Patent ID: 8101924

Claim:
An object-positioning device for use in a charged-particle beam system, said object-positioning device extending into an evacuateable chamber comprising: an object holder holding an object capable of being removably inserted in the charged-particle beam system, the object holder being used to manipulate the position of the object from outside the chamber, the object holder being shaped cylindrically or like a rod, the object holder having a rear end outside the chamber, the object holder having a natural vibrational frequency in its bending mode; support means supporting at least one portion of a side surface of the object holder such that the holder can slide and that the rear end of the object holder is made a free end; and a vibration-absorbing portion mounted to the rear end of the object holder outside the chamber side and acting to absorb vibrations of the object holder, wherein the vibration-absorbing portion has an operating frequency range in which vibrations are absorbed in a translational direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the object holder, and wherein said natural vibrational frequency of the object holder in the bending mode is included within the operating frequency range of the vibration-absorbing portion.