Device and method for combining scanning and imaging methods in checking photomasks

An apparatus for imaging and scanning masks for semiconductor production, the masks having a layer side and an opposing side, the apparatus comprising:

• a scanning instrument having a probe, said a probe disposed to scan a layer side of a mask;
• an optical microscope for imaging a detail of the mask from a side of the mask opposing the layer side, said optical microscope disposed opposite said scanning instrument with respect to the mask;
• means for positioning said scanning instrument and said opposing optical microscope relative to one another such that said optical microscope images said probe and the mask simultaneously;
• and
• means for laterally displacing the mask between and relative to said scanning instrument and said opposing optical microscope to permit selection of an imaged detail of the mask while a relative position between said scanning instrument and said optical microscope is maintained.

A method of imaging and scanning masks for-semiconductor production, which comprises:

• placing a scanning instrument having a probe at a position to scan a layer side of a mask with the probe;
• placing an optical microscope on a side of the mask opposite the layer side at a position to image a detail of the mask from the side of the mask opposite the layer side;
• positioning the scanning instrument and the optical microscope relative to each other such that the optical microscope images the probe and the mask at the same time;
• laterally displacing the mask while maintaining a relative position between the scanning instrument and the optical microscope;
• and
• at least one of imaging and scanning a selected detail of the mask.