WO2013121938A1

WO2013121938A1 - Charged particle beam device, sample mask unit, and conversion member

Info

Publication number: WO2013121938A1
Application number: PCT/JP2013/052649
Authority: WO
Inventors: 山口　直樹; 宏史武藤; 岩谷　徹
Original assignee: 株式会社日立ハイテクノロジーズ
Priority date: 2012-02-13
Filing date: 2013-02-06
Publication date: 2013-08-22
Also published as: JP2013165002A

Abstract

Conventional ion milling devices have required readjustment of the positional relationship between a sample and a mask in order to mill the sample again after observing, with an SEM, the extent to which the sample being milled is machined. Therefore, there has been a problem that work becomes complicated and takes time. In view of this point, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a charged particle beam device capable of observing a milled sample while maintaining the positional relationship between a mask and the sample, a sample mask unit, and a conversion member for sharing the sample mask unit between the charged particle beam device and an observation device. A charged particle beam device comprising a machining means for machining the surface of a sample by an ion beam, and an observation means for observing the machined surface, wherein a sample mask unit is configured such that the machined surface machined by the ion beam is secured at a position closer to a beam source for observation than structures of the sample mask unit.

Description

Charged particle beam apparatus, sample mask unit, and conversion member

The present invention relates to a charged particle beam apparatus capable of observing a sample milled with an ion milling device for producing a sample observed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), a transmission electron microscope (TEM), and the like, and the charged particle beam. The present invention relates to a sample mask unit used in the apparatus and a conversion member for sharing the sample mask unit between the charged particle beam apparatus and the observation apparatus.

An ion milling device is a device for polishing the surface or cross section of metal, glass, ceramic, etc. by irradiating with an argon ion beam, etc., and a pretreatment device for observing the surface or cross section of a sample with an electron microscope It is suitable as.

In the cross-sectional observation of a sample with an electron microscope, conventionally, the vicinity of the part to be observed is cut using, for example, a diamond cutter, a thread saw, etc., and then the cut surface is mechanically polished and attached to a sample stage for an electron microscope. I was observing.

In the case of mechanical polishing, for example, a soft sample such as a polymer material or aluminum has a problem that the observation surface is crushed or deep scratches remain due to abrasive particles. In addition, for example, a hard sample such as glass or ceramic is difficult to polish, and a composite material in which a soft material and a hard material are laminated has a problem that cross-sectional processing is extremely difficult.

On the other hand, ion milling has an effect that a hard sample and a composite material can be polished easily, and a mirror-like cross section can be easily obtained, even if a soft sample can be processed without collapsing the surface form.

In the ion milling apparatus, only the portion of the sample that is desired to be processed is irradiated with the processing beam, and the portion that does not require processing is not irradiated with the processing beam. Therefore, the portion that does not require processing of the sample is masked. Covered and processed.

Patent Document 1 describes a sample holder and a holder fixture of an ion milling apparatus.

In Patent Document 2, an ion beam irradiation means for irradiating a sample with an ion beam disposed in a vacuum chamber and an inclination having an inclination axis disposed in the vacuum chamber and in a direction substantially perpendicular to the ion beam. A sample preparation apparatus comprising: a stage; a sample holder disposed on the tilt stage; and holding the sample; and a shielding material positioned on the tilt stage and blocking a part of an ion beam that irradiates the sample. There is described a sample preparation apparatus in which a sample processing by the ion beam is performed while changing an inclination angle of the inclination stage, and an optical microscope for adjusting the position of the sample is attached to an upper end portion of the sample stage drawing mechanism. ing.

Patent Document 3 describes a sample holder of an ion milling apparatus that can be directly fixed to an SEM sample stage support table without using an SEM sample table.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-293475 JP 2005-91094 A JP 2007-018920 A

In a conventional ion milling apparatus, when observing with a SEM how much processing (milling) is performed on a sample being milled, a sample mask unit that fixes the positional relationship between the sample and the mask. It is necessary to remove it from the SEM and place it again at the observation position on the SEM.

