Patent Application
20150214004
This application relates to a method for preparing and analyzing an object comprising a region of interest to be analyzed. This application also relates to a particle beam device for performing the method (e.g. implementing the method).
Particle beam devices, such as electron beam devices, have been used for some time for studying objects which are also often identified as specimens or samples. In particular, scanning electron microscopes (also known as SEM) and transmission electron microscopes (also known as TEM) are known.
In an SEM, an electron beam generated using a beam generator is focused through an objective lens on the object to be analyzed. Using a deflection device, the electron beam (also referred to as the primary electron beam hereafter) is scanned over the surface of the object. The electrons of the primary electron beam interact with the object. As a result of the interaction, in particular electrons are emitted from the object (so-called secondary electrons) or electrons of the primary electron beam are scattered back (so-called backscattered electrons). Secondary and backscattered electrons form the so-called secondary beam and are detected using a detector. The detector signal thus generated is used for image generation.
In the case of a TEM, likewise, a primary electron beam is generated using a beam generator and is guided to an object to be analyzed using a beam guidance system. The primary electron beam passes through the object to be analyzed. When the primary electron beam passes through the object to be analyzed, the electrons in the primary electron beam interact with the material of the object to be analyzed. The electrons passing through the object to be analyzed are imaged onto a phosphor screen using a system comprising an objective and a projection lens, or are detected by a position-resolving detector (for example a camera). In the scanning mode of a TEM, as in an SEM, the primary electron beam of the TEM is focused on the object to be analyzed, and is guided in a raster shape over the object to be analyzed, using a deflection device. The transmitted unscattered electrons as well as the transmitted (highly) scattered electrons are analyzed by different detectors generating detector signals. The generated detector signals may be used for generating an image of the analyzed object. A TEM such as this is generally referred to as an STEM.
Equipping a SEM with an ion beam column is also known. Ions are generated using an ion beam generator situated in the ion beam column, which are used for the preparation of objects (such as polishing an object or applying material to an object) or also for imaging.
A further known device using a particle beam for the preparation of an object in a particle beam device is described hereafter. Using this further known device, a second specimen is extracted from a first specimen, which is situated in a sample chamber on a specimen table, and fastened to a specimen holder, which is also situated on the specimen table. The specimen holder is discharged from the sample chamber for further study of the second specimen. This is disadvantageous for many applications, because on one hand, the discharge of the specimen holder requires a long time and, on the other hand, there is a risk of the second specimen being contaminated or being damaged by this way of preparation.
Furthermore, a device and a method for specimen preparation having the following features and method steps, respectively, are known from the related art. An object is situated on a specimen table (also known as specimen stage) in a sample chamber in a particle beam device. In a first position of the specimen table, a piece is cut out of the object using an ion beam and this cut out piece is fastened to a specimen holder which is situated on the specimen table. The specimen table is brought by movement into a second position, in which an electron beam is focused on this piece for further study. Electrons transmitted through this piece are detected using a detector.
Reference is made to DE 103 51 276 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,963,068, EP 0 927 880 A1 and DE 10 2007 026 847 A1 in regard to the above-mentioned related art, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Electron backscatter diffraction (also known as EBSD) is a technique used to analyze the crystallographic orientation of materials. It is known to use EBSD in an SEM having an EBSD detector. The EBSD detector may comprise a CCD chip. The EBSD detector detects electrons backscattered from the object and generates detection signals. Based on the detection signals, an electron backscatter diffraction pattern (also known as EBSP) is generated. The EBSP comprises information about Kikuchi bands corresponding to lattice diffraction planes of an object to be analyzed.
A further technique for analyzing an object is known as transmission Kikuchi diffraction (also known as TKD). When using TKD, an electron beam is guided to an object which is thin enough to be transparent for electrons of the electron beam. In other words, electrons of the electron beam may transmit through the object. For example, the object is a foil. The object is positioned approximately horizontal with respect to the sample chamber. Alternatively, the object is slightly tilted away from the EBSD detector by an angle of up to 20° or up to 30°. The scattered and transmitted electrons of the electron beam emerging from a bottom side of the object are detected using the EBSD detector. The EBSD detector is positioned off-axis with respect to the optical axis of the electron beam guided to the object. In particular, the EBSD detector is positioned below the object at a position which is normally used for standard EBSD. The EBSD detector generates detector signals used for acquiring and recording diffraction patterns of the object, the diffraction patterns being projected from the bottom side of the object to the EBSD detector.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a method and a particle beam device for performing the method for preparing an object which can be analyzed in-situ using TKD.
