A lower pole piece of an electromagnetic superposition type objective lens is divided into an upper magnetic path and a lower magnetic path. A voltage nearly equal to a retarding voltage is applied to the lower magnetic path. An objective lens capable of acquiring an image with a higher resolution and a higher contrast than a conventional image is provided. An electromagnetic superposition type objective lens includes a magnetic path that encloses a coil, a cylindrical or conical booster magnetic path that surrounds an electron beam, a control magnetic path that is interposed between the coil and sample, an accelerating electric field control unit that accelerates the electron beam using a booster power supply, a decelerating electric field control unit that decelerates the electron beam using a stage power supply, and a suppression unit that suppresses electric discharge of the sample using a control magnetic path power supply.
