Patent ID: 7800062
Filing Date: 2010-09-21
Classification: G01N,H01J

Abstract:
1. A method for the examination of a specimen with a beam of charged particles, said method comprising the steps of: a) while the specimen is in a first position, scanning the beam over the specimen, to produce a first image, wherein during the scanning the beam is maintained in a first orientation so as to be incident upon a surface of the specimen at a first angle of incidence; b) tilting the beam and moving the specimen to a second position so that the beam is incident upon the surface of the specimen at a second angle of incidence and a displacement of the beam caused by the tilting of the beam is thereby compensated, wherein the tilting of the beam is achieved by combined actions of deflecting the beam away from an optical axis of an objective and focusing the beam onto the specimen wherein the beam is deflected in two steps which are adjusted with respect to each other so that chromatic aberrations on the surface of the specimen are minimized; wherein a first one of the two steps occurs before the beam enters the field of the objective and a second one of the two steps occurs when the beam is inside the field of the objective; and c) while the specimen is in the second position, scanning the beam over the specimen to produce a second image, wherein during the scanning the beam is maintained in a second orientation so as to be incident upon the surface of the specimen at the second angle of incidence.