JP2005108470A - Charged particle beam device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charged particle device having a diaphragm easy to adjusted and managed. <P>SOLUTION: The charged particle beam device comprises a diaphragm control device 18 capable of controlling the position of a diaphragm hole 16 with high precision, a computer 30 managing the history of the usage of the diaphragm, and a storage medium 34. By this, even in the case that the position of the diaphragm is frequently changed, diaphragm position adjusting work is reduced and the history of the usage of a plurality of diaphragm hole can be efficiently managed. Further, by arranging the storage medium storing the position of the adjusted diaphragm, the diaphragm control device 18 reproduces the position of the diaphragm stored in the storage medium. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a charged particle beam apparatus using a charged particle beam such as an electron beam or an ion beam, and more particularly to a charged particle beam apparatus having a throttle hole for transmitting a part of the charged particle beam.

  In a charged particle beam apparatus typified by a scanning electron microscope, desired information (for example, a sample image) is obtained from a sample by scanning a finely focused charged particle beam on the sample. Further, an unnecessary region of the charged particle beam is removed by the diaphragm plate so that the minimum probe diameter can be obtained with a necessary probe current on the sample. The aperture plate is always irradiated with charged particle beams, and contamination such as hydrocarbons gradually adheres to block the aperture hole. Therefore, it is necessary to replace the aperture plate after a certain period of use.

  In order to reduce the replacement frequency of the diaphragm plate, a plurality of diaphragm holes may be provided in the diaphragm plate. This type of diaphragm can be moved from outside the vacuum or moved to another diaphragm hole provided in the same diaphragm.

  However, in order to obtain an ideal charged particle beam, the aperture hole must be accurately aligned with the center of the charged particle beam, and adjustment work requires skill. May deteriorate. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the diaphragm can adjust the position of the diaphragm hole 16 of the diaphragm plate 8 by operating from outside the vacuum. Or the display unit for confirming the adjustment result of the aperture hole cannot be seen from the position where the aperture adjustment mechanism can be touched.

  As a method for solving these problems, an automatic control type diaphragm having a function capable of automatically adjusting the position of the throttle hole has been proposed.

  As a technique for automatically adjusting the position of the diaphragm, Patent Document 1 discloses that a detection sensor capable of detecting a position with high accuracy is arranged at the center of the charged particle beam, the position of the aperture hole with respect to the charged particle beam is measured, and the result is obtained. A method of optimizing the aperture position by feeding back to the aperture control unit is disclosed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a technique of attaching a pair of electrodes to the aperture hole and aligning the aperture hole with the center of the charged particle by obtaining the bias of the charged particle incident on the electrode.

JP-A-6-349435 JP-A-11-96952

  The method of measuring the position of the aperture hole with respect to the charged particle beam using the detection sensor described in Patent Document 1 is that of a charged particle beam in which a dedicated detection sensor is maintained in a high vacuum instead of a sample to be normally observed. It is necessary to arrange on the track, and the work is complicated. In addition, it is necessary to adjust the position of the aperture hole with an accuracy of several μm, but in the case of a sensor that is temporarily attached or removed, the position reproducibility of the sensor itself becomes a problem, and the aperture hole position is accurately measured. There is also a problem that it cannot be done.

  On the other hand, the method described in Patent Document 2 is that a pair of electrodes is attached to a diaphragm hole, and the method of aligning the diaphragm hole with the center of the charged particle by obtaining the bias of the charged particles incident on the electrode is a sensor attached to the diaphragm hole. The required accuracy cannot be ensured unless the position of the head is managed strictly.

  A diaphragm that requires such strict management at the time of production has a problem of high cost. In addition, when a non-conductive film such as hydrocarbon is contaminated on the surface of the sensor of this method, there is a problem that the detection sensitivity is lowered and an error is generated between the sensors.

  As a result, there has not been proposed an automatic adjustment method that can easily and inexpensively realize a throttle hole position comparable to a state in which a skilled worker manually adjusts.

  In addition, when a plurality of aperture holes are provided in the aperture plate, the aperture plate itself can be made longer by using a plurality of aperture holes in order. It is necessary to change to a new aperture at a frequency. The replacement frequency is not so high, but if you manage a lot of devices, you may forget the time to replace them inadvertently, or forget the usage history such as which device has used which aperture. there's a possibility that.

  Further, when the apparatus is installed in a special room such as a clean room, it is necessary to enter the clean room in order to change the aperture hole or replace the aperture plate, which causes a burden on the operator.

