System and method for inspecting a mask for EUV lithography

A system for inspecting a mask for EUV lithography, comprising

• 1.1. a first partial system for optical inspection of a mask for identifying and/or localizing potential mask defects, wherein the first partial system comprises a first optical system for generating at least one first image of at least a portion of the mask, wherein the first optical system comprises an illumination device for generating radiation for illuminating the at least a portion of the mask, a projection device for projecting radiation from the at least a portion of the mask, and an imaging device for capturing the at least one first image of the at least a portion of the mask, wherein the first partial system is configured to identify and/or localize the potential mask defects based on the at least one first image of the mask generated by the first optical system,
• 1.2. a second partial system for pre-classification of the potential mask defects, wherein the second partial system comprises a second optical system for generating at least one second image of at least a portion of the mask, wherein the second optical system comprises an illumination device for generating radiation for illuminating the at least a portion of the mask, a projection device for projecting radiation from the at least a portion of the mask, and an imaging device for capturing the at least one second image of the at least a portion of the mask, wherein the second partial system is configured to pre-classify the potential mask defects based at least in part on the at least one second image of the mask generated by the second optical system, and
• 1.3. a third partial system for checking the potential mask defects,
• 1.4. wherein the second partial system is embodied in such a way that it assigns to the potential mask defects identified and/or localized by the first partial system a confidence parameter for characterizing the reliability of the identification and/or for characterizing the relevance of the defect to subsequent applications, and
• 1.5. wherein the third partial system is controllable in such a way that a subset of the mask defects identified and/or localized by the first partial system is checked on the basis of the confidence parameter assigned to the potential mask defects by the second partial system;
• wherein the second partial system has a classification speed v2 and the third partial system has a checking speed v3, wherein the following applies:
• v2>v3.