an electron microscope (EM).

[0096] In one or more embodiments, the automatic positioning system 502 may be comprised, at least in part, of the computing device 400 .

[0097] In one or more embodiments, the automated positioning system 502 may include, at least in part, a dual beam system 501 .

[0098] In one or more embodiments, the dual beam system 501 may include, at least in part, an automated positioning system 502 .

[0099] Note that the automatic positioning system 502 is only briefly described in detail to provide Figure 6 The introduction of a more complex and / or extensive automatic positioning system 602 exemplified in the example of FIG. Figure 6 Non-limiting system 600 provides further details regarding processes that may be performed by one or more embodiments described herein.

[0100] Still reference Figure 5, automatic positioning system 502 may include at least memory 504, bus 505, processor 506, beam directing component 510, and field applying component 512. Processor 506 may be the same as, consist of, or be different from processor 402. Memory 504 may be the same as, consist of, or be different from storage device 404.

[0101] Using the components described above, the automated positioning system 502 can facilitate the process of first generally identifying a sample support 554, and secondly identifying an attachment area at the sample support 554 for which to attach a sample to be imaged using microscopic imaging.

[0102] In general, the sample support 554 can be one of one or more sample supports 554 of a grid system 550 that includes one or more sample supports 554 coupled to a substrate 552 .

[0103] Generally speaking, the beam guide component 510 can instruct (eg, direct and / or cause) the focused ion beam (FIB) device 540 to direct the ion beam to the sample support. The instruction can be issued by any suitable means between the automatic positioning system 502 and the dual beam system 501.

[0104] In conjunction with the activation of the ion beam, the field application component 512 can affect the secondary charged particles emitted from the sample support 554 due to the ion beam by directing the activation of a negative field relative to an electron microscope (EM) (e.g., S / TEM 530) during the application of the ion beam by the FIB apparatus 540. In one or more embodiments, the negative field can be generated by an element of the S / TEM 530. In one or more other embodiments, the negative field can be additionally and / or alternatively generated by the FIB apparatus 540, another element of the dual beam system 501, the automatic positioning system 502 directly, and / or by another element communicatively coupled to the dual beam system 501 and / or the automatic positioning system 502. For example, and applicable to all embodiments described herein both above and below, the negative field can be applied to a conductive component, such as a screen, mesh, and / or tube, such as a charged particle detector disposed proximate to and / or coupled to the dual beam system 501.

[0105] The beam directing component 510 and the field applying component 512 are operably coupled to the processor 506, which is operably coupled to the memory 504. The operational coupling may be provided by the bus 505. The processor 506 may facilitate the execution of the beam directing component 510 and the field applying component 512. The beam directing component 510 and the field applying component 512 may be stored at the memory 504.

[0106] In general, non-limiting system 500 may employ any suitable communication method (eg, electronic, telephony, Internet, infrared, fiber optic, etc.) to provide communication between automatic positioning system 502, dual beam system 501, and / or any device associated with a user entity.

[0107] The dual beam system 501 may include any suitable processor and / or memory for facilitating one or more processes, including but not limited to the generation of a negative field, the alignment of an ion beam, and / or the application of an ion beam. An exemplary dual beam system 700 is described in detail below. Aspects of the dual beam system 700 may be applied to the dual beam system 501.

[0108] Next turn Figure 6 , illustrates a non-limiting system 600 that may include an automatic positioning system 602 and a dual beam system 700. For the sake of brevity, repeated descriptions of similar elements and / or processes employed in corresponding embodiments are omitted. Figure 5 The description of the embodiments can be applied to Figure 6 Similarly, regarding Figure 6 The description of the embodiments can be applied to Figure 5 implementation plan.

[0109] Generally speaking, the automated positioning system 602 can facilitate a process for identifying an attachment area 940 of a sample support 654 (such as corresponding to an edge 804 of the sample support 654) by a system associated with a focused ion beam (FIB) device 640 such as a dual beam system 700 and an electron microscope (EM) (e.g., S / TEM 630).

[0110] In one or more embodiments, the automatic positioning system 602 may be comprised, at least in part, of the computing device 400 .

[0111] In one or more embodiments, the automated positioning system 602 may include, at least in part, a dual beam system 700 .

[0112] In one or more embodiments, the dual beam system 700 can include, at least in part, the automated positioning system 602 .

[0113] One or more communications between one or more components of the non-limiting system 600 may be provided via wired and / or wireless means, including but not limited to using a cellular network, a wide area network (WAN) (e.g., the Internet), and / or a local area network (LAN). Suitable wired or wireless technologies for supporting communications may include, but are not limited to, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Enhanced General Packet Radio Service (Enhanced GPRS), Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE), Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Zigbee and other 802.XX wireless technologies and / or traditional telecommunication technologies, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), RF4CE protocol, WirelessHART protocol, 6LoWPAN (Ipv6 over Low Power Wireless Area Network), Z-Wave, Advanced and / or Adaptive Networking Technology (ANT), Ultra-Wideband (UWB) standard protocol and / or other proprietary and / or non-proprietary communication protocols.

[0114] The automatic positioning system 602 can be used in conjunction with a cloud computing environment such as Fig.19 The cloud computing environment 1900 is associated with (such as accessible via) the cloud computing environment.

[0115] The automatic positioning system 602 may include multiple components. These components may include a memory 604, a processor 606, a bus 605, a beam guiding component 610, a field applying component 612, a charged particle detecting component 614, an image generating component 616, a boundary detecting component 618, a fitting component 620, a patterning component 622, and / or an execution component 624. Using these components, the automatic positioning system 602 may perform initial detection and positioning of the sample support 654 of the larger grid unit 650, and may secondarily position the attachment area 940 ( Fig. 9 ). Attachment area 940 will be used to attach a sample 1024 such as a sheet ( Fig.10 ) for subsequent microscopic imaging of sample 1024 via dual-beam system 700.

[0116] The following discussion turns to the processor 606, memory 604, and bus 605 of the automatic positioning analysis system 602. For example, in one or more embodiments, the automatic positioning system 602 may include a processor 606 (e.g., a computer processing unit, a microprocessor, a classical processor, a quantum processor, and / or the like). In one or more embodiments, as described herein with or without reference to one or more figures of one or more embodiments, components associated with the automatic positioning system 602 may include one or more computer and / or machine readable, writable, and / or executable components and / or instructions that may be executed by the processor 606 to provide the performance of one or more processes defined by such components and / or instructions. In one or more embodiments, the processor 606 may include a beam directing component 610, a field applying component 612, a charged particle detecting component 614, an image generating component 616, a boundary detecting component 618, a fitting component 620, a patterning component 622, and / or an execution component 624.

[0117] In one or more embodiments, the automatic positioning system 602 may include a computer readable memory 604 operably connected to the processor 606. The memory 604 may store computer executable instructions that, when executed by the processor 606, may cause the processor 606 and / or one or more other components of the automatic positioning system 602 (e.g., the beam directing component 610, the field applying component 612, the charged particle detecting component 614, the image generating component 616, the boundary detecting component 618, the fitting component 620, the patterning component 622, and / or the executing component 624) to perform one or more actions. In one or more embodiments, the memory 604 may store computer executable components (e.g., the beam directing component 610, the field applying component 612, the charged particle detecting component 614, the image generating component 616, the boundary detecting component 618, the fitting component 620, the patterning component 622, and / or the executing component 624).

[0118] The automatic positioning system 602 and / or its components as described herein may be communicatively, electrically, operatively, optically, and / or otherwise coupled to each other via a bus 605. The bus 605 may include one or more of a memory bus, a memory controller, a peripheral bus, an external bus, a local bus, a quantum bus, and / or another type of bus that may employ one or more bus architectures. One or more of these examples of the bus 605 may be employed.

[0119] In one or more embodiments, the automatic positioning system 602 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively, electrically, operatively, optically, and / or the like) to one or more external systems (e.g., an unillustrated electrical output generating system, one or more output targets, and / or output target controllers), sources, and / or devices (e.g., classical and / or quantum computing devices, communication devices, and / or the like), such as via a network. In one or more embodiments, one or more of the components of the automatic positioning system 602 and / or the non-limiting system 600 may reside in the cloud and / or may reside locally in a local computing environment (e.g., at a specified location).

[0120] In addition to the processor 606 and / or memory 604 described above, the automatic positioning system 602 may also include one or more computer and / or machine readable, writable and / or executable components and / or instructions, which, when executed by the processor 606, may provide for the performance of one or more operations defined by such components and / or instructions.

[0121] The discussion then turns to Fig. 7A And turn to a description of an exemplary dual beam system 700 that may be used as part of non-limiting system 600. It should be understood that in one or more embodiments, dual beam system 700 may be employed in place of dual beam system 501 and the description of dual beam system 700 may also apply to dual beam system 501.

[0122] Fig. 7A Apparatus for performing at least a portion of one or more of the methods described herein are shown. Fig. 7A A typical beam system having a SEM column and a focused ion beam (FIB) column is illustrated, such as a dual beam system 700. Although examples of suitable hardware are provided below, the embodiments described herein are not limited to implementation with any particular type of hardware.

[0123] A scanning electron microscope (EM) 741 is provided with the dual beam system 700 together with a power supply and control unit 745. An electron beam 743 is emitted from a cathode 752 by applying a voltage between the cathode 752 and the anode 754. The electron beam 743 is focused into a fine spot by a condensing lens 756 and an objective lens 758. The electron beam 743 is scanned two-dimensionally on the sample with the aid of a deflection coil 760. The operation of the condensing lens 756, the objective lens 758 and the deflection coil 760 is controlled by the power supply and control unit 745.

[0124] The electron beam 743 can be focused onto a substrate 722, which is located on a movable XY stage 725 within a lower chamber 726. When electrons in the electron beam strike the substrate 722, secondary charged particles are emitted. As discussed below, these secondary charged particles are detected by a secondary electron detector 740. As discussed above, a STEM detector 762 located below the TEM sample holder 724 and stage 725 can collect electrons and / or ions transmitted through a sample mounted on the TEM sample holder.

[0125] The dual beam system 700 also includes a focused ion beam (FIB) system 711, which includes a vacuum chamber with an upper neck portion 712, in which an ion source 714 and a focusing column 716 including an extraction electrode and an electrostatic optical system are placed. The axis of the focusing column 716 is inclined 52 degrees to the axis of the electron column. The neck portion such as the ion column 712 may include the ion source 714, the extraction electrode 715, the focusing element 717, the deflection element 720 and the focused ion beam 718. The focused ion beam 718 passes through the focusing column 716 from the ion source 714 and is directed between the electrostatic deflection tools schematically indicated at 720 toward a substrate 722, which includes, for example, a semiconductor device on a movable XY stage 725 located in a lower chamber 726.

[0126] The stage 725 is preferably movable in the horizontal plane (X and Y axes) and vertically (Z axis). The stage 725 may also be tilted about sixty (60) degrees and rotated about the Z axis. In some embodiments, a separate TEM sample stage (not shown) may be used. Such a TEM sample stage will also preferably be movable in the X, Y and Z axes. The door 761 is opened for inserting the substrate 722 onto the XY stage 725 and, if used, for maintaining the internal gas supply reservoir. The door is interlocked so that it cannot be opened if the system is under vacuum.

[0127] The neck portion 712 is evacuated using an ion pump 768. The chamber 726 is evacuated using a turbomolecular and mechanical pumping system 730 under the control of a vacuum controller 732. The vacuum system provides a vacuum between about 1×10-7 Torr and 5×10-4 Torr within the chamber 726. If an etch assist gas, etch delay gas, or deposition precursor gas is used, the chamber background pressure may be increased, typically to about 1×10-5 Torr.

