System and method for detecting defects in a semiconductor during manufacturing thereof

A system for detecting a defect of a semiconductor in a semiconductor manufacturing process, comprising:

• a circuit design data storage unit for storing circuit design data;
• a layout design data storage unit for storing layout design data on a pattern;
• a timing analyzer for reading the circuit design data from the circuit design data storage unit, and extracting a critical path on a circuit in which a high accuracy is required for a signal transmission operation as compared with other portions;
• a critical path extractor for comparing the circuit design data read from the circuit design data storage unit with the layout design data read from the layout design data storage unit, and extracting graphical data including the critical path extracted by the timing analyzer;
• a critical path storage unit for storing the graphical data including the critical path extracted by the critical path extractor;
• an inspection recipe creator for deciding a to-be-inspected portion by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) defect review apparatus for acquiring an image of the defect on a wafer, based on coordinate information on the graphical data stored in the critical path storage unit and on coordinate information of a defect and creating a recipe based on the to-be-inspected portion.