Abstract: In an defect inspection method and device, in order to detect a minute defect present on a surface of a sample with a high degree of sensitivity, a defect inspection method includes imaging the same region of a sample in a plurality of image acquisition conditions and acquiring a plurality of images, processing the plurality of acquired images and extracting a defect candidate, clipping a partial image including the extracted defect candidate and a neighboring image of the defect candidate from the acquired images based on position information of the extracted defect candidate, obtaining feature quantities of the defect candidates in the plurality of clipped partial images, associating the defect candidates that have the same coordinates on the sample and are detected in different image acquisition condition, extracting a defect from among the associated defect candidates in a multi-dimensional feature quantity space, and outputting information of the extracted defect.

Abstract: In order to achieve highly precise alignment of inspection images when integrating a plurality of inspection images having different imaging conditions to improve inspection performance, and in order to achieve highly precise alignment of images acquired at different inspection angles and different polarization states, an inspection device is configured to comprise: an image acquiring unit that acquires image data, under a plurality of imaging conditions, for a sample; a feature extracting unit that extracts at least one feature point; a position correction calculating unit that calculates, on the basis of the feature point, the amount of position correction for the plurality of image data sets; a position correcting unit that corrects the position of the plurality of image data sets with the amount of position correction; and an integrating unit that detects defects by integrating a plurality of data sets for which position correction is done.

Abstract: The present invention is suppressing the elongating phenomenon in the dark field image of defects in detecting a minute defect by using a dark field microscope. Provided is a method for detecting defects in which scattered light generated from the sample, is concentrated to form an image and is captured and processed to extract a defect to find the positional information of the defect, and the positional information is output, wherein an image of the scattered light that suppresses the occurrence of the elongating phenomenon is formed for which partial shielding of a component of the forward scattered light, that passes through a region near the outer edge of the field of view of the objective lens, and the positional information for the defect is found from a luminance signal for a defect that is extracted from a captured scattered light image that suppresses the occurrence of the elongating phenomenon.

Abstract: To detect a bridge defect between lines of a line pattern formed on a sample at pitches narrower than the wavelength of inspection light, a defect inspection device is configured to comprise: a light source which emits laser; a vertical illumination unit which applies the laser to the sample from a vertical direction via an objective lens by converting the laser into linearly polarized light by using a polarization conversion unit in a state polarized in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the line pattern; an oblique illumination unit which applies the laser to the sample from an oblique direction; a detection optical unit including an optical filter which selectively transmits a scattered light component from the defect by converting the polarization state of the reflected/scattered light; and a signal processing unit which detects the defect on the sample by processing a detection signal.

Abstract: A defect-inspection device includes an irradiation unit having an objective-pupil-optical unit that allows illumination light linearly condensed by a first light-condensing unit to pass through, and an objective lens that allows the illumination light having passed through the objective-pupil-optical unit to pass through; an irradiation-position-control unit that controls a passing position of the illumination light in the objective-pupil-optical unit disposed at a pupil surface of the objective lens; a detection unit having a second light-condensing unit that condenses light irradiated by the irradiation unit and generated from a sample, a specular-reflection light-blocking unit that blocks specular-reflection light from the sample and light components generated near the pupil surface among the light beams condensed by the second light-condensing unit, and an image-forming unit that images the light that is condensed by the second light-condensing unit and is not blocked by the specular-reflection light-bloc

Abstract: When multiple kinds of bacterial colonies are present in a petri dish and, for example, a drug tolerance is to be measured, harvesting of mixed colonies of different types of bacteria makes it impossible to accurately determine the drug tolerance. Also, it is required to improve the throughput of a device for harvesting a bacterial colony. From images illuminated from multiple directions, isolating bacterial colonies are automatically extracted. Next, the image feature amounts are calculated from the multiple images that are illuminated from multiple directions and colonies are grouped depending on the feature amounts. Then, bacterial colonies to be harvested are determined based on the results of the grouping.

