JPS5940243A - Scanning type analytical apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To collect measuring data in the corresponding range on a specimen surface on the basis of memory set to the proper range of a distribution region of an objective element, by designating the one arbitrary point in said distribution region on the display surface of CRT by a light pen. CONSTITUTION:When one point P is designated by a light pen 6, it is checked whether a flag is 1 or not with respect to measure including the point P and the flag of the measure adjacent to said measure on CRT is subsequently checked and flags of measures adjacent to the periphery of said measures are further checked to search out the mutually adjacent measures from the measures where flags are standing while stored in an address corresponding to each measure of a memory. When measuring operation is designated in a control circuit 2, the circuit 2 scans a specimen surface and a gate circuit 5 is opened when the scanning point passes the measure stored in the memory to send the output of a detector D to an appropriate data treating apparatus. In addition, when the designation of local measurement is applied to the circuit 2 and one arbitrary point is designated by the light pen 6, only the range of the measure including said point is scanned and the measuring data of said range can be obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a scanning analyzer, such as an electron beam microanalyzer, which can measure the two-dimensional distribution of elements by scanning a sample surface.

In the above-mentioned scanning analyzer, the elemental distribution on the sample surface is measured using a CRT.
It can be displayed as an image on a display device. However, there has been no device that allows a user to designate an appropriate range based on the image on the CRT display screen with simple operations and precisely analyze the corresponding range on the sample surface.

The CRT display device in a scanning analyzer displays the distribution area of the element to be measured on the sample surface as an image, but the present invention can display any point within the distribution area of the target element on the display surface of the CRT. By specifying this with a light pen, an appropriate range is set within the same distribution area and that range is stored in memory, and based on this memory, measurement data can be collected in the corresponding range on the sample surface. The scanning analyzer of the present invention, which is intended to provide a scanning analyzer, has the following configuration.The CRT display surface is divided into a plurality of squares in the shape of a base board, and these squares have addresses. is given, and the control circuit (for example, a computer) has the function of detecting which square the point currently being scanned belongs to based on the X and Y scanning signals, and the function of detecting which square the point specified by the light pen belongs to. Based on the above-mentioned functions, the light pen When a point within the distribution area of the target element is specified, there is a function to retrieve and store in memory the addresses of all squares that are completely included in the distribution area (i.e., not including the boundary), and a function to store it in memory. , has the function of scanning the sample surface and sending the measurement data while scanning the part corresponding to the square of the address above to the integration circuit and other data processing circuits, and also has the function of scanning the part corresponding to the square of the address above, and sending it to the integration circuit and other data processing circuits. You can also select a function that scans only the area you want to scan.

According to the present invention, by simply specifying one point on the CRT with a light pen, a region that does not include the boundaries of the target element is automatically set within the distribution region of the target element, and measurement data is collected for that region. The average concentration of the target element, etc. can be determined by automatically removing the boundary portion of the distribution region which is unnecessary for measurement and which is preferable to exclude.

With a scanning analyzer, it takes several tens of seconds to scan one sample surface, so if you try to specify a large number of points arbitrarily with a light pen, it will take a very long time, so it is difficult to specify just one point. The ability to automatically set an appropriate area has a great effect. It is still known to display a cursor on the CRT display screen or move a mechanical cursor in front of the display screen to specify the scanning range, but this method is still quite cumbersome to operate, and the square Although it is relatively easy to specify a region, if it is attempted to set a complex region that is contained within an arbitrary closed curve, the device mechanism and operation become more complicated. Even from this point of view, the effects of the present invention are extremely large. Other effects of the present invention will become clear through the description of the following examples.

FIG. 1 shows a CRT display surface in the present invention.

The display surface is divided into base grains. This base order is not visually displayed, but is functionally divided in this way. Closed curves A and B.

C and the like are distribution regions of target elements to be measured, and the inside of the region is displayed brighter than the surrounding area. P is a point specified with a light pen. When the control circuit detects this point, it identifies the shaded range in the group diagram of squares in which all the squares are included in the area A in the area diagram that includes this point, and Store the address in memory. If you perform the specified operation above with the light pen while scanning the sample surface, the above operation will be performed. Multiple areas B, C, etc. can also be specified using the light pen. Of course, in the illustrated example, areas B and C do not include complete squares, so even if they were designated with a light pen, the above-mentioned area setting operation would not be performed. When the area setting operation is completed and a measurement command is given to the control circuit, the control circuit scans the sample surface again and sends the measurement output while scanning the squares of addresses stored in the memory to the data processing device. do.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the invention. 1 is a scanning circuit which outputs an X-direction scanning signal and a Y-direction scanning signal. 2 is a computer and memory of the control circuit. 3 is a CRT of a CRT display device, and 4 is a main body of a scanning analyzer. In this embodiment, only the characteristic X-rays of the element to be analyzed and measured by an X-ray spectrometer including an electron beam analyzer are X-rays. The beam should be incident on the detector. The output of the detector is sent to the CRT 3 as a brightness modulation signal. K is a deflection coil for scanning the sample surface with the electron beam e, and the X-direction and Y-direction scanning signals output from the scanning circuit 1 are applied in common to the CRT and the deflection coil, respectively.