[0128] A high voltage power supply provides appropriate accelerating voltages to electrodes in focusing column 716 for exciting and focusing ion beam 718. When it strikes substrate 722, material is sputtered, i.e., physically ejected from the sample. Alternatively, ion beam 718 may decompose a precursor gas to deposit material.

[0129] A high voltage power supply 734 is connected to the liquid metal ion source 714 and appropriate electrodes in the ion beam focusing column 716 for forming an ion beam 718 of approximately 1 keV to 60 keV and directing it toward the sample. A deflection controller and amplifier 736 operating according to a prescribed pattern provided by a pattern generator 738 is coupled to the deflection plates 720, whereby the ion beam 718 can be manually or automatically controlled to trace a corresponding pattern on the upper surface of the substrate 722. In some systems, the deflection plates are placed before the final lens, as is known in the art. When a blanking controller (not shown) applies a blanking voltage to the blanking electrode, a beam blanking electrode (not shown) within the ion beam focusing column 716 causes the ion beam 718 to impact a blanking hole (not shown) instead of the substrate 722.

[0130] Liquid metal ion source 714 typically provides a metal ion beam of gallium. The source is typically capable of focusing into a sub-tenth micron wide beam at substrate 722 for modifying substrate 722 by ion milling, enhanced etching, material deposition, or for imaging substrate 722.

[0131] A charged particle detector 740, such as an Everhart Thornley or multi-channel board, for detecting secondary ion or electron emission is connected to a video circuit 742 that supplies a drive signal to a video monitor 744 and receives a deflection signal from a system controller 719. The position of the charged particle detector 740 within the lower chamber 726 may vary in different embodiments. For example, the charged particle detector 740 may be coaxial with the ion beam and include an aperture for allowing the ion beam to pass. In other embodiments, the secondary particles may be collected by the final lens of the SEM and then deflected off-axis for collection.

[0132] The micromanipulator 747 can precisely move objects within the vacuum chamber. The micromanipulator 747 can include a precision electric motor 748 positioned outside the vacuum chamber to provide X, Y, Z, and θ control of a portion 749 positioned within the vacuum chamber. The micromanipulator 747 can be equipped with different end effectors for manipulating small objects. In the embodiments described herein, the end effector is a thin probe 750.

[0133] A gas delivery system 746 extends into the lower chamber 726 for introducing and directing gaseous vapors toward the substrate 722. For example, iodine may be delivered to enhance etching, or metal organic compounds may be delivered to deposit metals.

[0134] The system controller 719 controls the operation of the various parts of the dual beam system 700. Through the system controller 719, the user can cause the ion beam 718 or the electron beam 743 to scan in a desired manner by entering commands into a conventional user interface (not shown). Alternatively, the system controller 719 can control the dual beam system 700 according to programming instructions stored in the memory 721. In some embodiments, the dual beam system 700 incorporates image identification software to automatically identify the area of ​​interest, and the system can then manually or automatically extract samples according to the present application. For example, the system can automatically locate similar features on a semiconductor wafer including multiple devices and sample these features on different (or the same) devices.

[0135] Transfer back Figure 6 And now returning to the additional components of the automatic positioning system 602 (e.g., the beam guiding component 610, the field applying component 612, the charged particle detecting component 614, the image generating component 616, the boundary detecting component 618, the fitting component 620, the patterning component 622, and the executing component 624), generally speaking, the automatic positioning system 602 can perform a set of processes that can be divided into two steps: the initial positioning of the sample support and the subsequent positioning of the attachment area at the sample support.

[0136] To prepare to attach a sample to the sample support 654, an area of ​​the sample support 654 (eg, the attachment zone) will first be identified and then prepared. The identification also allows for accurate and secure attachment of the sample.

[0137] Therefore, turn to Figure 8 , in addition to still referring to Fig. 7A In addition, the beam guide component 610 of the automatic positioning system 602 can provide for causing, directing and / or otherwise instructing the FIB device 640 of the dual beam system 700 to activate the ion beam 802. In other words, the beam guide component 610 can direct the generation of the ion beam 802 from the FIB device 640 toward the sample support 654.

[0138] In general, the sample support 654 can be one of one or more sample supports 654 of a grid system 650 that includes one or more sample supports 654 coupled to a substrate 652 .

[0139] In short, it should be understood that any of the components described herein can be part of dual beam system 700 and / or part of automatic positioning system 602. That is, automatic positioning system 602 can be part of dual beam system 700 and / or can be completely separate. Regardless, at least partial control of at least a portion of dual beam system 700 can be provided by automatic positioning system 602.

[0140] For example, with respect to beam directing component 610, it is recognized that the component can instruct and / or request activation of ion beam 802 to dual beam system 700, such as by sending a communication to dual beam system 700. The communication can be obtained by a processor of dual beam system 700, which can then direct activation of ion beam 802. That is, automated positioning system 602 can generally directly or indirectly cause activation of ion beam 802.

[0141] When the grid 650 is aligned relative to the FIB device 640 and relative to the EM 630, the ion beam 802 can be directed generally toward the grid 650. The alignment can be manual and / or can be automated, such as controlled by the beam guide assembly 610 using a movable slide system of the dual beam system 700. Ion beam activation can include scanning (e.g., moving, passing) of the ion beam 802 relative to one or more sample supports at the grid 650, and more specifically scanning at least the sample support 654 of interest.

[0142] In conjunction with activation of the ion beam 802, the field application component 612 can generally affect secondary charged particles 805, such as secondary electrons and / or secondary ions, generated and / or emitted from the sample support 654 as a result of scanning of the material of the sample support 654 by the ion beam 802. More specifically, during application of the ion beam 802 by the FIB apparatus 640, the field application component can cause, direct and / or direct application of a repulsive bias, such as a negative field 810, by the dual beam system 700.

[0143] With respect to the field applying component 612, it is recognized that the component can indicate and / or request activation of the negative field 810 from the dual beam system 700, such as by sending a communication to the dual beam system 700. The communication can be obtained by a processor of the dual beam system 700, which in turn can direct the activation of the negative field 810. That is, the automatic positioning system 602 can generally directly or indirectly cause the activation of the negative field 810.

[0144] In one or more embodiments, the negative field 810 can be generated by the dual beam system 700, such as by the T / SEM 630, such as by the detector 632, and / or by an energy filtering component of the dual beam system 700, such as by the T / SEM 630. The detector 632 can be Fig. 7A The EM 741 of the dual beam system 700 and / or may be constituted thereof, such as being located near the bottom of a corresponding EM column positioned in an EM chamber of the dual beam system 700.

[0145] It should be appreciated that negative field 810 may be generated by any suitable component of dual beam system 700. It should therefore also be appreciated that negative field 810 may be generated adjacent to and / or at S / TEM 630, FIB 640, and / or other locations of dual beam system 700.

[0146] It should be understood that detectors such as detector 632 and / or detector 740 ( Figure 7B ) can be disposed at any suitable location of the dual beam system 700. The dual beam system 700 can include any one or more detectors 632 and / or 740. It should therefore also be understood that one or more detectors 632 and / or 740 can be disposed adjacent to and / or at the S / TEM 630, the FIB 640, and / or other locations of the dual beam system 700.

[0147] In one or more embodiments, the negative field 810 can be and / or can include a negative electrostatic field generated by the T / SEM 630 by applying a potential lower than the potential of the sample (e.g., sample support 654) on a conductive physical component (e.g., a metal tube and / or a metal screen) that is disposed adjacent to and / or coupled to the detector 740, the detector 632, or both. The sample can be grounded, allowing the potential to be equal to 0 V. Thus, a negative potential of about tens of volts, such as about -40 V, can be applied.

[0148] For example, generating a negative field 810 by the T / SEM 630 may include changing the sign of an applied bias voltage (eg, otherwise positive), the value of which may determine the charge and energy of a detected particle, which may therefore affect the signal-to-noise ratio of the system relative to the detector 632 .

[0149] In other words, directing the focused ion beam 802 toward the sample support 654 can result in the emission of secondary charged particles 805, such as secondary electrons and / or secondary ions, due to the interaction of the ions with the material of the sample support 654. The secondary charged particles 805 can then be collected by the detector 632 so that an image (e.g., initial image 902) can be generated.

[0150] In order to limit the detection of the desired energy of the secondary charged particles 805, a conductive element adjacent to or coupled to the receiving portion of the detector 632 may be biased to repel or attract the secondary charged particles 805 desired to be detected, such as biased with a negative voltage to repel secondary electrons while attracting secondary ions. However, in one or more embodiments, the level of bias may only affect charged particles of similar or lower energy, while charged particles of either charge of higher energy may pass through or cross the energy barrier generated by the bias element.

[0151] In one or more embodiments, the negative field 810 can be generally generated at or near the entrance of the detector 632 to allow the detector 632 to select and / or filter out unwanted secondary charged particles 805. For example, the negative field 810 can prevent secondary electrons of the secondary charged particles 805 from being received at the detector 632, thereby facilitating the reception of secondary ions of the secondary charged particles 805. That is, the secondary ions can pass through the repulsive bias of the negative field 810 without being affected (e.g., repelled) like the secondary electrons. Therefore, due to the charge and / or directionality of the secondary ions, the detection of the secondary ions can provide improved image contrast.

[0152] In one or more embodiments, the detector 632 can include multiple detectors. For example, another detector in addition to the through-the-lens (TLD) detector 632 can be disposed within the EM chamber of the dual-beam system 700, such as near the SEM and FIB columns, such as detector 740. In this regard, the TLD 632 can be disposed within the SEM column of the dual-beam system 700.

[0153] Temporary turn Figure 7B , which illustrates a portion of another dual-beam system 780 , but it should be understood that the illustrated portion may be a portion of the dual-beam system 700 . Figure 7B Illustrated is a TLD detector 632 disposed at and / or within a SEM column 782. Another detector 740 may be disposed within an EM chamber 783 of a dual beam system 780. Each detector 632 and 740 may include a corresponding biasing element 784, such as a screen or mesh. As described above, changing the sign of the applied bias of the biasing element 784 (e.g., otherwise positive), the value of which may determine the charge and energy of the detected particle, which may therefore affect the signal-to-noise ratio of the system relative to the corresponding detector 632 or 740.

[0154] It should be understood that any one or more aspects of dual beam system 780 may be applied to dual beam system 700 , and vice versa.

[0155] In one or more embodiments, one, two, or more than two detectors may be used to generate an enhanced contrast image.

[0156] In one or more embodiments, one, two, or more detectors may include a biasing element comprising a screen or mesh.

[0157] As an example of the above, since the secondary ions of the secondary charged particles 805 may generally have higher energy (on the order of keV), the negative field 810 may have a limited effect on the trajectory of the secondary ions. In this way, the collection angle of the signal is effectively increased and the detection amount of the signal is also increased. In this regard, the corresponding images from the corresponding detectors may have only partial information, and the combination of the detector images may allow the use of image processing to generate images. In one or more embodiments, more than one detector may have a negative field generating component associated with and / or adjacent to it.

[0158] In one or more embodiments, one or more detectors may have filters associated therewith to allow for filtering of secondary charged particles 805 that are not repelled by the negative field 810 .

[0159] In one or more embodiments, the negative field 810 can be directed toward the sample support 654 (eg, toward the same location as the ion beam 802 is directed toward) and can emanate generally from the main column of the EM 630 .