According to the system described herein, a method is used for preparing and analyzing an object comprising a region of interest to be analyzed. The method is carried out using a particle beam device. The particle beam device comprises at least one first particle beam column having a first optical axis and at least one second particle beam column having a second optical axis.
The first particle beam column comprises at least one first particle beam generator for generating a first particle beam having first charged particles and at least one first objective lens for focusing the first particle beam onto the object. For example, the first particle beam column is an electron beam column and the first particle beam generator generates a first particle beam in the form of an electron beam. Alternatively, the first particle beam column is an ion beam column and the first particle beam generator generates a first particle beam in the form of an ion beam. The ion beam comprises, for example, Gallium ions, Neon ions and/or Argon ions. However, the system described herein is not restricted to the use of the aforementioned ions. Instead, any kind of ions may be used.
The second particle beam column comprises at least one second particle beam generator for generating a second particle beam having second charged particles and at least one second objective lens for focusing the second particle beam onto the object. For example, the second particle beam column is an ion beam column and the second particle beam generator generates a second particle beam in the form of an ion beam. The ion beam comprises, for example, Gallium ions, Neon ions and/or Argon ions. However, the system described herein is not restricted to the use of the aforementioned ions. Instead, any kind of ions may be used.
The object is arranged on a carrier element of the particle beam device. The carrier element is movable in at least three spatial directions oriented perpendicular to one another. Moreover, the carrier element is rotatable around a first rotation axis and around a second rotation axis being oriented perpendicular to the first rotation axis. The second rotation axis may be oriented parallel to the first optical axis or may correspond to the first optical axis.
The particle beam device comprises detectors for detecting particles. On one hand, the particle beam device comprises a first detector for detecting first charged particles being transmitted through the object. As explained further below, the detected first charged particles are used for generating diffraction patterns. On the other hand, the particle beam device comprises a second detector for detecting interaction particles and/or interaction radiation generated when the first particle beam impinges on the object. In particular, particles (for example electrons) are emitted from the object (so-called secondary particles) or particles (for example electrons) of the first particle beam are scattered back (so-called backscattered particles). Secondary particles and/or backscattered particles are detected. Detector signals generated by the second detector are used for generation of an image which is, for example, displayed on a screen and/or monitor.
The method according to the system described herein comprises a step of moving the carrier element to a first position such that the second optical axis is parallel or basically parallel to a first surface of the object. The difference of orientation of the second optical axis and the first surface of the object may be about 2° or about 4°. If the second optical axis is parallel or basically parallel to the first surface of the object, the second particle beam impinges on the first surface with grazing incidence.
Furthermore, the method according to the system described herein comprises a step of removing material from the first surface of the object using the second particle beam. A second surface of the object is generated when the material is removed from the first surface of the object. The removal of the material and/or the generating of the second surface is/are monitored using the first particle beam and the second detector, as explained above.
Additionally, the method according to the system described herein comprises the step of moving the carrier element to a second position. The second optical axis is perpendicular to the second surface of the object in this second position. When the carrier element is in the second position, a further step of the method according to the system described herein is carried out, namely removing material of the object from the second surface of the object using the second particle beam. The step of removing the material of the object is monitored using the first particle beam and the second detector. When removing the material, a first side of the region of interest and a second side of the region of interest are generated, the first side being arranged opposite the second side. The region of interest is arranged between the first side and the second side. The before mentioned step can also be phrased as follows. When the carrier element is in the second position, a lamella is generated by removing the material from the second surface. The lamella is or comprises the region of interest. The lamella may be situated anywhere on the second surface, for example in the middle of the second surface. The material around the lamella is removed so that the lamella is accessible from several directions, for example from two sides of the lamella, wherein the two sides are the first side and the second side.