5 is a gate circuit, and 6 is a light pen.

The control circuit 2 receives scanning signals in the X direction and the Y direction from the scanning circuit 1. This signal is a signal obtained by converting the instantaneous values of sawtooth waves of the scanning signals in the X direction and the Y direction into digital data. The control circuit uses these signals to detect in which address square on the CRT 3 the current scanning point is located. The operator can command the control circuit 2 into one of three modes of operation. In the region setting mode, the control circuit 2 causes the sample surface to be scanned and displays an image of the distribution state of the target element on the CRT 3 as shown in FIG. When the operator points, for example, at point P in FIG. 18 with the light pen 6, a signal is sent from the light pen 6 to the control circuit 2 when the scanning point passes through point P. When the control circuit 2 receives this signal, it identifies the intervening square indicated by diagonal lines in the figure while continuing to scan the sample surface, and stores its address in the memory. This operation is completed by a second scan after being instructed with a light pen. The basis of the above discrimination is level discrimination of the output of the detector, and the output of the detector is smoothed and then
/ D-converted and sent to the control circuit 2.

When the detector output is above a certain level, the scanning point is within the distribution region of the target element. The memory in the control circuit 2 has an area for setting flags corresponding to each square, as shown in the memory map in Figure 3, and one square is used for the first scan (the first X-direction scan passing through that square). When the target element is detected at the initial point (left end), a flag is set at the position corresponding to that square in the flag area on the memory, and the flag is set at the position corresponding to that square in the flag area on the memory. When the target element is no longer detected within the square, the flag is cleared once it has been set. In this way, flags remain for squares that are 100% contained within the distribution area of the target element in one scan of the sample surface. Then, using the light pen 6,
When a point P is designated in the diagram, it is checked whether the flag of the square containing the point P is 1 or not, then the flag of the square adjacent to the same square on the CRT is checked, and then the flag of the square adjacent to the same square on the CRT is checked. The flags are checked and adjacent squares are found from among the flagged squares.
It is stored at an address corresponding to each square in the memory.

When the operator instructs the control circuit 2 to perform a measurement operation, the control circuit 2 scans the sample surface, and when the scanning point passes through the squares stored in the memory in the above operation, it sends a signal to the gate circuit 5 to open it and perform detection. The output of the device is sent to an appropriate data processing device through the same gate.

Furthermore, when the operator gives an instruction for local measurement to the control circuit and specifies an arbitrary point with the light pen, only the area of the square that includes that point is scanned, and measurement data for that area is obtained.

Note that the operation program of the control circuit for setting the shaded area in FIG. 1 is not limited to the one described above, but may be arbitrary. The number of sections on the scanning plane is preferably about 20 to 500.

When using the device of the present invention, once the area for collecting measurement data is set, it is stored in the memory, and data can be collected from the same area any number of times. Therefore, it is possible to set a region for a sample to be inspected, collect data, and then obtain measurement values for the same region for a standard sample, and perform accurate quantification based on the ratio of the two. Not limited to X-ray spectroscopy,
When performing spectroscopic analysis such as secondary ion mass spectrometry and Auger electron spectroscopy, these spectrometers focus on a single point on the sample surface, and when scanning the sample surface, X-rays and ions are detected depending on the position of the scanning point. Since the efficiency of incidence of a beam, an electron beam, etc. on a spectrometer is different, when performing quantification of the sample to be measured and the standard sample in Comparisons 1 to 3, it is necessary that the data collection areas match. According to the present invention, even if the area has a complicated shape, data can be easily and accurately collected from the same area.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the display surface of a CRT display device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the device according to the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a memory map of part of the memory in the same embodiment. S...Sample, W...Spectroscopic crystal, D...X-ray detector, 3...CRT, 4...Electron beam microanalyzer, 6...Light pen. Agent Patent Attorney Kosuke Agata

Claims (1)

[Claims] The CRT display surface is divided into a plurality of squares in the shape of a base grid, addresses corresponding to each of these squares are provided on the memory, and a control circuit controls the X and Y scanning signals during simultaneous scanning of the sample surface and the above-mentioned CRT display surface. Based on the function to detect the address of the square to which the scanning point belongs, and the function to detect the address of the square to which the scanning point belongs, and to
Based on the function of detecting the address of the square to which the point specified above belongs, the function of identifying whether the square is completely within the distribution area of the target element to be measured, and the reporter function. , when a point within the distribution area of the target element is specified with a light pen on the CRT, the addresses of all squares completely included in the distribution area are retrieved and stored in memory, and the function is based on this memory. A scanning analyzer characterized in that it has a function of scanning a sample surface and appropriately sending measurement data to a data processing device while scanning a portion corresponding to the square of the address.