[0160] In one or more embodiments, the negative field 810 may be temporarily turned on and off any suitable number of times to affect the signal received by the detector 632, and therefore affect the image generated thereby.

[0161] Based on the activation of the negative field 810, which may include and / or cause a repulsive charge relative to at least a portion of the secondary charged particles 805, this portion of the secondary charged particles 805 may be affected. More specifically, these secondary charged particles 805 may be repelled away from the column of the T / SEM 630 and away from the through-the-lens detector 632 (e.g., TLD 632), which may be disposed at and / or within the SEM column.

[0162] For example, turning Figure 8 , a first set 806 of secondary charged particles 805 originating from the sample support 654 may be repelled away from the sample support 654 and further away from the TLD 632 by the action of the negative field 810. This may be at least partially due to the first set 806 originating from a first portion or first surface 861 of the sample support 654 oriented away from the TLD 632. That is, due to the combination of the distance from the TLD 632 and the action of the negative field 810, only a small fraction (if any) of the secondary charged particles 805 in the first set 806 may ultimately be detected by the TLD 632.

[0163] Differently, a second set 808 of secondary charged particles 805 originating from the sample support 654 can be allowed to be received by the TLD 632 and directed away from the sample from the sample support 654 due to movement of the secondary charged particles 805 (e.g., due to application of the ion beam 802). Due at least in part to originating from a second portion or second surface 862 of the sample support 654 that is closer to the EM column, a larger portion (e.g., a larger amount) of the secondary charged particles 805 in the second set 808 can be detected by the TLD 632 compared to the secondary charged particles 805 in the first set 806.

[0164] Additionally and / or alternatively, in one or more embodiments, the negative field 810 can be configured to have a power level that does not repel all secondary charged particles 805 .

[0165] In summary, in conjunction with the above, the distance from the starting surface to the TLD 632 may be a factor in determining the number of first sets 806 and the number of second sets 808 received at and therefore detected by the TLD 632 .

[0166] In addition, the orientation of the starting surface relative to the TLD 632 can be a factor in determining the number of the first set 806 and the number of the second set 808 received at the TLD 632 and thus detected by it. That is, the first surface 861 can be oriented away from the TLD 632 and away from the second surface 862. The second surface 862 can be oriented generally toward the TLD 632. Therefore, the first set 806 of secondary charged particles 805 can originate from the first surface 861 oriented away from the TLD 632, and thus can be further away from the TLD 632 and / or can be more affected by the negative field 810 (e.g., compared to the second set 808). Conversely, the second set 808 of secondary charged particles can originate from the second surface 862 oriented toward the TLD 632, and thus can be closer to the TLD 632 and / or can be less affected by the negative field 810 (e.g., compared to the first set 806).

[0167] Additionally, the shape of the starting surface can be a factor in determining the number of first sets 806 and the number of second sets 808 received at and therefore detected by the TLD 632. That is, the first surface 861 and the second surface 862 can be different shapes. In one example, as shown, the first surface 861 can be flat and the second surface 862 can be curved. In another example, the first surface 861 can be curved and the second surface 862 can be flat.

[0168] Additionally, in one or more embodiments, the first surface 861 may be adjacent to the second surface 862, such as Figure 8 and Fig. 9In one or more other embodiments, the first surface or the second surface of interest may be a surface of another object of the grid 650 or even a surface of a background separate from the grid 650 .

[0169] Still referring to Figure 7 and Figure 8 , the charged particle detection component 614 of the automated positioning system 602 may generally direct the registration of secondary charged particles 805 received and detected at the T / SEM 630 in response to application of an ion beam 802 by the FIB apparatus 640 to the sample support 654 .

[0170] For example, with respect to the charged particle detection component 614, it is recognized that the component can instruct and / or request the dual beam system 700 to detect the secondary charged particle 805, such as by sending a communication to the dual beam system 700. The communication can be obtained by the processor of the dual beam system 700, which in turn can direct the activation of the TLD 632. That is, the automatic positioning system 602 can generally directly or indirectly cause the detection of the secondary charged particle 805.

[0171] Next turn Fig. 9 , except still referring to Figures 7 and Figure 8 Additionally, image generation component 616 may generally direct, cause, and / or otherwise instruct generation of an image, such as image 902 , based on receipt and detection of secondary charged particles 805 .

[0172] In one or more embodiments, the image generation component 616 can directly generate the image 902. In one or more other embodiments, it is recognized that the component can instruct and / or request that the image 902 be generated by the dual beam system 700, such as by sending a communication to the dual beam system 700. The communication can be obtained by a processor of the dual beam system 700, which can then direct the generation of the image 902. That is, the automatic positioning system 602 can generally directly or indirectly cause the generation of the image 902.

[0173] Image 902 may be generated at any suitable screen and / or display of non-limiting system 600 , whether automatic positioning system 602 or dual beam system 700 .

[0174] Specifically, the image 902 may be generated directly or indirectly by the image generation component 616 based on the second set 808 of secondary charged particles 805 being received at the detector 632 and the first set 806 of secondary charged particles 805 not being received at the detector 632. In other words, the image 902 may be generated directly or indirectly by the image generation component 616 based on the larger second number of secondary charged particles 805 in the second set 808 of secondary charged particles 805 being received at the detector 632 as compared to the smaller first number of secondary charged particles 805 in the first set 806 of secondary charged particles 805 being received at the detector 632.

[0175] It should be understood that the overall contrast between region 931 and region 932 can be controlled at least in part by the settings relative to ion beam 802 and negative field 810. That is, an increase in the amount of ions in ion beam 802 (e.g., an increase in the power of ion beam 802) can result in additional secondary charged particles 805 in both sets 806 and 808. Additionally and / or alternatively, an increase in the power of negative field 810 can result in the repulsion of additional secondary charged particles 805 away from TLD 632 (e.g., in addition to those caused by the smaller power level of negative field 810). For example, in the case of a 1.2nA beam, approximately 1e11 ions can be generated relative to an image comprising 3072×2048 pixels, with a residence time of 1e-6s per pixel, but is not limited thereto. Other combinations may also be suitable.

[0176] Thus, as shown in image 902, first region 931 corresponding to first surface 861 of sample support 654 has a lower signal than second region 932 corresponding to second surface 862 of sample support 654, which has a higher signal. As used herein, "signal" may include information used to generate an image (e.g., Fig. 9 The image pixel information of the image 902 of the image 902). The higher signal can be directly attributed to the reception of a larger second number of secondary charged particles 805 in the second set 808 of secondary charged particles 805. Therefore, the first zone 931 and the second zone 932 can be highly contrasted relative to each other, which can allow the image detection components and functions of the non-limiting system 600 to easily and automatically distinguish between the zone 931 and the zone 932. Therefore, compared with existing frameworks, the non-limiting system 600 can provide easy automatic distinction of the boundaries 934, 936 between different surfaces of the imaged aspect. This distinction and imaging can be a direct result of applying the negative field 810, and can reduce and / or completely eliminate various manual aspects of existing frameworks. In addition, this distinction and imaging can allow more accurate (e.g., narrower surface area) positioning of the attachment area 940, the accuracy of which can include positioning an attachment area 940 that is smaller and more precise than the possible attachment area of ​​the existing framework.

[0177] The discussion next turns to additional modification steps that may be caused, directed, and / or otherwise instructed by the image generation component 616 and / or by a processor of the dual beam system 700 .

[0178] As shown in image 904, denoising and thresholding may be performed on image 902. For example, where the image is a grayscale image, different algorithms may be used for thresholding, and each pixel may range from 0 to 255. For example, a threshold value T may be selected where each pixel with a value below T is set to 1 and each pixel with a value above T is set to 255.

[0179] As shown in image 906 , image dilation and / or image erosion processing may be performed on image 904 resulting from denoising and thresholding.

[0180] For example, dilation can work on a black and white image by expanding the black areas in the image. Dilation extends the boundaries of black areas by adding black pixels to the outer edges. The extent of dilation can be determined by a structural element, which is a small pattern or mask used to guide the dilation process. Dilation can be used to connect nearby objects, fill gaps, and make objects larger or thicker.

[0181] Erosion operates by shrinking black areas in an image by removing pixels from the borders of the black areas based on the same structural elements used in dilation. Erosion can be used to remove small noise or fine details in an image and make objects smaller or thinner. These operations are often used together in a process called morphological operations, which can be used in a variety of image processing tasks such as noise reduction, edge detection, and feature extraction.

[0182] Turning now to the identification of the boundaries 934, 936, the boundary detection component 618 can generally guide, cause and / or otherwise indicate the identification of the boundary between the first zone 931 and the second zone 932, such as the boundary 934. In one or more cases, as shown, the boundary 934 can correspond to an edge of the sample support 654, such as the edge 804. Figure 8 As shown, edge 804 is a physical delineation between first surface 861 and second surface 862. Identification of the edge of sample support 654 can allow for use of a physical delineation or marking (e.g., edge) to make subsequent alignment and attachment of a sample (e.g., sheet) easier and / or more efficient.

[0183] Alternatively, in one or more other embodiments, it will be understood that the boundary identified by the boundary detection component 618 can be a virtual boundary, such as on an image, such as between a physical feature of the sample support (e.g., a surface, an edge, etc.) and the imaged background (e.g., the grid 950 behind the sample support and / or the background of the surrounding environment).

[0184] Thus, as shown in image 906, edge detection may be performed, allowing for specific identification of a boundary 934 between first zone 931 and second zone 932. For example, the thickness of boundary 934 may be selected by boundary detection component 618 and / or by a processor of dual beam system 700, but is not limited thereto.

[0185] Next, based on image 906 , the image detection function of non-limiting system 600 may identify only boundary 934 , negate boundary 936 , and generate edge image 910 with boundary 934 .

[0186] The fitting component 620 may then generally guide, cause, and / or otherwise direct the fitting of a suitable shape (such as a curve, such as a parabola) to the identified boundary 934. Fig. 9 As shown in image 912 , parabola 938 may be approximately fitted to boundary 934 , and therefore corresponds to edge 804 of sample support 654 .

[0187] Next, the patterning component 622 can generally guide, cause, and / or otherwise direct the application of a virtual pattern (e.g., pattern 942) that covers an identified portion (e.g., attachment area 940) of an image (e.g., image 912) of the sample support 654. Thus, the identified portion (e.g., attachment area 940) corresponds to at least a portion of the identified boundary 934 between the first area 931 and the second area 932 and can overlap therewith.

[0188] Now refer to it again Figure 8 It is noted that the orientation of the dual beam 700 and therefore the orientation of the column of the FIB device 640 and the column of the EM 630 can be adjusted to provide Figure 8 In one or more embodiments, this orientation may be performed in addition to or omitted from the orientation of the stage of the support grid supporting the sample support 654. Fig. 9 Unlike the arrangement 800 of FIG. 850 , the arrangement 850 may produce a first surface 861 corresponding to a higher signal area and a second surface 862 corresponding to a lower signal area. That is, the orientation of the sample support 654 relative to the dual beam system 700 and / or the orientation of the dual beam system 700 relative to the sample support 654 may be adjusted for different images. In fact, the processes described herein may be applicable and work well with the arrangement 800 or 850 and / or with other arrangements that may be suitable.

[0189] Reference now Fig.10 , after, before and / or at least partially in parallel with the identification attachment area 940, Fig.10The process may be performed separately from the non-limiting system 600 and / or using the dual beam system 700. That is, a region of interest (ROI) identification 1002 may be performed to identify a portion 1020 of the sample to be imaged by the attachment area 940 attached to the sample support 654. At step 1004, a smaller portion 1024 (e.g., a thin slice 1024) of the sample portion 1020 may be cut out of the entire sample by forming a groove 1022, such as using the ion beam 802 of the FIB device 640. At step 1006, a sample retrieval tool 1026 may be employed to attach to the thin slice 1024 and remove (e.g., lift out) the thin slice from the groove 1022 of the entire sample body. The thin slice 1024 may then be attached to the attachment area 940 using the sample retrieval tool 1026.

[0190] For example, refer to Fig.11 1100, the attachment area 940 can be cut out based on the patterning guided by the patterned component 622. The cutout can be performed by the ion beam 802 of the FIB device 640. Thereafter, the thin sheet 1024 can be guided to the grooved attachment area 940 by the sample retrieval tool 1026. The thin sheet 1024 can be welded to the attachment area 940, such as using the ion beam 802 of the FIB device 640. As shown in image 1150, the sample retrieval tool 1026 can be cut off from the attached thin sheet 1024, such as using the ion beam 802 of the FIB device 640.

[0191] As shown, the fiducial 1120 may be used to track the position of the sample support 654 and / or the placement of the sample 1024 .

[0192] Temporary turn Fig.10 , after final attachment of the lamella 1024 and release of the sample retrieval tool 1026, the lamella 1024 may be further processed. For example, at step 1008, the lamella may be thinned and / or polished, thereby producing a thinned and / or polished portion 1028 of the lamella 1024. At step 1010, the portion 1028 may then be imaged using the S / TEM 630, thereby producing a high resolution image 1012. The thinning, polishing, and / or imaging may all be performed more efficiently because the lamella 1024 is more securely and more precisely attached to the sample support 654, which in turn is due to the use of the non-limiting system 600, and includes imaging generated as a result of applying the negative field 810, as well as other processes described above (e.g., but not limited to only applying the negative field 810).

[0193] As an overview of the above components and their functions, refer to Fig.12 and Fig.13 , illustrating one or more embodiments described herein (such as Figure 6A flowchart of an example non-limiting method 1200 of a process for identifying an attachment area of ​​a sample support is provided for facilitating the process of identifying an attachment area of ​​a sample support. Figure 6 The non-limiting system 600 of FIG. 600 is used to describe the non-limiting method 1200, but the non-limiting method 1200 may also be applicable to other systems described herein, such as Figure 5 For the sake of brevity, repeated descriptions of similar elements and / or processes employed in corresponding embodiments are omitted.

[0194] At 1202, non-limiting method 1200 may include a system operably coupled to a processor (e.g., beam directing component 610 coupled to processor 506) instructing a focused ion beam (FIB) device (e.g., FIB device 640) of a beam system (e.g., dual beam system 700) to direct an ion beam (e.g., ion beam 802) to a sample support (e.g., sample support 654).

[0195] At 1204, non-limiting method 1200 may include affecting secondary charged particles (e.g., secondary charged particles 805) emitted from a sample support as a result of the ion beam by directing activation of a negative field (e.g., negative field 810) from a beam system by a system (e.g., field application component 612) during application of the ion beam by the FIB device.

[0196] In one or more embodiments, an electron microscope (EM) (e.g., T / SEM 630) and a FIB device of a beam system are communicatively coupled to a processor, wherein the EM includes a detector (e.g., detector 632) for detecting secondary charged particles (e.g., secondary charged particles 805), wherein the detector is coupled to a conductive component of the beam system or disposed adjacent to the conductive component of the beam system, and wherein a negative field is applied to the conductive component.

[0197] At 1206, the non-limiting method 1200 may include directing, by a system (e.g., the charged particle detection component 614), registration of secondary charged particles received at a beam system in response to application of an ion beam to a sample support by a FIB device and detected at the beam system.

[0198] At 1208 , the non-limiting method 1200 can include generating, by a system (eg, image generation component 616 ), an image of the sample support (eg, image 902 ) based on the detection of the secondary charged particles.

[0199] At 1210, non-limiting method 1200 may include generating, by a system (e.g., image generating component 616), an image based on the registration of secondary charged particles, the image including a second region (e.g., second region 932) having a higher signal than a first region (e.g., first region 931) having a lower signal and defining the first region.

[0200] At 1212, the non-limiting method 1200 may include determining, by the system (e.g., image generation component 616), whether a boundary (e.g., boundary 934) between the first zone and the second zone is defined such that the definition of the boundary satisfies a selected threshold. If so, the non-limiting method 1200 may proceed to step 1214. If not, the non-limiting method 1200 may return to step 1204 and again implement a negative field during application of the ion beam by the FIB device, but adjust the negative field (e.g., adjust the power, frequency, duration, etc.).

[0201] At 1214, non-limiting method 1200 can include identifying, by a system (eg, boundary detection component 618), a boundary between a first zone and a second zone, wherein the boundary (eg, boundary 934) is defined by an edge of a sample support (eg, edge 804).

[0202] At 1216 , the non-limiting method 1200 can include fitting, by the system (eg, fitting component 620 ), a curve (eg, curve 938 ) to a boundary between the first region and the second region.

[0203] At 1218, non-limiting method 1200 can include applying, by a system (e.g., patterning component 622), a virtual pattern covering an identified portion of the image of the sample support, wherein the identified portion corresponds to a boundary between the first zone and the second zone (e.g., boundary 934).

[0204] As another overview of the above components and their functions, refer to Fig.14 and Fig.15 , illustrating one or more embodiments described herein (such as Figure 6 A flowchart of an example non-limiting method 1400 of a process for identifying an attachment area of ​​a sample support is provided for facilitating the process of identifying an attachment area of ​​a sample support. Figure 6 The non-limiting method 1400 is described with reference to the non-limiting system 600, but the non-limiting method 1400 may also be applicable to other systems described herein, such as Figure 5 For the sake of brevity, repeated descriptions of similar elements and / or processes employed in corresponding embodiments are omitted.

[0205] At 1402, non-limiting method 1400 may include scanning a sample support (e.g., sample support 654) using an ion beam (e.g., ion beam 802) of a focused ion beam (FIB) device of a beam system (e.g., dual beam system 700) by a system operably coupled to a processor (e.g., beam guide component 610 of a FIB device 640 coupled to processor 606).

[0206] At 1404, non-limiting method 1400 may include generating a repulsive charge (e.g., produced by negative field 810) by a system (e.g., field application component 612 of guide T / SEM 630) that will repel a first set of secondary charged particles (e.g., first set 806 of secondary charged particles 805) originating from the sample support based on the scan away from a detector of the beam system (e.g., detector 632).

[0207] At 1406, non-limiting method 1400 can include generating, by a system (eg, field application component 612 of pilot T / SEM 630), a repulsive charge that is a negative field applied to an energy filtering component (eg, energy filtering component 634) of the beam system.

[0208] At 1408, non-limiting method 1400 may include allowing, by a system (e.g., T / SEM 630), a second set of secondary charged particles (e.g., second set 808 of secondary charged particles 805) to be registered at the beam system regardless of repulsive charge, the second set of secondary charged particles also originating from the sample support based on the scan.

[0209] At 1410 , the non-limiting method 1400 may include causing, by a system (eg, directing the field application component 612 of the T / SEM 630 ), the second set of secondary charged particles to include a second number of secondary charged particles greater than the first number of secondary charged particles included in the first set of secondary charged particles.

[0210] At 1412, the non-limiting method 1400 can include emitting, by a system (e.g., a beam directing component 610 directing a FIB apparatus 640), a first set of secondary charged particles from a first side of a sample support by scanning, wherein the first side is oriented away from a detector.

[0211] At 1414, the non-limiting method 1400 may include emitting, by a system (e.g., a beam directing component 610 directing the FIB device 640), a second set of secondary charged particles from a second surface of the sample support by scanning, wherein the second surface is oriented away from the first surface and toward the detector.

[0212] In one or more embodiments, the first face is flat and the second face is curved, and the first face is adjacent to the second face. In one or more other embodiments, the first face is curved and the second face is flat.

[0213] At 1416, non-limiting method 1400 may include generating, by a system (e.g., image generation component 616), an image of the sample support (e.g., image 902) based on receiving a second set of secondary charged particles at the detector and not receiving a first set of secondary charged particles at the detector.

[0214] At 1418, the non-limiting method 1400 may include determining, by the system (e.g., the image generation component 616), whether the boundary between the first zone and the second zone (e.g., the boundary 934) is defined such that the definition of the boundary satisfies the selected threshold. If so, the non-limiting method 1400 may proceed to step 1420. If not, the non-limiting method 1400 may return to step 1404 and again implement a negative field during application of the ion beam by the FIB device, but adjust the negative field (e.g., adjust the power, frequency, duration, etc.).

[0215] At 1420, non-limiting method 1400 may include identifying, by a system (e.g., boundary detection component 618), an edge of a sample support, wherein the edge is disposed between a second region of the image having a higher lower signal (e.g., second region 932) and a first region of the image having a lower signal (e.g., first region 931), wherein the second region is generated based on receiving a second set of secondary charged particles at the detector, and wherein the first region is generated based on not receiving the first set of secondary charged particles at the detector.

[0216] As another overview of the above components and their functions, refer to Fig.16 and Fig.17 , illustrating one or more embodiments described herein (such as Figure 6 A flowchart of an example non-limiting method 1600 of a non-limiting system 600 of the present invention that can facilitate a process for identifying an attachment area of ​​a sample support. Figure 6 The non-limiting system 600 of FIG. 1 is used to describe the non-limiting method 1600, but the non-limiting method 1600 may also be applicable to other systems described herein, such as Figure 5 For the sake of brevity, repeated descriptions of similar elements and / or processes employed in corresponding embodiments are omitted.

[0217] At 1602, non-limiting method 1600 may include directing, by a system operably coupled to a processor (e.g., beam directing component 610), generation of an ion beam (e.g., ion beam 802) from a focused ion beam (FIB) device (e.g., FIB device 640) of a beam system (e.g., dual beam system 700) comprising a FIB device and an electron microscope (EM) (e.g., T / SEM 630) toward a sample support (e.g., sample support (e.g., sample support 654)).

[0218] At 1604, non-limiting method 1600 may include directing, by a system (e.g., field application component 612), generation of a negative field (e.g., negative field 810) at a beam system, wherein generation of the negative field is directed to occur at least partially simultaneously with generation of an ion beam from a FIB device.

[0219] At 1606, the non-limiting method 1600 can include directing, by a system (e.g., the charged particle detection component 614), registration of secondary charged particles (e.g., the secondary charged particles 805) originating from a sample support aligned relative to the FIB apparatus and the EM.

[0220] At 1608 , the non-limiting method 1600 can include generating, by a system (eg, image generation component 616 ), an image of the sample support (eg, image 902 ) based on the registration.

[0221] At 1610, non-limiting method 1600 may include generating, by a system (e.g., image generating component 616), an image comprising a second region having a higher signal (e.g., second region 932) bounded by a first region having a lower signal (e.g., first region 931), wherein a boundary (e.g., boundary 934) between the first region and the second region corresponds to an edge of a sample support (e.g., edge 804).

[0222] At 1612, the non-limiting method 1600 may include determining, by the system (e.g., the image generation component 616), whether the boundary between the first zone and the second zone (e.g., the boundary 934) is defined such that the definition of the boundary satisfies the selected threshold. If so, the non-limiting method 1200 may proceed to step 1614. If not, the non-limiting method 1600 may return to step 1604 and again implement a negative field during application of the ion beam by the FIB device, but adjust the negative field (e.g., adjust the power, frequency, duration, etc.).

[0223] At 1614, non-limiting method 1600 may include generating an image by a system (e.g., image generating component 616) wherein an edge defines a physical delineation between a first side of a sample support (e.g., first side 821) and a second side of the sample support (e.g., second side 822), and wherein the first side is oriented away from the second side.

[0224] At 1616, non-limiting method 1600 can include controlling, by the system (eg, field applying component 612), signals for the first and second zones by controlling, by the processor, activation of a negative field directed toward the sample support.

[0225] At 1618, non-limiting method 1600 may include repelling, by a system (e.g., field application component 612), a first set of secondary charged particles (e.g., first set 806) away from a detector (e.g., detector 632), wherein the repulsion results in generation of a first region of an image.

[0226] At 1620 , the non-limiting method 1600 can include enabling, by the system (eg, the field application component 612 ), receipt of a second set of secondary charged particles (eg, the second set 808 ) at the detector, wherein the enabling results in generation of a second region of the image.

[0227] At 1622 , the non-limiting method 1600 may include causing, by the system (eg, the field application component 612 ), the second set of secondary charged particles to include a second number of secondary charged particles greater than the first number of secondary charged particles included by the first set of secondary charged particles.

[0228] Additional Invention Summary

[0229] For simplicity of explanation, the computer-implemented and non-computer-implemented methods provided herein are depicted and / or described as a series of actions. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited by the illustrated actions and / or action sequences, such as actions that can occur in one or more sequences and / or occur simultaneously, and occur together with other actions that are not presented and described herein. In addition, not all illustrated actions can be used to implement the computer-implemented and non-computer-implemented methods according to the subject matter. In addition, the computer-implemented and non-computer-implemented methods can alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states via state diagrams or events. In addition, the computer-implemented methods described hereinafter and throughout this specification can be stored in a manufactured product, so that the computer-implemented methods are transported and transferred to a computer. The term "article" as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program that can be accessed from any computer-readable device or storage medium.

[0230] This paper has (and / or will further) described the interaction between system and / or equipment about one or more components.Such system and / or component can include those parts or subcomponents specified therein, one or more of the specified parts and / or subcomponents and / or additional components.Subcomponents can be implemented as components coupled to other components in a communication manner rather than being included in the parent component.One or more components and / or subcomponents can be combined into a single component that provides aggregation functionality.These components can interact with one or more other components, and for the sake of brevity, these other components are not specifically described in this article, but known to those skilled in the art.

[0231] In summary, one or more systems, computer program products, and / or computer-implemented methods provided herein relate to imaging a sample support and identifying a sample position at a sample support for microscopic imaging. A system may include a memory storing computer executable components and a processor executing the computer executable components. The computer executable components may include: a beam directing component that instructs a focused ion beam (FIB) device of a beam system to direct an ion beam to a sample support; and a field applying component that affects secondary charged particles emitted from a sample support due to an ion beam by directing activation of a negative field from the beam system during application of the ion beam by the FIB device.

[0232] One or more embodiments disclosed herein can achieve improved performance relative to existing methods. For example, based on applying a negative field during imaging by a dual beam system (which applies an ion beam to a sample and detects the generated secondary charged particles), an image of a larger area with a higher contrast signal can be generated. Compared to the prior art, this can allow for more efficient and accurate identification of the edges of a sample support imaged by a dual beam system. In turn, this can allow for more accurate placement of a sample on and / or at a sample support compared to the prior art.

[0233] In view of one or more embodiments described herein, sample placement can be performed more efficiently and accurately because the attachment area on the sample support can be more accurately identified. In addition, compared to the prior art, since the attachment area on the sample support is more efficiently and accurately identified, a reduced number and / or smaller area of ​​sample substrate can be removed from the identified area.

[0234] In one or more embodiments described herein, identification of the attachment area of ​​the sample support can be automated, thereby reducing and / or eliminating manual identification of the attachment area, which in turn can reduce position identification errors, increase position identification accuracy, and / or time to successful position identification compared to what is available in the prior art.

[0235] In addition, the embodiments described herein may be adapted to work with sample supports having surfaces of various shapes, sample supports combined with background and / or non-sample support applications such as, but not limited to, imaging of samples. Additionally and / or alternatively, the embodiments described herein may be adapted to identify an edge or another feature such as a curve, vertex, peak, point, pit, groove, etc.

[0236] In fact, in view of one or more embodiments described herein, practical application of one or more systems, computer-implemented methods, and / or computer program products described herein can automatically identify the edges or other features of an object being imaged by a dual-beam system (e.g., including a FIB device and an EM). Compared to the prior art for attachment zone identification, the identification can be performed to narrow the attachment zone to a more precise zone. The identification can also be performed efficiently and accurately without manual input, thereby reducing the identification time.

[0237] Additionally, due to the accurate feature identification that can be performed by one or more embodiments described herein, a sample can be attached to a sample support that has been imaged and includes an attachment area in a more precise manner, such as more precisely positioned relative to the attachment area and / or more precisely angled relative to the attachment area (e.g., an attachment angle).

[0238] These are useful and practical applications of computers, thereby providing for subsequent enhanced (e.g., improved and / or optimized) material preparation and analysis. That is, as a result of the automatic identification of the initial attachment area, a sample (such as a thin section) attached to the attachment area of ​​the sample support can be more accurately thinned, polished and / or imaged due to the better identification of the attachment area by the corresponding computer system. In general, such computerized tools can bring specific and obvious technical improvements in the field of material analysis, and more specifically in the use of dual beam systems for material analysis.

[0239] In addition, based on the disclosed teachings, one or more of the embodiments described herein can be employed in real-world systems. For example, as described above, the increased contrast in the signal of an increased area of ​​the imaged object can directly lead to more accurate physical placement of the physical sample at the physical sample support (including the identified attachment area) compared to the prior art. Since secondary charged particles that have been acted upon by the applied negative field can be detected, high accuracy is provided in the computer-aided identification of one or more features of the object as an image using the applied negative field, thereby making such real-world results possible. Thus, the embodiments disclosed herein can provide improvements to scientific instrument technology (e.g., improvements in computer technology to support such scientific instruments, as well as other improvements).

[0240] This paper has (and / or will further) described the interaction between system and / or equipment about one or more components.Such system and / or component can include those parts or subcomponents specified therein, one or more of the specified parts and / or subcomponents and / or additional components.Subcomponents can be implemented as components coupled to other components in a communication manner rather than being included in the parent component.One or more components and / or subcomponents can be combined into a single component that provides aggregation functionality.These components can interact with one or more other components, and for the sake of brevity, these other components are not specifically described in this article, but known to those skilled in the art.

[0241] One or more embodiments described herein may be inherently and / or unavoidably related to computer technology in one or more embodiments and cannot be implemented outside of a computing environment. For example, one or more processes performed by one or more embodiments described herein may provide program and / or program instruction execution more efficiently and more feasible than existing systems and / or technologies using FIB equipment, EM and / or dual beam systems, such as automatic attachment area identification relative to using a dual beam system. Systems, computer-implemented methods and / or computer program products that provide the performance of these processes have an important role in the field of materials analysis (such as in materials analysis using a dual beam system) and cannot be implemented in a reasonable manner outside of a computing environment as well.

[0242] One or more embodiments described herein may employ hardware and / or software to solve problems that are highly technical, non-abstract, and cannot be performed by a human through a set of mental actions. For example, one or even thousands of people cannot effectively, accurately, and / or efficiently automatically identify features (such as edges, such as curved edges) of a sample support for subsequent placement of a sample at the sample support relative to the features, and one or more embodiments described herein may provide such a process. Furthermore, one or more of these processes cannot be performed by a human or a person holding a pen and paper, as performed by one or more embodiments described herein.

[0243] In one or more embodiments, one or more of the processes described herein can be performed by one or more special-purpose computers (e.g., special-purpose processing units, special-purpose classical computers, special-purpose quantum computers, special-purpose hybrid classical / quantum systems, and / or another type of special-purpose computer) to perform defined tasks associated with one or more of the above-mentioned technologies. One or more embodiments described herein and / or components thereof can be used to solve new problems arising from the advancement of the above-mentioned technologies, the adoption of quantum computing systems, cloud computing systems, computer architectures, and / or other technologies.

[0244] One or more embodiments described herein may be fully operable to perform one or more other functions (eg, fully powered on, fully executed, and / or another function) while also performing one or more of the one or more operations described herein.

[0245] To provide additional inventive context, a list of embodiments and their features is provided below.

[0246] A system comprising: a memory storing computer executable components; and a processor executing the computer executable components stored in the memory, wherein the computer executable components include: a beam guiding component instructing a focused ion beam (FIB) device to guide an ion beam to a sample support; and a field applying component affecting secondary charged particles emitted from the sample support due to the ion beam by guiding activation of a negative field from an electron microscope (EM) during application of the ion beam by the FIB device.

[0247] The system as described in the preceding paragraph further includes: a charged particle detection component that guides the alignment of secondary charged particles that are received at the EM in response to the application of an ion beam to the sample support by the FIB device and detected at the EM.

[0248] The system according to any of the preceding paragraphs further includes: an image generating component, which generates an image of the sample support based on the detection of secondary charged particles, wherein, based on the alignment of the secondary charged particles, the image includes a second area having a higher signal than a first area, and the first area has a lower signal and defines the second area.

[0249] The system of any preceding paragraph, further comprising: a boundary detection component that identifies a boundary between the first zone and the second zone, wherein the boundary is defined by an edge of the sample support.

[0250] The system of any preceding paragraph, further comprising: a fitting component that fits a curve to a boundary between the first region and the second region.

[0251] The system of any preceding paragraph, further comprising: a patterning component that applies a virtual pattern covering an identified portion of the image of the sample support, wherein the identified portion corresponds to a boundary between the first region and the second region.

[0252] The system of any of the preceding paragraphs, further comprising: an EM and a FIB device communicatively coupled to a processor, wherein the EM comprises a detector for detecting secondary charged particles, wherein the detector is coupled to or disposed adjacent to a conductive component of the beam system, and wherein a negative field is applied to the conductive component.

[0253] A computer-implemented method comprises: scanning a sample support using an ion beam of a focused ion beam (FIB) device by a system operably coupled to a processor; generating a repulsive charge by the system that repels a first set of secondary charged particles originating from the sample support based on the scan away from a detector of an electron microscope (EM); and allowing a second set of secondary charged particles to be registered at the EM regardless of the repulsive charge, the second set of secondary charged particles also originating from the sample support based on the scan.

[0254] The computer-implemented method of the preceding paragraphs, further comprising generating, by the system, a repulsive charge that is a negative field applied to an energy filtering component of the EM.

[0255] A computer-implemented method as described in any preceding paragraph, wherein the second set of secondary charged particles includes a second number of secondary charged particles greater than a first number of secondary charged particles included in the first set of secondary charged particles.

[0256] The computer-implemented method described in any of the preceding paragraphs also includes: emitting a first set of secondary charged particles from a first surface of a sample support by scanning, wherein the first surface is oriented away from the detector; and emitting a second set of secondary charged particles from a second surface of the sample support by scanning, wherein the second surface is oriented away from the first surface and toward the detector.

[0257] The computer-implemented method of any preceding paragraph, wherein the first face is planar and the second face is curved, and wherein the first face abuts the second face.

[0258] The computer-implemented method of any preceding paragraph, further comprising generating, by the system, an image of the sample support based on receiving the second set of secondary charged particles at the detector and not receiving the first set of secondary charged particles at the detector.

[0259] The computer-implemented method of any of the preceding paragraphs further includes: identifying, by the system, an edge of a sample support, wherein the edge is disposed between a second region of the image having a higher lower signal and a first region of the image having a lower signal, wherein the second region is generated based on receiving a second set of secondary charged particles at the detector, and wherein the first region is generated based on not receiving a first set of secondary charged particles at the detector.

[0260] A computer program product that facilitates a process for identifying an edge of a sample support by a system associated with a focused ion beam (FIB) apparatus and an electron microscope (EM), the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, and the program instructions being executable by a processor to cause the processor to: register, by the processor, secondary charged particles originating from the sample support aligned relative to the FIB apparatus and the EM; and generate, by the processor, an image of the sample support based on the registration, wherein the image comprises a second region having a higher signal, the second region being bounded by a first region having a lower signal, and wherein a boundary between the first region and the second region corresponds to an edge of the sample support.

[0261] A computer program product as described in the preceding paragraph, wherein the program instructions are further executable by a processor to cause the processor to: control, by the processor, signals of the first region and the second region by controlling, by the processor, activation of a negative field directed toward the sample support.

[0262] A computer program product according to any of the preceding paragraphs, wherein the program instructions are also executable by a processor to cause the processor to: cause the processor to repel a first set of secondary charged particles away from a detector, wherein the repulsion results in the generation of a first region of an image; and cause the processor to allow a second set of secondary charged particles to be received at the detector, wherein the allowing results in the generation of a second region of the image.

[0263] A computer program product as described in any preceding paragraph, wherein the second set of secondary charged particles includes a second number of secondary charged particles greater than the first number of secondary charged particles included in the first set of secondary charged particles.

[0264] A computer program product according to any of the preceding paragraphs, wherein the program instructions are further executable by a processor to cause the processor to: direct, by the processor, generation of an ion beam from the FIB apparatus toward a sample support; and direct, by the processor, generation of a negative field at a beam system comprising the EM and FIB apparatus, wherein generation of the negative field is directed to occur at least partially simultaneously with generation of the ion beam from the FIB apparatus.

[0265] The computer program product of any preceding paragraph, wherein the edge defines a physical delineation between a first side of the sample support and a second side of the sample support, and wherein the first side is oriented away from the second side.

[0266] Scientific Instrument System Description

[0267] Next turn Fig.18 , provides a Figures 1 to 12A detailed description of additional context for one or more embodiments described in . One or more computing devices implementing any of the scientific instrument modules or methods disclosed herein may be part of a scientific instrument system. Fig.18 A block diagram of an example scientific instrument system 1800 is illustrated, in accordance with various embodiments described herein, in which one or more of the scientific instrument methods or other methods disclosed herein may be performed. The scientific instrument modules and methods disclosed herein (e.g., Figure 1 The scientific instrument module 100 and Figure 2 The method 200) may be implemented by one or more of the scientific instrument 1810, the user local computing device 1820, the service local computing device 1830 and / or the remote computing device 1840 of the scientific instrument system 1800.

[0268] Any of the scientific instrument 1810, the user local computing device 1820, the service local computing device 1830, and / or the remote computing device 1840 may include the Figure 4 Any of the embodiments of computing device 400 discussed herein, and any of scientific instrument 1810, user local computing device 1820, service local computing device 1830, and / or remote computing device 1840 may employ the embodiments described herein with reference to Figure 4 Any suitable form of one or more of the embodiments of computing device 400 discussed.

[0269] One or more of the scientific instrument 1810, the user local computing device 1820, the service local computing device 1830, and / or the remote computing device 1840 may include a processing device 1802, a storage device 1804, and / or an interface device 1806. The processing device 1802 may take any suitable form, including reference Figure 4 The processor 402 discussed herein may be in the form of any processor. The processing device 1802 in different devices including the scientific instrument 1810, the user local computing device 1820, the service local computing device 1830 and / or the remote computing device 1840 may take the same form or different forms. The storage device 1804 may take any suitable form, including reference Figure 4 The storage device 1804 in different devices included in the scientific instrument 1810, the user local computing device 1820, the service local computing device 1830 and / or the remote computing device 1840 can take the same form or different forms. The interface device 1806 can take any suitable form, including reference Figure 4Any form of storage device in interface device 406 discussed herein. Interface devices 1806 in different devices included in scientific instrument 1810, user local computing device 1820, service local computing device 1830, and / or remote computing device 1840 may take the same form or different forms.

[0270] The scientific instrument 1810, the user local computing device 1820, the service local computing device 1830, and the remote computing device 1840 can communicate with other elements of the scientific instrument system 1800 via a communication path 1808. The communication path 1808 can communicatively couple an interface device 1806 of different elements of the elements of the scientific instrument system 1800, as shown, and can be a wired or wireless communication path (e.g., according to the present reference Figure 4 The interface device 406 of the computing device 400 may be any of the communication technologies discussed above). Fig.18 The particular scientific instrument system 1800 depicted in FIG. 1800 includes a communication path between each pair of devices in the scientific instrument 1810, the user local computing device 1820, the service local computing device 1830, and the remote computing device 1840, but such a "fully connected" implementation is merely illustrative, and in various embodiments, various communication paths in the communication paths 1808 may be omitted. For example, in one or more embodiments, the service local computing device 1830 may omit a direct communication path 1808 between its interface device 1806 and the interface device 1806 of the scientific instrument 1810, and may instead communicate with the scientific instrument 1810 via the communication path 1808 between the service local computing device 1830 and the user local computing device 1820 and / or the communication path 1808 between the user local computing device 1820 and the scientific instrument 1810.

[0271] Scientific instrument 1810 may include any suitable scientific instrument, such as a separation or MS instrument, or other instrument that facilitates analysis of materials.

[0272] The user-local computing device 1820 can be a computing device local to a user of the scientific instrument 1810 (e.g., according to any of the embodiments of the computing device 400 discussed herein). In one or more embodiments, the user-local computing device 1820 can also be local to the scientific instrument 1810, but this is not necessarily the case; for example, a user-local computing device 1820 associated with a home, office, or other building associated with a user entity can be remote from the scientific instrument 1810, but in communication with it so that the user entity can use the user-local computing device 1820 to control and / or access data from the scientific instrument 1810. In one or more embodiments, the user-local computing device 1820 can be a laptop, smartphone, or tablet device. In one or more embodiments, the user-local computing device 1820 can be a portable computing device. In one or more embodiments, the user-local computing device 1820 can be deployed in the field.

[0273] The service local computing device 1830 can be a local computing device of an entity that services the scientific instrument 1810 (e.g., according to any of the embodiments of the computing device 400 discussed herein). For example, the service local computing device 1830 can be a local device of the manufacturer of the scientific instrument 1810 or a third-party service company. In one or more embodiments, the service local computing device 1830 can communicate with the scientific instrument 1810, the user local computing device 1820, and / or the remote computing device 1840 (e.g., via a direct communication path 1808 or via multiple "indirect" communication paths 1808, as discussed above) to receive data about the operation of the scientific instrument 1810, the user local computing device 1820, and / or the remote computing device 1840 (e.g., self-test results of the scientific instrument 1810, calibration coefficients used by the scientific instrument 1810, measurements of sensors associated with the scientific instrument 1810, etc.). In one or more embodiments, the service local computing device 1830 may communicate with the scientific instrument 1810, the user local computing device 1820, and / or the remote computing device 1840 (e.g., via a direct communication path 1808 or via multiple "indirect" communication paths 1808, as described above) to send data to the scientific instrument 1810, the user local computing device 1820, and / or the remote computing device 1840 (e.g., to update programming instructions (such as firmware) in the scientific instrument 1810 to initiate the execution of a test or calibration sequence in the scientific instrument 1810, to update programming instructions (such as software) in the user local computing device 1820 or the remote computing device 1840, etc.). A user entity of the scientific instrument 1810 may utilize the scientific instrument 1810 or the user local computing device 1820 to communicate with the service local computing device 1830 to report problems with the scientific instrument 1810 or the user local computing device 1820, to request a technician visit to improve the operation of the scientific instrument 1810, to order consumables or replacement parts associated with the scientific instrument 1810, or for other purposes.

[0274] Remote computing device 1840 can be a computing device remote from scientific instrument 1810 and / or user local computing device 1820 (e.g., according to any of the embodiments of computing device 400 discussed herein). In one or more embodiments, remote computing device 1840 can be included in a data center or other large-scale server environment. In one or more embodiments, remote computing device 1840 can include network attached storage (e.g., as part of storage device 1804). Remote computing device 1840 can store data generated by scientific instrument 1810, perform analysis of data generated by scientific instrument 1810 (e.g., according to programmed instructions), facilitate communication between user local computing device 1820 and scientific instrument 1810, and / or facilitate communication between service local computing device 1830 and scientific instrument 1810.

[0275] In one or more embodiments, the Fig.18 One or more of the elements of the scientific instrument system 1800 illustrated in FIG. In addition, in one or more embodiments, there may be Fig.18 1800. For example, the scientific instrument system 1800 may include multiple user-local computing devices 1820 (e.g., different user-local computing devices 1820 associated with different user entities or located in different locations). In another example, the scientific instrument system 1800 may include multiple scientific instruments 1810, all of which communicate with the service local computing device 1830 and / or the remote computing device 1840; in such embodiments, the service local computing device 1830 may monitor these multiple scientific instruments 1810, and the service local computing device 1830 may cause updates or other information to be "broadcasted" to multiple scientific instruments 1810 simultaneously. Different scientific instruments 1810 in the scientific instrument system 1800 may be close to each other (e.g., in the same room) or far away from each other (e.g., on different floors of a building, in different buildings, in different cities, etc.). In one or more embodiments, the scientific instrument 1810 may be connected to an Internet of Things (IoT) stack that allows command and control of the scientific instrument 1810 through web-based applications, virtual or augmented reality applications, mobile applications, and / or desktop applications. Any of these applications may be accessed by a user entity operating a user-local computing device 1820 that communicates with the scientific instrument 1810 through an intermediary remote computing device 1840. In one or more embodiments, the scientific instrument 1810 may be sold by a manufacturer along with one or more associated user-local computing devices 1820 as part of a local scientific instrument computing unit 1812.

[0276] In one or more embodiments, the different scientific instruments 1810 included in the scientific instrument system 1800 can be different types of scientific instruments 1810; for example, one scientific instrument 1810 can be an EDS device, while another scientific instrument 1810 can be an analysis device that analyzes the results of the EDS device. In some such embodiments, the remote computing device 1840 and / or the user's local computing device 1820 can combine data from different types of scientific instruments 1810 included in the scientific instrument system 1800.

[0277] Example operating environment

[0278] Fig.1919 is a schematic block diagram of an operating environment 1900 with which the subject matter can interact. The operating environment 1900 includes one or more remote components 1910. The remote components 1910 can be hardware and / or software (e.g., threads, processes, computing devices). In one or more embodiments, the remote components 1910 can be distributed computer systems, connected to local automatic extension components and / or programs using resources of the distributed computer systems via a communication framework 1940. The communication framework 1940 can include wired network devices, wireless network devices, mobile devices, wearable devices, radio access network devices, gateway devices, femtocell devices, servers, etc.

[0279] The operating environment 1900 also includes one or more local components 1920. The local components 1920 can be hardware and / or software (e.g., threads, processes, computing devices). In one or more embodiments, the local components 1920 can include an automatic scaling component and / or a program that connects to a remote distributed computing system via a communication framework 1940 to communicate / use remote resources 1910 and 1920, etc.

[0280] One possible communication between the remote component 1910 and the local component 1920 may take the form of a data packet suitable for sending between two or more computer processes. Another possible communication between the remote component 1910 and the local component 1920 may take the form of circuit-switched data suitable for sending between two or more computer processes in a radio time slot. The operating environment 1900 includes a communication framework 1940, which can be used to facilitate communication between the remote component 1910 and the local component 1920, and may include an air interface, such as a UMTS network interface via an LTE network, etc. The remote component 1910 can be operably connected to one or more remote data repositories 1950, such as a hard drive, a solid-state drive, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, an electronic SIM (eSIM), a device memory, etc., which can be used to store information on the remote component 1910 side of the communication framework 1940. Similarly, the local component 1920 can be operably connected to one or more local data repositories 1930, which can be used to store information on the local component 1920 side of the communication framework 1940.

[0281] Sample computing environment

[0282] To provide additional context for the various embodiments described herein, Fig. 20The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment 2000 in which various embodiments of the embodiments described herein may be implemented. Although the embodiments have been described above in the general context of computer-executable instructions that may be executed on one or more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments may also be implemented in conjunction with other program modules and / or as a combination of hardware and software.

[0283] Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform tasks or implement abstract data types. In addition, these methods can be practiced with other computer system configurations, including single-processor or multi-processor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, distributed computing systems, and personal computers, handheld computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, etc., each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

[0284] The embodiments illustrated herein can also be practiced in distributed computing environments where certain tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

[0285] Computing devices typically include various media, which may include computer-readable storage media, machine-readable storage media, and / or communication media, the two terms being used differently in this article as shown below. Computer-readable storage media or machine-readable storage media can be any available storage media that can be accessed by a computer, and include volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable storage media or machine-readable storage media can be implemented in conjunction with any method or technology for storing information (e.g., computer-readable or machine-readable instructions, program modules, structured data, or unstructured data).

[0286] Computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disc read-only memory (CD ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray disc (BD) or other optical disc storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tapes, magnetic disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, solid-state drives or other solid-state storage devices, or other tangible and / or non-transitory media that may be used to store the desired information. In this regard, the terms "tangible" or "non-transitory" as applied to storage devices, memories, or computer-readable media herein exclude only the propagation of transient signals themselves as a modifier, and do not disclaim all rights to standard storage devices, memories, or computer-readable media that are not merely propagation of transient signals themselves.

[0287] Computer-readable storage media may be accessed by one or more local or remote computing devices, such as via access requests, queries, or other data retrieval protocols, for various operations regarding the information stored by the media.

[0288] Communication media typically includes computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other structured or unstructured data in a data signal (such as a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism), and includes any information delivery or transmission media. The term "modulated data signal" or signal refers to a signal whose one or more characteristics are set or changed so as to encode information in one or more signals. By way of example and not limitation, communication media includes wired media (such as a wired network or direct-wired connection) and wireless media (such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media).

[0289] Still refer to Fig. 20 , an example computing environment 2000 in which one or more embodiments described herein may be implemented includes a computer 2002, which includes a processing unit 2004, a system memory 2006, and a system bus 2008. The system bus 2008 couples system components including, but not limited to, the system memory 2006 to the processing unit 2004. The processing unit 2004 may be any of a variety of commercially available processors. Dual microprocessors and other multi-processor architectures may also be used as the processing unit 2004.

[0290] The system bus 2008 may be any of several types of bus structures and may further interconnect with a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of commercially available bus architectures. The system memory 2006 includes ROM 2010 and RAM 2012. A basic input / output system (BIOS) may be stored in a nonvolatile memory such as ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), EEPROM, wherein the BIOS contains basic routines such as those that help transfer information between elements within the computer 2002 during startup. The RAM 2012 may also include high-speed RAM, such as static RAM for caching data.

[0291] The computer 2002 also includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 2014 (e.g., EIDE, SATA), and may include one or more external storage devices 2016 (e.g., magnetic floppy disk drive (FDD) 2016, memory stick or flash drive reader, memory card reader, etc.). Although the internal HDD 2014 is illustrated as being located within the computer 2002, the internal HDD 2014 may also be configured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown). In addition, although not shown in the computing environment 2000, a solid state drive (SSD) may be used to supplement or replace the HDD 2014.

[0292] Other internal or external storage devices may include at least one other storage device 2020 having a storage medium 2022 (e.g., a solid-state storage device, a non-volatile memory device, and / or an optical drive that can read or write from a removable medium (such as a CD-ROM disk, a DVD, a BD, etc.). The external storage device 2016 may be facilitated by a network virtual machine. The HDD 2014, the external storage device 2016, and the storage device (e.g., a drive) 2020 may be connected to the system bus 2008 via a HDD interface 2024, an external storage interface 2026, and a drive interface 2028, respectively.

[0293] The drives and their associated computer-readable storage media provide non-volatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, etc. For the computer 2002, the drives and storage media accommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format. Although the above description of computer-readable storage media refers to corresponding types of storage devices, other types of storage media that can be read by a computer (whether currently existing or developed in the future) can also be used in the example operating environment, and further, any such storage media can contain computer-executable instructions for performing the methods described herein.

[0294] A number of program modules may be stored in the drives and RAM 2012, including an operating system 2030, one or more application programs 2032, other program modules 2034, and program data 2036. All or portions of the operating system, application programs, modules, and / or data may also be cached in RAM 2012. The systems and methods described herein may be implemented using various commercially available operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0295] Computer 2002 may optionally include emulation technology. For example, a virtual machine hypervisor (not shown) or other intermediary may emulate the hardware environment for operating system 2030, and the emulated hardware may optionally be different from the hardware environment of the operating system 2030. Fig. 20 The illustrated hardware. In such embodiments, the operating system 2030 may include one of a plurality of virtual machines (VMs) hosted at the computer 2002. In addition, the operating system 2030 may provide a runtime environment, such as a Java runtime environment or a .NET framework, for the application 2032. The runtime environment is a consistent execution environment that allows the application 2032 to run on any operating system that includes a runtime environment. Similarly, the operating system 2030 may support containers, and the application 2032 may be in the form of containers, which are lightweight, independent, executable software packages that include, for example, the code of the application, the runtime, system tools, system libraries, and settings.

[0296] In addition, the computer 2002 may be equipped with a security module, such as a trusted processing module (TPM). For example, using a TPM, the boot component hashes the next boot component in time and waits for the result to match the security value before loading the next boot component. This process can be performed at any layer in the code execution stack of the computer 2002, for example, applied to the application execution level or the operating system (OS) kernel level, thereby achieving security of code execution at any level.

[0297] A user entity may enter commands and information into the computer 2002 through one or more wired / wireless input devices (e.g., a keyboard 2038, a touch screen 2040, and a pointing device such as a mouse 2042). Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, an infrared (IR) remote control, a radio frequency (RF) remote control or other remote control, a joystick, a virtual reality controller and / or a virtual reality headset, a game controller, a stylus, an image input device (e.g., a camera), a gesture sensor input device, a visual movement sensor input device, an emotion or facial detection device, a biometric input device (e.g., a fingerprint or iris scanner), etc. These and other input devices are typically connected to the processing unit 2004 through an input device interface 2044 that may be coupled to the system bus 2008, but may also be connected through other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an IEEE 1394 serial port, a game port, a USB port, an IR interface, a Interfaces, etc.

[0298] A monitor 2046 or other type of display device may also be connected to the system bus 2008 via an interface, such as a video adapter 2048. In addition to the monitor 2046, computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, and the like.

[0299] The computer 2002 can operate in a network environment, using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as remote computer 2050, via wired and / or wireless communications. The remote computer 2050 can be a workstation, server computer, router, personal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainment device, peer device, or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer 2002, but only the memory / storage device 2052 is illustrated for simplicity. The depicted logical connections include wired / wireless connections to a local area network (LAN) 2054 and / or a larger network, such as a wide area network (WAN) 2056. Such LAN and WAN networking environments are common in offices and companies and facilitate the establishment of enterprise-wide computer networks (e.g., intranets), all of which can be connected to a global communication network (e.g., the Internet).

[0300] When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 2002 can be connected to a local network 2054 through a wired and / or wireless communication network interface or adapter 2058. The adapter 2058 can facilitate wired or wireless communication with the LAN 2054, which can also include a wireless access point (AP) disposed thereon for communicating with the adapter 2058 in a wireless mode.

[0301] When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 2002 may include a modem 2060 or may be connected to a communication server on the WAN 2056 via other means for establishing communications over the WAN 2056 (such as over the Internet). The modem 2060 may be connected to the system bus 2008 via the input device interface 2044, and may be internal or external to a wired or wireless device, and may be a wired or wireless device. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 2002 or portions thereof may be stored in the remote memory / storage device 2052. The network connections shown are examples only, and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.

[0302] When used in a LAN or WAN networking environment, the computer 2002 may access a cloud storage system or other network-based storage system in addition to or as an alternative to the external storage device 2016 described above. Generally speaking, the connection between the computer 2002 and the cloud storage system may be established through the LAN 2054 or WAN 2056, for example, by an adapter 2058 or a modem 2060, respectively. When the computer 2002 is connected to the associated cloud storage system, the external storage interface 2026 may manage the storage provided by the cloud storage system with the help of the adapter 2058 and / or the modem 2060, just as it manages other types of external storage. For example, the external storage interface 2026 may be configured to provide access to cloud storage sources as if those sources were physically connected to the computer 2002.

[0303] The computer 2002 is operable to communicate with any wireless device or entity operatively disposed in wireless communication (e.g., printers, scanners, desktop and / or portable computers, portable data assistants, communication satellites, any equipment or location associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., kiosks, newsstands, store shelves, etc.), and telephones). This may include Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and Wireless technology. Therefore, the communication can be a defined structure like existing networks, or just an ad hoc communication between at least two devices.

[0304] Additional Information

[0305] The embodiments described herein may be directed to one or more of the systems, methods, devices and / or computer program products at any possible level of technical detail integration. A computer program product may include a computer-readable storage medium (or multiple media) having a computer-readable program instruction thereon, which is used to cause a processor to perform various aspects of one or more embodiments described herein. A computer-readable storage medium may be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a superconducting storage device and / or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of computer-readable storage media may also include the following: a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanical encoding device (such as a punch card or a raised structure in a groove with instructions recorded thereon) and / or any suitable combination of the above. Computer-readable storage media as used herein should not be interpreted as transient signals themselves, such as radio waves and / or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through waveguides and / or other transmission media (for example, light pulses transmitted through fiber optic cables), and / or electrical signals sent through wires.

[0306] Computer-readable program instructions as described herein can be downloaded from computer-readable storage media to corresponding computing / processing equipment and / or downloaded to external computers or external storage devices via a network (e.g., the Internet, local area network, wide area network and / or wireless network). The network can include copper transmission cables, optical transmission optical fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and / or edge servers. Network adapter cards or network interfaces in each computing / processing equipment receive computer-readable program instructions from the network, and forward computer-readable program instructions to be stored in the computer-readable storage media in the corresponding computing / processing equipment. Computer-readable program instructions for performing the operation of one or more embodiments described herein can be assembly instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-related instructions, microcodes, firmware instructions, state setting data, configuration data for integrated circuits and / or source code and / or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages ​​(including object-oriented programming languages, such as Smalltalk, C++, etc.) and / or process programming languages ​​(such as "C" programming languages ​​and / or similar programming languages). Computer readable program instructions can be executed entirely on a computer, partially on a computer, executed as an independent software package, partially on a computer and / or partially on a remote computer or entirely on a remote computer and / or server. In the latter case, the remote computer can be connected to the computer and / or can be connected to an external computer (for example, using an Internet service provider through the Internet) through any type of network (including a local area network (LAN) and / or a wide area network (WAN)). In one or more embodiments, an electronic circuit (including, for example, a programmable logic circuit, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) and / or a programmable logic array (PLA)) can execute a computer readable program instruction to personalize the electronic circuit by utilizing the state information of the computer readable program instruction, so as to perform the various aspects of one or more embodiments described herein.

