Pattern inspection method and pattern inspection device

A pattern inspection device comprising:

• a scanning means which scans the inspected pattern formed on the substrate according to the design data with the laser beam and receives the light passing through said substrate with the light receiving device,
• a photoelectric image processing means which generates the image of the inspected pattern from the pattern information obtained by the light receiving device in said scanning means,
• a reference image generation means which generates the reference image with correcting said reference data so that the positions of the image of said inspected pattern and the reference data obtained by imaging of said design data coincide,
• a comparison means which compares the image of said inspected pattern and the reference image to detect any defect in the inspected pattern, and
• an edge position detection means which determines the edge boundary condition showing the gray level corresponding to the pattern edge position through convolution operation of the optical point spread function corresponding to the laser beam strength and the image of said inspected pattern and detects the edge position of the inspected pattern by the unit of sub-pixels according to said edge boundary condition.

A pattern inspection device comprising:

• a scanning means which scans the inspected pattern formed on the substrate according to the design data with the laser beam and receives the light passing through said substrate with the light receiving device,
• a photoelectric image processing means which generates the image of the inspected pattern from the pattern information obtained by the light receiving device in said scanning means,
• a reference image generation means which generates the reference image with correcting said reference data so that the positions of the image of said inspected pattern and the reference data obtained by imaging of said design data coincide,
• a comparison means which compares the image of said inspected pattern and the reference image to detect any defect in the inspected pattern, and
• a pattern width calculation means which provides each pixel with sub-pixels dividing the pixel into a matrix and calculates the gray level of each pixel based on the number of sub-pixels belonging to the pattern developed in each pixel and, with treating the count obtained by dividing this gray level by the gray level step count as the width of the pattern developed in the pixel, calculates the pattern width of said inspected pattern and the pattern width of the reference data at the corresponding position respectively.

A computer readable memory storing a pattern inspection program which, by controlling the computer, scans the inspected pattern formed on the substrate according to the design data with the laser beam and receives the light passing through said substrate with the light receiving device and generates the image of the inspected pattern according to the pattern information received by the light receiving device and, for coincidence of this image and the reference data position obtained by imaging of said design data, corrects said reference data to generate the reference image and compares the image of the inspected pattern and the reference image to detect any defect in the inspected pattern wherein

• said pattern inspection program executes,
• in said reference image generation process,
• determination of the edge boundary condition showing the gray level corresponding to the pattern edge position by convolution operation of the optical point spread function corresponding to the laser beam strength and the image of said inspected pattern and
• detection of the edge position of said inspected pattern by the unit of sub-pixels according to said edge boundary condition.

A computer readable memory storing a pattern inspection program which, by controlling the computer, scans the inspected pattern formed on the substrate according to the design data using the laser beam, receives the light passing from said substrate with the light receiving device, generates the image of the inspected pattern based on the pattern information obtained by the light receiving device and, for position coincidence between this image and the reference data obtained by imaging of said design data, corrects said reference data and generates the reference image, and compares the image of said inspected pattern and the reference image to detect defects of the inspected pattern wherein

• said pattern inspection program executes,
• in said reference image generation,
• provision of sub-pixels dividing the pixel as a matrix to each pixel and calculation of the gray level for each pixel based on the number of sub-pixels belonging to the pattern developed in each pixel an
• calculation of the pattern width of said inspected pattern and the pattern width of the reference data at the corresponding position respectively with treating the count obtained by dividing said gray level by the gray level step count as the width of the pattern developed in the pixel.