Abstract: Disclosed is a defect inspection device that has an illumination optical system; a detection optical system; and a processing unit which includes a defect feature quantity calculation unit that calculates the feature quantities of each defect candidate, a defect candidate grouping unit that groups the aforementioned defect candidates on the basis of the feature quantities, a defect classification evaluation value calculation unit that calculates defect classification evaluation values for the aforementioned defect candidates, a defect classification evaluation value updating unit that, on the basis of instructions, updates the evaluation values, a defect classification threshold determination unit that, on the basis of evaluation valued updated by the aforementioned defect classification evaluation value updating unit, determines a classification boundary that is a threshold for classifying defect types of the aforementioned defect candidates, and a defect detection unit that detects defects using the thresho

Abstract: To detect an infinitesimal defect, highly precisely measure the dimensions of the detect, a detect inspection device is configured to comprise: a irradiation unit which irradiate light in a linear region on a surface of a sample; a detection unit which detect light from the linear region; and a signal processing unit which processes a signal obtained by detecting light and detecting a defect. The detection unit includes: an optical assembly which diffuses the light from the sample in one direction and forms an image in a direction orthogonal to the one direction; and a detection assembly having an array sensor in which detection pixels are positioned two-dimensionally, which detects the light diffused in the one direction and imaged in the direction orthogonal to the one direction, adds output signals of each of the detection pixels aligned in the direction in which the light is diffused, and outputs same.

Abstract: A defect inspection device has: an illumination optical system which irradiates a predetermined region of an inspection target with illumination light; a detection optical system which has a detector provided with a plurality of pixels by which scattered light from the predetermined region of the inspection target due to illumination light from the illumination optical system can be detected; and a signal processing portion which is provided with a correction portion which corrects pixel displacement caused by change in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the inspection target with respect to a detection signal based on the scattered light detected by the detector of the detection optical system, and a defect determination portion which determines a defect on the surface of the inspection target based on the detection signal corrected by the correction portion.

Abstract: To enable the detection of a more minute defect with a defect detection device, the defect inspection device is provided with: an illumination light irradiating section that irradiates illumination light on a linear area of a specimen from an inclined direction; a detection optical system section provided with multiple detection optical systems that comprise objective lenses and two-dimensional detectors, said objective lenses being placed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the length direction of the linear area, being placed in a surface that contains a normal line to the specimen front surface, and condensing scattered light generated from the linear area on the specimen, and said two-dimensional detectors detecting the scattered light condensed by the objective lenses; and a signal processing section that processes a signal detected by the detection optical system section and detects the defect on the specimen.

Abstract: To prevent overlooking of a defect due to reduction in a defect signal, a defect inspection device is configured such that: light is irradiated onto an object to be inspected on which a pattern is formed; reflected, diffracted, and scattered light generated from the object by the irradiation of the light is collected, such that a first optical image resulting from the light passed through a first spatial filter having a first shading pattern is received by a first detector, whereby a first image is obtained; the reflected, diffracted, and scattered light generated from the object is collected, such that a second optical image resulting from the light passed through a second spatial filter having a second shading pattern is received by a second detector, whereby a second image is obtained; and the first and second images thus obtained are processed integrally to detect a defect candidate(s).

Abstract: A method of inspecting defects of a sample on a movable table includes a first step for, on a basis of position information of the defects which is previously detected by an other inspection system, driving the table so that the defects come into a viewing field of an optical microscope having a focus which is adjusted, a second step for re-detecting the defects to obtain a first detection result, a third step for correcting the position information of defects on a basis of position information of the re-detected defects, and a fourth step for reviewing the defects whose position information is corrected to obtain a second detection result. At the second step, re-detecting is performed using reflection light or scattered light from the sample which passes an optical filter which includes a light shielding portion and a light transmitting portion.

Abstract: A defect inspection apparatus includes: a seed light generator including a pulse signal generator that generates a pulse signal and a polarization modulator that outputs pulse light of any one of two polarization states orthogonal to each other in synchronization with the pulse signal output from the pulse signal generator; a wavelength converting unit including a branching mechanism that branches the pulse light output by the polarization modulator of the seed light generator using polarization and a converting unit that wavelength-converts the pulse light branched by the branching mechanism into beams of two different wavelengths, respectively; an illumination optical system that illuminates a surface of an inspected target material with the beams of the two different wavelengths converted by the wavelength converting unit; a detection optical system including a detecting unit that detects light generated by the beams of the two different wavelengths illuminated by the illumination optical system; and a sig

Abstract: An invention being applied is a defect detecting apparatus that has: an illuminating optical system with a laser light source for irradiating a sample on whose surface a pattern is formed with light; a detecting optical system with a sensor for detecting light generated from the sample illuminated by the illuminating optical system; and a signal processing unit that extracts a defect from an image based on the light detected by the detecting optical system, in which an amplification rate of the sensor is dynamically changed during a time when the light is detected by the detecting optical system.

