Multi-beam scanning electron microscope (MBSEM): Technological evolution, core breakthroughs, and cross-field applications

Multi-beam scanning electron microscope (MBSEM) reconciles the inherent contradiction between “resolution and throughput” of traditional scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) through parallel electron beam manipulation, emerging as a key technology to address the bottlenecks in large-volume, high-resolution imaging and advanced industrial inspection. This article provides a comprehensive overview of MBSEM, covering its evolutionary course of technology, core design fundamentals, and interdisciplinary applications. First, it sorts out the evolutionary process from conceptualization in the early 21st century to commercialization in the 2010s, clarifying the core logic of breaking through the physical limitations of single-beam systems via “multi-beam parallelism”. Subsequently, focusing on the core technological chain of “beam generation–optical focusing–signal detection–data processing”, it conducts an in-depth analysis of the design concepts, technical characteristics, and applicable scenarios of three mainstream architectures: the single-source single-column, split optical system, and semiconductor-specific multi-beam inspection (MBI). Combined with representative research and product data from teams such as Delft University of Technology, Zeiss, and ASML/HMI, it reveals the differentiated advantages of each architecture in beam uniformity (the relative deviation percentage of the current density and probe size of each sub-beam in the multi-beam array from the central beam, with a smaller deviation value indicating better uniformity) and signal crosstalk (the percentage of the interference signal intensity to the target signal intensity when the detection signal of a single beam in the multi-beam array interferes with the detection channel of adjacent beams) control, and throughput (the percentage of the interference signal intensity to the target signal intensity when the detection signal of a single beam in the multi-beam array interferes with the detection channel of adjacent beams) improvement. Finally, integrating the practical demands of neuroscience connectomics, advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes, and biomedicine, it elaborates on the application breakthroughs of MBSEM in the three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of large-volume brain tissue, wafer defect screening for 7 nm and smaller nodes, and low-damage imaging of thin biological tissues, and compares its disruptive value relative to traditional technologies (single-beam SEM, optical inspection).Unlike previous reviews, this work systematically integrates both academic prototypes and industrial systems for the first time, providing an in-depth analysis of the differentiated trade-offs among imaging speed, resolution, and sample adaptability across different architectures, offering a systematic reference for MBSEM R & D and interdisciplinary applications.