Method and system for generating a synthetic image of a region of an object

A method for defect detection, the method comprises:

• generating, by a charged particle microscope, a charged particle microscope image of a region of an object;
• calculating a sparse representation of the charged particle microscope image;
• wherein the sparse representation of the charged particle microscope image comprises multiple first atoms;
• and
• evaluating an existence of a suspected defect in the region based on a number of different first atoms that form an element of the sparse representation of the charged particle microscope image, wherein evaluating the existence of the suspected defect includes calculating the number of different first atoms of each element of the sparse representation.

A computer program product that stores instructions that once executed by a charged particle microscope cause the charged particle microscope to perform steps comprising:

• generate a charged particle microscope image of a region of an object;
• calculate a sparse representation of the charged particle microscope image;
• wherein the sparse representation of the charged particle microscope image comprises multiple first atoms;
• and
• generate a synthetic image of the region, wherein the synthetic image of the region is formed from multiple second atoms;
• wherein a generating of the synthetic image of the region is based on a mapping between the multiple first atoms and the multiple second atoms;
• wherein the charged particle microscope image and the multiple first atoms are of a first resolution;
• and
• wherein the synthetic image of the region and the multiple second atoms are of a second resolution that is finer than the first resolution.

A charged particle microscope, comprising:

• charged particle optics;
• at least one charged particle detector;
• and a processor;
• wherein the charged particle optics and the at least one charged particle detector are configured to generate a charged particle microscope image of a region of an object;
• wherein the processor is configured to:
• calculate a sparse representation of the charged particle microscope image;
• wherein the sparse representation of the charged particle microscope image comprises multiple first atoms;
• and
• generate a synthetic image of the region, wherein the synthetic image of the region is formed from multiple second atoms;
• wherein a generating of the synthetic image of the region is based on a mapping between the multiple first atoms and the multiple second atoms;
• wherein the charged particle microscope image and the multiple first atoms are of a first resolution;
• and
• wherein the synthetic image of the region and the multiple second atoms are of a second resolution that is finer than the first resolution.