ISOLATION OF CHARGED PARTICLE OPTICS FROM VACUUM CHAMBER DEFORMATIONS

A charged particle processing apparatus includes a vacuum chamber, an optics plate, charged particle optics mounted to the optics plate, and mounting members coupled between the optics plate and a chamber wall. The mounting members are configured for isolating the optics plate from deformation of the chamber wall, as may occur due to a pressure differential between the chamber interior and the environment outside the chamber. The isolation may prevent deformation from affecting the alignment and positioning of the charged particle optics. The charged particles may, for example, be ions or electrons. Thus, the apparatus may be utilized, for example, in analytical instruments such as for mass spectrometry, or inspection instruments such as for electron microscopy.