JPS63200445A - Sample exchange device in scanning type electron microscope or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to perform sample exchange regardless of any tilt condition of a sample by making the axial center of a sample exchange rod and the center of a communication hole, with the sample exchange rod, of a sample holder accorded on the tilt driving axis of a tilt body respectively. CONSTITUTION:When a position in the Y direction and a rotational angle of a sample 2 are set in an exchange position and a sample exchange rod 20 is pushed into the side of a sample chamber 1 in a state where the axis of the sample exchange rod 20 and the center of the female screw hole 16 of a sample holder 11 are accorded to each other, a male screw 21 provided on its tip is put into the female screw hole 16 of the sample holder 11. Then, when this sample exchange rod 20 is turned clockwise, the male screw is screwed into the female screw hole to make the sample exchange rod and the sample holder en bloc so that the sample exchange rod is moved in the reverse direction so as to pull out the sample holder from a rotary stand 10 for housing it in an exchange chamber 17. Later, when the inside of the sample exchange chamber is set in leaking condition in the state where the sample chamber 1 and the sample exchange rod 17 are isolated from each other by closing a partition valve, a lid body 19 comes off so that the sample holder 11 housing a new sample at the tip of the sample exchange rod 20 can be attached.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an improvement of a sample exchange device in a scanning electron microscope or the like.

[Prior Art] As a conventional example of such a sample exchange device, a sample exchange chamber communicated with the sample chamber through a gate valve is formed on the outer wall of the sample chamber, and a sample exchange rod having a male thread at the tip is shaped like a sphere. A structure in which the sensor is slidably and rotatably attached to a viewing window provided on the side wall of the sample exchange chamber via a bearing is widely used. When replacing, open the gate valve, advance the sample exchange rod while looking through the observation window, and screw the male screw into the female screw hole of the sample holder placed in the sample chamber to integrate the two. After retracting the sample exchange rod and storing the sample holder in the sample exchange chamber, the gate valve is closed, the sample exchange chamber is returned to atmospheric pressure, and a new sample is exchanged.

On the other hand, in a scanning electron microscope, in order to make it possible to observe and analyze as large a sample as possible from all directions without increasing the movement range of the horizontal movement mechanism, the sample is rotated in addition to the normal horizontal movement. and slope are given.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In this method of replacing the sample by detachably attaching the sample holder to the tip of the sample exchange rod, when taking out the sample holder from the sample chamber, horizontal movement, rotation, or Due to the inclination, the female threaded hole formed in the sample holder is misaligned with respect to the sample exchange rod, making it impossible to attach the sample holder to the tip of the sample exchange rod. Therefore, we decided in advance the sample exchange position where the female screw hole of the sample holder faces the sample exchange rod, and each time we exchange the sample, we can change the sample position by horizontally moving, rotating, or tilting the sample. An operation is required to set it in the replacement position. Therefore, the handling operation is very troublesome.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sample exchange device for a scanning electron microscope, etc., which can exchange a sample regardless of the tilted state of the sample. It is.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a sample chamber kept in vacuum, and a sample chamber rotatable about a tilting axis perpendicular to the electron beam optical axis. a tilting body attached to a wall; a movable body supported by the tilting body so as to move in a plane parallel to a plane that includes the tilting axis and intersecting the optical axis; and a movable body that is removably attached to the movable body. A sample holder attached and containing a sample, a sample exchange chamber communicating with the sample chamber via a gate valve, and a sample exchange chamber connected to the sample chamber with the sample holder removably attached to its tip. a sample exchange rod that is slidably inserted through the side wall of the sample exchange chamber in order to reciprocate between the sample exchange chambers, and the axis of the sample exchange rod and the center of the connection hole of the sample holder with the sample exchange rod are respectively aligned with the inclined body. This feature is characterized in that it is configured to align with the tilting axis.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail based on the drawings.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, 1 is a sample chamber, and an objective lens 3 is installed above it to narrowly focus an electron beam EB generated from an electron gun (not shown) and irradiate it onto a sample 2. .

