Work-registration device including ionic beam probe

Claim 1

IN AN ION BEAM PROCESSING SYSTEM FOR SELECTIVELY BOMBARDING SURFACE PORTIONS OF A WORKPIECE WITH A FOCUSSED BEAM OF IONS AND COMPRISING A CHAMBER, MEANS FOR EVACUATING THE CHAMBER, WORK SUPPORT MEANS FOR SUPPORTING THE WORKPIECE IN THE CHAMBER ON A SURFACE OF THE WORK SUPPORT MEANS, MEANS FOR FORMING IONS, MEANS FOR ACCELERATING SAID IONS TO THE WORKPIECE AS A FOCUSSED BEAM, MEANS FOR DEFLECTING THE ION BEAM, PROGRAM CONTROL MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLING SAID DEFLECTING MEANS SO THAT THE ION BEAM PRODUCES A PREDETERMINED PATTERN AND LOCATION OF BOMBARDMENT WITH RESPECT TO PREDETERMINED REFERENCE COORDINATES SET IN SAID CONTROL MEANS, MEANS FOR ADJUSTING THE WORK SUPPORT MEANS TO CHANGE THE ORIENTATION OF THE WORKPIECE TO BRING THE REFERENCE COORDINATES OF SAID CONTROL MEANS INTO REGISTRY WITH PREDETERMINED REFERENCE COORDINATES ON SAID WORK SUPPORT SURFACE, AND WHEREIN THE WORK SUPPORT MEANS COMPRISES FIRST AND SECOND CONDUCTIVE PROBES WHICH ARE INSULATED FROM EACH OTHER AND LOCATED ON SAID WORK SUPPORT MEANS ON THE SAME SURFACE AS THE WORKPIECE AND ADJACENT TO THE WORKPIECE BUT SPACED FROM EACH OTHER, SAID PROBE LOCATIONS BEING POINTS ON SAID PREDETERMINED COORDINATES OF THE WORK SUPPORT SURFACE AND MEANS FOR EXTRACTING AND MEASURING ELECTRICAL CURRENT THROUGH SAID PROBES WHEN THE SAID ION BEAM IS DEFLECTED TO STRIKE SAID PROBES TO PRODUCE A SIGNAL INDICATIVE OF REGISTRATION OR LACK OF REGISTRATION OF THE SAID CONTROL MEANS COORDINATES WITH THE SAID WORK SURFACE COORDINATES.