JPS6352425B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a goniometer stage in an electron beam instrument.

Conventionally, as this type of goniometer stage, there are those used in electron beam equipment such as scanning electron microscopes, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, for example. This goniometer stage 3 supports a sample stage 4 inside a sample chamber 2 arranged below the lens barrel 1 of the scanning electron microscope, and also supports the sample stage 4.
With respect to sample 5 above, tilting, movement in the direction of the tilt axis (X direction), movement along the tilted sample surface in the direction perpendicular to the tilt axis (Y direction), and rotation around the axis perpendicular to the tilt surface. In addition, in order to correspond to changes in observation magnification and to obtain a suitable analysis state of the sample 5, the sample 5 is moved by electronic means to change the distance between the objective lens and the sample 5, that is, the working distance. It is configured to move in the direction along the line axis O (Z direction). Specifically, the track member 6 provided at the base of the sample chamber 2 is
A moving table 7 is installed so as to be movable in the direction of the tilt axis, that is, in the X direction, and a Z moving table 8 is arranged on this X moving table 7.
On the Z moving table 8 is a tilting table 9 that tilts the sample 5.
A Y-moving table 10 is arranged on the inclined table 9 so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the inclined axis, that is, in the Y direction,
Furthermore, a rotary table 11 is disposed on the Y-moving table 10 to rotate the sample 5 around an axis perpendicular to the sample surface, and the sample table 4 is fixedly attached to the rotary table 11.

The X moving table 7 is mounted and fixed on the track member 6.
It consists of a plate-shaped body disposed on the moving guide 16 so as to be slidable in the X direction via a bearing 17. An operating part 12 in which a female thread 13 is formed protrudes from the lower surface of the plate-shaped body, and the outer periphery can be seen from the upper surface. A support shaft 19 having a male thread 18 formed thereon is connected to the X moving table 7.
It extends perpendicularly to the shaft and is supported by a bearing.
An X-drive male screw 15 extending into the sample chamber 2 from an X-drive knob 14 rotatably attached to the side wall of the sample chamber 2 is screwed into the female screw 13 of the actuating part 12.
The X-movement table 7 is moved in the X direction by a screw feeding action by rotating the X drive knob 14. Further, the support shaft 19 has a male screw 18 formed in the female screw portion 2 formed on the Z moving table 8.
0, the Z moving table 8 is supported so as to be movable up and down. The lower end of the support shaft 19 protrudes toward the lower surface of the X-movement table 7, and a bevel gear 21 is attached to its tip.

On the other hand, a Z drive knob 22 and a drive shaft 23 extending from the Z drive knob 22 are rotatably attached to a position adjacent to the X drive knob 14 in the sample chamber 2, and a bevel gear 21 is fitted at the tip thereof. A gear 24 is attached. Therefore, when the Z drive knob 22 is rotated, the rotational force is transmitted to the bevel gear 21 through the bevel gear 24, rotates the support shaft 19, and connects the male thread 18 and the female thread 2.
The Z moving table 8 is moved up and down by the screw feed operation between zero and zero. The Z-movement table 8 has a support base 26 mounted on the X-movement table 7, and is disposed thereon. Support stand 26
has guide struts 27, 28 extending vertically on both sides of the proximal end, and these guide struts 27, 28
Z movement guides 29 and 30 are attached to the. The Z moving table 8 is composed of a box body whose front end and upper side in the Y direction are open, and both side walls thereof are cut out in an arc shape from the upper side to form a support surface 25.
The Z moving table 8 is engaged with the support table 26 via bearings 32 on both sides of its base end side wall 31 so as to be able to move up and down.