The method according to the system described herein also comprises a step of moving the carrier element to a third position so that the first optical axis and the first side of the region of interest are oriented at an angle to one another, wherein the angle is in the range of 60° to 90°. The boundaries of the range are included in this range. After having reached the third position, the first particle beam is guided to the first side of the region of interest. First charged particles entering the region of interest on the first side and being transmitted through the region of interest are detected using the first detector. The first detector generates detection signals using the detected first charged particles. At least one diffraction pattern or several diffraction patterns of the region of interest are acquired, using the detection signals. The region of interest is then analyzed using the diffraction pattern or the diffraction patterns. The detection signals are used, for example, to generate a diffraction pattern projected from the second side of the region of interest being oriented in the direction of the first detector. In one embodiment of the system described herein, the first detector is a detector normally used in EBSD as explained above. For example, the first detector comprises a CCD chip or a scintillator connected to a CCD chip with a detection area of about 20 mm×20 mm or 30 mm×30 mm.
The method according to the system described herein provides for a simple preparation of a region of interest to be analyzed combined with an analysis using TKD. A sample (that is the object) thin enough for transmission of charged particles is generated and is analyzed without discharging the sample from the sample chamber for introducing the sample into a further device. Instead, sample preparation and the analysis of the sample are carried out using a single particle beam device. The sample preparation is carried out “in-situ”. Therefore, the risk of damaging the sample when discharging the sample out of the particle beam device is lowered. The system described herein ensures a minimum damage of the sample due to contamination and, therefore, damage of the crystalline structure of the sample.
In an embodiment of the method according to the system described herein, it is additionally or alternatively provided that the method further comprises acquiring a crystalline data value depending on a crystalline structure of the region of interest. The crystalline data value is displayed on the screen or the monitor. Furthermore, an image of the region of interest is displayed on the screen or the monitor. For example, the image is obtained by detecting interaction particles and/or interaction radiation as mentioned above using the second detector. Furthermore, crystalline data values and/or topographical data values of the region of interest may be superimposed or combined with the data of the image obtained using the second detector.
In an embodiment of the method according to the system described herein, it is additionally or alternatively provided that the method further comprises identifying the region of interest using the first particle beam. For example, an image of a surface of the object is generated using the first particle beam. It is possible to identify the region of interest using the generated image. However, the system described herein is not restricted to the aforementioned way of identifying the region of interest. Instead, any method of identifying the region of interest can be used, for example identifying using a photon beam. In particular, EDX or a light beam, for example a laser beam may be used.
In a further embodiment of the method according to the system described herein, it is additionally or alternatively provided that material of the object is removed, for example using mechanical polishing or using laser ablation. In particular, the removing is carried out until the first surface is at a distance of about 10 μm to 60 μm from the region of interest. The aforementioned removal of material can be performed in a different device than the particle beam device. After coarse removal of the material the object may be positioned on the carrier element.
Alternatively, the aforementioned removal may be performed in the particle beam device, for example using the second particle beam.
In a further embodiment of the method according to the system described herein, it is additionally or alternatively provided that the first side of the region of interest and the second side of the region of interest are oriented parallel to one another and/or that the first side of the region of interest and the second side of the region of interest are oriented perpendicular to the second surface of the object. The step of removing material from the second surface comprises removing material so that a lamella having a first side wall and a second side wall is formed. The lamella may have a thickness of 40 nm to 300 nm or 70 nm to 100 nm between the first side wall and second side wall. The lamella includes the region of interest. Because of its thickness of 40 nm to 300 nm or of 70 nm to 100 nm such lamella is especially suitable for TKD.
In an embodiment of the method according to the system described herein, it is additionally or alternatively provided that the step of removing material from the first surface of the object using the second particle beam comprises generating a U-shaped form on the first surface. In particular, the U-shaped form comprises a base limb and two side limbs extending from the base limb. In particular, the region of interest is arranged in the area of the base limb. For example, the base limb comprises the second surface.
