阅读说明：本技术 消除在电子束分离器中的热诱导束漂移的方法 (Method for eliminating thermally induced beam drift in an electron beam splitter ) 是由 S·K·施瑞延 O·G·佛罗伦度 J·毛里诺 D·布 于 2019-01-18 设计创作，主要内容包括：这些电子束分离器设计解决电子光学系统中的热诱导束漂移。缠绕于束分离器单元周围的加热器线圈可维持恒定功率。额外线圈还可以双线方式缠绕于所述束分离器周围,这可在所述束分离器线圈中维持恒定功率。可确定维恩功率,且接着可确定加热器线圈电流。(These beam splitter designs account for thermally induced beam drift in electron optical systems. The heater coil wound around the beam splitter unit can maintain a constant power. Additional coils may also be wound around the beam splitter in a bifilar fashion, which may maintain constant power in the beam splitter coil. Wien power may be determined and then heater coil current may be determined.)

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a beam splitter;

a ceramic separator disposed on the electron beam splitter;

a set of electrostatic plates disposed on the ceramic separator in an octupole arrangement;

a first separator coil pair disposed around the ceramic separator and arranged on opposite sides of the electron beam splitter;

a second splitter coil pair disposed around the ceramic separator and arranged on an opposite side of the electron beam splitter orthogonal to the first splitter coil pair;

a heater coil disposed around the electron beam splitter; and

a power supply configured to provide a heater coil current to the heater coil.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a processor, and wherein the processor is configured to:

determining wien power based on a first equation:

wherein P is_wienIs the Wien power, I_xIs the current of the first splitter coil pair, R_xIs the resistance of the first splitter coil pair, I_yIs the current of the second splitter coil pair, and R_yIs the resistance of the second splitter coil pair; and

determining the heater coil current based on a second equation:

wherein I_heaterIs the heater coil current, P is the target power, P_wienIs the Wien power, and R_heaterIs the resistance of the heater coil.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the heater coil current generates a magnetic field that causes beam deflection, and the processor is further configured to:

measuring the beam deflection; and

calibrating the electron beam splitter based on the beam deflection.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heater coil is nichrome.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heater coil is copper.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a winding pitch of the heater coil is from 8 to 10 turns per inch.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the heater coil is 24 gauge wire.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

a beam splitter;

a ceramic separator disposed on the electron beam splitter;

a set of electrostatic plates disposed on the ceramic separator in an octupole arrangement;

a first separator coil pair disposed around the ceramic separator and arranged on opposite sides of the electron beam splitter;

a second splitter coil pair disposed around the ceramic separator and arranged on an opposite side of the electron beam splitter orthogonal to the first splitter coil pair; and

a power supply configured to provide a heater coil current;

wherein the first splitter coil pair and the second splitter coil pair are bifilar, each comprising a splitter coil and a heater coil; and is

Wherein the heater coil current flows through the heater coil provided to the first splitter coil pair and the second splitter coil pair.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a processor, and wherein the processor is configured to determine a current provided by the power source.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein a curvature of the first separator coil and the second separator coil is 120 °.

11. A method of reducing thermally induced beam drift in an electron beam, comprising:

providing an electron beam splitter comprising:

a ceramic separator disposed on the electron beam apparatus;

a set of electrostatic plates disposed on the ceramic separator in an octupole arrangement;

a first separator coil pair disposed around the ceramic separator and arranged on opposite sides of the electron beam splitter;

a second splitter coil pair disposed around the ceramic and arranged on an opposite side of the electron beam splitter orthogonal to the first splitter coil pair;

a heater coil disposed around the electron beam splitter; and

a power supply configured to provide a heater coil current;

determining, using a processor, a wien power based on a first equation:

wherein P is_wienIs the Wien power, I_xIs the current of the first splitter coil pair, R is the resistance of the first splitter coil pair, I_yIs the current of the second splitter coil pair, and R_yIs the resistance of the second splitter coil pair; and

determining, using the processor, a heater coil current based on a second equation:

