Patent ID: 8121397

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for reviewing a defect of a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of: a first acquisition step for acquiring an image by imaging, in a first magnification, a defect on said semiconductor device detected by an inspection device, by using a scanning electron microscope to acquire an image of a region containing said defect; a synthesis step for synthesizing, in a computer, a reference image of said region containing said defect acquired by said first acquisition step; an extraction step for extracting, in a computer, an image of a defect applicant by comparing the image of said region containing said defect acquired in the first acquisition step with said reference image synthesized said synthesis step; a judgment step for: retrieving an image, similar to the defect applicant extracted in said extraction step, from images of normal positions stored in advance, and judging the defect as specifiable when the image of the defect applicant extracted in the extraction step is dissimilar from the images of normal portions, and otherwise judging the defect as un-specifiable; a second acquisition step for obtaining images of the defect applicant, including: imaging the defect applicant in a second magnification when the defect applicant is judged as specifiable in the judgment step, and obtaining a reference image by imaging a region other than the region containing the defect of the semiconductor device in the first magnification when the defect applicant is judqed as un-specifiable; a detection step for detecting a defect by comparing images including a defect obtained in the first obtaining step with the reference image obtained in the second obtaining step, when the defect applicant is judged as un-specifiable; and an image acquisition step for acquiring an image by imaging the defect detected in the detection step in the second magnification.