In an embodiment of the system described herein, the first particle beam is an electron beam. It is additionally or alternatively provided that the step of monitoring the first surface of the object comprises using the electron beam and/or the step of monitoring the second surface of the object comprises using the electron beam. It is additionally or alternatively provided that the step of removing material from the first surface of the object comprises using the ion beam and/or the step of removing material of the object from the second surface comprises using the ion beam.
In a further embodiment of the system described herein, it is additionally or alternatively provided that the steps of moving the carrier element into the first position, the second position and/or the third position comprise specific movements. For example, the step of moving the carrier element to the first position comprises rotating the carrier element around the first rotation axis at an angle between 10° and 20° or between 12° and 18°. The aforementioned boundaries of the angle ranges are included in those ranges. For example, in one embodiment of the system described herein the carrier element is rotated around the first rotation axis at an angle of 10°, 12°, 18° or 20°. In a further embodiment of the system described herein, it is additionally or alternatively provided that the step of moving the carrier element to the second position comprises rotating the carrier element around the second rotation axis at an angle between 160° to 200° or between 170° and 180°, and the step of moving the carrier element also comprises rotating the carrier element around the first rotation axis at an angle between 10° and 20° or between 12° and 18°. Again, the aforementioned boundaries of the angle ranges are included in those ranges. For example, in one embodiment of the system described herein, the carrier element is rotated around the second rotation axis at an angle of 160°, 170°, 180° or 200° and/or the carrier element is rotated around the first rotation axis at an angle of 10°, 12°, 18° or 20°. In another embodiment of the system described herein, it is additionally or alternatively provided that the step of moving the carrier element to the third position comprises rotating the carrier element around the first rotation axis at an angle between 4° and 40° or at an angle between 6° and 36°. Again, the aforementioned boundaries of the angle ranges are included in those ranges. For example, in one embodiment of the system described herein the carrier element is rotated around the first rotation axis at an angle of 4°, 6°, 36° or 40°. As mentioned further below, in an embodiment of the system described herein, it is possible to move the carrier element in such a way that a surface normal to the first side wall and/or the second side wall of the lamella comprising the region of interest is arranged at an angle in the range of 0° to 30° relative to the first optical axis (of the first particle beam column). Again, the boundaries of this angle range are included in the range.
In a further embodiment of the system described herein, it is additionally or alternatively provided that the first particle beam column and the second particle beam column are arranged at an angle α to one another, with 0°≦α≦90° or with 40°≦α≦90°. For example, α is 54°. The carrier element comprises a receiving surface on which the object is arranged. When being in the second position, the receiving surface of carrier element is arranged at the angle α to the first optical axis.
In an embodiment of the system described herein, it is additionally or alternatively provided that the method according to the system described herein comprises the step of moving the first detector to a first position for detecting first charged particles being transmitted through the object. Additionally or alternatively it is provided that the method comprises the step of moving the first detector to a second position, the second position being for example at a distance of approximately 10 cm to 20 cm to the first position, when removing material from the first surface or the second surface of the object, in order to avoid damaging the first detector and/or to avoid re-sputtering of material removed from the object.
In an embodiment of the system described herein, it is additionally or alternatively provided that the method is carried out within a vacuum chamber of the particle beam device and wherein at least one of the steps or at least two of the steps according to the method are performed while maintaining the object within the vacuum chamber.
The system described herein also relates to a method for preparing and analyzing an object comprising a region of interest to be analyzed, wherein the method is carried out using a particle beam device, wherein the method comprises the following steps:
The system described herein also relates to a computer program product which is loaded or is to be loaded into a processor of a particle beam device, for example a particle beam device as mentioned above and comprising at least one of the above mentioned features with respect to the particle beam device. The computer program product comprises software for controlling the particle beam device in such a way that the particle beam device performs a method with at least one of the above mentioned method steps or a combination of at least two of the above mentioned method steps.
