JP6571045B2 - Charged particle beam apparatus and image generation method using charged particle beam apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a charged particle beam apparatus and an image generation method using the charged particle beam apparatus.

  As prior art examples related to a pulse counting method in a charged particle beam apparatus, there are techniques described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-226842 (Patent Document 1) and WO 2012/039206 (Patent Document 2).

  Patent Document 1 describes the following contents. High-quality images are captured even in areas where it is difficult to obtain a sufficient amount of signal from the sample, such as lower layer areas in a multilayer layer or the bottom of a hole pattern. A sample imaging method using a charged particle microscope apparatus, wherein the gain of a detector of the charged particle microscope apparatus is set to a first gain value, and the sample is scanned with a charged particle beam. A first image acquisition step of acquiring one image, and setting the gain of the detector to a second gain value different from the first gain value, scanning the sample with a charged particle beam, A second image acquisition step of acquiring a second image; an image combination step of combining the first image and the second image using the first gain value and the second gain value; It is an image pick-up method characterized by having.

  In Patent Document 2, the following contents are described. The charged particle beam microscope of the present invention includes a selection means (153, 155) for measuring and processing the detection particles (118), and the means has a large number of secondary electrons (115) emitted from the sample (114). Different measurement processing methods are selected for the scanning region and the scanning region having a small number of secondary electrons. Thereby, in the sample inspection using the charged particle beam microscope, it is possible to acquire an image in which the contrast of the hole bottom and the groove bottom with a small number of emitted secondary electrons and an image in which the shadow contrast is enhanced in a short time. It has become possible.

JP 2012-226842 A International Publication WO2012 / 039206

  In semiconductor manufacturing processes, circuit patterns formed on a semiconductor substrate (wafer) are rapidly miniaturized, and the importance of process monitoring for monitoring whether these patterns are formed as designed is important. Increasingly. For example, in order to detect the occurrence of abnormalities and defects (defects) in the semiconductor manufacturing process at an early stage or in advance, measurement and inspection of circuit patterns on the wafer are performed at the end of each manufacturing process.

  In the measurement / inspection, in a measurement / inspection apparatus such as an electron microscope apparatus (SEM) using a scanning electron beam method and a corresponding measurement / inspection method, an electron beam (electron) is applied to a target wafer (sample). (Line) is irradiated while scanning (scanning), and secondary electrons and reflections generated by this are detected. Based on the detection, an image (measurement image or inspection image) is generated by signal processing, image processing, or the like, and measurement, observation, or inspection is performed based on the image.

  An electron beam scanning method in a conventional measuring / inspecting apparatus and method such as SEM will be described below. For example, normal scanning in a CD-SEM (measurement SEM) is called TV scanning or raster scanning. Further, scanning at the n-times speed on the basis of TV scanning is referred to as n-times speed scanning.

  The conventional raster scanning method or TV scanning method has a problem that the charge amount of the sample varies depending on the scanning direction and scanning speed of the electron beam, the shape of the pattern formed on the sample, and the like. That is, due to the difference in the amount of charge of the sample, the image surface state observation, that is, the accuracy of measurement and inspection is reduced, such as the image contrast is reduced or the edge of the circuit pattern is lost in the image obtained by detecting secondary electrons. Do or become impossible.

  Regarding the above-described decrease in accuracy of measurement / inspection, it is effective to shorten the electron beam irradiation time per unit area, that is, to reduce the irradiation charge density, and to reduce or make appropriate the charge amount of the sample. For this purpose, it is effective to increase the electron beam irradiation scanning speed such as n times speed, that is, to realize high-speed scanning. However, as the irradiation charge density is reduced by the high-speed scanning of the electron beam, the generation frequency of secondary electrons and reflected electrons generated from the sample decreases, that is, the detection frequency of secondary electrons and the like decreases.

  As detection methods for secondary electrons and reflected electrons, there are an analog detection method and a pulse counting method. The analog detection method is a method of detecting signal intensity obtained by converting secondary electrons and the like into signals and averaging them. On the other hand, the pulse counting method is a method of detecting the number of signals corresponding to the number of secondary electrons by converting secondary electrons or the like into signals. The pulse counting method can be detected with a higher signal-to-noise ratio than the analog detection method with respect to a decrease in the generation frequency of secondary electrons and the like, and is effective in detecting secondary electrons and the like with a low frequency.

