Patent ID: 8716662

Claim:
A method of reviewing defects using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), the method comprising: selecting a defect location having a defect for review; configuring the SEM to be in a first imaging configuration; imaging the selected defect location using the SEM to generate a first SEM image of the selected defect location; determining whether the defect is visible or non-visible in the first SEM image; when the defect is non-visible in the first SEM image, then configuring the SEM to be into a second imaging configuration, imaging the selected defect location using the SEM to generate a second SEM image of the selected defect location, and determining whether the defect is visible or non-visible in the second SEM image; and when the defect is non-visible in the second SEM image, then configuring the SEM to be into a third imaging configuration, imaging the selected defect location using the SEM to generate a third SEM image of the selected defect location, and determining whether the defect is visible or non-visible in the third SEM image, wherein the first imaging configuration has a lower landing energy in a range between 0.4 keV and 1 keV, a lower beam current and detects secondary electrons, and the second imaging configuration has a higher beam current and images with voltage contrast, and the third imaging configuration has a higher landing energy above 5 keV and detects backscattered electrons.