wherein I_heaterIs the heater coil current, P is the target power, P_wienIs the Wien power, and R_heaterIs the resistance of the heater coil; and

providing the heater coil current to the heater coil via the power supply.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the heater coil current generates a magnetic field that causes beam deflection, and further comprising:

measuring the beam deflection using the processor; and

calibrating, using the processor, the beam splitter based on the beam deflection.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein a deflection correction is determined, and wherein determining the deflection correction comprises:

determining a heater coil current based on a constant power equation;

applying the heater coil current;

measuring beam deflection;

determining a zero deflection condition slope; and

adjusting a coil current to the beam splitter based on the zero deflection condition slope.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to devices using charged particle beams, and more particularly, to addressing thermally induced drift in devices using charged particle beams.

Background

The evolution of the semiconductor manufacturing industry places higher demands on yield management and, in particular, metrology and inspection systems. The critical dimension continues to shrink. Economics are driving the semiconductor manufacturing industry to shorten the time to achieve high yield, high value production. Minimizing the total time from detecting yield problems to repairing the problems determines the return on investment of the semiconductor manufacturer.

Manufacturing semiconductor devices, such as logic and memory devices, typically includes processing a semiconductor wafer using a number of manufacturing processes to form various features and multiple levels of semiconductor devices. For example, photolithography is one semiconductor manufacturing process that involves transferring a pattern from a reticle to a photoresist disposed on a semiconductor wafer. Additional examples of semiconductor manufacturing processes include, but are not limited to, Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP), etching, deposition, and ion implantation. Multiple semiconductor devices may be fabricated in some arrangement on a single semiconductor wafer and then separated into individual semiconductor devices.

Various steps during a semiconductor manufacturing process use an inspection process to detect defects on wafers to facilitate higher yields and therefore higher profits in the manufacturing process. Inspection is always an important part of the manufacture of semiconductor devices, such as Integrated Circuits (ICs). However, as the size of semiconductor devices decreases, inspection becomes more important for successfully manufacturing acceptable semiconductor devices, as smaller defects can cause device failure. For example, as the size of semiconductor devices decreases, it becomes necessary to detect defects of the decreased size because even relatively small defects may cause unnecessary aberrations in the semiconductor devices.

Semiconductor technology has resulted in demanding sample inspection in the nanometer scale. Micro-and nano-scale inspection is typically accomplished with a charged particle beam generated and focused in a charged particle beam device. Examples of charged particle beam devices are electron microscopes, electron beam pattern generators, ion microscopes, and ion beam pattern generators. Charged particle beams, in particular electron beams, provide superior spatial resolution compared to photon beams due to their shorter wavelength at comparable particle energies.

One such inspection technique includes an electron beam based inspection system. Electron beam imaging systems typically use an electron beam column to scan an electron beam across an area of a substrate surface to obtain image data. An example of an electron beam based inspection system is a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). SEM systems may image the surface of a sample by scanning an electron beam across the surface of the sample and detecting secondary electrons emitted and/or scattered from the surface of the sample. A typical SEM system includes a Wien (Wien) filter positioned within an electron optical column of the SEM and above the sample for deflecting secondary electrons to a secondary electron detector. Lateral chromatic aberration in the primary beam can be caused by using this wien filter.

These electron beam-based inspection systems, including SEMs, are becoming increasingly dependent on inspecting devices formed in semiconductor manufacturing. Microscopes that use electron beams to inspect the device can be used to detect defects and study feature sizes as small as, for example, a few nanometers. Accordingly, tools for inspecting semiconductor devices using electron beams are becoming more and more dependent on semiconductor manufacturing processes.

The SEM generates a Primary Electron (PE) beam that illuminates or scans the sample. The primary electron beam generates particles, such as Secondary Electrons (SE) and/or backscattered electrons (BSE), that can be used to image and analyze a sample. Many instruments use electrostatic or compound electromagnetic lenses to focus the primary electron beam onto the sample. In some cases, the electrostatic field of the lens simultaneously collects the generated particles (SE and BSE) that enter into the lens and are directed onto the detector. If uniform and efficient electron collection and detection is desired, the secondary and/or backscattered particles must be separated from the primary beam. In this case, the detection configuration can be designed completely independent of the PE optical design. If uniform and efficient electron collection and detection is required, secondary and/or backscattered particles must be separated from the primary beam, for example using a beam splitter or wien filter element comprising a magnetic deflection field.

