JP2009216648A - Method and apparatus for defect inspection - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a defect inspection method can improve inspection sensitivity to short circuits of a bottom part between wirings and detecting even short-circuits of patterns, miniaturized patterns, at a bottom part between a plurality of wirings arranged in parallel. <P>SOLUTION: The polarization (α)(an angle (α) from s-polarized light) of light irradiated to a sample of an object of defect detection is computed by substituting conditions of circuit patterns of the sample and an azimuth angle and an angle of incidence of irradiation light into a prescribed formula. The polarized light (α) is located between p-polarized light and s-polarized light. Light of computed polarization (α) is irradiated to the sample to inspect defects. It is thereby possible to improve inspection sensitivity to short-circuits of a bottom part between wirings and provide the defect inspection method detect even short-circuits of patterns, miniaturized patterns, at a bottom part between a plurality of wirings arranged in parallel. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a defect inspection method and a defect inspection apparatus for detecting defects such as foreign matter and pattern deformation in manufacturing processes of semiconductor elements, liquid crystal display elements, printed boards and the like.

  In a semiconductor manufacturing process, if foreign matter is present on a semiconductor substrate (wafer), it may cause defects such as wiring insulation failure or short circuit. Further, when a fine foreign matter exists in the semiconductor substrate as the pattern on the semiconductor element is miniaturized, the foreign matter causes a defective insulation of the capacitor or a breakdown of the gate oxide film.

  Similarly, in the liquid crystal display element manufacturing process, if a foreign substance is mixed on the pattern or some defect occurs in the shape of the pattern, the liquid crystal display element cannot be used as a display element. The situation is the same in the manufacturing process of the printed circuit board, and the inclusion of foreign matter causes a short circuit of the pattern and a defective connection.

  As a conventional technique for detecting foreign matter on a substrate, there is a technique described in Patent Document 1. This technique detects the scattered light from the foreign matter generated when the semiconductor substrate is irradiated with the s-polarized laser and the foreign matter adheres to the semiconductor substrate, and the inspection result of the same kind semiconductor substrate inspected immediately before By comparing, there is one that eliminates false information due to patterns and enables highly sensitive and highly reliable foreign matter and defect inspection.

  In addition, as a technique for inspecting the above foreign matter, a method is known in which coherent light is irradiated on a wafer and light emitted from a repetitive pattern on the wafer is removed by a spatial filter to emphasize and detect foreign matter and defects that do not have repeatability. It has been.

  The circuit pattern formed on the wafer is irradiated with illumination light from a direction inclined by 45 degrees with respect to the main line group of the circuit pattern, and diffracted light from the main line group is detected by the detection optical system. Patent Document 2 discloses a foreign matter inspection apparatus that prevents entry into an aperture of an objective lens. This Patent Document 2 also describes that other straight line groups that are not the main straight line group are shielded by a spatial filter.

  Further, Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4 describe a method of reducing the noise component in the image by reducing the coherence of the illumination light and improving the inspection sensitivity in the non-repetitive pattern portion.

  Furthermore, the technique described in Patent Document 5 is known as a conventional technique related to a defect inspection apparatus and method for foreign matters and the like.

JP-A-62-89336 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-117024 JP-A-8-210989 JP 2005-337851 A JP 2000-105203 A

  In the manufacturing process of semiconductors and liquid crystal display elements, defects due to pattern shape defects such as shorts and disconnections have become more important with the miniaturization of patterns.