The inclined table 9 has substantially semicircular side plates 33 and 34 arranged parallel to each other at a predetermined interval in the X direction.
and a connecting portion 35 that integrally connects the side plate portions 33 and 34. The side plate parts 33 and 34 are Z
It consists of a semi-disc body having a guide surface 36 corresponding to the support surface 25 of the moving table 8, and the guide surface 36 is connected to the support surface 2.
It is rotatably mounted by making it face against 5. A worm gear 37 having approximately the same curvature as the support surface 25 and guide surface 36 is attached to the outside of one side plate portion 34, and a worm 38 attached and supported by the Z moving table 8 meshes with the worm gear 37. There is. The worm 38 has a first universal joint 40, a power transmission rod 41 that has a nested structure that is expandable and retractable in the axial direction and extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the worm 38, and a second universal joint. 42 and the rotation of the power transmission rod 41 is input to the worm 38.
The sample chamber 2 is
Tilt drive knob 39 rotatably supported on the side wall
is operatively connected to. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the gear mechanism 43 includes a bevel gear 43a attached to the tip of the output side shaft of the second universal joint 42 rotatably supported by the Z moving table 8.
and a bevel gear 43b attached to the tip of the input shaft of the worm 38 and meshing with the bevel gear 43a. And the tilt drive knob 39
By rotating the worm 38 and the worm gear 37, the tilting table 9 is moved to the Z moving table 8.
The rotational movement is made along the support surface 25 of the holder. The center of rotation of this tilting table 9 is set to be the intersection of the electron beam axis O and the surface of the sample 5. Furthermore, the worm 38 and the worm gear 37 also have a function as a regulating member in that they support the inclined table 9 so that it does not slide down the support surface 25 in the Y direction by meshing with each other. Note that the tilting table 9 is supported in the X direction by the support surface 2 of the Z moving table 8.
This is achieved by providing a protruding edge 44 rising from the supporting surface on the inner side of the supporting surface 25 along the supporting surface 25, and arranging the inclined table 9 so as to straddle this protruding edge 44. Further, a Y moving table 10 for moving the sample 5 in the Y direction is arranged between the side plate portions 33 and 34 of the inclined table 9.

The Y moving table 10 is connected to both side plate parts 33, 3 of the inclined table 9.
It consists of a plate-shaped body arranged so as to be slidable in the Y direction via a bearing 46 on a Y movement guide 45 fixedly attached to the rotary table 4, and a through hole 47 for supporting the rotary table 11 is provided in the center thereof. At the same time, a rack 48 extending in the Y direction is attached to the back surface of the Y moving table 10. A rack and pinion mechanism is formed by meshing with the rack 48 a pinion 49 attached to the tip of a rotating shaft 50 that is pivotally supported on the rotating table 9. This pinion 49 has a nested structure with a third universal joint 52, and is rotatably attached to the side wall of the sample chamber 2 via a power transmission rod 53 that is extendable and retractable in the axial direction, and a fourth universal joint 54. It is operatively connected to a supported Y drive knob 51, and by rotating the Y drive knob 51, the
The pinion mechanisms 48 and 49 are operated, and the Y moving table 1
0 in the Y direction.

The rotary table 11 includes a main body 55 and a main body 55.
and a spindle part 56 that protrudes downward from
It is attached to the Y moving base 10 by inserting it into the rotary bearing 57 and fitting it into the rotary bearing 57. A worm gear 59 is provided around the outer periphery of the main body portion 55 and meshes with a worm 58 installed and fixed on the Y moving table 10 . The worm 58 is rotatably attached to the side wall of the sample chamber 2 via a fifth universal joint 61, a power transmission rod 62 that has a nested structure and is extendable and retractable in the axial direction, and a second universal joint 63. The worm 58 and the worm gear 59 are operatively connected to a supported rotary drive knob 60, and rotation of the rotary drive knob 60 causes the worm 58 and the worm gear 59 to be rotated.
is operated to rotate the rotary table 11 about its central axis. The sample stage 4 on which the sample 5 is placed is mounted and fixed on the upper surface of the main body 55 of the rotary stage 11.

For this reason, the sample 5 and the sample stage 4 can be moved in X, Y, and Z by rotating the respective driving members: It can move in any direction, tilt, and rotate.