Furthermore, an exhaust pipe 4 connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) is connected to the bottom, and the inside of the sample chamber is maintained at a high vacuum. Furthermore, a front cover 5 is removably provided on the front side wall of the sample chamber 1 while maintaining airtightness.

A tilting body 6 is rotatably attached to the inner wall of the front cover 5 via a bearing 7, and the tilting axis T of this tilting body is perpendicular to the optical axis 2 of the electron beam EB. A projecting portion 6a is provided at the lower end of the inclined body 6 in a direction intersecting the optical axis Z. On this overhang 6a is an X moving body 8. The Y moving body 9 and the rotary table 10 are installed so as to be stacked on top of each other.

A sample holder 11 containing the sample 2 is removably attached to the upper surface of the rotary table 10 by dovetails, dovetail grooves, etc. Here, when the sample holder 11 is mounted on the rotary table 10, the surface of the sample 2 is aligned with the tilting axis T of the tilting body 6.

Reference numeral 12 denotes an arc-shaped worm gear attached to the upper end of the tilting body 6 concentrically with the tilting axis T, and this gear includes a worm rotatably held by the bearing 7 (which may also be the front cover 5). 13 are engaged. The worm 13 is connected via a rotating shaft 14 to a knob 15 rotatably attached to the outer wall of the front cover 5.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a female threaded hole formed on the side surface of the sample holder 11, and the center of this female threaded hole is aligned with the tilting axis T of the tilting body 6 at a rotational position where the rotating table is located, for example, when the rotational angle is 0 degrees. It's Nishide.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a sample exchange chamber that is airtightly fixed to the outer wall of the front cover 5 and placed on an extension of the tilting axis T. The right side of this sample exchange chamber is connected to a communication hole formed in the center of the bearing 7. It communicates with the sample chamber 1 through a hole 18, and a lid 19 is removably fitted on the left side of the sample exchange chamber. The lid 19 is made of a transparent material, for example glass, and the sample exchange chamber 1 is passed through the lid.
7 and the inside of the sample chamber 1 can be observed.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a sample exchange rod which is slidably held through the lid 19 in an airtight manner, and the axis of this sample exchange rod is arranged to coincide with the tilting axis T. In addition, one end of this sample exchange rod (page empty side) has the female screw hole 1.
6 is formed with a male screw 21 that can be screwed into the connector, and a hook 22 is provided at the other end. 23 is sample chamber 1 and sample exchange chamber 1
This is a gate valve installed at the border with 7.

Incidentally, the tilting axis T of the tilting body 6 is arranged so as to coincide with the moving direction of the X moving body 8, that is, the X direction.

In addition, the center of the female threaded hole 16 formed in the sample holder 11 can be aligned with the tilting axis T when the center O of the sample 2 is aligned with the optical axis 2, that is, when the movement amount display scale of the Y moving body 9 is zero. That's how it is.

2 Now, if you move the X moving body 8, the sample 2 will move in the X direction, and if you move the Y moving body 9, the sample will move in the Y direction, so observe the scanned image of any location on the sample 2. be able to. In addition, each moving body 8°9 rotates the rotary table 10.
If the rotation center of the XY movable body 8.9 is shifted a certain distance from the optical axis Z and the scanning image is observed while rotating this rotary table intermittently, the large-sized samples can be observed. Further, when the worm 13 and the worm gear 12 are rotated via the knob 15, the tilting body 6 rotates clockwise or counterclockwise around the tilting axis T, so that the sample 2 is tilted with respect to the optical axis Z. However, it is possible to observe a scanned image of the sample tilted at any angle.

