| US 9,812,287 B2 | ||
| Charged particle microscope with improved spectroscopic functionality | ||
| Cornelis Sander Kooijman, Veldhoven (NL); Thijs Thomas Withaar, Eindhoven (NL); and Gerard Nicolaas Anne van Veen, Waalre (NL) | ||
| Assigned to FEI Company, Hillsboro, OR (US) | ||
| Filed by FEI Company, Hillsboro, OR (US) | ||
| Filed on Dec. 29, 2015, as Appl. No. 14/983,038. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 14200596 (EP), filed on Dec. 30, 2014. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2016/0189922 A1, Jun. 30, 2016 | ||
| Int. Cl. H01J 37/244 (2006.01); H01J 37/285 (2006.01); G01N 23/223 (2006.01); G01N 23/225 (2006.01) | ||
| CPC H01J 37/244 (2013.01) [G01N 23/223 (2013.01); G01N 23/2252 (2013.01); G01N 23/2257 (2013.01); H01J 37/285 (2013.01); G01N 2223/501 (2013.01); H01J 2237/2445 (2013.01)] | 19 Claims |
| 1. A method of examining a specimen using a spectroscopic apparatus, comprising the following steps:
providing the specimen on a specimen holder;
directing a focused input beam of radiation onto a location P on the specimen, thereby producing an interaction that causes
a flux of X-rays to emanate from said location;
examining said flux using a detector arrangement, thus accruing a measured spectrum for said location;
choosing a set of different measurement directions d={dn} that originate from P, where n is a member of an integer sequence;
recording an output On of said detector arrangement for different values of dn, thus compiling a measurement set M={(On, dn)};
adopting a spectral model On′ for On that is a convoluted mix of terms B(dn) and Lp, where:
B(dn) is a substantially continuous spectral component associated with Bremsstrahlung;
LP is a substantially discrete spectral component associated with the composition of the specimen at location P;
automatically deconvolving the measurement set M on the basis of said spectral model On′ and distill Lp therefrom, wherein
spectral model On′ is expressed in the form:
On′=A(dn)*R(dn)
R(dn)=[Lp+B(dn)]
in which A(dn) is an absorption function, accounting for the dependence of x-ray absorption as a function of the path length
within the specimen, * is a mathematical convolution and R(dn) is a radiation function comprising the types of x-ray emitted
from the specimen.
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