  In the pulse counting electron microscope, in order to improve the visibility of deep grooves and deep holes, secondary electrons and backscattered electrons that occur at low frequency are detected without leakage, and the frequency of occurrence of secondary and backscattered electrons, etc. Therefore, it is required to achieve both visibility in a detection image having a hole bottom where a drop occurs and a region having a different occurrence frequency such as a surface having a relatively high occurrence frequency. In particular, there is a high demand for improving the visibility of deep holes and deep grooves in which the occurrence frequency of secondary electrons, reflected electrons, and the like extremely decreases.

  In Patent Document 1, a first image is acquired, a target signal amount set in advance is compared with a signal amount obtained from the first image, an area with a small signal amount is determined, and scanning is performed again. In the image capturing method of acquiring the second image and generating a composite image of the first image and the second image, when acquiring the second image, a detector is obtained from the acquisition condition of the first image. Is changed, or the amount of irradiation current to the sample and the irradiation time are changed. However, since this method is premised on application to an analog detection method in which the signal intensity is the signal amount, when applied to a pulse counting method in which the number of signals is the signal amount, a region with a small signal amount is erroneously determined. There is a possibility that.

  In the method described in Patent Document 2, the number of secondary electrons generated is calculated from the irradiation current, irradiation time, etc., and the processing method is analog detection method, pulse counting method, AC method according to the number of generations. It is a method to change to. However, there is no description regarding the signal processing method of the pulse counting method.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems of the prior art, and makes it possible to improve the visibility of deep holes and deep grooves where the occurrence frequency of secondary electrons and reflected electrons is extremely reduced by the pulse counting method. An image generation method using the apparatus and the charged particle beam apparatus is provided.

  In order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, in the present invention, a charged particle beam device includes an electron gun and a deflection electrode unit that scans and irradiates a sample by deflecting an electron beam emitted from the electron gun. And a detection unit that detects secondary electrons generated from the sample irradiated with the electron beam and a pulse counting unit that receives the output of the detection unit that detects the secondary electrons and counts the number of pulses from the secondary electrons. And a signal processing / image generating unit that processes the output signal from the pulse counting unit that counts the number of pulses by secondary electrons to form an image of the sample, and deflects in response to the results processed by the signal processing / image generating unit A deflection electrode control unit that controls the electrode unit and a display unit that displays an image of the sample formed by the signal processing / image generation unit are configured, and the signal processing / image generation unit outputs from the pulse count unit. The deflection electrode control unit is controlled so as to extract a region where secondary electrons from the sample are not detected by processing the signal and to irradiate the extracted region by scanning the electron beam with the deflection electrode unit. .

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in the present invention, in a method for generating an image using a charged particle beam apparatus, a sample is scanned by deflecting an electron beam emitted from an electron gun by a deflection electrode unit. The secondary electron generated from the irradiated sample is scanned by the electron beam and detected by the detection unit. The output of the detection unit detecting the secondary electron is received, and the pulse count unit determines the number of pulses by the secondary electron. The output signal from the pulse count unit that counts and counts the number of pulses by secondary electrons is processed by the signal processing / image generation unit to form an image of the sample, and the signal processing / image generation unit A region where the secondary electrons from the sample were not detected by processing the output signal is extracted, and the deflection electrode control unit is configured to scan and irradiate the region extracted by the signal processing / image generation unit. An image of the extracted region is acquired by scanning and irradiating an electron beam with the electrode part controlled, and a composite image is generated by superimposing the image of the formed sample and the acquired image of the extracted region. did.

  According to the representative embodiment of the present invention, the visibility of the measurement / inspection image can be improved in the measurement / inspection apparatus. That is, in the charged particle beam device and the image generation method using the charged particle beam device, the visibility of deep holes and deep grooves where the generation frequency of secondary electrons, reflected electrons, etc. is extremely reduced by the pulse counting detection system. It became possible to improve.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a measurement / observation inspection apparatus using a scanning electron microscope of Example 1. FIG. 6 is an example of a flowchart for explaining a method of determining a pixel in which a signal corresponding to secondary electrons or the like in Example 1 is not detected, scanning the pixel again, acquiring an image, and generating a composite image from the acquired image. . 2 is a cross-sectional view of a deep groove pattern to be measured and observed in Example 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method for generating a composite image according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 10 is an example of a flowchart for generating an image by signal processing based on the detection signal of the second embodiment.