The system described herein also relates to a particle beam device for preparing and analyzing an object comprising a region of interest. The particle beam device comprises at least one first particle beam column, wherein the first particle beam column comprises a first optical axis, at least one first particle beam generator for generating a first particle beam having first charged particles and at least one first objective lens for focusing the first particle beam onto the object. Moreover, the particle beam device comprises at least one second particle beam column, wherein the second particle beam column comprises a second optical axis, at least one second particle beam generator for generating a second particle beam having second charged particles and at least one second objective lens for focusing the second particle beam onto the object. The particle beam device also has at least one carrier element on which the object is to be arranged, wherein the carrier element is movable in at least three spatial directions oriented perpendicular to one another and wherein the carrier element is rotatable around a first rotation axis and around a second rotation axis being oriented perpendicular to the first rotation axis. The particle beam device also has a first detector for detecting first charged particles being transmitted through the object and a second detector for detecting interaction particles and/or interaction radiation being generated when the first particle beam impinges on the object. Moreover, the particle beam device comprises a control unit comprising a processor, wherein a computer program product as mentioned above is loaded into the processor.
Embodiments of the system described herein will now described using the appended figures, which are briefly described as follows:
The first charged particle beam column 2, in the form of the electron beam column, will now be described first. The first charged particle beam column 2 has a first beam generator 6, a first electrode 7, a second electrode 8 and a third electrode 9. By way of example, the first beam generator 6 is a thermal field emitter. The first electrode 7 has the function of a suppressor electrode, while the second electrode 8 has the function of an extractor electrode. The third electrode 9 is an anode, and at the same time forms one end of a beam guide tube 10. A first particle beam, namely a first charged particle beam, in the form of an electron beam is generated using the first beam generator 6. Electrons which emerge from the first beam generator 6 are accelerated to the anode potential, for example in the range from 1 kV to 30 kV, as a result of a potential difference between the first beam generator 6 and the third electrode 9. The first particle beam in the form of the electron beam passes through the beam guide tube 10, and is focused onto the sample 16 to be analyzed. This will be described in more detail further below.
The beam guide tube 10 passes through a collimator arrangement 11 which has a first annular coil 12 and a yoke 13. Seen in the direction of the sample 16, from the first beam generator 6, the collimator arrangement 11 is followed by a pinhole diaphragm 14 and a detector 15 with a central opening 17 arranged along the first optical axis 4 in the beam guide tube 10. The beam guide tube 10 then runs through a hole in a first objective lens 18. The first objective lens 18 is used for focusing the first particle beam onto the sample 16. For this purpose, the first objective lens 18 has a magnetic lens 19 and an electrostatic lens 20. The magnetic lens 19 is provided with a second annular coil 21, an inner pole piece 22 and an outer pole piece 23. The electrostatic lens 20 has an end 24 of the beam guide tube 10 and a terminating electrode 25. The end 24 of the beam guide tube 10 and the terminating electrode 25 form an electrostatic deceleration device. The end 24 of the beam guide tube 10, together with the beam guide tube 10, is at the anode potential, while the terminating electrode 25 and the sample 16 are at a potential which is lower than the anode potential. This allows the electrons in the first particle beam to be decelerated to a desired energy which is required for an examination of the sample 16, in particular for generating an image as explained further below. The first charged particle beam column 2 furthermore has a raster device 26, by which the first particle beam can be deflected and can be scanned in the form of a raster over the sample 16.
For imaging purposes, the detector 15, which is arranged in the beam guide tube 10, detects secondary electrons and/or back-scattered electrons, which result from the interaction between the first particle beam and the sample 16. The signals generated by the detector 15 are transmitted to an electronics unit (not illustrated) for generating an image based on signals generated by the detector 15.
The sample 16 is arranged on a sample receptacle of a carrier element. The carrier element is also known as a sample stage. The sample stage is not illustrated in
As mentioned above, reference sign 3 denotes the second charged particle beam column, in the form of an ion beam column. The second charged particle beam column 3 has a second beam generator 27 in the form of an ion source. The second beam generator 27 is used for generating a second particle beam, namely a second charged particle beam, in the form of an ion beam. Furthermore, the second charged particle beam column 3 is provided with an extraction electrode 28 and a collimator 29. The collimator 29 is followed by a variable aperture 30 in the direction of the sample 16 along the second optical axis 5. The second particle beam is focused onto the sample 16 using a second objective lens 31 in the form of focusing lenses. Raster electrodes 32 are provided in order to scan the second particle beam over the sample 16 in the form of a raster.