Next, to replace the sample with a new one, first set the movement amount display scale of the Y moving body 9 to zero and align the center O of the sample 2 with the optical axis Z.
By adjusting the rotation angle display scale of the rotary table 1° to zero, the center of the female threaded hole 16 of the sample holder 11 and the tilting axis T are aligned as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Match. At this time, regarding the inclination of sample 2, Fig. 3(a) shows the case where the inclination angle of sample 2 is 0 degrees as seen from the sample exchange chamber side, and Fig. 3 also shows the case where the inclination angle of sample 2 is 45 degrees. As is clear from (b), the sample holder 11
The center of the female threaded hole 16 always coincides with the tilting axis T, that is, the center of the axis of the sample exchange rod 20, regardless of the tilted position of the sample 2. Therefore, when the Y direction position and rotation angle of the sample 2 are set to the exchange position as described above, and the axis of the sample exchange rod 20 and the center of the female threaded hole 16 of the sample holder 11 are aligned, When the sample exchange rod 20 is pushed into the sample chamber 1 side, the male screw 21 provided at the tip thereof is inserted into the female screw hole 16 of the sample holder 11. And this sample exchange rod 2
If you turn 0 clockwise, the male screw will screw into the female screw hole and the sample exchange rod and sample holder will be integrated, so move the sample exchange rod in the opposite direction to rotate the sample holder. 1 unit
0 and stored in the exchange chamber 17. After that, with the gate valve 23 closed to shut off the sample chamber 1 and the sample exchange chamber 17, if leakage occurs in the sample exchange chamber, the lid 19 will come off, so a new sample is stored at the tip of the sample exchange rod 20. A sample holder 11 can be attached. Then, the lid 19 is attached to the sample exchange chamber 17 again, and after the sample exchange chamber is roughly evacuated, a new sample can be attached to the sample chamber 1 by performing the reverse operation to that described above.

It should be noted that the above description is an example of the present invention, and many modifications can be made in implementing the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, screws were used as a means for attaching the sample exchange rod and sample holder, but the invention is not limited to this. and forming a recess into which the ball fits on the other side,
A mechanism may be used in which the two members are integrated by fitting balls into the four parts in connection with the attachment/detachment operation of the sample exchange rod.

Further, in the above embodiment, a case is shown in which a rotary table is incorporated, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the sample holder may be directly removably attached to the Y moving body without using a rotary table.

In addition, we have described the case where the sample holder is taken out into the atmosphere by removing the lid with the sample exchange rod attached from the sample exchange chamber. may be provided separately.

Further, the present invention is not limited to scanning electron microscopes, but can be similarly applied to X-ray microanalyzers and the like.

[Effectiveness] As detailed above, according to the present invention, the sample can be exchanged regardless of the tilted state of the sample, so there is no need for the conventional operation of returning the tilt angle of the sample to the exchange position.
This makes handling easier.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. be. 1; Sample chamber 2: Sample 3: Objective lens 4: Exhaust pipe 5: Front cover 6 = Inclined body 7: Bearing 8: X moving body 9: Y moving body 10: Rotating table 11: Sample holder 12: Worm gear 13: Worm 14: Rotating shaft 15: Knob 16: Female screw hole 17: Sample exchange chamber 18: Communication hole 19: M body 20: Sample exchange rod 21: Male screw
22: Knob 23: Gate valve

Claims (1)

[Claims] a sample chamber kept in vacuum; a tilting body rotatably attached to the wall of the sample chamber about a tilting axis perpendicular to the electron beam optical axis; and a tilting body including the tilting axis and intersecting the optical axis. A movable body supported by the inclined body so as to move in a plane parallel to the plane, a sample holder detachably attached to the movable body and containing a sample, and a sample holder arranged in the sample chamber through a gate valve. A sample exchange chamber that communicates with the sample exchange chamber, and a sample exchange rod that slidably penetrates a side wall of the sample exchange chamber in order to reciprocate between the sample chamber and the sample exchange chamber with the sample holder removably attached to its tip. A sample in a scanning electron microscope or the like, characterized in that the axis of the sample exchange rod and the center of the connecting hole of the sample holder with the sample exchange rod are respectively aligned with the tilting axis of the tilting body. Exchange device.