INSPECTION METHOD AND INSPECTION APPARATUS

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inspection method and inspection apparatus capable of clarifying a defect detected with elastic scattered light and composition of an inspecting object plane, or a defect on the surface of an inspecting object and composition inside the inspecting object by improving the S/N ratio by removing the inelastic scattered light from received scattered light, stably detecting a foreign substance or a defect, and selecting inelastic scattered light. SOLUTION: In this surface inspection method, the elastic scattered light and inelastic scattered light from the surface of the inspecting object are optically, independently or simultaneously detected, the existence of the defect of the inspecting object and the feature of the defect are detected, the location of the detected defect on the surface of the inspecting object is detected, the detected defect is classified according to the feature, and the defect is analyzed by inelastic scattered light detection based on the location of the defect, the feature of the defect, or the classifying result of the defect. COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT