Charged Particle Beam Manipulation Device Multipole Array Lens Deflection Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current multi-beam systems using a common lens for charged particle beamlets suffer from deflection forces that lead to beam crossovers and electron-electron interactions, limiting throughput and resolution in industrial applications such as semiconductor inspection.
Innovation Solution
A charged particle beam manipulation device with a lens having an array of multipoles that compensates for lens deflection forces, ensuring charged particle beamlets propagate parallel to the main optical axis, reducing or eliminating beam crossovers and electron-electron interactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a common lens is used for multiple charged particle beamlets, then device complexity is reduced, but beam crossovers and electron-electron interactions occur leading to reduced throughput and resolution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the common lens into multiple independent lenslets, each dedicated to a specific beamlet. This segmentation eliminates beam crossovers and electron-electron interactions between different beamlets, thereby improving throughput and resolution while maintaining reasonable device complexity through the use of lenslet arrays.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an array of multipoles as an intermediary component between the lenslets and the beamlets. Each multipole compensates for deflection forces on its corresponding beamlet, preventing beam crossovers and maintaining parallel propagation. This intermediary mechanism resolves the contradiction by enabling high-performance beam manipulation without requiring completely separate optical paths.
2Device complexity
If a common lens is used for multiple charged particle beamlets, then device complexity is reduced, but beam crossovers occur leading to reduced resolution
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the common lens into individual lenslets, each beamlet has its own dedicated optical element. This eliminates beam crossovers that would otherwise cause position errors and reduce manufacturing precision. The segmentation allows independent control of each beamlet's path while maintaining overall system compactness.
Solution Approach 2:
The array of multipoles acts as an intermediary that precisely controls beamlet positions by compensating for deflection forces. This ensures that each beamlet maintains its intended parallel trajectory, thereby improving manufacturing precision and beam position control while working within the common lens framework.
3Device complexity
If lens deflection force is not compensated, then device complexity is reduced, but electron-electron interactions increase limiting throughput
Solution Approach 1:
The array of multipoles serves as an intermediary component that compensates for lens deflection forces on each beamlet. By introducing this relatively simple component, the system prevents beam crossovers and electron-electron interactions, thereby maintaining high inspection speeds and throughput without requiring completely separate lens systems for each beamlet.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the magnetic field parameters by introducing multipoles that generate compensating deflection forces. This parameter change allows the system to maintain parallel beamlet propagation and prevent electron-electron interactions, thereby improving throughput while adding only moderate complexity through controllable magnetic field adjustments.
4Device complexity
If lens deflection force is not compensated, then device complexity is reduced, but beam crossovers occur reducing resolution
Solution Approach 1:
The array of multipoles acts as an intermediary that precisely controls beamlet alignment by compensating for lens deflection forces. This ensures that each beamlet maintains its intended parallel trajectory, thereby improving manufacturing precision and beam alignment while adding only moderate device complexity through controllable magnetic field components.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the magnetic field parameters through the introduction of multipoles, the system compensates for lens deflection forces and maintains precise beam alignment. This parameter change approach improves manufacturing precision while adding only controllable complexity through adjustable magnetic field configurations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enhances throughput and resolution by minimizing beam crossovers and electron-electron interactions, allowing for more efficient inspection and processing of specimens at the micrometer and nanometer scale.
Implementation Method 1
a lens deflection force being a deflection force produced by the lens on the respective charged particle beamlet towards the main optical axis of the lens
Implementation Method 2
each multipole of the first array of multipoles configured to compensate for a lens deflection force on a respective charged particle beamlet
Data Source
AI summary
It is provided a charged particle beam manipulation device for a plurality of charged particle beamlets, the charged particle beam manipulation device including a lens having a main optical axis, the lens including at least a first array of multipoles, each multipole of the first array of multipoles configured to compensate for a lens deflection force on a respective charged particle beamlet of the plurality of charged particle beamlets, the lens deflection force being a deflection force produced by the lens on the respective charged particle beamlet towards the main optical axis of the lens.