  In addition, by changing the aperture diameter, the probe current can be significantly changed.Therefore, an aperture plate with a different aperture diameter may be provided on the aperture plate. Because of the technology, only some skilled people can use the function. Moreover, even an expert can take time to adjust, so the function cannot be used frequently.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a charged particle beam apparatus capable of easily changing the aperture hole to an arbitrary position.

  In order to achieve the above object, a control means capable of moving the position of the aperture hole with high accuracy, a means for managing the use history of the aperture plate or aperture hole, and notifying the user of an appropriate replacement period of the aperture hole or aperture plate; When there is no need to use a charged particle beam, a means for extending the life of the throttle hole by shifting the movable throttle hole to a position where the charged particle beam does not hit, and a means for checking and adjusting the state of the movable diaphragm by remote control A charged particle beam device comprising:

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when the position of an aperture is intentionally changed frequently, the adjustment work of an aperture position can be reduced and the use log | history of a some aperture hole can be managed effectively.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, a description will be given using a scanning electron microscope as an example of a charged particle beam apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a diaphragm such as a focused ion beam apparatus, a transmission electron microscope, or a scanning transmission electron microscope is used. The present invention can also be applied to other charged particle beam apparatuses using the above.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a scanning electron microscope which is an example of the present invention. A voltage is applied between the cathode 1 and the first anode 2 by a high-voltage control power source 20 controlled by a computer 30 (sometimes referred to as a control device), and the primary electron beam 4 is discharged from the cathode 1 with a predetermined emission current. Pulled out. An acceleration voltage is applied between the cathode 1 and the second anode 3 by a high-voltage control power source 20 controlled by a computer 30, and the primary electron beam 4 emitted from the cathode 1 is accelerated and proceeds to the subsequent lens system. . The primary electron beam 4 is focused by the focusing lens 5 controlled by the lens control power source 21, and after the unnecessary region of the primary electron beam is removed by the aperture hole 16 (also referred to as an opening) of the aperture plate 8, The sample 10 is focused as a minute spot by the focusing lens 6 controlled by the lens control power source 22 and the objective lens 7 controlled by the objective lens control power source 23. The objective lens 7 can take various forms such as an in-lens system, an out-lens system, and a snorkel system (semi-in-lens system). A retarding method is also possible in which a negative voltage is applied to the sample to decelerate the primary electron beam. Furthermore, each lens may be composed of an electrostatic lens composed of a plurality of electrodes.

  The primary electron beam 4 is scanned two-dimensionally on the sample 10 by a scanning coil 9 controlled by a scanning coil control power source. The secondary signal 12 such as secondary electrons generated from the sample 10 by the irradiation of the primary electron beam travels to the upper part of the objective lens 7 and is then separated from the primary electrons by the orthogonal electromagnetic field generator 11 for secondary signal separation. And detected by the secondary signal detector 13. The signal detected by the secondary signal detector 13 is amplified by the signal amplifier 14 and then transferred to the image memory 25 and displayed on the image display device 26 as a sample image.

The sample stage 15 can move the sample 10 in at least two directions (X direction and Y direction) in a plane perpendicular to the primary electron beam. From the input device 32, it is possible to specify image capture conditions (scanning speed, acceleration voltage, etc.) and beam tilt conditions (tilt direction and tilt angle), and output of images and storage in the storage device 31. .

  The diaphragm plate 8 includes a diaphragm drive and position detection unit 17, and the position of the diaphragm plate 8 can be varied by the diaphragm control device 18 in accordance with a control command from the computer 30.

  An embodiment of a mechanism that can move and control the aperture position with high precision by the scanning electron microscope having the configuration of FIG. 1 will be described in detail below with reference to FIG.

  The aperture plate 8 is attached to the aperture plate support 42 and is moved in the X and Y directions inside the electron optical column 40 by the X axis drive mechanism 45 and the Y axis drive mechanism 46 arranged outside the vacuum. To do. The amount of movement in the X and Y directions is detected by an X axis position detection mechanism 47 and a Y axis position detection mechanism 48. The diaphragm control device 18 confirms whether or not the diaphragm plate 8 has moved to the position commanded by the computer 30 using the position information of the diaphragm plate 8 detected by the X-axis position detection mechanism 47 and the Y-axis position detection mechanism 48. The diaphragm plate 8 is accurately moved to a target position by feedback control of the X-axis drive mechanism 45 and the Y-axis drive mechanism 46. For example, when a high-precision motor using a grinding ball screw is used for the X-axis drive mechanism 45 and the Y-axis drive mechanism 46, and a high-resolution linear encoder is used for the X-axis position detection mechanism 47 and the Y-axis position detection mechanism 48 The movement error of the diaphragm plate 8 can be made ± 2 μm or less. This movement error satisfies the required accuracy of aperture hole position reproducibility necessary for ensuring the performance of the electron optical system.

