Patent ID: 8704176

Claim:
A method of examining a sample using a charged-particle microscope, comprising: mounting the sample on a sample holder; using a particle-optical column to direct at least one beam of particulate radiation onto a surface S of the sample, thereby producing an interaction that causes emitted radiation to emanate from the sample; and using a detector arrangement to detect at least a portion of said emitted radiation, characterized by the following steps: embodying the detector arrangement to detect electrons in the emitted radiation; recording an output O n of said detector arrangement as a function of kinetic energy E n of said electrons, thus compiling a measurement set M={(O n , E n )} for a plurality of values of E n ; and using computer processing apparatus to automatically deconvolve the measurement set M and spatially resolve it into a result set R={(V k , L k )}, in which a spatial variable V demonstrates a value V k at an associated discrete depth level L k referenced to the surface S, whereby n and k are members of an integer sequence, and spatial variable V represents a physical property of the sample as a function of position in its bulk.