Pattern inspection method and apparatus

摘要

An actual pattern image including an auxiliary pattern in a periphery of a pattern of an object to be inspected is recognized. The image of the auxiliary pattern is deleted from the recognized image and an auxiliary-pattern-image-deleted recognized image is produced. An inspection image to be used for inspection is produced from design data from which the auxiliary pattern is removed. The auxiliary-pattern-image-deleted recognized image is compared with the inspection image.