Therefore, when the milling state is observed with the SEM and it is determined that the milling is necessary again, it is necessary to remove the sample from the observation position with the SEM, reattach it to the sample mask unit of the ion milling device, and restart the milling. is there. However, in this method, since the sample holder is once removed from the sample mask unit, it is necessary to readjust the positional relationship between the sample and the mask in order to perform milling again. For this reason, there is a problem that the work becomes complicated and takes time.

In view of the above, the present invention provides an ion milling apparatus, a scanning electron microscope, and a processing method or an observation method using these apparatuses that can observe a milled sample while maintaining the positional relationship between the mask and the sample. The purpose is to do.

A sample mask unit used in an ion milling apparatus, comprising a sample holder for holding the sample, a mask for shielding a part of the sample fixed to the sample holder from the ion beam, the sample and the mask, When the sample mask unit including the positioning unit that fixes the shielding positional relationship of the sample mask is placed in a state where the processed surface of the sample processed with the ion beam is observed, the processed surface is more than the structure of the sample mask unit. It is configured to be fixed at a position close to the observation beam source.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the adjustment operation | work when observing the ion milled sample and milling again can be made easy.

It is a schematic block diagram of an ion milling apparatus. It is a schematic block diagram of the conventional sample mask unit. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a sample mask unit of Example 1. FIG. It is a schematic block diagram of a sample mask unit and a conversion holder. It is a schematic block diagram of the conventional sample mask unit and a conversion holder.

Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In Examples 1 and 2 described below, milling and observation of a sample cross section will be described. However, the present invention can be applied not only to cross-sectional milling but also to plane milling.
<First embodiment>
The present embodiment can be applied to an ion milling device, a scanning electron microscope, an optical microscope, and other charged particle beam devices provided with observation means and processing means.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an ion milling apparatus according to the present embodiment. The upper view of FIG. 1 is a top view of the ion milling apparatus, and the lower view of FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of the ion milling apparatus. Below, the case where an argon ion beam is irradiated from an ion source is demonstrated. Therefore, hereinafter, the ion beam means an argon ion beam, but the present embodiment is not limited to the argon ion beam.

The ion source 1 generates an ion beam, and the sample is irradiated with the ion beam. In addition, the direction of the ion beam in the lower diagram of FIG. 1 is the depth direction from the front side of the drawing. The current density of argon ions in the ion source 1 of argon ions is controlled by the ion source controller 9. The vacuum chamber 15 can be in a vacuum or atmospheric state by controlling the vacuum exhaust system 8 by the vacuum exhaust system control unit 11 and can maintain the state. A sample mask unit 21 is installed inside the vacuum chamber.

The sample mask unit 21 is a member having a positioning mechanism for the mask 2 and the sample 3. A specific structure of the sample mask unit 21 will be described later. The mask 2 covers a portion that does not require the processing of the sample so that the portion that does not need the processing of the sample is not irradiated with the ion beam for processing, and is configured by a member that does not transmit the ion beam. . Therefore, the mask 2 is arranged closer to the ion source than the sample 3. A part of the ion beam is shielded by the mask 2 and milled by the ion beam along the end surface of the mask 2. In the example of FIG. 1, the lower part of the sample is covered with the mask 2 so that the lower part of the sample 3 (the part hidden by the mask 2 in FIG. 1) is not irradiated with the ion beam. Hereinafter, the mirror polished surface of the sample 3 refers to a cross section of the sample 3 that is parallel to the optical axis (perpendicular to the paper surface) of the ion beam and is milled by the ion beam. In the example of FIG. 1, the mirror-polished surface of the sample refers to the surface of the sample 3 that faces the processing observation window 14.

