Methods and apparatus are provided for planning and delivering radiation treatments by modalities which involve moving a radiation source along a trajectory relative to a subject while delivering radiation to the subject. In some embodiments the radiation source is moved continuously along the trajectory while in some embodiments the radiation source is moved intermittently. Some embodiments involve the optimization of the radiation delivery plan to meet various optimization goals while meeting a number of constraints. For each of a number of control points along a trajectory, a radiation delivery plan may comprise: a set of motion axes parameters, a set of beam shape parameters and a beam intensity.

Methods and apparatus for the planning and delivery of radiation treatments

The present invention aims at providing an ion milling apparatus for emitting an ion beam to a sample to process the sample and capable of controlling the temperature of the sample with high accuracy regardless of deformation or the like of the sample being irradiated with the ion beam, and proposes an ion milling apparatus including at least one of a shield holding member for supporting a shield for shielding the sample from the ion beam while exposing a part of the sample to the ion beam; a shifting mechanism for shifting a surface of the sample stand in contact with the sample following deformation of the sample during irradiation with the ion beam, the shifting mechanism having a temperature control mechanism for controlling temperature of at least one of the shield holding member and the sample stand; and a sample holding member disposed between the shield and the sample, the sample holding member deforming following deformation of the sample during irradiation with the ion beam, for example.

Ion milling device

The charged particle beam device of this invention separately detects secondary signal particles emitted from the surface of a sample, dark field signal particles scattered within and transmitted through the sample, bright field signal particles transmitted through the sample without being scattered within the sample, and thereby allows the operator to observe the image with an optimum contrast according to applications. In order to detect only the dark field transmitted signal particles scattered within the sample, among the transmitted signal particles obtained by the primary charged particle beams having transmitted through the thin film sample, the device includes a transmitted signal conversion member having an opening through which the bright field transmitted signal particles not being scattered within the sample can pass, and a detection means for detecting signals colliding against the conversion member.

Charged particle beam device

Methods are provided for permitting manipulation of an achievable dose distribution estimate deliverable by a radiation delivery apparatus for proposed treatment of a subject. One such method comprises: determining a dose modification voxel for which it is desired to modify the dose value and a corresponding magnitude of desired dose modification; for each of a plurality of beams: (i) characterizing the beam as a two-dimensional array of beamlets, wherein each beamlet is associated with a corresponding intensity value and a ray line representing the projection of the beamlet into space; and (ii) identifying one or more dose-change beamlets which have associated ray lines that intersect the dose modification voxel; modifying the intensity values of at least one of the dose-change beamlets; and updating the achievable dose distribution estimate to account for the modified intensity values of the at least one of the dose-change beamlets.

System and method for estimating and manipulating estimated radiation dose

According to the present invention, in a charged particle beam device having a charged particle source, an objective lens for focusing a primary-charged particle beam emitted from the charged particle source, a scan deflector for scanning the primary-charged particle beam on a sample, and a detector for detecting signal particles generated from the sample under scanning of the primary-charged particle beam, whereby a sample image is obtained by using the signal particles of the detector, the charged particle beam device comprises a deflector for deflecting an angle of irradiation of the primary-charged particle beam onto the sample, first and second independent power supplies for passing currents to the deflector, and a switch for switching over voltages applied from the two power supplies in unit of one line or one frame of scanning of the primary-charged particle beam.

Charged particle beam device and image display method

PURPOSE:To change formation of particle beam image by arranging a multi-pole charged particle lens at the image surface of charged particle lens CONSTITUTION:The section of electron beam emitted from an electron gun 1 is shaped to a square by an aperture of mask plate 2M The beam sent from the aperture is focused almost at the center of electrostatic type quadrupole lens 4 by an electron lens 3 A square beam image (space image) receives an attracting force from the electrode plates 4c, 4d and also receives a repulsion force from the electrode plates 4a, 4b Therefore, an image passing through a squeezing surface of the electron lens 9 is shaped to a rectangular form indicated by symbols ABCD and an image focused on the material 10 by the electron lens 9 is also formed into a rectangular form indicated by simbols A', B', C', D' Length ratio of vertical and horizontal sides can be controlled depending on a voltage applied to the electrostatic electrode plate of quadrupole lens 4

Charged particle beam apparatus

PURPOSE:To measure titled height in extremely high precision and to make an apparatus small-sized by providing at least one image forming lense along the axis crossing with the fixed angle against the axis of a charged particle beam at the vicinity of a sample surface CONSTITUTION:Electrons emitted from an electron gun 1 are focused by a focusing lense 2, and projected on a cross section shaping slit 3 The electrons passed through the slit 3 are formed an image by the image forming lense 4 and the contracted image of the slit 3 is projected on a sample (wafer) 5 An XY deflector 6 is placed along the passage of the electron ray so that the shaped electron beam is scanned on the sample 5 The pattern signal is impressed to the deflector 6 by a computer 8 through an amplifier 7, and the desired IC pattern is drawn on a semiconductor wafer Consequently, the measurement of extremely high precision is made possible and the size of the apparatus is made small

Apparatus for measuring surface height of sample in charged particle ray apparatus

PURPOSE:To measure the surface height of a body through a simple structure by irradiating the surface of the body with light at a specific angle and forming a light and dark image, and converging its reflected light for image formation on a semiconductor array sensor and finding the mean value of the distance from the reference position of the light and dark image CONSTITUTION:The light emitted from a light source 1 is made incident to the material 2 to be exposed through a slit plate 3' and a lens 4 at the specific angle to form the light and dark image Its reflected light is expanded by an image forming lens 5 to form an image on the semiconductor array sensor 13 Its output is sent to an arithmetic circuit 15 through an amplifier 14 to find the reference position of the light and dark image, and the surface height of the material is found from its average value and displayed on a display device 16 The signal is also sent to an amplifier and the deflector 10 of an electron gun 7 to perform focusing control The image forming light of slanting incidence is used and the average value of the detection signal, so the surface height is measured by the simple structure

Measuring device of surface height of body

PURPOSE:To increase the intensity of projecting X-rays, and to enable uniform irradiation in an irradiating surface by mounting a transmission type Fresnel zone plate on an X-ray beam optical axis between an X-ray source for generating input X-ray beams and a mask. CONSTITUTION:X-ray beams diffused and propagated from an X-ray source 1 for laser plasma, etc. are changed into approximately parallel X-ray beams by a Fresnel zone plate 4 inserted and fitted onto an optical axis between the X-ray source 1 and a mask 2, and projected to the surfaces of the mask 2 and a wafer 3, on which a photosensitive resin is applied, approximately vertically. Accordingly, X-ray beams are condensed by the Fresnel zone plate 4 and utilized, thus increasing the luminance of X-rays on an irradiating surface.

X-ray lithographic equipment

PURPOSE:To improve responsiveness by inserting a common gate field effect transistor (FET) in front of an output terminal and eliminating the influence of the capacity of a current changeover switch upon a response speed. CONSTITUTION:Constant current sources I1-In are connected to the source S of the FETQ whose gate G is grounded through current changeover switches S1-Sn and the drain D of the FETQ is connected to an output terminal 1. The capacity of the FETQ is represented equivalently as CQ and when CQ is small enough, C' is decreased and the time constant is also decreased. This invented digital and analog converter operates five times as fast as before.

Kitayama Toyoki

Papers

Charged particle beam apparatus

Apparatus for measuring surface height of sample in charged particle ray apparatus

Measuring device of surface height of body

X-ray lithographic equipment

Current output digital and analog converter