Patent ID: 7295305

Claim:
An apparatus for inspecting a pattern, comprising: a light source for emitting an ultraviolet laser beam; light-intensity adjusting means for adjusting light intensity of the ultraviolet laser beam emitted from the light source; coherence reducing means for reducing coherence of the ultraviolet laser beam whose light intensity was adjusted by the light-intensity adjusting means; illumination means for irradiating the ultraviolet laser beam whose coherence was reduced by the coherence reducing means onto a sample; diffracted-light controlling means for controlling diffracted light from the sample irradiated with the ultraviolet laser beam by the illumination means; focusing means for focusing reflected light from the sample whose diffracted light was controlled by the diffracted-light controlling means into an image of the sample; image detecting means for imaging the sample formed by the focusing means and detecting the image signal; and defect detecting means for detecting a defect of a pattern formed on the sample by processing the image signal detected by the image detecting means; wherein the illumination means includes an objective lens through which the ultraviolet light is irradiated onto the sample, the illumination means enabling formation of at least one of an annular illumination, a quadruple spot illumination and a duplex spot illumination at a position of a pupil of the objective lens.