Patent Document ID: 8309919
Application ID: 12352357
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A semiconductor wafer inspection method, the method comprising steps of: placing a semiconductor wafer on a sample stage of an electron beam apparatus having a first electron beam optical system for irradiating an electron beam from a direction normal to a surface of a sample, and a second electron beam optical system for irradiating an electron beam from a direction tilted from the direction normal to the surface; obtaining defect position data on the semiconductor wafer from an inspection apparatus; moving the stage to a position corresponding to a defect position obtained from the defect position data from the inspection apparatus, and capturing a scanning image of a defect by using the first electron beam optical system; discriminating a mode of the defect on the basis of the captured defect image; controlling a scanning direction of the electron beam of the second electron beam optical system, wherein the scanning direction of the electron beam of the second electron beam optical system is rotated through an angle the same as a rotation angle of the sample stage so that the viewing field of an image by the second electron beam optical system is rotated through an angle the same as the rotation angle of the stage; and obtaining an image of an edge position of the semiconductor wafer by using the second electron beam optical system, wherein: the image includes both the edge position of the semiconductor wafer and a background, and altering the rotation angle of the electron beam creates more or less of the background in the image.