[0307] Reference is made to the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems) and computer program products according to one or more embodiments described herein to describe various aspects of one or more embodiments described herein. It should be understood that each frame in the flowchart illustration and / or block diagram and the combination of frames in the flowchart illustration and / or block diagram can be implemented by computer-readable program instructions. These computer-readable program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer and / or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device can create a device for implementing the function / action specified in one or more frames of the flowchart and / or block diagram. These computer-readable program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, which can indicate that a computer, a programmable data processing device and / or other equipment operate in a particular manner, and a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions can include a manufactured product, which includes instructions for various aspects of the function / action specified in one or more frames of the flowchart and / or block diagram. Computer-readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing devices, and / or other devices to cause a series of operational actions to be performed on the computer, other programmable devices, and / or other devices, thereby producing a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer, other programmable devices, and / or other devices implement the functions / actions specified in one or more boxes of the flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0308] The flow chart and block diagram in the figure show the possible architecture, function and / or operation of the system, computer-implemented method and / or computer program product according to one or more embodiments described herein. In this regard, each frame in the flow chart or block diagram can represent a module, segment and / or partial instruction, which includes one or more executable instructions for realizing the specified logical function. In one or more alternative embodiments, the function marked in the frame may not occur in the order marked in the figure. For example, two frames displayed continuously can be executed substantially at the same time, and / or can sometimes be executed in reverse order, depending on the function involved. It should also be noted that each frame in the block diagram and / or flow chart illustration, and / or the combination of frames in the block diagram and / or flow chart illustration can be realized by a dedicated hardware system, which can perform specified functions and / or actions, and / or perform one or more combinations of dedicated hardware and / or computer instructions.

[0309] Although the subject matter has been described above in the general context of computer executable instructions of computer program products running on computers and / or computers, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that one or more embodiments herein may also be implemented at least in part in parallel with one or more other program modules. In general, program modules include routines, programs, components and / or data structures that perform specific tasks and / or implement specific abstract data types. In addition, the aforementioned computer-implemented methods may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including single-processor and / or multi-processor computer systems, small computing devices, large computers, and computers, handheld computing devices (e.g., PDAs, phones) and / or based on microprocessors or programmable consumer and / or industrial electronic devices. The illustrated aspects may also be practiced in a distributed computing environment, where tasks are performed by remote processing devices connected via a communication network. However, one or more (if not all) aspects of one or more embodiments described herein may be practiced on a stand-alone computer. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local memory storage devices and remote memory storage devices.

[0310] As used in this application, the terms "component", "system", "platform" and / or "interface" may refer to and / or may include computer-related entities or entities related to an operating machine with one or more specific functions. The entities described herein may be hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to, a process, a processor, an object, an executable program, a thread of execution, a program, and / or a computer running on a processor. As an example, both an application program and a server running on a server may be components. One or more components may reside in a process and / or an execution thread, and a component may be located on a computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. In another example, corresponding components may be executed from various computer-readable media having various data structures stored thereon. These components may communicate via local and / or remote processes, such as according to a signal with one or more data packets (e.g., data from a component may interact with another component in a local system, a distributed system via a signal and / or interact with other systems across a network such as the Internet). As another example, a component may be a device having a specific functionality provided by a mechanical component operated by an electrical or electronic circuit, which is operated by software and / or firmware applications executed by a processor. In such cases, the processor may be internal and / or external to the device and may execute at least a portion of a software and / or firmware application. As yet another example, a component may be a device that provides a particular functionality through electronic components without mechanical components, where the electronic components may include a processor and / or other devices for executing software and / or firmware that at least partially imparts the functionality to the electronic components. In one aspect, the component may emulate the electronic component via, for example, a virtual machine within a cloud computing system.

[0311] In addition, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless otherwise specified or clear from the context, "X employs A or B" is intended to mean any natural inclusive arrangement. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then "X employs A or B" is satisfied under any of the foregoing examples. In addition, unless otherwise specified or clear from the context to refer to a singular form, the articles "a" and "an" as used in this specification and the drawings should generally be interpreted to mean "one or more". As used herein, the terms "example" and / or "exemplary" are used to mean as an example, instance, or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the subject matter described herein is not limited to such examples. In addition, any aspect or design described herein as "example" and / or "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs, nor is it meant to exclude equivalent exemplary structures and techniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0312] As used in this specification, the term "processor" may refer to substantially any computational processing unit and / or device, including but not limited to a single-core processor; a single processor with software multithreaded execution capability; a multi-core processor; a multi-core processor with software multithreaded execution capability; a multi-core processor with hardware multithreading technology; a parallel platform; and / or a parallel platform with distributed shared memory. In addition, a processor may refer to an integrated circuit, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic controller (PLC), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, and / or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. In addition, the processor may utilize nanoscale architectures, such as, but not limited to, transistors, switches, and / or gates based on molecules and quantum dots, in order to optimize space usage and / or enhance the performance of related equipment. The processor may be implemented as a combination of computational processing units.

[0313] In this document, terms such as "repository", "storage device", "data repository", "data storage device", "database", and substantially any other information storage component related to the operation and functionality of the component are used to refer to a "memory component", an entity embodied in a "memory", or a component that includes a memory. The memory and / or memory components described herein may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile memory and non-volatile memory. By way of example and not limitation, non-volatile memory may include read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, and / or non-volatile random access memory (RAM) (e.g., ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM)). Volatile memory may include RAM, which may, for example, act as external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM may take a variety of forms, such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM), direct Rambus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM), and / or Rambus dynamic RAM (RDRAM). In addition, the memory components of the systems and / or computer-implemented methods described herein are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and / or any other suitable types of memory.

[0314] The foregoing includes only examples of systems and computer-implemented methods. Of course, it is not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components and / or computer-implemented methods for the purpose of describing one or more embodiments, but one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many further combinations and / or permutations of one or more embodiments are possible. In addition, with respect to the use of the terms "including," "having," "having," and the like in the detailed description, claims, appendices, and / or drawings, these terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the way the term "comprising" is interpreted when used as a transitional word in a claim.

[0315] The description of various embodiments may use the phrases "embodiment," "various embodiments," "one or more embodiments," and / or "some embodiments," each of which may refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments.

[0316] Descriptions of various embodiments have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments described herein. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the embodiments described. The terms used herein are selected to best explain the principles of the embodiments, practical applications, and / or technical improvements over technologies on the market, and / or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments described herein.

Claims

1. A system, comprising: a memory storing computer executable components; and a processor that executes the computer executable components stored in the memory, wherein the computer executable components include: A beam guide component that instructs a focused ion beam (FIB) device of the beam system to guide the ion beam to the sample support; and A field applying component affects secondary charged particles emitted from the sample support as a result of the ion beam by directing activation of a negative field from the beam system during application of the ion beam by the FIB apparatus.

2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: A charged particle detection component directs registration of the secondary charged particles received at the beam system in response to application of the ion beam to the sample support by the FIB apparatus and detected at the beam system.

3. The system according to claim 2, further comprising: an image generating means for generating an image of the sample support based on the detection of the secondary charged particles, Therein, based on the registration of the secondary charged particles, the image includes a second region having a higher signal than a first region, the first region having a lower signal and delimiting the second region.

4. The system according to claim 3, further comprising: A boundary detection component identifies a boundary between the first zone and the second zone, wherein the boundary is defined by an edge of the sample support.

5. The system according to claim 3, further comprising: A fitting component is provided to fit a curve to a boundary between the first region and the second region.

6. The system according to claim 3, further comprising: a patterning component that applies a virtual pattern covering the identified portion of the image of the sample support, Wherein the identified portion corresponds to a boundary between the first region and the second region.

7. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: an electron microscope communicatively coupled to the FIB device and the beam system of the processor, wherein said EM comprises a detector for detecting said secondary charged particles, wherein the detector is coupled to or disposed adjacent to a conductive component of the beam system, and wherein the negative field is applied to the conductive component.

8. A computer-implemented method, the computer-implemented method comprising: scanning the sample support with an ion beam of a focused ion beam (FIB) device of the beam system by a system operably coupled to the processor; generating, by the system, a repulsive charge that repels a first set of secondary charged particles originating from the sample support based on the scan away from a detector of the beam system; and A second set of secondary charged particles is allowed by the system to be registered at the beam system despite the repulsive charge, the second set of secondary charged particles also originating from the sample support based on the scan.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising: The repulsive charge is generated by the system and is a negative field applied to the energy filtering components of the beam system.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, The second set of secondary charged particles includes a second number of secondary charged particles that is greater than a first number of secondary charged particles included in the first set of secondary charged particles.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising: causing the first set of secondary charged particles to be emitted from the first side of the sample support by the scanning, wherein the first face is oriented away from the detector; and causing the second set of secondary charged particles to be emitted from the second side of the sample support by the scanning, Wherein the second face is oriented away from the first face and toward the detector.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the first surface is curved and the second surface is flat, and The first surface is adjacent to the second surface.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising: An image of the sample support is generated by the system based on receiving the second set of secondary charged particles at the detector and not receiving the first set of secondary charged particles at the detector.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising: identifying, by the system, an edge of the sample support, wherein the edge is disposed between a second region of the image having a higher lower signal and a first region of the image having a lower signal, Wherein the second region is generated based on receiving the second set of secondary charged particles at the detector, and wherein the first region is generated based on not receiving the first set of secondary charged particles at the detector.

15. A computer program product facilitating a process for identifying an edge of a sample support by a system associated with a beam system including a focused ion beam (FIB) apparatus and an electron microscope (EM), the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith and executable by a processor to cause the processor to: registering, by the processor, secondary charged particles originating from a sample support aligned relative to the FIB apparatus and the EM; and generating, by the processor, an image of the sample support based on the registration, wherein the image comprises a second region having a higher signal, the second region being bounded by a first region having a lower signal, and Wherein a boundary between the first region and the second region corresponds to an edge of the sample support.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the program instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the processor to: The signals of the first and second zones are controlled by the processor by controlling activation of a negative field directed toward the sample support by the processor.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the program instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the processor to: repelling, by the processor, the first set of secondary charged particles away from a detector, wherein the repelling results in the generating of the first region of the image; and Receiving the second set of secondary charged particles at the detector is enabled by the processor, wherein the enabling results in the generating of the second region of the image.

18. The computer program product according to claim 17, The second set of secondary charged particles includes a second number of secondary charged particles that is greater than a first number of secondary charged particles included in the first set of secondary charged particles.

19. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the program instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the processor to: directing, by the processor, generation of an ion beam from the FIB apparatus toward the sample support; and Directing, by the processor, generation of a negative field at the beam system Wherein the generating of the negative field is directed to be at least partially simultaneous with the generating of the ion beam from the FIB device.

20. The computer program product according to claim 15, wherein the edge defines a physical delineation between the first side of the sample support and the second side of the sample support, and Wherein the first face is oriented away from the second face.

Images