Patent ID: 7030375

Claim:
An apparatus for determining the energy of electrons emitted from a semiconductor device at an area of interest comprising: a charged particle device configured to emit a charged particle beam towards the area of interest such that electrons are caused to emanate from the area of interest and such that the charged particle beam forms a path; a redirecting lens disposed in the path of the charged particle beam, wherein the redirecting lens is configured to allow the charged particle beam to travel towards the area of interest, and wherein the redirecting lens is configured to direct electrons that emanate from the area of interest away from the path of the charged particle beam; an electron time-of-flight spectrometer disposed adjacent to the redirecting lens, wherein the electron time-of-flight spectrometer is configured to receive the electrons directed from the redirecting lens; and a computing module coupled to the electron time-of-flight spectrometer for counting and determining the time of flight for each of the electrons received by the electron time-of-flight spectrometer.