An SEM may include a beam splitter with one or more electrostatic deflectors for deflecting the primary electron beam away from an optical axis normal to the substrate, or for redirecting the deflected beam into the optical axis. The electrostatic deflector applies a voltage to the plurality of electrodes, thereby generating an electric field for deflecting the beam. For example, a symmetric quadrupole may be used, with four electrode plates spaced 90 degrees apart to deflect the beam in either the X-direction or the Y-direction. For example, voltage + V_xand-V_xMay be applied to the first and third electrodes (first and third plates opposing each other in the X-axis), respectively. Voltage + V_yand-V_yMay be applied to the second and fourth electrodes (second and fourth plates opposing each other in the Y axis), respectively.

The beam splitter may introduce chromatic dispersion of the primary beam and may limit the achievable resolution. One type of wien filter (unbalanced, called achromatic wien filter) can be used to avoid PE beam dispersion. However, these devices typically cause aberrations, which can compromise spot size and spot resolution in inspection applications using large beam currents and beam diameters.

Thermally induced beam drift may also occur. The prior art uses a calibration scheme to detect electron beam drift. However, this calibration scheme requires constant beam position calibration, making long inspection or inspection work difficult without drift compensation. This can negatively impact processing power.

Therefore, new techniques for addressing thermally induced beam drift are needed.

Disclosure of Invention

In a first embodiment, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes: a beam splitter; a ceramic separator disposed on the electron beam splitter; a set of electrostatic plates disposed on the ceramic separator in an octupole arrangement; a first separator coil pair disposed around the ceramic separator and arranged on opposite sides of the electron beam splitter; a second splitter coil pair disposed around the ceramic separator and arranged on an opposite side of the electron beam splitter orthogonal to the first splitter coil pair; a heater coil disposed around the electron beam splitter; and a power supply configured to provide a heater coil current to the heater coil. The heater coil may be nichrome or copper and may have a winding pitch from 8 to 10 turns per inch. In an example, the heater coil is a 24 gauge wire.

The apparatus may further include a processor. The processor may be configured to determine the wien power based on a first equation.

In this equation, P_wienIs the Wien power, I_xIs the current of the first splitter coil pair, R_xIs the resistance of the first splitter coil pair, I_yIs the current of the second splitter coil pair, and R_yIs the resistance of the second splitter coil pair. The processor may also be configured to determine the heater coil current based on a second equation.

In this equation, I_heaterIs the heater coil current, P is the target power, P_wienIs a Wien power, andR_heateris the resistance of the heater coil.

The heater coil current may generate a magnetic field that causes beam deflection, and the processor may be further configured to measure the beam deflection and calibrate the electron beam splitter based on the beam deflection.

In a second embodiment, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes: a beam splitter; a ceramic separator disposed on the electron beam splitter; a set of electrostatic plates disposed on the ceramic separator in an octupole arrangement; a first separator coil pair disposed around the ceramic separator and arranged on opposite sides of the electron beam splitter; a second splitter coil pair disposed around the ceramic separator and arranged on an opposite side of the electron beam splitter orthogonal to the first splitter coil pair; and a power supply configured to provide a heater coil current. The first and second splitter coil pairs are bifilar, each including a splitter coil and a heater coil. The heater coil current is passed through the heater coils provided to the first splitter coil pair and the second splitter coil pair. The curvature of the first separator coil and the second separator coil may be 120 °.

The apparatus may further include a processor. The processor may be configured to determine a current provided by the power source.

In a third embodiment, a method of reducing thermally induced beam drift in an electron beam is provided. Using a processor, wien power is determined using a first equation.

P_wienIs the Wien power, I_xIs the current of the first splitter coil pair, R is the resistance of the first splitter coil pair, I_yIs the current of the second splitter coil pair, and R_yIs the resistance of the second splitter coil pair.