The vacuum chamber 15 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape (box shape) that forms a space for forming a normal vacuum atmosphere, or a shape equivalent thereto. A processing observation window 14 is provided on the upper surface of the vacuum chamber 15 (the direction opposite to the direction of the gravitational field in a gravitational environment), and the side surface (the surface adjacent to the upper surface and perpendicular to the direction of the gravitational field). The ion source 1 and the sample fine movement mechanism 6 are provided. Moreover, the ion source 1 and the sample fine movement apparatus 6 are arrange | positioned at a side surface so that it may orthogonally cross. Further, a shutter may be installed below the processing observation window 14 in order to prevent the sputtered particles from accumulating on the processing observation window 14.

The sample fine movement base 5 is disposed on the flange 12 that also serves as a part of the container wall of the vacuum chamber 15 via the sample fine movement mechanism 6 provided on the side surface of the vacuum chamber 15, and opens the vacuum chamber 15 to the atmospheric state. At this time, by pulling out the flange 12 along the linear guide 13, the sample fine movement base 5 and the sample mask unit 21 installed on the sample fine movement base 5 to which the sample 3 is fixed are drawn out of the vacuum chamber 15. It is configured as follows.

Further, the sample fine movement base 5 is provided with a rotating body 7 on which a sample holding member (member holding the sample including the sample mask unit fine movement mechanism 4) can be placed. The rotating body 7 functions as a support for supporting the sample holding member. The sample fine movement base 5 is configured to be able to rotate and tilt at an arbitrary angle with respect to the optical axis of the ion beam irradiated from the side surface of the vacuum chamber 15 by the rotating body 7. Is controlled by the sample fine movement control unit 10. By rotating and tilting the sample fine movement base 5, the sample 3 fixed to the sample holder 23 can be set at a desired angle with respect to the optical axis of the ion beam. The sample mask unit fine movement mechanism 4 is configured to be movable in the front and rear, right and left directions in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the ion beam, that is, in the X and Y directions.

The configuration of a conventional sample mask unit will be described with reference to FIG.
As described above, the sample mask unit 21 has a positioning mechanism for the mask 2 and the sample 3. Specifically, the positioning mechanism has means for adjusting the positional relationship between the mask 2 and the sample 3 and means for fixing the adjusted positional relationship. At least the sample holder 23, its rotating mechanism, and mask 2 and its fine adjustment mechanism are integrated. Further, the sample mask unit fine movement mechanism 4 attached thereto may be referred to as a sample mask unit 21.

In FIG. 2, a sample holder rotating ring 22 and a sample holder rotating screw are provided as a sample holder rotating mechanism 28, and the sample holder can be rotated perpendicularly to the optical axis 51 of the ion beam. The sample holder rotating ring 22 is configured to rotate by turning the sample holder rotating mechanism 28, and the reverse rotation is returned by the spring pressure of a spring attached to the tip of the sample holder rotating mechanism 28.

The mask 2 is fixed to the mask holder 25 with a mask fixing screw 27. The mask holder 25 moves along the linear guide 24 by operating a mask fine adjustment mechanism (that is, a mask position adjustment unit) 26, thereby finely adjusting the positions of the sample 3 and the mask 2. The sample 3 is bonded and fixed to the sample holder 23. The sample holder 23 is inserted into the sample holder rotating ring 22 to adjust the position of the sample holder 23 in the height direction, and the sample holder 23 is closely attached to the mask 2 and fixed.

The problem here is observation of the mirror-polished surface of the sample 3.
In the conventional sample mask unit shown in FIG. 2, a sample such as a sample holder rotating ring 22, a mask fine adjusting mechanism 26, a sample holder rotating mechanism 28, and a sample mask unit fine adjustment mechanism 29 are provided on the mirror polished surface side of the sample 3. The component parts and the mechanism part of the mask unit 21 are arranged. For this reason, when observing from a direction perpendicular to the mirror-polished surface, the above-described components and mechanisms interfere with the observation field of view, or the distance between the mirror-polished surface and the observation light source or charged particle beam source is shortened. Inconvenience that it cannot be performed. In addition, when components or mechanisms other than the mask 2 are arranged around the sample 3, the ion beam is accidentally irradiated to the portions other than the sample 3 and the mask 2 due to the rotation inclination during the cross-sectional milling process, There is a possibility that particles sputtered by the beam are deposited on and adhered to the sample 3.

