PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 16036017
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-07
Publication Date: 2019-04
Patent Classification: ["250", "310000"]

Abstract:
A method of preparing a specimen in a dual-beam charged particle microscope having: an ion beam column, that can produce an ion beam that propagates along an ion axis; an electron beam column, that can produce an electron beam that propagates along an electron axis, comprising the following steps:  Providing a precursor sample on a sample holder; Using said ion beam to cut a furrow around a selected portion of said sample; Attaching a manipulator needle to said portion, severing said portion from the rest of said sample, and using the needle to perform a lift-out of the portion away from the rest of the sample, particularly comprising:  Configuring the manipulator needle to have multiple degrees of motional freedom, comprising at least:      Eucentric tilt a about a tilt axis that passes through an intersection point of said ion and electron axes and is perpendicular to said electron axis; Rotation φ about a longitudinal axis of the needle;       Whilst maintaining said portion on said needle, using said ion beam to machine at least one surface of said portion, so as to create said specimen; Whilst maintaining said portion on said needle, inspecting it with said electron beam, for at least two different values of said φ rotation.

Claim (Index 11):
An apparatus comprising:\n a sample stage for supporting a sample; a manipulator needle arranged to pivot about an axis that passes through an intersection point of ion and electron column axes and is perpendicular to the electron column axis, and further arranged to rotate around a longitudinal axis of the manipulator needle; and a controller coupled to control at least the manipulator needle during lift-out, milling and imaging operations, the controller causing the manipulator to:\n during the lift-out operation, move the manipulator to a first location about the pivot point; \n during the milling operation move the manipulator to a second location about the pivot point, the second location different than the first location, wherein the portion is milled by an ion beam; and \n during the imaging operation, causes the manipulator to rotate around the longitudinal axis, wherein images are acquired with an electron beam.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 47.0
- Percentile: 95.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.45161
- Patent Class: 250.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: True
- Related Applications: ['11119230', '10644696', '14294772', '15118042', '12896274']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.7216905152763025
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.4960796647854346
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.6991294302272157
- Mean Citation Score: 245.937168
- Max Citation Score: 260.8933
- Similarity Product: 195.664159130776

Labels:
- Claim Label 101: 1
- Claim Label 102: 1
- Claim Label 103: 1
- Claim Label 112: 1
- Combined Label: 1
- Label 101 Adjusted: 1

Dataset: test