Reference image forming apparatus, pattern inspection apparatus, and reference image forming method, and reticle

摘要

A method and apparatus for forming an appropriate reference image in inspection of a pattern of an object to be inspected depending on characteristics of the pattern are disclosed. A reference image forming apparatus includes an optical image acquisition unit which acquires an optical image of an object to be inspected, a conversion parameter determining unit which uses feature data based on the characteristic of the pattern of the image of the object to be inspected to calculate a conversion parameter from the optical image and design data of the object to be inspected, and a reference image creation unit which performs arithmetic processing to the conversion parameter and the design data to form a reference image.