By the way, such a goniometer stage 3
In this case, at least three of the power transmissions to the stage 3, namely tilt, Y movement, and rotation, use universal joints 40, 42, 52, 54, 61, and 63 because of Z movement. It is being carried out. However, in the past, the sample stage 4
Drive members 39, 5 for giving these movements to
1 and 60 use the side wall (generally the front wall) of the sample chamber 2 as a drive base. Since they are individually attached to the side walls, when the tilting table 9 is rotated to tilt the sample 5 using such a mechanism, the Y moving table 10
and the Y drive knob 51, and between the rotary table 11 and the rotary drive knob 60, a twist corresponding to the amount of inclination occurs and interference occurs, causing the sample 5 to move and rotate in the Y direction, There was a problem that the observed part of sample 5 changed. For this reason, in the conventional goniometer stage 3, the sample 5 is tilted and then the Y movement and rotation operations are performed, or the sample 5 is tilted and the Y movement and rotation operations are performed so as not to miss the target sample position. The disadvantage was that it had to be corrected by

In addition, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 13764/1982, in order to eliminate interference when tilting the sample 5, a clutch is provided on the drive shaft that provides Y movement or rotation, and this clutch is used when tilting the sample. Some devices open the clutch and close it after the tilting operation is completed to provide Y movement and rotation, but this is complicated as the clutch must be constantly opened and closed, and the mechanism is difficult to operate when opening and closing the clutch. There were drawbacks such as slight deviation of the sample due to the above problems and the occurrence of vibration.

The present invention was developed in view of these conventional problems, and its purpose is to provide a goniometer stage that does not cause any displacement in other sample movement systems even when the sample is tilted. ,
The purpose is to prevent inconvenient movement of the sample during a sample movement operation and to improve operability.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a goniometer that incorporates a movement mechanism for moving or rotating a sample in the plane direction on a tilting table installed in a sample chamber so as to be able to move in a tilting manner. The gist of the present invention is to provide an operating mechanism that rotates the drive mechanism of the mechanism by the same angle in conjunction with the rotational operation of the tilt table.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 4 to 7 are diagrams showing one embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a front view, FIG. 5 is a plan view, and FIG. 6 is a right side view, which correspond to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 in the conventional example, respectively. Also,
FIG. 7 is a perspective view schematically showing the structure of the above embodiment.

In the goniometer stage 70 according to this embodiment, the sample stage, that is, the sample stage 4 and the sample moving mechanism are basically the same as those in the conventional example, and are moved in the X direction on the track member 6 provided at the base of the sample chamber 2. A table 7 is installed so as to be movable in the X direction, and this X moving table 7
A Z moving table 8 is arranged above, a tilting table 9 for tilting the sample 5 is arranged on the Z moving table 8, a Y moving table 10 is arranged on the tilting table 9 so as to be movable in the Y direction, and , on this Y moving table 10 is a rotary table 11 that rotates the sample 5 around an axis perpendicular to the sample surface.
is arranged, and the sample stage 4 is fixedly attached to the rotary stage 11. In addition, sample 5 and sample stage 4
Regarding the movement mechanism that moves X and Z,
Similar to the above conventional example, an X-drive male screw 15 extending from the X-drive knob 14 into the sample chamber 2 is screwed into a female screw 13 provided on the actuating part 12 of the X-movement table 7, and the sample Move 5 by X. Further, a support shaft 1 is attached to the X-movement table 7 so as to extend in the vertical direction, and has a male thread 18 formed on the outer periphery.
9 supports the Z moving stage 8 so as to be movable up and down, and operatively connects the support shaft 19 to the Z drive knob 22 rotatably attached to the side wall of the sample chamber 2. The sample 5 is moved in the Z direction by the screw feeding action between the two.