Therefore, in the sample mask unit 21 of the present embodiment, the sample is mirror-polished (processed surface) when the sample is fixed to the sample mask unit and installed in the ion milling apparatus having the observation device or the observation means. The sample mask unit is configured to be fixed at a position closer to the observation light source or the charged particle beam source than the structure of the sample mask unit such as a position adjusting mechanism. Hereinafter, the sample mask unit of the present embodiment will be specifically described.

FIG. 3 shows the sample mask unit 21 of this embodiment. The sample 3 is fixed so that the mirror-polished surface side of the sample 3 is the end of the sample mask unit 21. In addition, the sample holder rotating ring 22 and the sample holder rotating mechanism 28 that are components of the sample mask unit 21 are arranged inside the mirror polished surface of the sample 3. In addition, the mask fine adjustment mechanism 26 and the sample mask unit fine movement adjustment mechanism 29 are disposed on the opposite side of the mirror-polished surface of the sample 3. The mechanism part of the sample mask unit 21 is arranged to be concentrated on the side opposite to the mirror-polished surface side of the sample 3.

Here, the mask fine adjustment mechanism 26 and the sample mask unit fine movement adjustment mechanism 29 are disposed on the opposite side of the mirror-polished surface, but may be surfaces in a direction different from the mirror-polished surface. That is, these mechanisms may be disposed on a surface different from the surface facing the observation light source. In the above description, the sample holder rotating ring 22 and the sample holder rotating mechanism 28 are provided on the surface facing the observation light source. However, these mechanisms may be provided on the other surface of the sample mask unit. Good. What is important is that the sample mask unit is configured such that the mechanism provided on the surface of the sample mask unit facing the light source for observation is farther from the mirror-polished surface of the sample with respect to the light source for observation.

In the present embodiment, since the observation optical system is provided outside the processing observation window in FIG. 1, the direction of the observation light source with respect to the sample coincides with the direction of the processing observation window 14 with respect to the sample.

By disposing the constituent parts of the sample mask unit 21 as described above, there are no interfering parts in the direction perpendicular to the mirror polishing surface of the sample 3 (the light source direction for observation). Observation from a direction perpendicular to the surface becomes possible. It is also possible to reduce the distance between the mirror-polished surface of the sample 3 and the observation light source or charged particle beam source from the direction perpendicular to the mirror-polished surface. Furthermore, since there are no interfering parts in the direction of the mirror-polished surface of the sample 3 (the optical axis direction of the milling process), the ion beam is applied to portions other than the sample 3 and the mask 2 due to the rotation inclination during the cross-sectional milling process. As a result, the particles sputtered by the ion beam can be prevented from depositing and adhering to the sample 3. In this example, since there was no part or the like that interfered with the direction of the mirror-polished surface of sample 3 (the optical axis direction of the milling process) and the direction perpendicular to the mirror-polished surface (light source direction for observation), milling was performed. When observing the mirror-polished surface of the sample, user convenience can be improved.

By using the sample mask unit described above, in the ion milling apparatus in which the processing observation window 14 is provided on the upper surface of the vacuum chamber 15 and the ion source 1 is provided on the side surface as shown in FIG. It is possible to confirm the processing state from the direction perpendicular to the mirror-polished surface of the sample 3 through the processing observation window 14 without removing. Therefore, even when the ion-milled sample is observed and milled again, an adjustment operation for aligning the mask and the sample becomes unnecessary.

The progress of the milling process can be confirmed by installing an optical microscope above the processing observation window 14. When the processing is completed to the desired processing range, the processing can be finished and the sample can be taken out, which leads to an improvement in throughput. The optical microscope has an optical system that focuses light emitted from a light source and irradiates the sample onto the sample.

