Patent ID: 7075638

Claim:
An optical inspection system for inspecting the surface of a reticle, mask, or semiconductor wafer for defects along a linear scan path, the optical inspection system comprising: a light source for emitting an incident light beam along an optical axis; a first set of optical elements arranged for separating the incident light beam into a plurality of light beams, directing the plurality of light beams to intersect with the surface of the reticle mask, or semiconductor wafer, focusing the plurality of light beams to a plurality of scanning spots on the surface of the reticle mask, or semiconductor wafer, and sweeping the plurality of light beams so as to move the plurality of scanning spots along the surface of the reticle mask, or semiconductor wafer in a direction that traverses the direction of the linear scan path, the plurality of light beams working together to increase the speed of inspection; and a light detector arrangement including individual light detectors that correspond to individual ones of a plurality of reflected or transmitted light beams caused by the intersection of the plurality of light beams with the surface of the reticle mask, or semiconductor wafer, the light detectors being arranged for sensing the light intensity of either the reflected or transmitted light.