DEVICE FOR DETERMINING AREA OF INTEREST, DEFECT DETECTOR, METHOD FOR DETERMINING AREA OF INTEREST AND METHOD FOR DETECTING DEFECT

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily determine an area of interest.SOLUTION: A plurality of object area images are acquired by dividing an object image indicating a pattern on a substrate in an object image division unit 611. An evaluation value indicating the difference between an object area image after movement when respective object area images are moved respectively to a plurality of positions which are aligned two dimensionally from former positions in the object image and an area in the object image superposed to that is acquired and an evaluation value image respectively applying the evaluation values to a plurality of positions is acquired in an evaluation value image acquiring unit 612. Whether or not areas indicated by respective object area images are areas of interest when finding a relative movement amount in which the difference between the two images becomes the smallest is determined based on existence of a local recess in the variation in the evaluation value respectively along a plurality of paths expanding radially from a central position in the evaluation value image, the size of inclination in the vicinity of the central position in the variation of the evaluation value or the variation in the evaluation value in a plurality of peripheral position in the plurality of paths in an area of interest determination section 613.