Inspection equipment and inspection method

Abstract

The purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a technology which enables, in a step for analyzing a defect of an element, identification of the position of the defect even in a case where the defect is thin or there is an influence of contamination. An inspection device according to the present disclosure irradiates a first region including a defect of a sample with a low-energy first electron beam and then generates a second electron beam image obtained by irradiating a second region including the first region with a high-energy second electron beam, and identifies the position of the first region in the second electron beam image, thereby identifying the position of the defect.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an inspection apparatus that inspects a sample for defects using an image obtained by irradiating the sample with an electron beam. [Background technology]

[0002] As a technique for inspecting patterns formed on a semiconductor wafer, a device that irradiates a charged particle beam such as an electron beam onto a sample is sometimes used. The following describes the case where an electron beam is used as an example. When an electron beam is irradiated onto a sample, secondary particles are generated from the sample, and the signal intensity is used to form pixel values, allowing an observation image of the sample to be generated.

[0003] Even semiconductor wafers without patterns (or bare wafers) may be inspected for defects using similar techniques. If a defect is found, the origin of the defect can be clarified by analyzing the elements of the defect using EDS (Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy) analysis or other methods. This information on the defect's origin is considered important for improving manufacturing yields.

[0004] The following Patent Document 1 describes an EDS analysis method for a wafer having a pattern. In this document, the relative relationship of the defect position to the pattern position is obtained under conditions under which both the pattern and the defect can be observed, the pattern position is specified under optical conditions for EDS analysis under which only the pattern can be observed, and the defect position is specified as a relative position from that position. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-177835 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In EDS analysis, the electron beam is irradiated at a relatively high accelerating voltage. If the same optical conditions are used to obtain an observation image of the sample, the observation image will be obtained by irradiating the sample with the electron beam at that high accelerating voltage. When using such a high accelerating voltage, thin defects such as "stains" allow the electron beam to pass through, making it difficult to identify the defect position.

[0007] As a preliminary step to analyzing defect elements by EDS, an observation image of the sample may be obtained by irradiating the sample with an electron beam at a low accelerating voltage in order to identify the defect position. In this case, the irradiated electron beam may cause so-called contamination, such as the adhesion of carbon to the sample surface. When EDS analysis is performed, the defect position must be identified again due to the influence of the accuracy of the stage and the optical axis of the optical system, but if this contamination remains, it may be difficult to identify the defect position during EDS analysis. This is because the contamination overlaps with the defect in the observation image, making it impossible to clearly identify the defect position.

[0008] Conventional EDS analysis methods such as that described in Patent Document 1 do not fully consider the effects of thin defects and contamination, and there is a demand for a technique that can identify the locations of these defects in EDS analysis.

[0009] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a technology that can identify the position of a defect in a process of analyzing the elements of the defect, even when there is an influence of thin defects or contamination. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The inspection apparatus of the present disclosure irradiates a first region of a sample, which includes a defect, with a first electron beam of low energy, and then irradiates a second region that includes the first region with a second electron beam of high energy to generate a second electron beam image, and identifies the position of the defect by identifying the position of the first region within the second electron beam image. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the inspection device of the present disclosure, even if there is a thin defect or the influence of contamination, the position of the defect can be identified in the process of analyzing the element of the defect. Other problems, configurations, advantages, etc. of the present disclosure will become apparent from the description of the following embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1A to 1C are schematic diagrams illustrating a general procedure for identifying a defect position using an observation image obtained by irradiating a sample with an electron beam. [Figure 2A] 13 is an example of an observation image in which it is difficult to identify the defect position in EDS analysis. [Figure 2B] 1 is an example of an observation image of contamination caused by irradiating a sample with an electron beam. [Figure 2C] FIG. 2C is an example of a high-magnification observation image of the contamination region in FIG. 2B. [Diagram 3] 1 is a configuration diagram of an inspection device 1 according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for inspecting a sample 113 by the inspection device 1. [Diagram 5] 13 is an example showing a specific example of S409. [Figure 6A] 13 is an example of a low-magnification observation image for EDS generated in S413. [Figure 6B] 13 is an example of a template used by the calculation unit 133 in S414. [Figure 7]2 is an example of a user interface presented by the computer system 13. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure for inspecting a sample 113 by an inspection device 1 in the second embodiment. [Figure 9] An example of marking is shown below. [Figure 10] 13 is an example of a user interface presented by a computer system 13 in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] <Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a general procedure for identifying a defect position using an observation image obtained by irradiating a sample with an electron beam. First, an observation image (defect image) of the vicinity of the defect is acquired at low magnification, and this is compared with a reference image without a defect to generate a mask image. The center of an area (white area on the drawing) in the mask image that has pixel values ​​different from those of the background is identified as the defect position. Furthermore, a high-magnification observation image may be generated with the defect position as the center. The size of the high-magnification observation area can be, for example, about twice the size of the defect identified on the mask image. EDS analysis is performed on the identified defect position.

