Patent ID: 11971372
Assignee: FEI COMPANY
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  H | IPC G

Claim 0:
1. A method of examining a sample using a charged particle microscope, comprising:
providing a charged particle beam, as well as a sample;
scanning said charged particle beam over said sample at a plurality of sample locations;
detecting, using a first detector, emissions of a first type from the sample in response to the beam scanned over the plurality of sample locations;
assigning, by a controller and using similarity scores with modelled phases generated based on spectral information of detected emissions of the first type:
a plurality of mutually different phases to said sample at corresponding locations within the plurality of sample locations for which there is a substantially complete spectral profile; and
an undecided phase to corresponding locations of at least one other of the plurality of sample locations for which the similarity score for the associated spectral data is not sufficient to assign a final conclusion on a particular phase;

providing, by a control unit, a data representation of said sample containing at least information on said plurality of sample locations and said phases;
establishing, using information relating to at least one previously assigned phase and its respective sample location, an estimated phase for said at least one other of the plurality of sample locations based at least in part on the spectral information for the at least one other of the plurality of sample locations; and
assigning said estimated phase to said at least one other sample location.