Furthermore, instead of the optical microscope described above, an electron microscope may be installed above the processing observation window 14. The electron microscope has an electron optical system that focuses the electron beam emitted from the electron source and irradiates the sample. Especially, the electron microscope scans the sample with the electron beam to detect secondary and reflected electrons from the sample. A scanning electron microscope is preferred. Although a detailed description of the electron microscope is omitted, a general configuration may be used. When confirming the progress of the milling process, the milling process is first stopped and observed with an electron microscope. When the desired processing range is not obtained, the electron beam irradiation is stopped, the ion beam is irradiated again, and the milling processing is restarted. When a desired processing range is obtained, the image can be acquired by enlarging to a necessary magnification, which leads to further improvement in throughput.

In the above description, observation with an optical microscope and an electron microscope has been described, but other observation means may be used as long as the surface of the sample is observed from a specific direction.

In recent years, particularly in the semiconductor field, it has become important to observe a cross-section of a composite material with an electron microscope, and the importance of mirror-polishing the cross-section of the composite material has increased. According to this embodiment, after the sample being milled is observed with the SEM, the milling can be easily performed again without performing the readjustment to the milling position, which is extremely efficient.
<Second Embodiment>
This embodiment can be applied to an ion milling apparatus and other charged particle beam apparatuses provided with a sample processing means. It is particularly suitable for observing the processed sample with another observation device such as a scanning electron microscope or an optical microscope.

Confirmation of the processing state of the mirror-polished surface of the sample 3 is not limited to observation from the processing observation window 14 of the ion milling apparatus. When an electron microscope is installed in the processing observation window 14, the apparatus becomes large and the apparatus becomes expensive. Therefore, when observing the mirror-polished surface of the sample 3 in more detail, it is necessary to take out from the ion milling apparatus and observe with an observation apparatus such as an SEM or an optical microscope. Below, the example observed with SEM is demonstrated.

In the conventional method, when observing with an SEM, the sample holder 23 to which the sample 3 is fixed is removed from the sample mask unit 21 of the ion milling apparatus, and the sample holder 23 is directly or directly mounted on the SEM sample stage support. The sample is fixed through a table, and the processing state of the mirror-polished surface of the sample 3 is observed. When it is determined that the processing is necessary again, the sample holder 23 is removed from the SEM sample stage support or the SEM sample stage, and is reattached to the sample mask unit 21 of the ion milling device, and then the readjustment to the milling position is required. Become. Therefore, there is a problem that the work becomes complicated and takes time.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a method for easily observing the processed state of the mirror-polished surface of the sample 3 with an SEM by eliminating the need for readjustment to the milling position required for reworking will be described. In this case, unlike the first embodiment, it is necessary to take out the sample from the vacuum sample chamber of the ion milling apparatus and transfer the sample to the sample chamber of the SEM.

In order to eliminate the need for readjustment to the milling position, it is only necessary to observe the processing state of the mirror-polished surface of the sample 3 with the SEM without removing the sample holder 23 from the sample mask unit 21. Therefore, a conversion holder for fixing the sample mask unit 21 to the SEM sample stage support is prepared.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which the sample mask unit 21 shown in FIG. 3 shown in the first embodiment is mounted on a conversion holder for fixing to a sample stage support part of an SEM.

The conversion holder of the present embodiment has at least a sample mask unit mounting portion that is attached to the sample mask unit and an SEM sample base support mounting portion that is attached to the SEM sample base support portion. Furthermore, it has positioning fixing means for positioning the sample mask unit. More specifically, it will be described in detail below.

The sample mask unit 21 has a sample mask unit fixing part 30 for fixing to the sample fine movement base 5, a sample mask unit fixing part screw 32, and a sample mask unit positioning for installation at a fixed position with reproducibility. A mechanism 31 is provided. The sample mask unit positioning mechanism 31 uniquely determines the position and direction of the sample mask unit 21 with respect to the sample holder fixing portion of the observation apparatus. Therefore, even if the processing by the ion milling device and the observation by the observation device such as a microscope are repeated, the sample can be observed at the same position and direction every time, so that the processing can be easily performed while checking the progress of the processing.