[0014] Figure 2A is an example of an observation image in which it is difficult to identify the defect position in EDS analysis. The observation conditions are an acceleration voltage of 500 eV, a beam current of 400 pA, and an FOV size of 0.5 μm. Under these observation conditions, a "stain"-like defect can be seen in the center of the image. On the other hand, in EDS analysis, the electron beam may be irradiated at a relatively high acceleration voltage. At such a high acceleration voltage, the electron beam passes through the thin "stain"-like defect in the center of Figure 2A, making it difficult to obtain an appropriate observation image of the defect. Therefore, it is difficult to identify the defect position when performing EDS analysis.

[0015] Figure 2B is an example of an observation image of contamination caused by irradiating a sample with an electron beam. The observation conditions are an acceleration voltage of 3 keV, a beam current of 800 pA, and an FOV size of 6 μm. In the defect observation process, an electron beam is irradiated onto the observation area to obtain an observation image of the defect. This may cause contamination. The white square area on the left side of the figure indicates the area where contamination has occurred.

[0016] Figure 2C is an example of a high-magnification observation image of the contamination region in Figure 2B. The observation conditions are an acceleration voltage of 3 keV, a beam current of 800 pA, and an FOV size of 1 μm. Due to the effects of contamination, defects that should have been present cannot be visually recognized in the observation image. In other words, this example shows that irradiating the electron beam in advance to identify the defect position during EDS analysis can actually make it more difficult to identify the defect position.

[0017] 3 is a configuration diagram of an inspection device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The inspection device 1 is a device that inspects defects in a sample 113 by irradiating the sample 113 with a charged particle beam (an electron beam as an example in the first embodiment). The inspection device 1 includes a charged particle beam device 11, a communication line 12, and a computer system 13.

[0018] The charged particle beam device 11 includes an electron source 111, a detector 112, a stage 114, an EDS detector 115, and the like. A sample 113 (for example, a semiconductor wafer or a bare wafer on which no pattern is formed) is placed on the stage 114. When the electron beam emitted by the electron source 111 hits the sample 113, secondary particles (secondary electrons and backscattered electrons) are generated. The detector 112 detects the secondary particles and outputs a detection signal representing their intensity. The computer system 13 receives the detection signal via the communication line 12 and uses the detection signal to generate an observation image of the sample 113. The EDS detector 115 detects an EDS signal generated from the sample 113 when EDS analysis is performed on the sample 113, and outputs a detection signal representing the detection result. The computer system 13 receives the detection signal via the communication line 12 and uses the detection signal to perform EDS analysis.