Determining, using the processor, a heater coil current based on a second equation.

I_heaterIs the heater coil current, P is the target power, P_wienIs the Wien power, and R_heaterIs the resistance of the heater coil.

The heater coil current is provided to the heater coil via the power supply.

The beam splitter used in conjunction with the method comprises: a ceramic separator disposed on the electron beam apparatus; a set of electrostatic plates disposed on the ceramic separator in an octupole arrangement; a first separator coil pair disposed around the ceramic separator and arranged on opposite sides of the electron beam splitter; a second splitter coil pair disposed around the ceramic and arranged on an opposite side of the electron beam splitter orthogonal to the first splitter coil pair; a heater coil disposed around the electron beam splitter; and a power supply configured to provide a heater coil current.

The heater coil current may generate a magnetic field that causes beam deflection. The method may further include measuring the beam deflection using the processor and calibrating the beam splitter based on the beam deflection using the processor.

A deflection correction may be determined. The deflection correction determination may include: determining a heater coil current based on a constant power equation; applying the heater coil current; measuring beam deflection; determining a zero deflection condition slope; and adjusting a coil current to the beam splitter based on the zero deflection condition slope.

Drawings

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken together with the accompanying figures wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a beam splitter according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of a first embodiment of a beam splitter according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a beam splitter according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a thermal simulation of a first embodiment of an electron beam splitter;

FIG. 5 is a thermal simulation of a second embodiment of an electron beam splitter;

6(a) -6 (d) include a series of graphs illustrating Wien power and corresponding heater current;

FIG. 7 is a graph showing pixel shift over time for a first embodiment of a beam splitter with high current off;

FIG. 8 shows a graph of Wien temperature and Wien temperature statistics for a first embodiment of a beam splitter with high current turn off;

FIG. 9 shows a graph of case temperature and case temperature statistics for a first embodiment of a beam splitter with high current turn off;

FIG. 10 is a graph showing the shift in pixel over time of the first embodiment of the beam splitter with high current conduction;

FIG. 11 shows a graph of Wien temperature and Wien temperature statistics for a first embodiment of a beam splitter with high current conduction;

FIG. 12 shows a graph of case temperature and case temperature statistics for a first embodiment of a beam splitter with high current turn-on;

FIG. 13 shows thermally induced drift prior to correction;

FIG. 14 shows thermally induced drift correction;

FIG. 15 is a graph of a heater coil zero deflection condition;

FIG. 16 is a graph of the effect on constant power due to correction with theoretical ideal conditions;

FIG. 17 is a graph of the effect on constant power due to correction with a new total power condition after correction;

FIG. 18 is a graph of the effect on constant power due to correction in a hypothetical example in which both X and Y coils are used to compensate for deflection;

FIG. 19 is an embodiment of a method according to the present invention; and

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating a side view of an embodiment of a system configured as described herein.

Detailed Description

Although claimed subject matter will be described in terms of certain embodiments, other embodiments, including embodiments that do not provide all of the benefits and features set forth herein, are also within the scope of the present disclosure. Various structural, logical, process step, and electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined only by reference to the appended claims.

Embodiments disclosed herein address thermally-induced beam drift in electron optical systems having used beam splitters. The heater coil wound around the beam splitter unit can maintain a constant power. Small magnetic field deflections can be compensated without affecting constant power mode operation. The additional coil may also be wound around the beam splitter in a two-wire fashion, which may maintain constant power in the beam splitter coil. Thermally induced beam drift in the beam splitter can be reduced or eliminated, which provides an inherently stable system. Any residual magnetic field based deflection may be calibrated.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of an electron beam splitter 100. The beam splitter 100 may separate a plurality of electron signals emitted from a surface of a sample from one or more primary electron beams. The beam splitter 100 may have an electrostatic deflector (not illustrated). The electrostatic deflector may have an asymmetric quadrupole configuration or a symmetric quadrupole configuration. The asymmetric configuration produces a unidirectional deflection field and the symmetric configuration produces a bidirectional deflection field. In one embodiment, the asymmetric quadrupole electrostatic deflector deflects a secondary electron beam separated from the optical axis of the electron beam device (i.e., the primary electron beam) by the beam splitter 100. In one embodiment, the asymmetric quadrupole electrostatic deflector of the beam splitter 100 deflects the split secondary electron beams into a detector array.