  However, in the prior art, it has been difficult to detect a pattern short at the bottom between a plurality of wirings arranged in parallel. That is, a conventionally used s-polarized illumination and a method of irradiating from a direction inclined 45 degrees with respect to the main straight line group described in Patent Document 2 so that the diffracted light does not enter the detection optical system. Even in combination, it is difficult to detect the pattern short circuit.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to improve the inspection sensitivity with respect to a short circuit at the bottom between wirings, and to have a miniaturized pattern. And realizing the device.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

  In a defect detection method and apparatus for irradiating a specimen to be inspected with illumination light from a direction inclined by a predetermined angle, detecting reflected light with a detection optical system, and detecting a foreign matter or a pattern defect of the specimen to be inspected. Based on a predetermined incident angle, the polarized light with the largest scattered / reflected light from the sample to be inspected or from the pattern defect is calculated in the direction between p-polarized light and s-polarized light, and the calculated polarization state Is irradiated onto the sample to be inspected.

  Further, in a defect inspection method and apparatus for irradiating a sample to be inspected with coherent light from a light source, detecting scattered reflected light, processing the obtained image, and detecting foreign matter or pattern defects in the sample to be inspected Then, the linearly polarized light or the elliptically polarized light output from the coherent light source is irradiated to the sample to be inspected with light having different polarization states through an element that disturbs the polarization state.

  Moreover, the defect which collects the output light from a coherent light source, irradiates to a test object sample, detects scattered reflected light, processes the obtained image, and detects the foreign material or pattern defect of the said test object sample In the inspection method and apparatus, linearly polarized light or elliptically polarized light output from a coherent light source is allowed to pass through an element that gives different optical path lengths to a plurality of slit-like regions on which the light is incident, and the passed light is spatially transmitted. In general, it is divided into two groups, one polarization state is converted into a polarization state orthogonal to the other polarization state, and the sample to be inspected is irradiated.

  According to the present invention, a defect inspection method that improves the inspection sensitivity with respect to a short circuit at the bottom between wirings, is a miniaturized pattern, and can detect even a pattern short at the bottom part between a plurality of wirings arranged in parallel. And its apparatus can be realized.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is an overall schematic configuration diagram of a defect inspection apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, a sample 10 (semiconductor wafer, display element, printed circuit board, etc.) that is an inspection object is mounted on a stage 150. The stage 150 is configured by a combination of, for example, an XY stage, a Z stage, and a (theta) stage.

  What can scan the sample 10 in the XY plane is used so that the entire surface of the sample 10 can be inspected by the inspection optical systems 40 and 50 installed above the stage 150. The sample 10 is illuminated with illumination light 20 emitted from an illumination optical system 30 (including a light source). Of the scattered and reflected light from the pattern on the sample 10 and defects such as foreign matter, the light incident on the inspection optical systems 40 and 50 installed above the sample 10 is guided to the sensors 60 and 70 and subjected to photoelectric conversion. The image signal is sent to the image processing unit 160 as an image signal.

  As the inspection optical systems 40 and 50, those equipped with an analyzer may be used. As the sensors 60 and 70, linear CCD sensors, TDI sensors, or the like are used. In the image processing unit 160, the sent image signal is imaged, images from the same adjacent pattern are compared, and a defect is detected from the obtained difference.

  The defect inspection apparatus has an automatic focusing (AF) system. The AF system includes an illumination system 100, a light receiving system 110, and an AF sensor 120, and detects fluctuations in the sample height (out of focus) so that images obtained by the sensors 60 and 70 are not blurred when the sample is scanned. Feedback to the mechanism control system 170.

  The operation unit 180 commands the control content of the mechanism control unit, the image processing content of the image processing unit 160, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the illumination optical system 30 in the defect inspection apparatus shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the light emitted from the light source 200 reaches the illumination region 25 on the sample 10 through the polarization adjusting unit 210, the beam expander 220, the condenser lens 230, and the elevation angle switching mirror 240. As the light source 200, for example, a laser that emits light in a linearly polarized state is used. The polarization adjustment unit 210 includes, for example, a half-wave plate 213, a quarter-wave plate 215, and their rotational drive mechanisms. The operation of the light source 200, the polarization adjusting unit 210, the beam expander 220, the condenser lens 230, and the elevation angle switching mirror 240 is controlled by the mechanism control unit 170.