  The present invention acquires an image by a pulse counting type detection system, determines a pixel from which a signal corresponding to secondary electrons or the like is not detected from the image, scans the pixel again, acquires an image, and repeats the process. This is characterized by a processing method for reducing pixels in which no signal is detected and generating a composite image from the acquired image.

  That is, in the present invention, first, the entire measurement region is scanned with an electron beam to generate an entire image, and a low signal frequency region is extracted from the image signal, and the electron beam is scanned only in the extracted low signal frequency region. Thus, a partial image is generated, and a low signal frequency region is further extracted from the partial image. Next, the entire image and the partial image are combined to generate an image of an area having a different signal frequency. The generation of the partial image and the synthesis of the whole image and the partial image are repeatedly performed to increase the signal amount in the low signal frequency region, thereby improving the image quality of the measurement / inspection image.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that components having the same function are denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the drawings for describing the embodiment, and the repetitive description thereof will be omitted. Hereinafter, the measurement / observation inspection apparatus and the measurement / observation inspection method include one of measurement, observation, and inspection, or a combination thereof.

  In this embodiment, when a secondary electron generated from a sample is detected by a detector by irradiating the sample with a focused electron beam while scanning the sample, secondary electrons and the like (including reflected electrons) are output from the detector. In the following, the pixel corresponding to the secondary electron is not detected, and the region corresponding to the pixel is scanned again with the electron beam to obtain the signal. A method for reducing the number of pixels and generating a composite image from the acquired signal will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows an example (outline) of a measurement / observation inspection apparatus using a scanning electron microscope. The measurement / observation inspection apparatus includes a scanning electron microscope 100 and a computer 120.

  The scanning electron microscope 100 includes an electron gun 101 that emits an electron beam 102, a deflection electrode 103 that scans the electron beam 102 emitted from the electron gun 101, a sample 104 that is a target of measurement or observation or inspection, and an electron A detector 105 that detects secondary electrons 106 generated from the specimen 104 by irradiation of the beam 102, converts them into a signal 107, and outputs them, and detects and counts the number of signals corresponding to the number of secondary electrons 106 from the signal 107. Pulse count detection system 108 for outputting detection signal 109, signal processing / image generation block 110 for generating image information 111 and deflection scanning information 112 from detection signal 109 output from pulse count detection system 108, signal processing / image The deflection scanning information 112 generated in the generation block 110 is applied to the deflection electrode 103. Comprising a deflection scanning system 113 for generating a counter signal 114.

  Measurement or observation or inspection image information 111 output from the signal processing / image generation block 110 is transmitted to the computer 120 and displayed on the user interface screen 122 as a measurement / observation inspection image 121.

  FIG. 2 shows a flowchart for explaining a method of determining a pixel in which a signal corresponding to secondary electrons or the like is not detected, scanning the pixel again to acquire an image, and generating a composite image from the acquired image.

  FIG. 3A shows a cross-sectional view of the measurement / observation target pattern, and FIG. 3B shows a diagram for explaining a method for generating a composite image for generating the measurement / observation inspection image 121.

  A method for determining a pixel in which a signal corresponding to secondary electrons or the like is not detected in this embodiment, scanning the pixel again to acquire an image, and generating a composite image from the acquired image is illustrated in FIGS. Will be described.

  First, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 2, the scanning electron microscope 100 is operated from the computer 120 to set the measurement conditions of the sample 104 and the scanning region 300 of the electron beam 102 on the sample 104 (S201).

  Next, scanning is performed by irradiating the set scanning region 300 on the sample 104 with the electron beam 102. FIG. 3A shows a cross section of a deep groove pattern 1041 formed in the sample 104 as an example of the scanning region 300. The secondary electrons detected by the detector 105 among the secondary electrons 106 generated from the scanning region 300 scanned with the electron beam 102 are converted into a signal 107 by the detector 105 and input to the pulse count detection system 108. To do.

