Patent ID: 7616299

Claim:
A surface inspection apparatus, comprising: a light receiving system including a plurality of photo detectors; a light projecting optical system that irradiates light to the surface of an object to be inspected; and means that identifies a foreign matter by computing signals detected by the plurality of photo detectors through the irradiation of light from the light projecting optical system, wherein the light receiving system includes a low angle light receiving system having an elevation angle equal to or less than 30 degrees with reference to the surface of the object to be inspected, and a high angle light receiving system having an elevation angle greater than that of the low angle light receiving system, wherein the light projecting optical system includes a first light projecting optical system that irradiates a laser beam approximately perpendicularly from above the object to be inspected, and a second light projecting optical system that irradiates a polarized laser beam from the oblique direction of the object to be inspected, and wherein a defect is identified by computing a signal that the high angle light receiving system detects via the irradiation of a laser beam from the first light projecting optical system, and a foreign matter is identified based on a signal that the low angle light receiving system detects via the irradiation of a polarized laser beam from the second light projecting optical system.