  In the illumination optical system 30 having the above-described configuration, the polarization direction of the linearly polarized light emitted from the light source 200 is adjusted to the direction and pitch of the pattern on the sample 10 and the illumination elevation angle (or incident angle) of the illumination light 20 to be s-polarized light or p-polarized light. Set in the direction deviated from. Further, depending on the characteristics of the sample, the polarized light of illumination can be elliptically polarized light.

  The light whose polarization state is adjusted by the polarization adjusting unit 210 is spread to a necessary size by the beam expander 220 and is irradiated to the condenser lens 230. A cylindrical lens is used as the condenser lens 230. The light passing through the cylindrical lens (condensing lens 230) is irradiated on the surface of the sample 10 after the elevation angle switching mirror 240 adjusts the illumination elevation angle (or incident angle) to a predetermined angle. The irradiation area 25 is linear.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a setting example of the polarization direction of the beam irradiated on the sample 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 3, the surface of the sample 10 is the xy plane, and the normal direction of the surface of the sample 10 is the z direction. The illumination area 25 is an area on a straight line along the y axis, and the origin is at the center thereof. Assuming that the incident azimuth angle of the illumination projected on the xy plane is (Phi), the illumination incident angle is (Theta) (therefore, the elevation angle is 90- (Theta)), and the illumination light (axis) is 20, the illumination light 20 The p-polarization direction and the s-polarization direction are the directions shown in FIG. In the first embodiment of the present invention, illumination light having a polarization vector in a direction rotated (alpha) degrees from the s-polarized light direction is used as a reference.

  A polarization vector in the azimuth (alpha) degree direction is a vector, a unit vector in the s polarization direction is s vector, and a unit vector in the p polarization direction is p vector. The a vector can be expressed by the following equation (1).

  When the unit vector in the traveling direction of the illumination light 20 is an r vector, the r vector can be expressed by the following equation (2).

  The s vector can be expressed by the following equation (3), and the p vector can be expressed by the following equation (4).

  Therefore, the a vector (ax, ay, az) can be expressed by the following equations (5) to (7).

  The amplitude component of the electric field of light incident on the surface of the sample 10 when linearly polarized light with an azimuth (alpha) degree is used as the illumination light 20 was calculated according to the above calculation formulas (5) to (7) that are polarization state calculation formulas. An example is shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the incident azimuth angle (phi) of the illumination light 20 projected on the xy plane is 45 degrees, and the incidence angle of the illumination light 20 is (theta) = 60 degrees (the elevation angle is therefore 30 degrees). This is an example of the case.

  In FIG. 4, the vertical axis represents the vector amplitude, and the horizontal axis represents the angle ((alpha)) formed with respect to the s-polarized light. The dotted line indicates the x-direction component of the electric field, the one-dot chain line indicates the y-direction component of the electric field, the two-dot chain line indicates the z-direction component of the electric field, the solid line indicates the yz plane of the electric field, and the broken line indicates the xz-plane vector of the electric field.

  As shown in FIG. 4, it can be seen that the breakdown of each of the x, y, and z components of the electric field varies greatly depending on the value of the angle (alpha). The z component of the electric field is the minimum in the case of s-polarized light and the maximum in the case of p-polarized light. The x component and the y component are the conditions between the s-polarized light and the p-polarized light, that is, the above formula (5) or formula ( From (6), it becomes the minimum under the condition of (alpha) = − (beta) or (alpha) = − (beta) ′. Further, the maximum is shown under the condition of (alpha) = − (beta) +90 degrees or (alpha) = − (beta) ′ + 90 degrees.

  Therefore, from the relationship with the pattern on the sample 10, there is a possibility that an optimum polarization condition for defect detection exists between the s-polarized light and the p-polarized light.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a simulation result of an effect on detection of a short defect by linearly polarized illumination having an azimuth (alpha) degree.

