Defect inspection device and defect inspection method

A defect inspection apparatus, comprising:

• an illumination optical system configured to illuminate a specimen with a plurality of linear shaped beams, at almost the same time, wherein the plurality of linear shaped beams differ from each other in terms of polarization components, and in terms of positions on the specimen;
• an imaging optical system configured to generate an image resulting from light reflected and scattered from defects existing on the specimen, in response to illumination by the plurality of linear shaped beams from the illumination optical system, and;
• a spatial filter disposed in the imaging optical system, and configured to shield diffracted light generated from a repetitive pattern formed on the specimen;
• a detector configured to detect signals by receiving a light image generated by the imaging optical system and obtained through the spatial filter;
• a defect determining unit configured to process the signals detected by the detector in order to determine defects on the specimen;
• and
• a classification and sizing processing unit configured to classify defects determined in the defect determining unit and configured to calculate a size of each defect,
• wherein the detector includes a plurality of linear sensor arrays, each of which includes a CMOS type image sensor having plural pixel units that can process the detected signals in each of the pixel units, and placed at a position where each of the plurality of images resulting from light reflected and scattered from defects have a plurality of polarization components different from each other,
• wherein the images correspond to the areas on the specimen illuminated by the plurality of linear shaped beams, and
• wherein each of the linear sensor arrays receives an image different from the others in polarization state.

A defect inspection method, comprising the steps of:

• illuminating a plurality of linear shaped beams from an illumination optical system, the beams having different polarization components, onto positions different from each other on a specimen, at almost the same time;
• generating images, resulting from light reflected and scattered from defects existing on the specimen, the light being originally the linear shaped beams from the illumination optical system;
• using a a spatial filter to shield diffracted light generated from a repetitive pattern formed on the specimen;
• receiving images by a detector, said image being obtained through the spatial filter and imaged on a detector at the imaging step, the detector including a plurality of linear sensor arrays, each of which is placed at a position where each of the plurality of light images have a plurality of polarization components different from each other, and the images correspond to the areas on the specimen illuminated by the plurality of linear shaped beams;
• detecting signals by use of the detector;
• processing the signals detected by the detector during the detecting step, and determining defects on the specimen;
• and
• classifying the defects determined during the defect determining step and calculating the size of the defects.