INTEGRATED OPTICAL AND CHARGED PARTICLE INSPECTION APPARATUS

摘要

The invention relates to an apparatus for inspecting a sample, equipped with a charged particle column for producing a focused beam of charged particles to observe or modify the sample, and an optical microscope to observe a region of interest on the sample as is observed by the charged particle beam or vice versa, the apparatus accommodated with a processing unit adapted and equipped for representing an image as generated with said column and an image as generated with said microscope, the unit further adapted for performing an alignment procedure mutually correlating a region of interest in one of said images wherein the alignment procedure involves detecting a change in the optical image as caused therein by the charged particle beam.