The beam splitter 100 includes at least one ceramic divider 102 (illustrated in fig. 2). A ceramic divider 102 is disposed on the electron beam splitter 100.

A set of electrostatic plates (which can be seen in the embodiment of fig. 3) located in the center of the beam splitter 100 are disposed on the ceramic divider 102 in an octapole arrangement. The ceramic divider 102 may hold the electrostatic plate in place.

A first splitter coil pair 104 is disposed around the ceramic separator 101 and arranged on opposite sides of the electron beam splitter 100. In the example, the first separator coil pair 104 is wound around the ceramic separator 101. For example, the first separator coil pair 104 may be bent and wound in a desired position.

A second splitter coil pair 105 is disposed around the ceramic divider 101 and arranged on an opposite side of the electron beam splitter 100. The second splitter coil pair 105 may be orthogonal to the first splitter coil pair 104. In the example, the second separator coil pair 105 is wound around the ceramic separator 101. For example, the second separator coil pair 105 may be bent and wound in a desired position.

A heater coil 106 is disposed around the beam splitter 100. In an example, heater coil 106 is wound around beam splitter 100. The exact location and number of loops of heater coil 106 relative to beam splitter 100 may be different than illustrated.

A single heater coil 106 is illustrated in fig. 1 as being wound around the beam splitter 100. In another example, two or more heater coils 106 may be used.

The heater coil 106 can provide thermal stability to the beam splitter 100. For example, the current flowing through the heater coil 106 can be controlled such that the entire beam splitter 100 maintains the temperature within a particular tolerance during operation. For example, such a tolerance may be +1 ℃ or may be +0.25 ℃.

The winding pitch of heater coil 106 may reduce deflection. In the example, the winding pitch is 8 to 10 turns per inch. However, the winding pitch may be 1 to 20 turns per inch or other values.

In the example, heater coil 106 is made of 24 gauge nichrome wire. In another example, heater coil 106 is a copper wire. Other materials or wire gauges for heater coil 106 are possible. The specification may be determined based on necessary voltage, current, or temperature effects. Thus, the wire gauge may be, for example, from 12 to 30 wire gauges, although other wire gauges are possible.

The power supply 107 is configured to provide a heater coil current to the heater coil 106. The power supply 107 may be configured to provide a desired output of + 0.6A.

A processor 108 may also be included. The processor 108 may be configured to determine the wien power based on equation 1.

In equation 1, P_wienIs the Wien power, I_xIs the current, R, of the first splitter coil pair 104_xIs the resistance, I, of the first splitter coil pair 104_yIs the current of the second splitter coil pair 105, and R_yIs the resistance of the second splitter coil pair 105.

The processor 108 may also be configured to determine a heater coil current for the heater coil 106 based on equation 2.

In equation 2, I_heaterIs the heater coil current, P is the target power, P_wienIs a Wien power, and R_heaterIs the resistance of heater coil 106.

Heater coil current in heater coil 106 may generate a magnetic field that causes beam deflection. The processor may be further configured to measure beam deflection and calibrate the electron beam splitter 100 based on the beam deflection. In an example, the beam splitter 100 can be set to be optimal. The heater coil current is determined based on a constant power equation. This determined heater coil current is applied and the beam deflection is measured. The separator coil to heater coil is plotted and the zero deflection condition slope is determined. The coil current to the beam splitter 100 is then adjusted in the appropriate direction based on the slope.

It should be noted that the maximum operating power P of the coil may be equal to P_wienAnd P_heaterThe sum of (a) and (b).

R_xCan be equal to R_yIn the example, it is 1 ohm. In the examples, R_heaterIs 30 ohms. I is_heaterIs the determined heater coil current shown in fig. 6.