[0019] The computer system 13 includes a control unit 131, a memory unit 132, a calculation unit 133, an input / output unit 134, a user interface control unit 135, and an operation terminal 136. The control unit 131 controls each unit included in the charged particle beam device 11. The memory unit 132 stores data used by the computer system 13. The calculation unit 133 generates an observation image of the sample 113 using a detection signal output by the detector 112. The calculation unit 133 also performs an inspection procedure described below. The input / output unit 134 controls input and output of data. The user interface control unit 135 generates a user interface described below and displays it on the screen of the operation terminal 136. The operation terminal 136 is a terminal for inputting instructions given by a user to the computer system 13 (or the charged particle beam device 11 via the computer system).

[0020] 4 is a flow chart for explaining the procedure for the inspection device 1 to inspect the sample 113. Each step in FIG. 4 will be explained below.

[0021] (FIG. 4: Steps S401 to S404) The sample 113 is loaded into the charged particle beam device 11 (S401). The control unit 131 reads imaging conditions from the storage unit 132 (S402). The control unit 131 sets optical conditions for accelerating the electron beam at a low acceleration voltage in each unit such as the optical system of the charged particle beam device 11 (S403). The following steps S405 to S409 are performed for each observation target (defect position on the sample 113) (S404). The position and shape of the observation target may be acquired, for example, by inheriting the results from the previous process.

[0022] (Figure 4: Steps S405 to S409) The control unit 131 moves the stage 114 to an inspection position (S405). The control unit 131 irradiates the sample 113 with an electron beam at a low acceleration voltage, and the calculation unit 133 generates a low-magnification observation image (S406). The calculation unit 133 specifies a rough defect position (referred to as defect position A) from the low-magnification observation image (S407). The control unit 131 irradiates the sample 113 with an electron beam at a low acceleration voltage, and the calculation unit 133 generates a high-magnification observation image around the defect position A (S408). The calculation unit 133 specifies a finer defect position (referred to as defect position B) on the high-magnification observation image (S409). As a method for specifying the defect position in S407 and S409, any known technique can be used (for example, the method described in FIG. 1). A specific example of S409 will be described later.

[0023] (FIG. 4: Steps S410 to S411) The control unit 131 sets the optical conditions (accelerating voltage is higher than S403) for performing EDS analysis in each part of the charged particle beam device 11 (S410). The following steps S405 to S416 are performed for each observation target (observation position on the sample 113) (S411).

[0024] (Figure 4: Steps S412 to S416) The control unit 131 moves the stage 114 to an inspection position (S412). The control unit 131 irradiates the sample 113 with an electron beam at a high acceleration voltage, and the calculation unit 133 generates an observation image at a low magnification (S413). The calculation unit 133 performs pattern matching using a template, which will be described later (S414). The same template matching is repeated while changing the template until the correlation value between the template and the observation image becomes equal to or greater than a threshold value. A specific example of S414 will be described later. The calculation unit 133 identifies a defect position (referred to as defect position C) in the EDS analysis process according to the result of S414 (S415). The control unit 131 and the calculation unit 133 perform EDS analysis on the identified defect position (S416). That is, an electron beam (third electron beam) for EDS analysis is irradiated on the identified defect position.

[0025] (Figure 4: Step S417) The control unit 131 unloads the wafer from the charged particle beam device 11. The calculation unit 133 stores necessary data such as the EDS analysis results in the storage unit 132.

[0026] 5 is an example showing a specific example of S409. A defect center B exists at a position slightly shifted from the center A of a high-magnification observation image acquired at a low acceleration voltage. The calculation unit 133 calculates an offset (Xo, Yo)=(Xb-Xa, Yb-Ya) from the center A (Xa, Ya) to the defect center B (Xb, Yb), and stores the result in the storage unit 132 as the defect position. This identifies the defect position with reference to the center A of the high-magnification observation image.

[0027] When acquiring a high magnification observation image, the electron beam is irradiated onto a relatively narrow region (first region) on the sample, and contamination may occur due to impurities adhering to the region. Whether contamination occurs or not depends on the irradiation density of the electron beam, but in this embodiment 1, it is assumed that the electron beam is irradiated at an irradiation density that causes contamination. In this case, it can be said that the center A of the high magnification observation image is also the center of the contamination region. In this embodiment 1, this is utilized to identify the defect position in the EDS analysis.