When the sample mask unit is installed in the observation apparatus, the sample mask unit fixing part 30, the sample mask unit fixing part screw 32, and the sample mask unit positioning mechanism 31 have a surface facing the observation light source in the sample mask unit 21. Are provided on different surfaces. Although FIG. 4 shows an example in which these are provided on the surface opposite to the surface facing the observation light source, the present invention is not limited to this. A conversion holder 41 is attached to the sample mask unit fixing portion 30, the sample mask unit fixing portion screw 32, and the sample mask unit positioning mechanism 31.

Similarly to the sample fine movement base 5, the conversion holder 41 is installed at a fixed position with a reproducibility, a conversion holder support portion 42, a conversion holder support portion screw hole 44 for fixing the sample mask unit 21. The conversion holder positioning mechanism 43 is provided. These are engaged with the sample mask unit fixing portion 30, the sample mask unit fixing portion screw 32, and the sample mask unit positioning mechanism 31, and include the positioning mechanism 31 of the sample mask unit 21 and the positioning mechanism 43 of the conversion holder 41. The sample mask unit 21 is fixed to the conversion holder 41 by aligning the positions and fixing the sample mask unit fixing part 30 and the conversion holder support part 42 with the sample mask unit fixing part screw 32 and the conversion holder support part screw hole 44. On the other hand, it is fixed at a fixed position with reproducibility.

Here, the sample mask unit positioning mechanism 31 and the conversion holder positioning mechanism 43 for installing at a fixed position with reproducibility are not limited to pins and holes as shown in FIG. For example, a key and a groove may be used, and pins and holes may be installed in reverse. The number of positioning mechanisms is not limited to one, and a plurality of positioning mechanisms may be installed. It is only necessary that the sample mask unit 21 and the conversion holder 41 are fixed at a fixed position with reproducibility.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the method for fixing the sample mask unit 21 and the conversion holder 41 includes a sample mask unit fixing part 30 and a conversion holder support part 42, a sample mask unit fixing part screw 32 and a conversion holder support. It is not limited to the method of fixing with the partial screw hole 44. The unevenness of the sample mask unit fixing part 30 and the conversion holder support part 42 may be reversed or not circular. The structure of the sample mask unit fixing part screw 32 and the conversion holder support part screw hole 44 may be reversed, and the number is not limited to one. The conversion holder support 42 may be pressed and fixed with a plurality of set screws, may be fixed by inserting a split pin, or may be fixed by clamping the convex portion. The sample mask unit 21 and the conversion holder 41 may be fixed.

The conversion holder 41 equipped with the sample mask unit 21 is attached to the SEM sample stage support part by fixing the SEM sample stage support part attachment mechanism 45 and the SEM sample stage support part. Accordingly, it is possible to observe the processing state of the mirror-polished surface of the sample 3 with the SEM without removing the sample holder 23 to which the sample 3 is fixed from the sample mask unit 21.

It is desirable that the SEM sample stage support part mounting mechanism 45 uniquely fixes the positional relationship and direction between the conversion holder 41 and the SEM sample stage support part. Thus, SEM observation can be performed while maintaining the position and direction of the sample mask unit 21 with respect to the sample holder fixing portion of the observation apparatus fixed by the sample mask unit positioning mechanism 31 described above. Further, since the sample holder 23 to which the sample 3 is fixed is not removed from the sample mask unit 21, milling such as a processing position relationship between the ion source 1 and the sample 3 and a shielding position relationship between the mask 2 and the sample 3 is performed. Since the positional relationship adjusted to be held by the sample mask unit 21, after observing the processing state of the mirror-polished surface of the sample 3 with the SEM, the readjustment to the milling position is not performed. The sample can be fixed to the sample fine movement base 5 of the ion milling apparatus and milled again.

Furthermore, since the sample mask unit 21 is fixed at a reproducible fixed position with respect to the conversion holder 41, the mirror polished surface of the sample 3 is also reproducible with respect to the SEM sample stage support. Therefore, when observing with SEM again after re-milling, it is possible to observe with SEM the processed state of the mirror-polished surface of sample 3 in the same observation field before re-milling. .