Heater coil 106 may be wound in a torsion bar (twisted par) fashion to minimize any beam deflection due to the magnetic field. A small residual magnetic field may cause a small amount of deflection but can be calibrated with minimal impact on constant power operation or temperature. This compensation method is shown in fig. 13-15 and the effect on constant power is shown in fig. 16-18.

Fig. 2 is another perspective view of the beam splitter 100. A single heater coil 106 wound around the beam splitter 100 is illustrated in fig. 2. The heater coil 106 may spiral around the beam splitter 100. The first separator coil pair 104 and the second separator coil pair 105 are illustrated as being located inside the other assembly, but may also be exposed on both ends.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the beam splitter 200. The beam splitter 200 comprises at least one ceramic separator 202. The ceramic separator 202 may hold the first separator coil pair 204 and the second separator coil pair 205 in place.

A set of electrostatic plates 203 (labeled 1-8 in fig. 3) are disposed on the ceramic separator 202 in an octupole arrangement. The ceramic separator 202 may hold the electrostatic plate 203 in place.

A first splitter coil pair 204 is disposed around the ceramic divider 202 and arranged on opposite sides of the electron beam splitter 200. For example, the first separator coil pair 204 may be bent in place such that a tight fit is provided.

A second splitter coil pair 205 is disposed around the ceramic divider 201 and arranged on an opposite side of the electron beam splitter 200. The second splitter coil pair 205 may be orthogonal to the first splitter coil pair 204 and may be wound on the first splitter coil 204. For example, the second separator coil pair 205 may be bent in place such that a tight fit is provided.

In this embodiment, the first splitter coil pair 204 and the second splitter coil pair 205 are two-wire. Each of the first separator coil pair 204 and the second separator coil pair 205 includes a separator coil 209 and a heater coil 206 that are shielded differently in fig. 3.

With two wires, the first splitter coil pair 204 and the second splitter coil pair 205 are closely spaced, parallel windings. The pitch may be determined by the wire gauge of the winding.

There may be a specific overlap of the four coils used in the first splitter coil pair 204 and the second splitter coil pair 205. An example of such overlap is shown in fig. 3.

An approximately 120 ° curvature around the beam splitter 200 may be used. This curvature may be ± 0.2 °.

Constant power may be applied to the first separator coil pair 204 and the second separator coil pair 205. For example, the power may be applied such that equations 3-6 are satisfied.

I_u2＝I_set1-I_u1Equation 4

I_l2＝I_set2-I_l1Equation 6

In equations 3 to 6, P is the required power, R_u1Is the resistance of the first coil in 204, R_u2Is the resistance of the second coil in 204, R_l1Is the resistance of the first coil in 205, R_l2Is the resistance of the second coil in 205, I_u1Is the current of the first coil in 204, I_u2Is the current of the second coil in 204, I_l1Is the current of the first coil in 205, I_l2Is 205Of the second coil, L_set1Is the set current in 204, and L_set2Is the set current in 205.

The power supply 207 is configured to provide a heater coil current to the heater coils 206 of the first and second splitter coil pairs 204, 205. The power supply 207 may be configured to provide a desired output of + 0.6A.

A processor 208 may also be included. The processor 108 may be configured to determine the power of the power source 207. For example, the processor 208 may be configured to determine heater coil currents to the first separator coil pair 204 and the second separator coil pair 205 based on equations 1 and 2.

In the embodiment of fig. 3, the current flowing in each of the first and second splitter coil pairs 204, 205 is operated from a constant power equation that takes into account the desired power required and the resistance of each coil in the bifilar winding.

Although described with respect to electron beams, the beam splitter 100 and the beam splitter 200 may also be used as ion beam splitters.

Fig. 4 is a thermal equilibrium simulation of the beam splitter 100 of fig. 1 or 2. In the thermal balance simulation of fig. 4, a sealed coil (potted coil) with a heater coil was used at 2W operating power. Fig. 5 is a thermal equilibrium simulation of the beam splitter 200 of fig. 3. Various shades in the legend indicate temperature. In the thermal balance simulation of fig. 5, a 2W operating power is used with the two-wire coil. In both fig. 4 and 5, steady state thermal conditions are reached during normal operation. No residual beam deflection occurred in these simulations.