  5A shows a pattern and a model of a defect on the sample 10, and FIG. 5B shows scattered light from a defect used by simulation for the model shown in FIG. 5A. The figure which looked at the distribution of from right above is shown.

  The defect model used in this example is the groove bottom of a 100 nm line and space tungsten wiring (thickness 200 nm) formed further above an oxide film (thickness 210 nm) formed on a silicon substrate. It is a short part. The width of the short part was 50 nm and the height was 40 nm.

  FIG. 5B shows the scattering distribution when the defect model is irradiated with illumination light having an incident angle (theta) = 60 degrees (accordingly, an elevation angle of 30 degrees) and a wavelength of 355 nm from the azimuth angle of 45 degrees. is there. This scattering distribution is normalized by each peak intensity level, and the peak intensity level is shown in the bottom column.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, when (alpha) = 63 degrees, the scattered light level (peak intensity level 0) is about 30% higher than that of p-polarized light (peak intensity level 0.21). .27) is obtained.

  As described above, this corresponds to the condition that the y component of the electric field in the result obtained by the calculation formula in FIG. 4 becomes zero, that is, the electric field exists in the xz plane.

  As described above, it is understood that the short defect can be detected with higher sensitivity by selecting an appropriate value of the azimuth (alpha) degree.

  Actually, the rotation angle (alpha) suitable for detecting a short circuit in the circuit pattern on the sample is the direction of the main line group of the circuit pattern on the sample, the cycle of the line group, the illumination light 20 Since it depends on the azimuth angle (phi), the incident angle (theta), etc., it is necessary to set according to these conditions and using the calculation formulas (1) to (7).

  Formulas (1) to (7) are stored in the storage unit of the mechanism control unit 170, and necessary conditions are input from the operation unit 180 to the mechanism control unit 170. The mechanism control unit executes the calculation formulas (1) to (7) according to the input conditions, and controls the illumination optical system 30 so that the obtained angle (alpha) is obtained.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the polarization (alpha) (angle (alpha) from the s-polarized light) of the light irradiating the sample that is the target for defect detection is changed to the sample 10. The circuit pattern conditions, the azimuth angle and the incident angle of the irradiation light are substituted into predetermined calculation formulas (5) to (7). Polarization (alpha) is between p-polarization and s-polarization. The sample 10 is irradiated with the calculated polarized light (alpha) and the defect is inspected. As a result, the inspection sensitivity for the short-circuiting at the bottom between the wirings is improved, the pattern is miniaturized, and a defect inspection method and apparatus capable of detecting even a pattern short at the bottom between a plurality of wirings arranged in parallel Can be realized.

  In the first embodiment of the present invention described above, the case where linearly polarized light is used as illumination light and the (alpha) degree azimuth is rotated from the s polarized light is shown as an example. A phase difference may be given between the s-polarization direction component and the p-polarization direction component, and as a result, the polarized light to be illuminated may be elliptically polarized light. By doing so, it may be possible to reduce the habit of diffracted light from the pattern and to easily detect defects.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of the illumination optical system 30 of the defect inspection apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Since the entire configuration of the defect inspection apparatus is the same as the example shown in FIG. 1, illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  In FIG. 6, the linearly polarized light or elliptically polarized illumination light beam (coherent light) emitted from the light source 300 passes through the depolarizer 310, is expanded by the beam expander 320, and enters the multi-stage glass block 330. The light that has passed through the multi-stage glass block 330 is condensed on a straight line by the cylindrical lens 340 and reaches the illumination area 25 on the surface of the sample 10.

  As the depolarizer 310, for example, a birefringent substrate such as quartz processed into a wedge shape, or a wedge-shaped transparent substrate without birefringence bonded thereto is used.

  By making the phase difference given to the polarization components in two orthogonal directions different depending on the position where the light beam is transmitted, the polarization state of the entire transmitted beam is changed to a mixed state of various polarization states (disturbing polarization or It is possible to cancel the polarization state).