  The diaphragm plate 8 needs to be adjusted so that the diaphragm hole 16 is aligned with the center of the primary electron beam 4. As a method for detecting this state, there is a method disclosed in JP-A-10-302688. In the present invention, a method for detecting the optimum position of the aperture hole 16 is not particularly defined. However, the X and Y positions of the aperture plate 8 in a state where the position of the aperture hole 16 is optimally adjusted by some method are determined by the computer 30. Register in the storage medium 34. Since the registered position of the diaphragm plate 8 is reproduced with an accuracy of ± 2 μm by the diaphragm control device 18 as described above, it is not necessary to readjust the position of the diaphragm plate 8 after the movement.

  In the scanning electron microscope provided with the diaphragm moving mechanism capable of adjusting (reproducing) the position with high accuracy as described above, even if the position of the diaphragm plate 8 is moved for some reason, the diaphragm hole 16 is sufficiently accurate. Therefore, the performance of the electron optical system is not deteriorated. If image deterioration is detected due to an unexpected cause, the relative positional relationship between the aperture and the electron beam may have shifted due to some cause, so scan the beam position relative to the aperture. Thus, a self-diagnosis function for detecting the irradiation position of the beam that improves the image quality may be provided.

  4 and 5 show an embodiment of the diaphragm plate 8 having a plurality of diaphragm holes 16.

FIG. 4A shows an embodiment of the diaphragm plate 8 having a plurality of throttle holes 16 having the same hole diameter. However, when the throttle hole 16 is used for a long time (several months), contamination and the like occur. However, since a plurality of aperture holes are provided, the replacement frequency of the aperture plate itself can be reduced. FIG. 4B shows an embodiment of a diaphragm plate provided with a plurality of throttle holes 16 having different hole diameters, but the probe current can be changed by changing the hole diameter. Of course, the probe current can be changed by changing the conditions such as the cathode 1, the first anode 2 and the second anode 3 shown in FIG. 1, but if these conditions are changed frequently, the primary current from the cathode 1 can be changed. The generation state of the electron beam 4 may become unstable, and the performance of the apparatus may deteriorate. The probe current cannot be changed greatly by changing these conditions. On the other hand, such a problem does not occur as long as the diameter of the throttle hole is changed. FIG. 4C shows an embodiment of the diaphragm plate 8 provided with a plurality of throttle holes 16 having different hole diameters. 4 (a), 4 (b), and 4 (c) show an embodiment in which four throttle holes 16 are provided. Of course, the number and types of the throttle holes are not limited to this. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, all the aperture holes are linearly arranged. However, the adjacent aperture holes 16 have a sufficient distance (for example, the beam spot diameter of the primary electron beam 4 irradiated on the aperture plate 8). As long as they are separated by a larger distance), they may be arranged two-dimensionally as shown in FIG. 5 (a) or concentrically as shown in FIG. 5 (b).

  4 and 5, in order to effectively use the diaphragm plate 8 having a plurality of diaphragm holes 16, the position of the diaphragm hole 16 as shown in the first embodiment can be registered, and Therefore, there is a need for means capable of accurately moving the aperture hole to the position. A specific use example will be described with reference to FIG. First, a skilled person adjusts the position of the aperture 16 to an optimum position and registers the position. This operation is performed for all the throttle holes 16. A general user uses the registered position information of the aperture hole 16 to change to an arbitrary aperture hole 16. In this case, since the position reproduction accuracy of the aperture hole 16 satisfies an accuracy (for example, within ± 2 μm) that does not deteriorate the performance of the electron optical system, the aperture hole 16 can be used without troublesome adjustment. it can.

