Patent ID: 6188785
Filing Date: 2001-02-13
Classification: G01N,G06T

Abstract:
A pattern inspecting apparatus for performing a surface inspection of an LSI wafer which contains a plurality of individual chips thereon, in order to identify fine or minute defects in a surface pattern of said chips, wherein the same surface pattern is repeated on each of said chips, said pattern inspecting apparatus comprising:a moving stage for supporting a specimen to be inspected thereon, said moving stage being movable for positioning said specimen;a stage control unit for driving said moving stage and for outputting positional information;a light source for providing an irradiation beam over a predetermined area for projection onto said specimen to be inspected;a microscopic optical system for projecting the irradiation beam onto said specimen and for directing a reflected irradiation beam onto a sensor;a CMOS image sensor chip comprising:a one-dimensional photodiode array for receiving the reflected beam from said microscopic optical system and for producing an analog image signal, wherein a one dimensional image of the predetermined area on the specimen is detected at once and a two-dimensional image of the predetermined area on the specimen is obtained by moving said moving stage to enable inspection of an entire surface of the specimen;an analog-to-digital conversion circuit for converting the analog image signal into a digital image signal;a memory circuit for storing the digital image signal;an image processing section for cyclically displacing the digital image signal;a processing circuit for processing the image signal to detect a defect therefrom; anddisplay means for displaying a result of the inspection.