Real-time scanning charged-particle microscope image composition with correction of drift.

In this article, a new scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image composition technique is described, which can significantly reduce drift related image corruptions. Drift distortion commonly causes blur and distortions in the SEM images. Such corruption ordinarily appears when conventional image-acquisition methods, i.e., "slow scan" and "fast scan," are applied. The damage is often very significant; it may render images unusable for metrology applications, especially where subnanometer accuracy is required. The described correction technique works with a large number of quickly taken frames, which are properly aligned and then composed into a single image. Such image contains much less noise than the individual frames, while the blur and deformation is minimized. This technique also provides useful information about changes of the sample position in time, which may be applied to investigate the drift properties of the instrument without a need of additional equipment.