In the present embodiment, the sample mask unit 21 and the conversion holder 41 are fixed using the attachment / detachment mechanism between the sample mask unit 21 and the sample fine movement base 5, but the present invention is not limited to this mechanism. An attachment / detachment mechanism between the sample mask unit 21 and an optical microscope for observing the shielding positional relationship between the mask 2 and the sample 3 that are separately formed from the vacuum chamber 15 may be used. An attachment / detachment mechanism may be provided.

In this embodiment, the sample mask unit 21 is fixed to the SEM sample stage support through the conversion holder 41. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In order to directly fix the sample mask unit 21 to the SEM sample stage support part, the sample mask unit 21 and the SEM sample stage support part may be provided with a positioning mechanism that can be fixed at a reproducible fixed position and an attachment / detachment mechanism. .

FIG. 5 shows an example in which the sample mask unit 21 shown in FIG. 2 having the structure of the conventional example is mounted on a conversion holder for fixing to the sample stage support portion of the SEM for comparison with the present embodiment.

Even in the case of the sample mask unit 21 of the conventional example, the sample holder 23 to which the sample 3 is fixed is not removed from the sample mask unit 21 by being fixed to the SEM sample stage support portion via the conversion holder 41. Although the processing state of the mirror-polished surface of the sample 3 can be observed, in the sample mask unit 21 of the conventional example, the sample holder rotating ring 22, the mask fine adjustment mechanism 26, Since the component parts and mechanism parts of the sample mask unit 21, such as the sample holder rotating mechanism 28 and the sample mask unit fine adjustment mechanism 29, are arranged, observation from a direction perpendicular to the mirror-polished surface is not possible. Therefore, in order to avoid the above-described components and mechanism from interfering with the observation field, the sample mask unit 21 must be fixed obliquely by the conversion holder 41 and fixed to the SEM sample stage support, and the mirror-polished surface. On the other hand, there is an inconvenience that observation is possible only from an oblique direction.

However, in the sample mask unit 21 of this example, the configuration of the sample mask unit 21 is such that the mirror polished surface side of the sample 3 is the end of the sample mask unit 21 as shown in the first embodiment. By arranging the parts, there are no interfering parts between the mirror-polished surface of the sample 3 and the SEM electron source from the direction perpendicular to the mirror-polished surface. The processing state can be observed from the direction perpendicular to the mirror polished surface.

From the above, the sample mask unit 21 of the present embodiment can be attached to the SEM sample stage support part via the conversion holder 41. As a result, when the sample is moved from the vacuum chamber of the ion milling device to the sample chamber of the observation device for observation, the milling by the ion milling device and the processing state of the mirror polished surface of the sample 3 milled by the SEM It is possible to repeatedly perform the observation without the need for readjustment.

Furthermore, by providing a positioning mechanism that can fix the conversion holder 41 at a fixed position with reproducibility, the sample 3 is fixed even when the sample is transferred to an apparatus different from the ion milling apparatus for observation. Without removing the sample holder 23 from the sample mask unit 21, the positional relationship adjusted for carrying out milling, such as the processing positional relationship between the ion source 1 and the sample 3 and the shielding positional relationship between the mask 2 and the sample 3, can be obtained. It can be observed while being held.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ion source 2 Mask 3 Sample 4 Sample mask unit fine movement mechanism 5 Sample fine movement base 6 Sample fine movement mechanism 7 Rotating body 8 Vacuum exhaust system 9 Ion source control part 10 Sample fine movement control part 11 Vacuum exhaust system control part 12

