Patent ID: 7351970

Claim:
A scanning electron microscope comprising: a microscope column enclosing means for producing an electron beam, means for focusing the beam onto a specimen, and means for scanning the beam over a specimen; a specimen chamber integral with said microscope column portion enclosing a specimen stage on which a specimen may be placed; a detector disposed in said microscope column or in said specimen chamber for detecting radiation emitted from a specimen during scanning; storage means for storing information about the intensity of the detected radiation as image information in memory pixel positions corresponding to scan positions on the specimen; measurement means for measuring a relative position between said specimen stage and said microscope column or said specimen chamber in synchronism with the scanning; pixel position correction means for making corrections to the pixel positions indicated by said stored image information based on variations in said relative position so as to cancel said variations; and image creation means for creating new image information at pixel positions where image information is lost or duplicated by said corrections to the positions.