  In the second embodiment of the present invention, the beam having a different polarization state depending on the location in the beam is expanded and further passed through the multi-stage glass block 330, thereby giving a different optical path difference depending on the location. The multi-stage glass block 330 is an array of glass blocks having different lengths, and gives an optical path difference exceeding the coherence distance between adjacent blocks. By doing in this way, the light which passed through the multistage glass block 330 does not interfere with each other depending on the location, and becomes a beam group on a slit having a different polarization state. This is condensed by a cylindrical lens 340 and irradiated onto the surface of the sample 10.

  By using such illumination light, the images obtained by the sensors 60 and 70 via the inspection optical systems 40 and 50 (shown in FIG. 1) are reproducible due to the effect of wrinkle averaging depending on the polarization. Even in a low pattern portion, the tone characteristic is smoother. Therefore, the noise component of the image is reduced, and the defect detection sensitivity can be increased.

  That is, also in the second embodiment of the present invention, the inspection sensitivity with respect to the short-circuit between the bottoms of the wirings is improved and the pattern is miniaturized. It is possible to realize a defect inspection method and apparatus capable of detecting the defect.

  In other words, in the conventional technique, in the inspection of the pattern portion having low repeatability, a method of superimposing illumination light with reduced optical path difference and reduced coherence at different incident angles was used, but a sufficient noise reduction effect was obtained. I couldn't.

  On the other hand, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, a polarization dependency reduction effect is also added, and a sufficient noise reduction effect can be obtained.

  In addition, although the example which combined the depolarizer 310 and the multistage glass block 330 was shown in 2nd Embodiment of this invention, the multistage glass block 330 is not necessarily required. When the multi-stage glass block 330 is omitted, the coherence reduction effect cannot be obtained, but since the polarization dependence averaging effect can be obtained, the defect detection sensitivity can be increased.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of the illumination optical system 30 of the defect inspection apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Since the entire configuration of the defect inspection apparatus is the same as the example shown in FIG. 1, illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  In the third embodiment of the present invention, the linearly polarized light or elliptically polarized illumination light beam emitted from the light source 300 passes through the half-wave plate 350 and is then expanded by the beam expander 320, so that the aperture is approximately equal to the aperture. It passes through a half-wave plate 360 provided in a half region. The light that has passed through the half-wave plate 360 enters the multi-stage glass block 370. The light that has passed through the multi-stage glass block 370 is condensed on a straight line by the cylindrical lens 340 and reaches the illumination area 25 on the surface of the sample 10.

  In the third embodiment of the present invention, the multi-stage glass block 370 has a substantially target shape with respect to the optical axis of the illumination light, and the polarization state of the light incident on the half area of the multi-stage glass block 370 is the remaining half area. A half-wave plate 360 is provided so as to be in a state perpendicular to the polarized light incident on.

  For example, when linearly polarized light is emitted from the light source 300, as shown in FIG. 7B, the upper half of the multistage glass block 370 corresponding to the region where the half-wave plate 360 is disposed. It is possible to set so that the illumination light from the region is p-polarized light and the illumination light from the lower half region is s-polarized light.

  The inspection performed by irradiating the sample surface with illumination light mixed with p-polarized light and s-polarized light reduces the polarization dependency of the appearance of the pattern on the sample 10 and improves the sensitivity of defect inspection by reducing image noise. Is possible.

  That is, even in the third embodiment of the present invention, the inspection sensitivity to the short-circuit between the bottoms of the wirings is improved and the pattern is miniaturized, and the pattern shorts are formed at the bottoms between the plurality of wirings arranged in parallel. It is possible to realize a defect inspection method and apparatus capable of detecting the defect.

  In the state shown in the figure, by rotating the polarized light by 90 degrees by the half-wave plate 350, the upper half can be switched to s-polarized light and the lower half can be switched to p-polarized light. In addition, it is possible to further reduce image noise.

