Patent ID: 6735333
Filing Date: 2004-05-11
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
A pattern inspecting apparatus which macroscopically inspects a fine pattern formed on a workpiece to be inspected, said apparatus comprising:an illuminating optical system which illuminates the pattern in a region subject to inspection on the workpiece in a substantially perpendicular direction; a detecting optical system which detects interfering light by reflected light or transmitted light from the pattern illuminated by the illuminating optical system, the detecting optical system having a sufficiently small numerical aperture which does not allow a structure of the pattern in the region subject to inspection to be optically resolved; a wavelength-varying system which selectively varies a central wavelength with a narrow-band among a plurality of different central wavelengths, the wavelength-varying system being disposed in the illumination optical system or the detecting optical system; and a measuring system which obtains an average characteristic parameter of the structure of the pattern on the basis of light intensity information of each detected interfering light in correspondence with each central wavelength.