Flange

13, 24 Linear Guide 14 Processing observation window 15 Vacuum chamber 21 Sample mask unit 22 Sample holder rotating ring 23 Sample holder 25 Mask holder 26 Mask fine adjustment mechanism 27 Mask fixing screw 28 Sample holder rotation mechanism 29 Sample mask unit fine adjustment mechanism 30 Sample mask unit fixing part 31 Sample mask unit positioning mechanism 32 Sample mask unit fixing part screw 41 Conversion holder 42 Conversion holder support part 43 Conversion holder positioning mechanism 44 Conversion holder support part screw hole 45 Conversion holder SEM sample stage support part mounting mechanism 51 Optical axis of ion beam

Claims

In a charged particle beam apparatus having a processing means for processing a sample surface with an ion beam and an observation means for observing the processed surface,
An ion beam source attached to a vacuum chamber and irradiating the sample with an ion beam;
A sample comprising: a sample holder for holding the sample; a mask for shielding a part of the sample fixed to the sample holder from the ion beam; and a positioning unit for fixing a shielding positional relationship between the sample and the mask. A mask unit;
An observation beam source for generating light or a charged particle beam used for observing a processed surface processed by the ion beam of the sample;
An observation optical system that focuses the light or charged particle beam and irradiates the processed surface;
With
The charged particle beam apparatus, wherein the sample mask unit is configured such that the processing surface is fixed at a position closer to the observation beam source than a structure of the sample mask unit.
The charged particle beam device according to claim 1, further comprising:
The sample mask unit includes a mask position adjusting unit that adjusts the shielding positional relationship,
The charged particle beam apparatus, wherein the mask position adjusting unit is disposed on a surface of the sample mask unit that is different from a surface facing the observation beam source.
A sample mask shared by an ion milling apparatus that processes a sample by an ion beam and an observation apparatus that observes a processed surface of the sample processed by the ion beam by light or a charged particle beam generated from an observation beam source A conversion member attached to the unit,
The sample mask unit includes:
A sample holder for holding the sample;
A mask for shielding a part of the sample fixed to the sample holder from the ion beam;
A positioning unit for fixing a shielding positional relationship between the sample and the mask;
When the sample mask unit is installed in the observation apparatus, the sample mask unit is fixed so that the processing surface is closer to the observation beam source than the structure of the sample mask unit. Configured,
The conversion member has a first attachment portion that engages with the sample mask unit, and a second attachment portion that engages with a sample holder fixing portion of the observation apparatus,
The conversion is characterized in that the first attachment portion is attached to a surface different from a surface facing the observation beam source in the sample mask unit when the sample mask unit is installed in the observation apparatus. Element.
The conversion member according to claim 3, further comprising:
The said conversion member has the positioning fixing means which fixes the position and direction of the said sample mask unit with respect to the sample holder fixing | fixed part of the said observation apparatus uniquely, The conversion member characterized by the above-mentioned.
A sample mask shared by an ion milling apparatus that processes a sample by an ion beam and an observation apparatus that observes a processed surface of the sample processed by the ion beam by light or a charged particle beam generated from an observation beam source In the unit
The sample mask unit includes:
A sample holder for holding the sample;
A mask for shielding a part of the sample fixed to the sample holder from the ion beam;
A positioning unit for fixing a shielding positional relationship between the sample and the mask;
When the sample mask unit is installed in the observation device,
The sample mask unit, wherein the processing surface is configured to be fixed at a position closer to the observation beam source than the structure of the sample mask unit.
The sample mask unit according to claim 5, further comprising:
The sample mask unit includes a mask position adjusting unit that adjusts the shielding positional relationship,
The mask position adjusting unit is arranged on a surface different from a surface facing the observation beam source in the sample mask unit when the sample mask unit is installed in the observation apparatus. Sample mask unit.
The sample mask unit according to claim 5,
The sample mask unit includes a conversion member including a first attachment portion that engages with a sample holder fixing portion of the ion milling device and a second attachment portion that engages with a sample holder fixing portion of the observation device. A sample mask unit which is attached to a sample holder fixing part of an observation apparatus via
The sample mask unit according to claim 7,
The sample mask unit, wherein the conversion member has positioning fixing means for uniquely fixing the position and direction of the sample mask unit with respect to the sample holder fixing portion of the observation apparatus.