Patent ID: 6903821

Claim:
An inspection apparatus for a circuit pattern, comprising: an irradiating apparatus which is constructed by a plurality of lenses and irradiates light, a laser beam, or a charged particle beam onto a surface of a substrate on which a circuit pattern has been formed; a detector for detecting a signal which is generated from said substrate; a memory for storing the signal detected by said detector and visualized as an image; a comparing apparatus for comparing said stored signal with a signal obtained by visualizing a corresponding comparison pattern in another region as an image; a discriminating apparatus for discriminating a defect on said circuit pattern from a result of comparison in said comparing apparatus; a monitor; and a processor programmed to selectively display on a region of said monitor an inspecting condition picture plane for displaying or inputting inspecting conditions including a setting region for setting a a stripe-like or belt-like region to be selectively irradiated by said light, said laser beam, or said charged particle beam and the detected results of said selective irradiation to be compared by said comparing apparatus.