Patent ID: 8885037

Claim:
An inspection method comprising: illuminating a sample to be inspected with light emitted from a lighting unit; detecting light scattered from a portion illuminated by the light with an imager having a plurality of detection pixels; and processing a signal output from the imager by the detection of the scattered light with a signal processor to detect a defect on the sample, wherein in the step of illuminating, the light illuminates a plurality of small regions on the sample to which the light illuminates under different polarization conditions by the small regions; wherein in the step of detecting, the imager detects light scattered from each of the small regions, which are illuminated under the different polarization conditions by the step of illuminating, with different pixels; and wherein in the step of processing, the signal processor processes a detected signal in each of the small regions under the different polarization conditions detected at the different pixels in the step of detecting and detects a defect on the sample.