Abstract: In order to enable inspections to be conducted at a sampling rate higher than the pulse oscillation frequency of a pulsed laser beam emitted from a laser light source, without damaging samples, a defect inspection method is disclosed, wherein: a single pulse of a pulsed laser beam emitted from the laser light source is split into a plurality of pulses; a sample is irradiated with this pulse-split pulsed laser beam; scattered light produced by the sample due to the irradiation is focused and detected; and defects on the sample are detected by using information obtained by focusing and detecting the scattered light from the sample. Said defect inspection method is configured such that the splitting a single pulse of the pulsed laser beam into a plurality of pulses is controlled in such a manner that the peak values of the split pulses are substantially uniform.

Abstract: To increase the illumination efficiency by facilitating the change of the incident angle of illumination light with a narrow illumination width according to an inspection object and enabling an illumination region to be effectively irradiated with light, provided is a defect inspection method for obliquely irradiating a sample mounted on a table that is moving continuously in one direction with illumination light, collecting scattered light from the sample obliquely irradiated with the illumination light, detecting an image of the surface of the sample formed by the scattered light, processing a signal obtained by detecting the image formed by the scattered light, and extracting a defect candidate, wherein the oblique irradiation of the light is implemented by linearly collecting light emitted from a light source, and obliquely projecting the collected light onto the surface of the sample, thereby illuminating a linear region on the surface of the sample.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an optical inspection apparatus that suppresses an influence of quantum noise and obtains superior defect detection performance even when an amount of light is small and a method thereof. In order to resolve the above problem, the present invention provides an optical inspection apparatus that includes a light source which radiates light to a sample; a light interference device which causes target light transmitted, scattered, or reflected from the sample and reference light to interfere with each other, such that strength of light after the interference becomes lower than strength of the target light; a photon counter which measures a photon number of the light after the interference by the light interference device; and a defect identifier which identifies the presence or absence of a defect, on the basis of a detected photon number obtained by the photon counter.

Abstract: The present invention is detection of a defect signal which is small enough to be buried in a background noise, by a method that includes detecting a defect on a specimen which is detected by another inspection device by using a detection device equipped with an optical microscope, amending positional information of the defect, observing the defect by using an SEM, wherein the detecting the defect is carried out such that forming stationary waves on the specimen by irradiating the specimen with two illumination lights having the same wavelength from the opposite directions on the same incidence plane at the same incidence angle and cause the two illuminating light to interfere; removing scattered components generated by minute irregularities on the specimen surface by a spatial filter, detecting an image formed by the scattered light not removed by the spatial filter; and processing the detected image to detect the defect.

Abstract: A defect inspection method includes: illuminating an area on surface of a specimen as a test object under a specified illumination condition; scanning a specimen to translate and rotate the specimen; detecting scattering lights to separate each of scattering lights scattered in different directions from the illuminated area on the specimen into pixels to be detected according to a scan direction at the scanning a specimen and a direction approximately orthogonal to the scan direction; and processing to perform an addition process on each of scattering lights that are detected at the step and scatter approximately in the same direction from approximately the same area of the specimen, determine presence or absence of a defect based on scattering light treated by the addition process, and compute a size of the determined defect using at least one of the scattering lights corresponding to the determined defect.

Abstract: Disclosed is a defect inspection device comprising: an illumination optical portion which illuminates an object to be inspected with illuminating light; a detection optical portion system illuminated by the illumination optical portion and provided with a plurality of detectors which respectively detects components of scattering light which scatter from the inspected object each in a different direction of azimuthal angle or in a different direction of angle of elevation with respect to a surface of the inspected object; and a signal processing portion which makes gain adjustments and defect decisions in parallel on plural signals based on the components of the scattering light from the inspected object detected by the detectors, respectively, the defect decisions being based on a threshold value decision, and which extracts defects based on results of the gain adjustments and of the defect decisions.