| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus wherein a specimen on which a sample pattern is repeated can be inspected with high accuracy even when a pattern arrangement is asymmetric and even when a large memory capacity is not available. SOLUTION: When an inspection image obtained by imaging the specimen is processed so as to inspect a pattern defect, an isolated region whose luminance is different from that of a background is extracted. Regarding each isolated region, an area which uses a pixel as a unit and its center of gravity are calculated. The area of an isolated region to be noticed is compared with the area of an isolated region in the neighborhood. When the difference in an area between two or more isolated regions exceeds a reference area, it is judged that a defect exists. Inversely, when the area difference is less than the reference area, the minimum number of times of processing operations in which the reference area disappears when a contraction processing operation is performed by using the pixel as the unit is used as the reference number of times. An original image in the isolated region to be noticed, an opening image which is contracted in the same number of times after the original image has been expanded in the reference number of times and a closing image which is expanded in the same number of times after the original image has been expanded in the same number of times are compared respectively. When there exists a difference, it is determined that a very small defect exists. |