  Furthermore, in the third embodiment of the present invention, similarly to the second embodiment, it is possible to reduce the image noise of the pattern portion having low repeatability and improve the defect detection sensitivity.

  Although not shown, by adding a quarter-wave plate after the half-wave plate 350, a combination of clockwise circular polarization and counter-clockwise circular polarization is possible. Even with a combination of these polarizations that are mathematically orthogonal, a similar effect of reducing noise in the inspection image can be expected.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of the illumination optical system 30 of the defect inspection apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. Since the entire configuration of the defect inspection apparatus is the same as the example shown in FIG. 1, illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the beam of linearly polarized light or elliptically polarized illumination light emitted from the light source 300 passes through the half-wave plate 350 and is then expanded by the beam expander 320, and is then multistage glass block. 330 is incident. A half-wave plate 360 is installed in the incident side opening of the multi-stage glass block 330 every other block. The light that has passed through the multistage glass block 330 is condensed on a straight line by the cylindrical lens 340 and reaches the illumination area 25 on the surface of the sample 10.

  In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the light emitted from the openings on the slits adjacent to each other in the multi-stage glass block 330 has a polarization state that is orthogonal to each other. For example, when linearly polarized light is emitted from the light source 300, the illumination light from every other region of the multi-stage glass block 330 is p-polarized light and the illumination light from the remaining regions in FIG. Can be set to be s-polarized light.

  By inspection with illumination in which p-polarized light and s-polarized light are mixed, it is possible to improve the sensitivity of defect inspection by reducing the polarization dependency of the appearance of the pattern and reducing the noise of the image.

  In this state, the polarized light can be rotated 90 degrees by the half-wave plate 350 to switch between s-polarized light and p-polarized light. It is also possible to reduce noise.

  Also in the third embodiment of the present invention, the inspection sensitivity to the short circuit between the wirings is improved, and the pattern is miniaturized, and even a pattern short circuit at the bottom part between a plurality of parallel wirings is detected. A possible defect inspection method and apparatus can be realized.

  Furthermore, in the third embodiment of the present invention, similarly to the second embodiment, it is possible to reduce the image noise of the pattern portion having low repeatability and improve the defect detection sensitivity.

1 is an overall schematic configuration diagram of a defect inspection apparatus to which the present invention is applied. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the illumination optical system of the defect inspection apparatus in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a setting of the polarization direction of the beam irradiated to the sample in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a calculation result by the polarization setting of the illumination light in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the simulation result of the effect with respect to the short defect detection of the linearly polarized illumination of an azimuth | direction (alpha) degree in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the illumination optical system 30 of the defect inspection apparatus in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the illumination optical system 30 of the defect inspection apparatus in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the illumination optical system 30 of the defect inspection apparatus in the 4th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Test object (sample, substrate, wafer), 20 ... Illumination light, 30 ... Illumination optical system, 40, 50 ... Inspection optical system, 60, 70 ... Sensor, 100 ..Illumination system, 150 ... stage, 160 ... image processing unit, 170 ... mechanism control system, 180 ... operation unit, 200, 300 ... light source, 210 ... polarization adjustment unit, 213, 350, 360 ... half-wave plate, 215 ... quarter-wave plate, 220, 320 ... beam expander, 230 ... condensing lens, 240 ... elevation angle switching Mirror, 310 ... Depolarizer, 330, 370 ... Multi-stage glass block, 340 ... Cylindrical lens

Claims (9)

