Patent ID: 6320401
Filing Date: 2001-11-20
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
A substrate inspection method, comprising the steps of:preparing a standard substrate of good quality and of a structure symmetrical to that of a sample substrate to be inspected;arranging a first electrode plate, said standard substrate, a second electrode plate, said sample substrate, and a third electrode plate, in that order, with the standard substrate and said sample substrate facing symmetrically with each other;measuring, via a network analyzer, both the propagation characteristics of radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic waves from said second electrode plate to said first electrode plate as standard characteristics and the propagation characteristics of RF electromagnetic waves from said second electrode plate to said third electrode plate as test characteristics;comparing the test characteristics with the measured standard characteristics to determine whether said sample substrate is good or bad; andpreparing, as said second electrode plate, a component in which a central portion where said standard and sample substrate are to be arranged is formed in a reticulated form, and in which an outer edge is divided into a plurality of outer edge portions that are connected to said network analyzer; andwherein said step of measuring standard characteristics and test characteristics further includes the steps of:applying RF electromagnetic waves to at least one of said plurality of outer edge portions of said second electrode plate by said network analyzer, andmeasuring RF electromagnetic waves generated at at least one of said outer edge portions.