Patent Document ID: 20010030289
Application ID: 09785943
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. In a charged-particle-beam (CPB) optical system comprising multiple components each having at least one parameter the value of which is established so as to cause, when all such components of the CPB optical system are configured or operated in a coordinated manner according to the respective values of the parameters, the CPB optical system to operate in a manner producing a desired performance result, a method for determining the respective values of the parameters for the components, comprising: (a) regarding each respective value of a respective parameter as a respective gene; (b) regarding each respective combination of values of the parameters as a respective chromosome and each respective configuration of the CPB optical system according to the respective chromosome as a respective species; (c) each parameter having a respective initial-condition gene, wherein each of N A species in a group A comprises a respective chromosome of the initial-condition genes; (d) defining an evaluation function, wherein values of the evaluation function are related to respective qualities of a performance characteristic of the CPB optical system, and establishing a threshold value for the evaluation function; (e) from the group-A species, selecting a group B including N B species (wherein N B &lE;N A ) in which the constituent species have higher respective values of the evaluation function than species not selected to be in the group B; (f) from the group-B species, and based on a selection criterion, selecting groups C ND, in which each group includes N C individuals, to produce a group D including N D species, wherein each species in group D comprises a respective chromosome produced by recombination of one or more genes from respective chromosomes of species in the group C ND ; (g) producing the group D of N D species from the groups C ND; (h) from the group D, selecting a new group B including N B species; (i) repeating steps (e)-(h) a predetermined number of times or until a species is produced in group D having a respective value of the evaluation function that exceeds the threshold; and (j) employing the species produced in step (i) to define the respective combination of values of the parameters for configuring the components or for operating the components in the coordinated manner.