US 12,463,010 B2
Multiple charged-particle beam apparatus and methods
Weiming Ren, San Jose, CA (US); Xuedong Liu, San Jose, CA (US); Xuerang Hu, San Jose, CA (US); Zhong-wei Chen, San Jose, CA (US); and Martinus Gerardus Johannes Maria Maassen, San Francisco, CA (US)
Assigned to ASML Netherlands B.V., Veldhoven (NL)
Filed by ASML Netherlands B.V., Veldhoven (NL)
Filed on Nov. 7, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/504,089.
Application 18/504,089 is a continuation of application No. 16/885,872, filed on May 28, 2020, granted, now 11,854,765.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/984,760, filed on Mar. 3, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/853,670, filed on May 28, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2024/0145214 A1, May 2, 2024
Int. Cl. H01J 37/317 (2006.01); H01J 37/145 (2006.01); H01J 37/28 (2006.01)
CPC H01J 37/3177 (2013.01) [H01J 37/145 (2013.01); H01J 37/28 (2013.01); H01J 2237/0453 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
16. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a set of instructions that is executable by one or more processors of a multi-beam apparatus having first and second aperture arrays to cause the multi-beam apparatus to perform operations comprising:
activating a charged-particle source to generate a primary charged-particle beam; and
adjusting a position of a plane of a condenser lens along a primary optical axis in relation to the first aperture array and the second aperture array, wherein:
the first aperture array is configured to generate a plurality of primary beamlets from the primary charged-particle beam using a first plurality of apertures,
a portion of charged particles of a primary beamlet of the plurality of primary beamlets forms a corresponding probing beamlet,
the first plurality of apertures includes a plurality of off-axis apertures configured to generate a plurality of off-axis beamlets, and
the plurality of off-axis apertures includes apertures of various sizes disposed along a curved path.