Patent ID: 8072597

Claim:
An apparatus for inspecting particles or defects, the apparatus comprising: illuminating device for obliquely irradiating a polarized light to an object under inspection; light detecting device for detecting light scattered from the object under inspection by the oblique irradiation of the polarized light from the illuminating device; detecting device for detecting particles or defects by processing a signal detected by the light detecting device; dimension measuring device for compensating an amount of signal intensity of the signal detected by the detecting device in the event that the amount exceeds a predetermined value and for measuring a size of each particle or defect detected by the detecting device in accordance with the amount having been compensated; data processing device for processing data on the particles or the defects detected by the detecting device and data on the size of the particles or the defects measured by the dimension measuring device; and display device for simultaneously displaying on a screen information processed by the data processing device, the information including a map indicative of positions of the particles or the defect on the object detected by the detecting device and at least one optical image of the defects or the particles, wherein the at least one optical image being generated from light scattered from the particle or the defects.