ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 23 -- United States Patent no. 12,505,975, issued on Dec. 23, was assigned to FEI Co. (Hillsboro, Ore.).
"Focused ion beam system and method" was invented by Alexander Henstra (Eindhoven, Netherlands) and Galen Gledhill (Hillsboro, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An ion beam system for modifying a sample or workpiece surface, comprises: an ion source for generating ions; an ion beam focusing column configured to direct ions from the ion source to form an ion beam and focus the ion beam towards a target area; and a sample stage for receiving and positioning the sample or workpiece at the target area, wherein the ion beam focusing column comprises: an aperture plate ha...