  A detection signal 109 is output from the pulse count detection system 108 to which the signal 107 is input, and is input to the signal processing / image generation block 110. The signal processing / image generation block 110 generates an image based on the detection signal 109 and acquires the first image 301 (S202).

  In the signal processing / image generation block 110, the detection processing of the region 302 (see FIG. 3) without the detection signal of the first image is executed from the acquired first image 301 (S203). Based on this, the presence or absence of the area is determined (S204).

  Next, when the acquired first image 301 includes a region 302 without a detection signal (in the case of “Yes” in S204), the counter i is incremented (S205). Deflection scanning information 112 is generated based on the information of the area 302 of the image 301 where there is no detection signal. The generated deflection scanning information 112 is transmitted to the deflection scanning system 113 and converted into a deflection signal 114 for controlling the deflection electrode 103 by the deflection scanning system 113 to set the scanning area 310 of the second image (S206).

  The deflection electrode 103 is controlled by the deflection signal 114 output from the deflection scanning system 113, scans the electron beam 102 in the scanning area 310 of the second image, and detects the secondary electrons 106 with the detector 105. The second image 311 is obtained by inputting the received signal 107 to the pulse count detection system 108 and processing the detection signal 109 output from the pulse count detection system 108 by the signal processing / image generation unit lock 110 (S207). ).

  The signal processing / image generation block 110 executes detection processing of the region 312 without the detection signal of the second image from the acquired second image 311 (S208), and the presence / absence of the region based on the result of this detection processing Is determined (S209).

  As a result of the determination in S209, if it is determined that there is an area 312 without a detection signal of the second image, the process returns to S205 and the processes up to S209 are performed. The processes from S205 to S209 are repeated until there is no area without a detection signal in the i-th image 321.

  As a result of the determination in S209, when it is determined that there is no area without a detection signal in the i-th image, weighting is performed according to the counter i based on the i-th image 321 from the first image 301 (specifically, Then, the luminance of the i-th image 321 is divided by the value of the counter i: S210), and the signal processing / image generation block 110 generates a composite image 330 shown in FIG. 3B (S211). Thereafter, the image information 111 of the composite image 330 is transmitted to the computer 120 and displayed on the user interface screen 122 as the measurement / observation inspection image 121 (S212).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, measurement / observation without an undetected region is obtained by repeatedly acquiring images in a region without a detection signal until a detection signal is obtained, and generating a composite image based on those images. An inspection image can be generated and visibility can be improved. In addition, the image acquisition time can be shortened by acquiring an image by limiting the scanning region.

  In addition, since a plurality of images are acquired without changing the electron beam irradiation conditions and a composite image is generated, a plurality of images with the same image quality can be obtained. Does not occur.

  Thus, compared to the case where a composite image is generated by superimposing a plurality of images acquired by changing the irradiation condition without applying the present invention, the brightness of the boundary region between the images to be superimposed (luminance gradient). ), It is possible to generate a composite image with clearer and better contrast relatively easily.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the signal excess in the high signal frequency region and increase the detection signal amount in the low signal frequency region in the measurement regions having different signal frequencies, thereby realizing improvement in the image quality of the measurement image. did it. In addition, the scanning limited to the low signal frequency region can shorten the time for the entire measurement region and can improve the throughput.

  In the present embodiment, a method of generating an image by processing the detection signal 109 in order to save the memory area used and reduce the time by reducing the image generation time will be described.

  The configuration of the measurement / observation inspection apparatus using the scanning electron microscope in the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of FIG. 1 described in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 shows a flowchart for generating an image by signal processing based on the detection signal 109.

  An operation for generating a measurement / observation inspection image in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the scanning electron microscope 100 is operated from the computer 120 to set the measurement conditions and scanning region of the sample 104 (S401).

  Next, the deflection electrode 103 is controlled so as to scan the set scanning region of the sample 104 by irradiating the electron beam 102, and the secondary electrons detected by the detector 105 among the generated secondary electrons 106 are detected. The signal is converted into a signal 107 at 105 and input to the pulse count detection system 108, and the detection signal 109 is output from the pulse count detection system 108 and input to the signal processing / image generation block 110.

