System for protecting light optical components during laser ablation

摘要

A method and apparatus to perform laser ablation in the vicinity of a charged particle beam while simultaneously protecting the light optical components of the apparatus utilized to perform the ablation from being coated with debris resulting from the ablation process. According to preferred embodiments of the present invention, a protective transparent screen is used to shield the laser optical components. A preferred screen could be replaced or repositioned without breaking vacuum in the sample chamber and would not be particularly susceptible to undesirable charging effects.

主权项

1. A combined laser/charged particle beam system, comprising:
a vacuum chamber; a charged particle beam column for processing a sample in the vacuum chamber; a laser assembly for performing laser ablation in the vacuum chamber, the laser assembly having:
a laser light source, the laser light source being a source of a nanosecond to femtosecond, pulsed laser beam, andfocusing optics for producing a focused laser beam from the laser light source, the focusing optics including an objective lens for focusing the laser beam onto the sample within the vacuum chamber; and a replaceable protective screen formed from a transparent conductive material, the replaceable protective screen placed between the sample and the objective lens so that the focused laser beam passes through the transparent conductive material of the replaceable protective screen and so that debris ejected toward the objective lens during laser ablation of the sample strikes the replaceable protective screen.