Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. An apparatus for irradiating an object with a charged particle beam, the apparatus comprising: an object carrier for holding the object to be irradiated, the object carrier having a plurality of support elements for supporting the object, the plurality of support elements defining a surface to receive the object;  wherein the plurality of support elements each have an elastic contact portion for supporting a separate part of the object, the elastic contact portions each having:  (i) a primary force exerting toward the object to substantially maintain the contact portion in contact with the object while being irradiated; and  (ii) a secondary force exerted on the contact portion that is small enough to prevent the contact portion from sticking below the object but large enough to stabilize the object under the influence of operational vibrations when the object is being irradiated. 2. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein each support element comprises a cylindrical body with the contact portion extending from an end of it, the cylindrical body being moveably mounted in a cylindrical cavity with a spring acting on the body for providing the primary force, and the cylindrical body being in frictional contact with the cylindrical cavity for providing the secondary force. claim 1 3. The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the cylindrical body has a central longitudinal axis, and the contact portion is eccentrically disposed relative to said central axis and projects toward the object. claim 2 4. The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the cavity is defined in a support element housing. claim 3 5. The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the cavity is formed from a bore in a carrier body that contains the plurality of support elements. claim 3 6. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the primary and secondary forces are suitable to maintain support contact and adequately resist operational vibrations over a predefined range of operational beam/object tilt angles. claim 1 7. A carrier for supporting a an object to be irradiated by a charged particle beam, the carrier comprising: a carrier body adjustable for tilting the object to a desired tilt angle relative to the beam;  a plurality of support elements mounted to the carrier body, each support element having a resiliently moveable protrusion extending away from the carrier body with each protrusion being disposed to supportably contact a distinct part of the object;  wherein the plurality of protrusions substantially remain in supportable contact with the object when it is being irradiated regardless of the tilt angle, wherein each protrusion is (i) resiliently strong enough to substantially maintain contact with the object and to sufficiently resist being displaced when subjected to operating vibrations, but (ii) resiliently weak enough so as not to push the object away from the other protrusions. 8. The carrier of  claim 7 , wherein each support element includes: claim 7 a housing fixed to the carrier body,  a member slidably mounted within the housing, the member being slidable to and away from the carrier body, the protrusion being disposed at a distal end of the member away from the carrier body, and  a spring mounted within the housing and coupled to the member to provide the protrusion with at least part of its resilience. 9. The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the spring applies to the member a force that is sufficient to maintain the protrusion against the object but small enough not to disengage the object from other protrusions, and the housing provides a frictional force against the member such that the member sufficiently resists displacement when subjected to operating vibrations. claim 8 10. The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the object is a wafer to be carried on its underside, the underside being irregularly shaped. claim 9 11. The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the housing and member have circular cross-sections. claim 8 12. The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the protrusion is off-center from the central axis of the member in the direction of movement. claim 8 13. A particle optical apparatus comprising: a beam source; and  an object carrier for operably receiving an object to be irradiated by a beam generated from thc beam source, the carrier including:  (i) a carrier body adjustable to vary the tilt angle between the object and the beam over a range of operating angles,  (ii) a plurality of support elements distributed on the carrier body to support an object, the support elements each including (1) a moveable member extending toward the object""s under surface, the member having a contact portion at its distal end away from the carrier body to supportably contact the object underside, wherein the plurality of contact portions collectively support the object, (2) a spring mounted to the member to push it against the object, and (3) a cavity structure in frictional contact with the member when the object is being carried,  (iii) wherein the spring provides sufficient force to maintain its associated member in contact with the object but weak enough so as not to push the object off of other member contact portions, and the frictional contact being sufficient enough to resist operable vibration but small enough so that the member does not stick below the object after being depressed. 14. The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the member functions as described in  claim 17  over the range of operable tilt angles. claim 13 claim 17 15. The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein each support element further comprises a housing with a cavity that defines the cavity structure. claim 13 16. The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the housing is a cylindrical structure with a cylindrical cavity for slidably receiving the member, which has a corresponding cylindrical shape. claim 15 17. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the contact portion is a pin extending out of the member at the distal end. claim 16 18. The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the pin extends out from the cylindrical member from an off-center position to create a moment sufficient to generate the frictional contact between the member and the housing. claim 17