  The signal processing / image generation block 110 acquires the input detection signal 109 as a detection signal (i = 1) when the counter i is 1 (S402), and this detection signal (i = 1) is not shown. It is stored in the memory (1) of the signal processing / image generation block 110 (S403). The signal processing / image generation block 110 executes processing for detecting a region without a detection signal in the memory (1) (S404), and determines the presence or absence of a region without a detection signal based on the result of this detection processing (S405). ).

  Next, when there is an area without a detection signal (in the case of “Yes” in S405), the counter i is incremented (S406), and based on the area without the detection signal detected from the memory (1) in S404, The second scanning range is set (S407), and the second scanning range thus set is irradiated with the electron beam 102 and scanned, and the detection signal (2) is processed in the same manner as described in S402. ) Is acquired (S408).

  In the signal processing / image generation block 110, the detection signal (2) is weighted according to the counter i (specifically, divided by the value of the counter i) (S409) and stored in the memory (2) (S410). ). Thereafter, the memory (2) is added to the memory (1) (S411), and is stored in the memory (1) (S412). An area without a detection signal is detected from the stored memory (1) (S413), and the presence / absence of an area without a detection signal is determined (S414).

  As a result of the determination in S414, when it is determined that there is an area without a detection signal in the memory (1), the processing is repeatedly performed from S406 to S414.

  As a result of the determination in S414, when it is determined that there is no area without a detection signal in the memory (1), the signal processing / image generation block 110 generates an image based on the signal stored in the memory (1) ( In step S415, the image information 111 of the generated image is transmitted to the computer 120 and displayed on the user interface screen 122 as the measurement / observation inspection image 121 (step S416).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to generate a measurement / observation inspection image without generating an image for each region without a detection signal, and it is possible to save the memory area used and shorten the time by reducing the image generation time. It becomes.

  In addition, since a composite image is generated from a plurality of images acquired without changing the electron beam irradiation conditions, a plurality of images having the same image quality can be obtained, and there is a positional shift between the plurality of images. Does not occur.

  Thus, compared to the case where a composite image is generated by superimposing a plurality of images acquired by changing the irradiation condition without applying the present invention, the brightness of the boundary region between the images to be superimposed (luminance gradient). ), It is possible to generate a composite image with clearer and better contrast relatively easily.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the signal excess in the high signal frequency region and increase the detection signal amount in the low signal frequency region in the measurement regions having different signal frequencies, thereby realizing improvement in the image quality of the measurement image. did it. In addition, the scanning limited to the low signal frequency region can shorten the time for the entire measurement region and can improve the throughput.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to an above-described Example, Various modifications are included. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Further, a part of the configuration of one embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment, and the configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of one embodiment.

  Further, it is possible to add, delete, and replace other configurations for a part of the configuration of each embodiment. Each of the above-described configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, and the like may be realized by hardware by designing a part or all of them with, for example, an integrated circuit. Each of the above-described configurations, functions, and the like may be realized by software by interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function by the processor. Information such as programs, tables, and files for realizing each function can be stored in a recording device such as a memory, a hard disk, or an SSD (Solid State Drive), or a recording medium such as an IC card, an SD card, or a DVD.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Scanning electron microscope 101 ... Electron gun 102 ... Electron beam 103 ... Deflection electrode 104 ... Sample 105 ... Detector 106 ... Secondary electron 108 ... Pulse count detection system 109 ... Detection signal 110 ... Signal processing and image generation block 113 ... Deflection scanning system 120 ... Computer 121 ... Measurement / observation inspection image 122 ... User interface screen.

