Patent ID: 7655905

Claim:
Charged particle beam equipment used for observation or machining of a sample, comprising: a sample holder that holds the sample rotatably in an XY plane perpendicular to an optical axis of an optical system of the charged particle beam equipment or on a slightly inclining plane and holds the sample movably in the XY plane; a driving device for making the sample holder move in an X direction and in a Y direction independently in the XY plane; an position sensitive detector for detecting the travel in the X direction and in the Y direction; and a driving device for making the sample rotate in the XY plane perpendicular to the optical axis or in a slightly inclining plane; wherein a displacement of the optical axis of the optical system to the sample incident to a rotation of the sample corrects by making the sample holder move in the X direction and in the Y direction independently in the XY plane according to the angle θ by which the sample is rotated.