Patent ID: 6797975
Filing Date: 2004-09-28
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
A method of inspecting particles or defects comprising the steps of:irradiating an object under inspection with light; detecting reflected light or scattered light from the object under inspection; detecting particles or defects based on a signal indicative of detected reflected light or scattered light; processing the signal indicative of detected reflected light or scattered light to measure a size of each particle or defect; processing data including the signal indicative of detected reflected light or scattered light, and a result of measuring the size of each particle or defect; and displaying the result of data processing, wherein the step of processing data includes dividing the object under inspection into several regions, and processing for each of the regions, wherein the object is a semiconductor wafer on which a plurality of dies are formed, and the regions are divided according to a plurality of circuit pattern densities formed on the dies, wherein the step of displaying includes presenting a graphical indication of a size distribution of the particles or defects in each of the regions.