  As described above, if the aperture 16 is irradiated with the primary electron beam 4 for a long period (for example, several months), contamination such as hydrocarbon occurs and the hole is crushed and cannot be used. Moreover, in order to ensure the stability of the primary electron beam 4, the primary electron beam 4 cannot be frequently turned ON / OFF. Therefore, even when it is not necessary to irradiate the sample 10 with the primary electron beam 4, the aperture plate 16 is irradiated with the primary electron beam 4, so that the life of the aperture hole 16 is wasted.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment for solving this problem. As shown in FIG. 6A, the primary electron beam 4a converged by the first focusing lens 5 is irradiated to the diaphragm plate 8 with a constant spot size. In the normal use state, the aperture hole 16 is disposed at the center of the spot of the primary electron beam 4a, and transmits a part of the primary electron beam 4a as the primary electron 4b. If this state is continued for a long time (for example, several months), the throttle hole 16 is blocked by contamination. In contrast, FIG.
As shown in (b), a location having a sufficient area (for example, an area larger than the beam spot diameter of the primary electron beam 4a irradiated on the aperture plate 8) where the aperture hole 16 of the aperture plate 8 is not opened. And the diaphragm plate 8 is moved to this position at a timing when it is not necessary to irradiate the sample 10 with the primary electron beam 4a. As a result, it is possible to reduce unnecessary irradiation of the aperture hole 16 with the primary electron beam 4a and to reduce the replacement frequency of the aperture plate 8.

  In this embodiment, the diaphragm plate 8 is moved so that the primary electron beam 4 is not irradiated onto the diaphragm hole 16. However, the trajectory of the primary electron beam 4 a is bent by a deflection coil provided on the top of the diaphragm plate 8. Thus, the primary electron beam 4 may be irradiated to a portion where the aperture hole 16 of the aperture plate 8 is not opened.

  In addition, a method has been proposed in which the primary electron beam 4a is interrupted by something other than the diaphragm plate or the primary electron beam 4a is deflected to a position completely deviated from the diaphragm plate 8, but these are eventually contaminated in another place. This is not preferable because it causes another problem of generating.

  As described in the second and third embodiments, when the aperture 16 is intentionally changed, or when it is controlled so that the primary electron beam 4 does not hit the aperture 16 even when the apparatus is movable, which aperture 16 is selected. It becomes difficult to know how long it has been used. In such a usage situation, means for automatically recording the usage history of each aperture is required. An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG.

  As described above, the operation state of the primary electron beam 4 is controlled by the high voltage control power source 20 controlled by the computer 30. The position of the diaphragm plate 8 is controlled by the diaphragm controller 18 in accordance with a command from the computer 30. Accordingly, in any operation, the computer can record the state including the elapsed time. Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the irradiation time of the primary electron beam 4 and the usage time of each aperture 16 are recorded.

  A portion where the irradiation time of the primary electron beam 4 and the use time of the aperture hole 16 overlap is calculated, and the time is recorded as being the electron beam irradiation time for the aperture hole 16. In this way, it is possible to accurately grasp which aperture 16 has been irradiated with the primary electron beam 4 and how much. Further, it is possible to easily grasp which throttle hole 16 has been used and which throttle hole 16 has not been used. Furthermore, if a display is provided so that the accumulated usage time of each aperture 16 can be visually determined, the operator can easily determine the replacement time of the aperture or aperture plate.

  In FIG. 7, in this embodiment, the use state of the three throttle holes 16 is managed, but this is not restrictive. Further, when the diaphragm plate 8 is replaced, a function of newly starting recording may be provided.

  By causing the primary electron beam 4 to enter the sample 10 obliquely, an image obtained by observing the sample 10 from an oblique direction can be obtained without tilting the sample stage 15. In this case, since the trajectory of the primary electron beam 4 passes outside the central axis of the objective lens 7, distortion called off-axis aberration occurs. One technique for correcting this off-axis aberration is a technique for intentionally shifting the position of the aperture 16. FIG. 8 shows an outline of this technique. The primary electron beam 4 b has its trajectory incident on the objective lens 7 changed by the deflection coil 19, and is incident obliquely on the sample 10. The primary electron beam 4b incident on the second focusing lens 6 by moving the position of the aperture 16 so that the off-axis aberration that cancels off the off-axis aberration of the objective lens 7 that occurs at this time is generated in the second focusing lens 6. Change the orbit. As a result, an inclined image with less aberration can be obtained. The position of the aperture hole at this time requires an accuracy of about ± 2 μm, as in the other cases.

  When observing the tilted image of the sample 10 by making the primary electron beam 4b obliquely incident, it is necessary to incline the primary electron beam instantaneously and return the original primary electron beam to the vertical direction instantaneously from the viewpoint of convenience. Is done. In order to realize such a function, a scanning electron microscope including means capable of moving the position of the aperture hole 16 with high accuracy without requiring time-consuming adjustment work as shown in the first embodiment is required. .

