Patent ID: 11972923
Assignee: FEI COMPANY
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC H  G | IPC H

Claim 13:
14. A method for creating attachments between a sample manipulator and a sample within charged particle systems, the method comprising:
translating a sample manipulator so that it is proximate to a sample, wherein the portion of the sample manipulator proximate to the sample is composed of a high sputter yield material; and
milling, with a charged particle beam, the high sputter yield material such that portions of the high sputter yield material is removed from the sample manipulator, and wherein at least some of the removed high sputter yield material redeposits to form an attachment between the sample manipulator and the sample,
wherein milling the high sputter yield material comprises milling multiple locations on the high sputter yield material proximate to the sample, wherein each of the multiple locations are located at an edge of the high sputter yield material proximate to the sample,
wherein there are multiple regions of the high sputter yield material that are not milled away along the edge of the sample proximate to the sample, and wherein the at least some of the removed high sputter yield material redeposits to form a plurality of attachments between the sample and individual ones of the at least one region of the high sputter yield material along the edge proximate to the sample that is not milled away, and
wherein the high sputter yield material corresponds to a rate of emission of greater than 5 atoms per ion when the high sputter yield material is irradiated with a 30 kV focused ion beam.