Patent ID: 7319336

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a positioner controller configured to control positioning of at least one of a device under test (DUT) and a probe within a chamber of a charged particle beam device (CPBD), including positioning control by at least partial automation of at least one of: orientation of the DUT within the CPBD chamber for examination of the DUT within the CPBD chamber; orientation of the probe within the CPBD chamber for examination of at least one of the probe and the DUT; and relative orientation of the probe and the DUT for establishing contact between the probe and the DUT within the CPBD chamber; and storage structure configured to: store at least one end-effector within the CPBD chamber, wherein the probe is an examination probe and the end-effector includes the examination probe and an assembly probe extending in opposing directions, wherein the assembly probe is configured to couple with a positioner; and release the at least one end-effector upon connection between the assembly probe and a corresponding assembly socket of the positioner.