Patent ID: 7499583

Claim:
A method for inspecting a semiconductor wafer of dies for a defect, the method comprising: providing a table for receiving the semiconductor wafer to be inspected; providing an imaging assembly including at least one detector ensemble including at least one two-dimensional matrix photo-detector; acquiring images of at least one illuminating area in at least one die; providing first examining means overlying said table for examining in a first phase the complete surface of the semiconductor wafer thereon by scanning said complete surface at a relatively high speed with an optical beam of small diameter, and for outputting information indicating suspected locations on the semiconductor wafer surface having a high probability of a defect; providing storage means for storing the output of said first examining means; and providing second examining means overlying said table for examining, in a second phase and with a relatively high spatial resolution, only said suspected locations stored in said storage means, and for outputting information indicating the presence or absence of a defect in the suspected location.