JPH05258701A - Electron beam device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a sample chamber wherein a sample processing with a gas and a sample change due to the processing can be measured accurately and continuously without using expensive peripheral equipment. CONSTITUTION:A barrel 1 of an electron beam device is provided with an electron gun 2, a convergent lens 4, a sample chamber 5, a magnifying lens 8, and a fluorescent screen 10. A vacuum pump 23 is connected to the barrel 1 via a barrel vacuum evacuation pipe 22. The sample chamber 5 is provided with a sample holder 7 for supporting a sample 6. A cylinder 18 containing a gas is connected to the sample chamber 5 via a piping 16 and a valve 17 for inducing the gas, and a vacuum pump 21 is connected to the chamber 5 via a sample chamber vacuum evacuation pipe 19 and a valve 20.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron beam apparatus for continuously observing or analyzing a structural change or a composition change of a substance placed in a specific atmosphere at an atomic level.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sample chamber of an electron beam apparatus has an integral structure with its mirror body, and the sample chamber is always kept at a high vacuum when the apparatus is in operation. Therefore, it is not possible to create an atmosphere other than vacuum only in the sample chamber while keeping the electron beam apparatus in operation. Therefore, for example, when the sample once measured is processed in an atmosphere other than vacuum and the structural change or composition change after the process is measured again, after the first measurement, the sample is extracted from the sample chamber of the electron beam apparatus, It is necessary to transport the sample processing device with the desired atmosphere. Here, in order to prevent the sample from being touched by air and being deteriorated, the device for transporting the sample must have a structure capable of evacuating the inside to a high vacuum, and a structure capable of maintaining a high vacuum during the transportation. Therefore, the sample carrying device is required to have a structure capable of being docked to both the electron beam device and the sample processing device while being evacuated to a high vacuum.

[0003]

In such a device,
It is essential to move the sample between the electron beam device and the sample processing device by using the carrier. In that method, whether or not the same field of view is maintained when the processed sample is returned to the electron beam apparatus becomes a problem. In particular, when the field of view to be measured is limited to an extremely small area and the shape is changed by processing the sample, it is almost impossible to find the same area as the area measured before processing. .

This is a fatal problem when observing at the atomic level or analyzing a very small area on the order of nanometers (nm).

A first object of the present invention is to accurately perform sample treatment in a special atmosphere, dynamic observation of structural changes of the sample due to the treatment at the atomic level, and composition analysis of extremely small areas.

A second object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive device having the above function.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems Means for temporarily sealing a sample chamber of an electron beam apparatus (Claim 1), and a mechanism (Claim 3) for introducing various gases into the sealed space, A mechanism for exhausting the gas is provided (Claim 2).

[0008]

First, the sample is inserted into the electron beam apparatus and observed and analyzed by a usual method. Next, the sample chamber is temporarily closed while keeping all the functions of the electron beam apparatus in operation. A gas is introduced into the closed sample chamber to create a desired atmosphere. After processing the sample in the atmosphere, the gas is exhausted from the sample chamber by the vacuum exhaust device, and after confirming that the sample chamber has reached a high vacuum, the sample chamber is opened. As a result, the sample is kept in the original position and becomes ready for measurement again. When the sample is to be processed again after the remeasurement, the sample chamber is closed again, and the above-mentioned operation is repeated. With the mechanism and operating method of the apparatus as described above, structural changes and composition changes in a special atmosphere can be continuously and accurately observed or analyzed while keeping the sample in the sample chamber of the electron beam apparatus.

[0009]

1 is a sectional view of an electron microscope which is an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a mirror body 1 of the electron beam apparatus is provided with an electron gun 2, a converging lens 4, a sample chamber 5, a magnifying lens 8 and a fluorescent plate 10. A sample 6 and a sample holder 7 supporting the sample 6 are placed in the sample chamber 5, and separator plates 11 and 12 for isolating the sample chamber 5 from other parts and a shutter 1 are provided.
3, 14 and a shutter controller 15 are attached. In addition, a pipe 16 for introducing gas into the sample chamber 5, a valve 17 for opening and closing the pipe 16, a cylinder 18 containing gas, and a sample chamber vacuum exhaust pipe 1 for evacuating the sample chamber 5
9, a valve 20 for opening and closing the vacuum exhaust pipe, a vacuum pump 21 and the like are arranged. The mirror body 1 is a mirror body vacuum exhaust pipe 2
It is evacuated by the vacuum pump 23 through the No. 2.

In the electron microscope having such a structure, the following operations are performed when observing a sample and when processing in an atmosphere filled with gas.

(1) Observation of sample The electron beam 3 emitted by the electron gun 2 is converged by the converging lens 4 and irradiates the sample 6 inserted in the sample chamber 5. The electron beam 9 transmitted through the sample 6 is magnified by the magnifying lens 8, projected on the fluorescent plate 10 and observed.

(2) Processing of sample When the observation of the sample is completed, the shutter control unit 15 moves the shutters 13 and 14 to the electron beam passage side, and the sample chamber 5
The electron beam passage holes of the isolation plates 11 and 12 are closed. Next, the valve 17 of the pipe 16 is opened and the gas in the cylinder 18 is moved to the sample chamber 5
And the sample is processed.

(3) Observation of sample after processing When processing of the sample is completed, first, the valve 17 of the pipe 16 is provided.
Close. Next, the valve 20 of the sample chamber vacuum exhaust 19 is opened, and the gas in the sample chamber is exhausted. When the sample chamber 5 becomes a high vacuum, the shutters 13 and 14 blocking the electron beam passage are returned to their original positions by the shutter controller 15. As a result, the sample chamber 5 is integrated with the mirror body, and the sample can be viewed. When processing again, the above operation (2) is performed.

[0015]

The electron beam apparatus according to the present invention can process a sample in the apparatus. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a sample processing device and a sample transporting device, which are costly, as in the conventional case, and the cost of the gas reaction observation experiment of the sample can be significantly reduced. In addition, since the gas treatment of the sample can be performed in the sample chamber without touching the sample holder, the same field of view can always be kept on the electron beam optical axis even if the field of view to be observed is extremely small, and accurate experiments can be performed. Can be done efficiently.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an electron beam apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electron beam apparatus mirror body, 2 ... Electron gun, 3 ... Electron beam, 4 ... Converging lens, 5 ... Sample chamber, 6 ... Sample, 7 ... Sample holder, 8
... magnifying lens, 9 ... transmitted electron beam, 10 ... fluorescent plate, 11,
12 ... Sample chamber separator, 13, 14 ... Shutter, 15 ...
Shutter controller, 16 ... Piping, 17, 20 ... Valve,
18 ... Cylinder, 19 ... Sample chamber vacuum exhaust pipe, 21, 23 ... Vacuum pump, 22 ... Vacuum exhaust pipe.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An electron gun, an electron lens group, a sample chamber, a detector group for detecting signals such as a secondary electron beam generated from a sample, a reflected electron beam, a transmitted electron beam and a characteristic X-ray. An electron beam apparatus comprising a mirror body, and means for sealing only the sample chamber in the mirror body in a state where the mirror body is maintained in a high vacuum. 2. An electron beam apparatus comprising a means for independently evacuating the closed sample chamber of claim 1. 3. An electron beam apparatus comprising a means for introducing various gases into the closed sample chamber according to claim 1.