However, the drive mechanism for giving tilt, rotation, and Y movement to the sample 5 is different from the conventional one, and is provided with a cylindrical bearing part 2a protruding outward from the side wall of the sample chamber 2.
A shaft body 100 is rotatably fitted to this bearing portion 2a, and a Y drive knob 51 is attached to the shaft body 100.
and the third universal joint 52, and a rotational drive knob 60.
and the fifth universal joint 61 . Shaft body 1
A worm gear 103 is formed at the tip of 00, while a worm 104 is attached to the bearing part 2a.
This worm 104 is meshed with a worm gear 103. Further, on the side wall of the sample chamber 2, a rotary drive shaft 105 whose one end is connected to the first universal joint 40 is extended, and a tilt drive knob 39 is fixedly attached to the other end. and the first universal joint 40 are operatively connected. A bevel gear 106 is attached to the inclined drive shaft 105, while a worm 104
A bevel gear 107 is attached to the tip of the shaft, and by meshing both bevel gears 106 and 107, the tilt drive knob 39, the worm 104, and the shaft body 100 are operatively connected, and the rotation of the tilt table 9 is controlled. It constitutes an operating mechanism that is linked to the operation. Therefore, looking at the worm 104, the worm 104 is not only operatively connected to the tilt drive knob 39 as described above, but also connected to the gears 106, 10.
7. First and second universal joints 40,
42, a gear mechanism 43, a worm 38, and a worm gear 37, which are operatively connected to the inclined table 9. In this operating mechanism, the Y drive knob 5
The rotation angle of the tilting table 9 and the shaft body 10 with respect to the rotation of
Rotate each gear 3 so that the rotation angle of 0 is the same.
The ratios and rotation directions of 7, 38, 43, 106, and 107 are determined.

Therefore, when the tilt drive knob 39 is rotated, the tilt table 9 is rotated by this rotation, but at the same time, the bevel gears 106, 107, the worm 104, and the worm gear 103 are rotated to tilt the shaft body 100 as described above. Rotate the same angle as table 9. Therefore, neither movement nor rotation in the Y direction is interfered with by the operation of the tilting table 9, and the sample 5 on the sample stage 4 does not become misaligned.

In this embodiment, the Y drive shaft 101 and the rotary drive shaft 102 are both integrated into the shaft body 100, so that they are rotated by the same angle in conjunction with the rotation of the tilt table 9. , Differently from this, the same operation and effect can be obtained by installing the Y drive shaft 101 and the rotation drive shaft 102 separately in the sample chamber 2 and configuring them to rotate by the same angle in conjunction with the rotation of the tilt table. It will be done.

In addition, in this example, it is assumed that the sample surface is placed in advance to match the tilt axis, but if the sample surface is uneven, the tilt axis and the observation surface of the sample may not match. . In such a case, a slight vertical movement mechanism (fine Z) may be incorporated on the tilting table 9 to finely adjust the height of the sample 5, but this vertical movement mechanism is also As with the drive shaft, by configuring the fine Z drive unit to rotate by the same angle in conjunction with the rotation operation of the tilt table 9, interference due to the sample tilt operation can be eliminated.

As explained above, according to the present invention, in the goniometer stage in which the sample stage is mounted in the sample chamber so as to be capable of X movement, Y movement, Z movement, tilting, and rotation, the movement Since each drive shaft of the mechanism is rotated by the same angle in conjunction with the rotation operation of the tilting table, each movement system such as Y movement and rotation is affected by the tilt of the sample and operates, causing There is no longer any possibility of misalignment. Therefore, complicated operations such as correcting the sample position are no longer necessary, and operability during sample observation can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a conventional goniometer stage, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a conventional goniometer stage, FIG. 3 is a right side view of a conventional goniometer stage, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a front view of the goniometer stage, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the above embodiment, FIG. 6 is a right side view of the conventional example, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view schematically showing the overall structure of the above embodiment. 1... Lens barrel, 2... Sample chamber, 3... Goniometer stage, 4... Sample stage, 5... Sample, 7...
X moving table, 8... Z moving table, 9... Inclined table, 10
... Y moving table, 11 ... rotating table, 39 ... tilting drive knob, 51 ... Y drive knob (drive mechanism),
60... Rotation drive knob (drive mechanism), 100...
... Shaft body (actuation mechanism), 101 ... Y drive shaft (drive mechanism), 102 ... Rotation drive shaft (drive mechanism), 10
3... Worm gear (actuation mechanism), 104... Worm (actuation mechanism), 105... Inclined drive shaft, 1
06,107...Bevel gear (operating mechanism).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. All or part of a movement mechanism that moves the sample in a plane in the direction of its surface, vertically in a direction perpendicular to the surface, and rotates is incorporated on a tilting table that is installed in the sample chamber so that it can be tilted. 1. A goniometer stage for electron beam equipment, characterized in that the goniometer stage is provided with an operating mechanism that rotates the drive mechanism of the moving mechanism by the same angle in conjunction with the rotational operation of the tilting table.