The sample stage 100 has a first movement element 102 on a housing 103 of the sample chamber 49, in which the sample stage 100 is arranged. The first movement element 102 renders possible a movement of the sample stage 100 along the z-axis (first translation axis). Furthermore, the sample stage 100 comprises a second movement element 104. The second movement element 104 renders possible a rotation of the sample stage 100 about a first rotation axis 105, which is also referred to as tilt-axis. This second movement element 104 serves to tilt the sample 16 arranged in the sample receptacle 101 about the first rotation axis 105.
On the second movement element 104, a third movement element 106 is arranged, the latter being embodied as a guide for a carriage and ensuring that the sample stage 100 can move in the x-direction (second translation axis). The aforementioned carriage is a further movement element, namely a fourth movement element 107. The fourth movement element 107 is embodied in such a way that the sample stage 100 can move in the y-direction (third translation axis). The fourth movement element 107 has a guide guiding a further carriage, on which the sample receptacle 101 is arranged.
The sample receptacle 101 is embodied with a fifth movement element 108, which allows for the sample receptacle 101 to be rotatable about a second rotation axis 109. The second rotation axis 109 is oriented perpendicular to the first rotation axis 105.
As a result of the above-described arrangement, the sample stage 100 of the exemplary embodiment discussed here has the following kinematic chain: first movement element 102 (movement along the z-axis)—second movement element 104 (rotation about the first rotation axis 105)—third movement element 106 (movement along the x-axis)—fourth movement element 107 (movement along the y-axis)—fifth movement element 108 (rotation about the second rotation axis 109).
In a further exemplary embodiment (not illustrated here), further movement elements may be provided such that movements are made possible along further translation axes and/or about further rotation axes.
As is evident from
The aforementioned stepper motors M1 to M5 are controlled by a control unit 110. The control unit 110 comprises a processor 111, in which a computer program product comprising software is loaded, which—when executed—controls execution of a method explained further below in the particle beam device 1.
It is explicitly noted that the system described herein is not restricted to the sample stage 100 described here. Rather, the system described herein can be applied in any embodiment of a movable sample stage and also in any other type of kinematic chain. Furthermore, the motion devices (drive motors) M1 to M5 are not restricted to stepper motors. Rather, any kind of motion equipment such as DC motors or piezo elements, for example, may be used to drive the movement elements.
The sample receptacle 101 shown in
The method also comprises a step S2. In this step S2, material is removed from the sample 16, wherein a first surface 34 of the sample 16 is generated. Since the sample 16 might be large (for example with dimensions of 100 μm×5 μm×20 μm for the width, the height and the depth, respectively, of the sample 16), step S2 provides removing material using mechanical polishing or laser ablation until the first surface 34 is at a distance of about 10 μm to 60 μm from the region of interest 33 (see
The method also comprises a step S3. In this step S3, the sample stage 100 is moved from the above mentioned origin position to a first position by rotating the sample stage 100 at an angle of 18° around the first rotation axis 105 (tilt axis) and by rotating the sample stage 100 around the second rotation axis 109 at an angle of 180°.
The method also comprises a step S4. In this step S4, material on the first surface 34 of the sample 16 is removed using the second particle beam, thereby generating a recess having a cross-section with a U-shaped form on the first surface 34, as shown in
The method also comprises a step S5. In this step S5, the sample stage 100 is moved from the first position to a second position which, in this exemplary embodiment, corresponds to the origin position of
The method also comprises a step S6. In this step S6, material of the second surface 35 and beneath the second surface 35 of the sample 16 is removed using the second particle beam. The removal of the material is monitored using the first particle beam by generating images. When removing the material, a first side 39 of the region of interest 33 and a second side 40 of the region of interest 33 are generated, the first side 39 being arranged opposite the second side 40 (see
The method also comprises a step S7 (see
In a further step S8 of the method, the region of interest 33 of the sample 16 is now analyzed (see
The method also comprises a step S9 (see
The sample receptacle 101 shown in
In step S2, material is removed from the sample 16′, wherein the first surface 34′ of the sample 16′ is generated as shown in
If the region of interest 33 of the sample 16′ is close to the first surface 34′ (for example at a distance of about 10 μm to 60 μm), step S2 of the method may be omitted.