A direction inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to the main straight line group of the circuit pattern so that the diffracted light from the main straight line group of the circuit pattern formed on the specimen to be inspected does not enter the opening of the detection optical system. In the defect detection method of irradiating the inspection target sample with illumination light, detecting scattered and reflected light from the inspection target sample surface with a detection optical system, and detecting foreign matter or pattern defects in the inspection target sample.
Based on the predetermined incident angle of the illumination light, the polarized light having the largest scattered reflected light from the foreign matter or pattern defect of the sample to be inspected and having the azimuth between p-polarized light and s-polarized light is calculated. And irradiating the sample to be inspected with the illumination light having the calculated polarization state.   2. The defect detection method according to claim 1, wherein an azimuth angle and an incident angle of the illumination light with respect to the sample surface to be inspected are substituted into a polarization state calculation formula, and polarized light having an azimuth between the p-polarized light and the s-polarized light. The defect inspection method characterized by calculating. A test target sample on which a circuit pattern is formed is irradiated with coherent light from a light source, scattered / reflected light from the test target sample is detected, and the obtained image is processed to obtain a foreign object or pattern of the test target sample. In the defect inspection method for detecting defects,
A defect inspection method, wherein linearly polarized light or elliptically polarized light output from the coherent light source is irradiated onto the inspection target sample with light having different polarization states through an element that disturbs the polarization state. Defect inspection method for collecting the output light from the coherent light source, irradiating the sample to be inspected, detecting scattered reflected light, processing the obtained image, and detecting foreign matter or pattern defects in the sample to be inspected In
Linearly polarized light or elliptically polarized light output from a coherent light source is passed through an element that gives different optical path lengths to a plurality of slit-like regions where the light is incident, and the passed light is spatially divided into two groups. A defect inspection method comprising: dividing one polarization state into a polarization state orthogonal to the other polarization state and irradiating the sample to be inspected. A direction inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to the main straight line group of the circuit pattern so that the diffracted light from the main straight line group of the circuit pattern formed on the specimen to be inspected does not enter the opening of the detection optical system. A defect detection apparatus for irradiating the inspection target sample from the illumination optical system and detecting the scattered reflected light from the inspection target sample surface by a detection optical system to detect foreign matter or pattern defects in the inspection target sample In
A control unit that controls the polarization state of the light output from the illumination optical system, and the polarization that causes the maximum reflected light from the sample to be inspected or from a pattern defect based on a predetermined incident angle of the illumination light. A defect inspection apparatus comprising: the control unit that calculates polarization in an azimuth between p-polarized light and s-polarized light and irradiates the inspection target sample with illumination light having the calculated polarization state.   6. The defect detection apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the control unit substitutes an azimuth angle and an incident angle of the illumination light with respect to the sample surface to be inspected into a polarization state calculation formula to calculate the p-polarized light and the s-polarized light. A defect inspection apparatus, characterized in that it calculates polarization between the directions. A coherent light source, a means for irradiating the inspection target sample on which the circuit pattern is formed with coherent light from the coherent light source, a detection means for detecting scattered reflected light from the inspection target sample, and the detection means In a defect inspection apparatus that has an image processing unit that processes an image and detects a foreign matter or a pattern defect of the inspection target sample,
The means for irradiating the sample to be inspected with the coherent light has an element that disturbs the polarization state of linearly polarized light or elliptically polarized light output from the coherent light source, and the sample to be inspected having different polarization states. A defect inspection apparatus characterized by irradiating a laser beam.   8. The defect inspection apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the element that disturbs the polarization state is a single plate of a crystal wedge plate having birefringence, or an element in which a wedge plate made of a material having low birefringence is laminated. A defect inspection apparatus characterized by that. A coherent light source, a means for irradiating the inspection target sample on which the circuit pattern is formed with coherent light from the coherent light source, a detection means for detecting scattered reflected light from the inspection target sample, and the detection means In a defect inspection apparatus that has an image processing unit that processes an image and detects a foreign matter or a pattern defect of the inspection target sample,
The means for irradiating the sample to be inspected with the coherent light gives linearly or elliptically polarized light output from a coherent light source to different slit length regions where light enters, and spatially A defect inspection apparatus comprising means for dividing into two groups and converting one polarization state into a polarization state orthogonal to the other polarization state.

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