Hybrid charged-particle beam and light beam microscopy

A charged-particle beam microscope for imaging a sample, the microscope comprising:

• a stage to hold a sample;
• a charged-particle beam column to direct a charged-particle beam onto the sample, the charged-particle beam column comprising:
• a charged-particle beam source to generate a charged-particle beam,
• charged-particle beam optics to converge the charged-particle beam onto the sample, and
• a first detector to detect charged-particle radiation emanating from the sample to generate an image;
• a light beam column to direct a light beam onto the sample, the light beam column comprising:
• a light beam source to generate a light beam,
• light-beam optics to converge the light beam onto the sample,
• a beam scanner to scan the light beam across the sample, and
• a second detector to detect light emanating from the sample to generate a second image;
• and
• a controller to analyze the detected charged-particle radiation and the detected light to generate an image of the sample.