There is provided a system and method of measuring a lateral recess in a semiconductor specimen, comprising: obtaining a first image acquired by collecting SEs emitted from the surface of the specimen, and a second image acquired by collecting BSEs scattered from an interior region of the specimen between the surface and a target second layer, the specimen scanned using an electron beam with a landing energy selected to penetrate to a depth corresponding to the target second layer; generating a first GL waveform based on the first image, and a second GL waveform based on the second image; estimating a first width of the first layers based on the first GL waveform, and a second width with respect to at least the target second layer based on the second GL; and measuring a lateral recess based on the first width and the second width.