Patent ID: 6661912
Filing Date: 2003-12-09
Classification: G01N,G06T

Abstract:
A method for inspecting foreign matters in or on repeated micro-miniature patterns formed upon a surface of an object to be inspected, comprising the following steps:illuminating an inspection light of dark field directed obliquely upon the surface of the object to be inspected, on which the repeated micro-miniature patterns are formed, with a dark field inspection light illuminating device; detecting scattered light of the dark field inspection light being scattered from the surface of said object to be inspected with at least a scattered light detector; determining a coordinate position of a foreign matter upon the surface of said object to be inspected, on a basis of the detection of said scattered light in the above step, and thereby generating position information of the foreign matter; illuminating an inspection light of bright field directed perpendicularly upon the surface of the object to be inspected, on which the repeated micro-miniature patterns are formed, with a bright field inspection light illumination device; picking up an image of said foreign matter whose coordinate position is determined in the above step, under the bright field illumination by the bright field inspection illuminating device for illuminating the bright field inspection light in the above step, when the coordinate of the bright field inspection light is coincident with the coordinate of said foreign matter; deciding said foreign matter at least one of size, shape, color and property thereof, depending upon an image of said foreign matter which is extracted on a basis of the image picked up in the above step; processing information relating to the foreign matters based on the deciding in said deciding step; and displaying said information relating to the foreign matters together with said coordinate position information of the foreign matter generated in said step of determining the coordinate position.