In step S3 of the second embodiment, the sample stage 100 is moved from the origin position shown in
In step S4 of the second embodiment, material on the first surface 34′ of the sample 16′ is removed using the second particle beam, thereby generating a lamella comprising the region of interest 33 as shown in
In step S5 of the second embodiment, the sample stage 100 is moved from the first position to a second position which, in this exemplary embodiment, corresponds to the origin position of
This embodiment of the method according to the system described herein comprises a step S6A as shown in
In step S7, the sample stage 100 is moved from the second position to a third position. Again, the third position of the sample stage 100 is chosen with respect to a desired relative position of the region of interest 33 to the first optical axis 4. In particular, the third position of the sample stage 100 is chosen in such a way that the angle between the first side 39′ of the region of interest 33 and the first optical axis 4 is in the range of 60° and 90°, wherein the boundaries of this range are included in the range. If the optical axis 4 is vertically oriented, this means that the first side 39′ of the region of interest 33 can be oriented at an angle from 0° to 30° to the horizontal. For example, if the sample stage 100 starting from the second position is rotated around the first rotation axis 105 at about 15° and if the sample stage 100 is rotated around the second rotation axis 109 at about 180°, the first side 39′ of the region of interest 33 (the lamella) is oriented at an angle of about 30° to the horizontal. If, for example, the sample stage 100 starting again from the second position is rotated around the first rotation axis 105 at about 45° and if the sample stage 100 is rotated around the second rotation axis 109 at about 180°, the first side 39′ of the region of interest 33 (the lamella) is oriented at an angle of about 0° to the horizontal. Thus, the first side 39′ is horizontally oriented.
In step 8, the region of interest 33 of the sample 16′ is now analyzed with the first charged particle beam impinging at an angle in the range between 0° and 30° to the surface normal to the first side 39′. The first particle beam is guided to the first side 39′ of the region of interest 33. The electrons of the first particle beam being transmitted through the region of interest 33 are scattered in different directions depending on the crystallographic orientation of the material in the region of interest 33. The scattered electrons are detected using the EBSD detector 1000. The EBSD detector 1000 generates detector signals which are used to generate a diffraction pattern or diffraction patterns based on the detected scattered electrons. The EBSD detector 1000 enables the generation of an image of the diffraction pattern or diffraction patterns at the position of the EBSD detector 1000.
The method also comprises a step S9 (see
Each feature mentioned in the description and/or disclosed in the drawings and/or in the claims may be implemented in connection with the system described herein as a single feature or as a combination of features. The system described herein is not restricted to the embodiments disclosed in the application. The system described herein may be varied with respect to the claims and drawings on the knowledge of a person skilled in the art.
Various embodiments discussed herein may be combined with each other in appropriate combinations in connection with the system described herein. Additionally, in some instances, the order of steps in the flow diagrams, flowcharts and/or described flow processing may be modified, where appropriate. Further, various aspects of the system described herein may be implemented using software, hardware, a combination of software and hardware and/or other computer-implemented modules or devices having the described features and performing the described functions. The system may further include a display and/or other computer components for providing a suitable interface with a user and/or with other computers.
Software implementations of aspects of the system described herein may include executable code that is stored in a computer-readable medium and executed by one or more processors. The computer-readable medium may include volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory, and may include, for example, a computer hard drive, ROM, RAM, flash memory, portable computer storage media such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, an SD card, a flash drive or other drive with, for example, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, and/or any other appropriate tangible or non-transitory computer-readable medium or computer memory on which executable code may be stored and executed by a processor. The system described herein may be used in connection with any appropriate operating system.
Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the specification or practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with the true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14152568.3 | Jan 2014 | EP | regional |