Claims (10)

An electron gun,
A deflection electrode unit that scans and irradiates a sample by deflecting an electron beam emitted from the electron gun;
A detection unit for detecting secondary electrons generated from the sample irradiated with the electron beam scanned;
A pulse counting unit that receives the output of the detection unit that has detected the secondary electrons and counts the number of pulses by the secondary electrons;
A signal processing / image generating unit that forms an image of the sample by processing an output signal from the pulse counting unit that counts the number of pulses by the secondary electrons;
A deflection electrode control unit that controls the deflection electrode unit in response to a result processed by the signal processing / image generation unit;
A display unit for displaying an image of the sample formed by the signal processing / image generation unit;
A charged particle beam device comprising:
The signal processing / image generation unit processes an output signal from the pulse count unit to extract a region where secondary electrons from the sample are not detected, and the deflection electrode unit adds the electrons to the extracted region. A charged particle beam apparatus that controls the deflection electrode control unit so as to scan and irradiate a beam.   2. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signal processing / image generation unit controls an image of the sample formed by processing an output signal from the pulse counting unit and the deflection electrode control unit. The image obtained by scanning and irradiating the electron beam with the deflecting electrode section onto the region where the secondary electrons from the extracted sample are not detected is superimposed on the weighted image. A charged particle beam device for generating a composite image.   2. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signal processing / image generating unit does not detect secondary electrons from the sample from an image generated by processing an output signal from the pulse counting unit. A charged particle beam apparatus characterized in that the deflection electrode control unit is controlled so as to extract a region and scan and irradiate the extracted region with the electron beam by the deflection electrode unit.   The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signal processing / image generation unit extracts an area where there is no output signal from the pulse count unit by processing an output signal from the pulse count unit, A charged particle beam apparatus that controls the deflection electrode control unit to scan and irradiate the extracted region with the electron beam with the deflection electrode unit. Scanning and irradiating the sample by deflecting the electron beam emitted from the electron gun at the deflection electrode unit,
The detection unit detects secondary electrons generated from the sample irradiated with the electron beam by scanning.
In response to the output of the detection unit that has detected the secondary electrons, the pulse count unit counts the number of pulses by the secondary electrons,
The output signal from the pulse count unit that counted the number of pulses by the secondary electrons is processed by a signal processing / image generation unit to form an image of the sample,
In the signal processing / image generation unit, an output signal from the pulse count unit is processed to extract a region in which secondary electrons from the sample are not detected,
The extraction is performed by scanning and irradiating the electron beam in a state in which the deflection electrode control unit is controlled by the deflection electrode control unit so that the electron beam is scanned and irradiated to the extracted region by the signal processing / image generation unit. Image of the selected area,
A method of generating an image using a charged particle beam device, wherein a composite image is generated by superimposing the formed image of the sample and the acquired image of the extracted region.   6. The image generation method using the charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the signal processing / image generation unit processes an output signal from the pulse count unit to detect secondary electrons from the sample. The extracted region is extracted, and the extracted beam is scanned and irradiated in a state where the deflection electrode control unit is controlled so that the extracted beam is scanned and irradiated with the electron beam. A method of generating an image using a charged particle beam device is characterized in that acquiring an image of the region is repeatedly performed until a region in which secondary electrons from the sample are not detected is not extracted.   6. A method for generating an image using the charged particle beam device according to claim 5, wherein the signal processing / image generating unit processes an output signal from the pulse counting unit with respect to an image of the sample formed. A method of generating an image using a charged particle beam device, wherein a weighted process is performed on the extracted image of the region and superimposed to generate a composite image.   6. A method for generating an image using the charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the signal processing / image generation unit is configured to generate a second image from the sample from an image generated by processing an output signal from the pulse count unit. A charged particle beam apparatus characterized by extracting a region in which secondary electrons have not been detected and controlling the deflection electrode control unit so as to scan and irradiate the extracted region with the electron beam on the deflection electrode unit A method for generating images.   The image generation method using the charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the signal processing / image generation unit processes an output signal from the pulse count unit and outputs an output signal from the pulse count unit. Generation of an image using a charged particle beam device, wherein a non-existing region is extracted, and the deflection electrode control unit is controlled to irradiate the extracted region by scanning the electron beam with the deflection electrode unit Method.   The image generation method using the charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the signal processing / image generation unit stores an output signal from the pulse count unit as data in a memory and stores the data in the memory. A region where secondary electrons from the sample are not detected is extracted from the data, and an output signal from the pulse count unit obtained by scanning the extracted region with the electron beam is stored in the memory. Adding and storing the added signal in the memory is repeated until there is no region where secondary electrons from the sample are not detected, and an image is generated from the data stored in the memory, An image generation method using a charged particle beam apparatus.

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