  In the state of FIG. 8, the primary electron beam 4a converged by the first focusing lens 5 with respect to the aperture hole 16 is decentered (the center of the opening deviates from the optical axis of the charged particle beam) and is irradiated. The optical axis in the present embodiment refers to a trajectory through which a primary electron beam emitted from the cathode 1 passes without undergoing any deflection, or a perpendicular to the sample 10 starting from the cathode 1.

  If such a state is continued for a long time, contamination of a non-conductive film such as hydrocarbon adheres to the throttle hole 16 asymmetrically. When the primary electron beam 4 is irradiated, the nonconductive film on the diaphragm plate 8 is charged. If a large amount of a non-conductive film is asymmetrically attached to the aperture hole 16, the primary electron beam b that has passed through the aperture hole 16 cannot be corrected by the asymmetric electrostatic lens effect in which the non-conductive film is charged. A large aberration occurs. In order to avoid such a state, it is necessary to prevent the situation of FIG. 8 from continuing more than necessary. For example, when the state of FIG. 8 continues for 5 minutes or more, the position of the aperture 16 is automatically returned to the center of the primary electron beam 4a, or the total irradiation time of the primary electron beam 4 to the aperture 16 is shown. When the ratio of the state 8 is equal to or greater than a certain value (for example, 5% of the whole) and reaches a predetermined time, the position of the aperture 16 may be automatically returned to the center of the primary electron beam 4a. You may perform control which switches to another opening automatically.

  In addition, the image display device 26 may be displayed so as to prompt the operator to replace with another aperture hole or aperture plate. In addition, a warning may be issued or a signal that can be visually or auditorily determined may be generated.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to perform observation with a stable inclined beam while suppressing uneven charge-up formed in the aperture hole.

An embodiment in which a remote control function is added to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. A computer 30 which is the center of control of the apparatus is connected to a remote operation computer 36 using a network connection means 35. The remote operation computer 36 includes an image display device 26, a storage device 31, an input device 32, an operation screen display unit 33, and a storage medium 34 similar to the computer 30. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to adjust the position and register the position of the throttle hole 16 and check the usage history of each throttle hole 16 without going close to the apparatus. Further, since the replacement time of the diaphragm plate 8 can be predicted from the use state of the diaphragm hole 16, it is helpful when preparing a maintenance plan for the apparatus.

  Since the remote operation computer 36 can be placed anywhere as long as it can be connected to the network, for example, it is possible to manage the diaphragm from outside the clean room where the device is installed or from a place different from the building where the device is installed. . As a result, it is possible to reduce the burden on the skilled person when managing the apertures of a plurality of devices.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a scanning electron microscope that is an example of the present invention. The schematic block diagram of the aperture mechanism operated manually. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic diaphragm control mechanism that is an embodiment of the present invention. Schematic of a diaphragm plate having a plurality of diaphragm holes. Schematic of a diaphragm plate having a plurality of diaphragm holes. The schematic block diagram of the aperture plate provided with the part which shields the primary electron beam in the Example of this invention. The display function for monitoring the use history of the diaphragm in the embodiment of the present invention. The schematic block diagram of the scanning electron microscope which inclines a primary electron to a sample. The schematic block diagram of the scanning electron microscope which combined the remote control which is an example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cathode, 2 ... 1st anode, 3 ... 2nd anode, 4 ... Primary electron beam, 5 ... 1st focusing lens, 6 ... 2nd focusing lens, 7 ... Objective lens, 8 ... Diaphragm plate, 9 ... Scanning coil DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Sample, 11 ... Orthogonal electromagnetic field (ExB) generator for secondary signal separation, 12 ... Secondary signal, 13 ... Secondary signal detector, 14 ... Signal amplifier, 15 ... Sample stage, 16 ... Diaphragm hole, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 17 ... Diaphragm drive and position detection part, 18 ... Diaphragm control apparatus, 19 ... Deflection coil, 20 ... High voltage control power supply, 21 ... First focusing lens control power supply, 22 ... Second focusing lens control power supply, 23 ... Objective lens control power supply 24 ... Scanning coil control power supply 25 ... Image memory 26 ... Image display device 30 ... Computer 31 ... Storage device 32 ... Input device 33 ... Operation screen display unit 34 ... Storage medium 35 ... Network connection means 36 ... Remote control console 40, lens barrel, 41 ... diaphragm mechanism, 42 ... diaphragm plate support, 43 ... X-axis adjustment mechanism, 44 ... Y-axis adjustment mechanism, 45 ... X-axis drive mechanism, 46 ... Y-axis drive mechanism, 47 ... X-axis position detection mechanism, 48... Y-axis position detection mechanism.

Claims (15)

A charged particle source; a charged particle optical system that focuses and scans a charged particle beam emitted from the charged particle source; and a diaphragm that selectively passes a part of the charged particle beam; and In a charged particle beam apparatus equipped with a diaphragm control device for controlling the position,
The charged particle beam apparatus, wherein the aperture control device includes a storage medium that stores the adjusted aperture position, and reproduces the aperture position stored in the storage medium. A charged particle source, a charged particle optical system that focuses and scans a charged particle beam emitted from the charged particle source, and detection that detects secondary signal particles generated from the sample by scanning the charged particle beam A charged particle beam apparatus for forming a sample image using a signal of the secondary signal particle detecting means,
A charged particle beam apparatus comprising: means for automatically moving a position of a throttle hole for transmitting only part of the charged particle beam; and means for detecting a movement position of the throttle hole.   The charged particle beam device according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of throttle holes having equivalent performance, the plurality of throttle holes having different performance, or the plurality of throttle holes having different performance from the plurality of throttle holes having equivalent performance The charged particle beam apparatus is characterized in that both are provided in the same diaphragm or different diaphragms.   3. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for detecting or predicting performance deterioration of the throttle hole and means for distinguishing the deteriorated throttle hole, and automatically assigning another throttle hole whose performance has not deteriorated. A charged particle beam apparatus comprising means for exchanging with a charged particle beam.   3. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for automatically adjusting the position of the throttle hole to an optimum position when the throttle hole is replaced.   3. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for preventing deterioration of the performance of the aperture hole by moving the aperture to a position where no charged particle beam is irradiated to the aperture when there is no need to use the charged particle beam. Charged particle beam device characterized by the above.   7. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 6, wherein when it becomes necessary to use the charged particle beam again, the means for automatically returning to the original aperture position, and when returning to the original aperture position, A charged particle beam apparatus comprising means for automatically adjusting the position of the aperture hole to an optimum position.   3. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 2, wherein performance deterioration of means for recording an operation history of means for automatically moving the position of the aperture hole and means for automatically moving the position of the aperture hole from the operation history. A charged particle beam apparatus comprising: means for predicting maintenance, and means for warning the maintenance or replacement timing of means for automatically moving the position of the throttle hole from the prediction result.   3. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for moving the aperture hole by remote operation and means for confirming a movement position of the aperture hole by remote operation.   4. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 3, wherein means for moving or exchanging the aperture hole by remote operation or means for exchanging the aperture, and a moving position of the aperture hole by remote operation or which aperture is used by remote operation. A charged particle beam apparatus comprising: means for confirming which type of aperture hole is used and which aperture hole is used.   In the charged particle beam device according to claim 10, means for confirming or predicting performance degradation of the throttle hole by remote operation, means for confirming which throttle hole or which diaphragm has not degraded performance by remote operation, A charged particle beam apparatus comprising: another equivalent throttle hole whose performance has not deteriorated by remote operation or a means for exchanging with the throttle.   12. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising means for adjusting the position of the throttle hole to an optimum position by remote control when the throttle hole is replaced. A charged particle source; a charged particle optical system that focuses and scans a charged particle beam emitted from the charged particle source; and a diaphragm having an aperture that selectively passes a part of the charged particle beam; In the charged particle beam apparatus provided with a control device for controlling the irradiation position of the charged particle beam to the diaphragm plate,
The said control apparatus controls so that the said charged particle beam is irradiated to the said diaphragm | throttle plate other than the said opening with the irradiation stop of the charged particle beam with respect to the said sample, The charged particle beam apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. A charged particle source, a charged particle optical system that focuses and scans a charged particle beam emitted from the charged particle source, and a plurality of apertures that selectively pass a part of the charged particle beam In a charged particle beam apparatus comprising a plate and a control device for controlling the irradiation position of the charged particle beam with respect to the diaphragm plate,
When the state where the center of the opening deviates from the optical axis of the charged particle beam and a part of the charged particle beam passes through the opening reaches a predetermined time, the control device A charged particle beam apparatus, wherein the diaphragm plate is moved so that the optical axes coincide with each other, another opening of the diaphragm plate is switched as a passage opening for the charged particle beam, or an alarm is generated. In claim 14,
A deflector for irradiating the sample with the charged particle beam from a direction different from the optical axis is provided, and the control device, when the charged particle beam is deflected by the deflector, A charged particle beam apparatus characterized in that the center of the opening deviates from the optical axis of the charged particle beam and is positioned at a position where a part of the charged particle beam passes through the opening.

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