The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 05, 1999
Filed:
Oct. 21, 1997
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A method and apparatus for inspecting a surface state are used to examine first and second surfaces, e.g., two surfaces of a glass substrate on which a device pattern is formed, or one surface of a glass substrate and a pellicle for preventing attachment of foreign particles. When the first surface is illuminated from the first surface side while the second surface is illuminated from the second surface side, the first and second surfaces are illuminated with polarized light beams polarized in directions orthogonal to each other, respectively, and reflectively scattered light from the first surface is detected through an analyzer which intercepts the same polarized light as the polarized light illuminating the second surface. The S/N ratio of examination of the first surface is thereby improved.