Fig. 6(a) -6 (d) include a series of graphs illustrating wien power and corresponding heater current. In these examples, I_xIs equal to I_yIt is + 1.5A. R_xIs equal to R_yIt is 1 ohm. R_heaterThe coil is 30 ohms. Based on the results, constant power is maintained across all current combinations.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing pixel shift over time for the first embodiment of the beam splitter with high current off. Fig. 8 shows a graph of wien temperature and wien temperature statistics for a first embodiment of a beam splitter with high current turn off. Fig. 9 shows a graph of case temperature and case temperature statistics for the first embodiment of the beam splitter with high current off.

Fig. 10 is a graph showing pixel shift over time for the first embodiment of the beam splitter with high current conduction. Fig. 11 shows a graph of wien temperature and wien temperature statistics for a first embodiment of a beam splitter with high current conduction. Fig. 12 shows a graph of case temperature and case temperature statistics for the first embodiment of the beam splitter with high current conduction.

The effect of the heater coil is shown in fig. 7-12. A reduction in beam drift is observed. These results show a three sigma temperature trend at ± 0.25 °. The slopes of the graphs in fig. 7 and 10 show the beam drift reduction.

Figure 13 shows thermally induced drift prior to correction. Figure 14 shows thermally induced drift correction. The drift correction may be performed as described with respect to fig. 1. In the examples of fig. 13 and 14, the target power is 4W, R_xIs 1 ohm, R_yIs 1 ohm, and R_heaterIs 30 ohms.

Fig. 15 is a graph of a heater coil zero deflection condition. These results, in combination with the results of fig. 13 and 14, show that: heating related disadvantages can be compensated for with minimal impact on constant power.

In an example, the method used in fig. 13 to 15 involves setting the beam splitter to an optimal setting. The heater coil current is determined based on a constant power equation and applied. The beam deflection is measured. The separator coil is drawn against the heater coil. The extraction of zero deflection conditions is slow. The beam splitter coil current is then adjusted in the appropriate direction based on the slope.

Fig. 16 is a graph of the effect on constant power due to correction with theoretical ideal conditions. Fig. 17 is a graph of the effect on constant power due to correction with the new total power condition after correction. Fig. 18 is a graph of the effect on constant power due to correction in a hypothetical example in which both X and Y coils are used to compensate for deflection. As seen in fig. 16-18, compensating for small heater coil deflections using x or y coils has minimal impact on constant power conditions.

Fig. 19 is an embodiment of a method 300 for reducing thermally induced beam drift in an electron beam. At 301, a beam splitter is provided. The electron beam splitter may comprise: a ceramic separator disposed on the electron beam apparatus; a set of electrostatic plates disposed on the ceramic separator in an octupole arrangement; a first separator coil pair disposed around the ceramic separator and arranged on opposite sides of the electron beam splitter; a second splitter coil pair disposed around the ceramic and arranged on an opposite side of the electron beam splitter orthogonal to the first splitter coil pair; a heater coil disposed around the electron beam splitter; and a power supply configured to provide a heater coil current.

At 302, wien power is determined, for example, using a processor. This can be done using equation 1.

At 303, a heater coil current is determined, for example, using a processor. This can be done using equation 2.

At 304, a heater coil current is provided to the heater coil via a power supply.

The heater coil current may generate a magnetic field that causes beam deflection. In this example, the beam deflection may be measured, for example, using a processor. A processor may be used to calibrate the beam splitter based on the beam deflection.

Fig. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating a side view of an embodiment of a system. The imaging system 400 may be an electron beam based imaging system. In this manner, in some embodiments, an input image is generated by an electron beam based imaging system. The imaging system 400 includes an electron column 401 coupled to a computer subsystem 402. As also shown in fig. 20, the electron column 401 includes an electron beam source 403, the electron beam source 403 configured to generate electrons that are focused by one or more elements 405 to the sample 404. In one embodiment, the sample 404 is a wafer. The wafer may comprise any wafer known in the art. In another embodiment, the sample 404 is a reticle. The mask may comprise any mask known in the art.

The electron beam source 403 may include, for example, a cathode source or an emitter tip, and the one or more elements 405 may include, for example, a gun lens, an anode, a beam limiting aperture, a gate valve, a beam current selection aperture, an objective lens, and a scanning subsystem, all of which may include any such suitable elements known in the art.

Electrons (e.g., secondary electrons) returning from the sample 404 may be focused by one or more elements 406 to a detector 407. One or more elements 406 may include, for example, a scanning subsystem, which may be the same scanning subsystem included in element 405.

The electron column 401 may comprise any other suitable element known in the art, including the beam splitter 100 or the beam splitter 200.

Although the electron column 401 is shown in fig. 20 as being configured such that electrons are directed to the sample 404 at an oblique angle of incidence and scattered from the sample 404 at another oblique angle, the electron beam may be directed to the sample 404 at any suitable angle and scattered from the sample 404. In addition, the electron beam-based imaging system 400 may be configured to use multiple modes to generate images of the sample 404 (e.g., with different illumination angles, collection angles, etc.). The various modes of the electron beam based imaging system 400 may differ in any image generation parameter of the imaging system.

The computer subsystem 402 may be coupled to the detector 407 in any suitable manner (e.g., via one or more transmission media, which may include wired and/or wireless transmission media) such that the computer subsystem 402 may receive the output generated by the detector 407 during scanning of the sample 404. The computer subsystem 402 may be configured to perform several functions using the output of the detector 407. The detector 407 may detect electrons returning from the surface of the sample 404, thereby forming an electron beam image of the sample 404. The electron beam image may comprise any suitable electron beam image. The computer subsystem 402 may be configured to perform one or more functions of the sample 404 using the output generated by the detector 407.

The computer subsystem 402 shown in fig. 20 may take various forms, including a personal computer system, a graphics computer, a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network appliance, an internet appliance, or other appliance. In general, the term "computer system" may be broadly defined to encompass any device having one or more processors that execute instructions from a memory medium. The computer subsystem or system may also include any suitable processor known in the art, such as a parallel processor. Additionally, a computer subsystem or system may include a computer platform with high speed processing and software, either as a stand-alone tool or a networked tool.

If the imaging system 400 includes more than one computer subsystem 402, the different computer subsystems may be coupled to each other so that images, data, information, instructions, etc., may be sent between the computer subsystems. Two or more of such computer subsystems may also be operatively coupled by a shared computer-readable storage medium (not shown).

It should be noted that fig. 20 is provided herein to generally illustrate the configuration of an electron beam based imaging system 400 that may be included in embodiments described herein. The electron beam-based imaging system 400 configuration described herein may be altered to optimize the performance of the imaging system as is typically performed when designing commercial imaging systems. Additionally, the systems described herein may be implemented using an existing system (e.g., by adding the functionality described herein to an existing system). For some such systems, the embodiments described herein may be provided as optional functions of the system (e.g., in addition to other functionality of the system).

The electron beam based imaging system 400 may also be configured as an ion beam based imaging system. Such an imaging system may be configured as shown in fig. 20, except that the electron beam source 403 may be replaced with any suitable ion beam source known in the art. Additionally, the imaging system may be any other suitable ion beam-based imaging system, such as those included in commercially available Focused Ion Beam (FIB) systems, Helium Ion Microscope (HIM) systems, and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) systems.

Each of the steps of the method may be performed as described herein. The method may also include any other steps that may be performed by the processor and/or computer subsystem or system described herein. The steps may be performed by one or more computer systems, which may be configured in accordance with any of the embodiments described herein. Additionally, the methods described above may be performed by any of the system embodiments described herein.

While the invention has been described with respect to one or more particular embodiments, it will be understood that other embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is to be considered limited only by the following claims and the reasonable interpretation thereof.