Patent ID: 7047154

Claim:
A method of inspecting a pattern formed by depositing a metal onto a substrate having a pattern groove formed on a surface thereof, comprising: selectively measuring a thickness of a part above the substrate of a metal film formed on the substrate other than a part to be formed inside the pattern groove, said part above the substrate being a part constituted of the metal deposited upward from substantially the same surface as the surface of the substrate on which the pattern groove is formed; evaluating how successfully the pattern groove is filled with the metal on the basis of a thickness value obtained by the selective measurement; and previously acquiring a reference film thickness value by measuring the thickness of the part above the substrate of the metal film of a non-defective product having the pattern groove successfully filled with the metal, wherein said evaluating includes calculating a filling ratio of the pattern groove with the metal in the substrate to be inspected by comparing the thickness of the part above the substrate obtained by the selective measurement with the reference film thickness.