[0028] Fig. 6A is an example of a low-magnification observation image for EDS generated in S413. It is assumed that contamination has occurred in the region (first region) irradiated with the electron beam when obtaining the high-magnification observation image in S408. In Fig. 6A, this corresponds to the black square region on the right side of the image. In S414, the calculation unit 133 attempts to identify this contamination region.

[0029] FIG. 6B is an example of a template used by the calculation unit 133 in S414. A contamination region appears in an observation image as a region whose luminance value is different from that of the surroundings. Therefore, the calculation unit 133 attempts to identify a contamination region by using two types of templates with inverted gradations of luminance values. When the luminance value of the surrounding region is relatively high and the luminance value of the contamination region is relatively low, the template on the left side of FIG. 6B is used. When the luminance value of the surrounding region is relatively low and the luminance value of the contamination region is relatively high, the template on the right side of FIG. 6B is used. By using two types of templates with different luminance values, it is possible to identify contamination regions caused by various contamination causes. The template may be other than the two types described in FIG. 6B as long as it can accurately identify a contamination region.

[0030] A detailed procedure for identifying the contamination region using the template shown in FIG. 6B in S414 will be described below.

[0031] (Step S414: Detailed procedure 1) The calculation unit 133 specifies the pixel size of the contamination region according to the correlation between the actual size of the observation field of view (FOV) in S408 and the actual size of the FOV in S413. For example, according to the difference in FOV size between S408 and S413, it can specify what pixel size that size will appear as in S413.

[0032] (Step S414: Detailed procedure 2) The calculation unit 133 creates a template that is slightly larger than the determined size of the contamination region (for example, twice the size). For example, two types of templates shown in FIG. 6B can be created. The created templates are stored in the storage unit 132.

[0033] (Step S414: Detailed procedure 3) When a low-magnification observation image is acquired in S406, a frame-shaped region is formed in the outer periphery of the FOV due to the irradiation of the electron beam. The cause is the same as that of contamination. This frame is observed as a white frame surrounding the outer periphery of the low-magnification FOV on the observation image. In particular, the edge of the white frame has a shape similar to that of a contamination region, so there is a possibility that it will be erroneously recognized as a contamination region in template matching. Therefore, the calculation unit 133 sets only the region inside the white frame as the search region for pattern matching.

[0034] (Step S414: Detailed procedure 4) The calculation unit 133 searches for a location that matches each template within the search range determined in step 3. For example, if the correlation value between the pixel value of the template and the pixel value of the search position is equal to or greater than a threshold, the search position is determined to match the template. This allows the center (Xc, Yc) of the contamination region to be identified. (Xc, Yc) is assumed to match the center A (Xa, Ya) of the high-magnification observation image.

[0035] (Step S414: Detailed procedure 5) The calculation unit 133 can calculate the defect position (Xe, Ye) in the EDS process by adding the offset (Xo, Yo) to the center (Xc, Yc) of the contamination region: (Xe, Ye)=(Xc+Xo, Yc+Xo).

[0036] (Step S414: Supplementary information on detailed procedure) Although not shown in the figure, in addition to the above template matching, the location of the contamination area may be identified by the following techniques: template matching of X / Y projection waveform; template matching using a part of a figure or waveform; detection of the peak position of a differential waveform; etc.

[0037] 7 is an example of a user interface presented by the computer system 13. The user interface can be displayed on the screen of the operation terminal 136 (i.e., can be presented as a Graphical User Interface (GUI)). The user interface control unit 135 can present, for example, at least one of the following pieces of information on the user interface: (a) an area 701 identified as a low-magnification FOV area in S414, (b) a high-magnification FOV area (or a contamination area) 702 identified in the low-magnification observation image, (c) a defect area 703 in the low-magnification observation image, (d) the results of EDS analysis performed on the defect, (e) the low-magnification observation image itself, and (f) the high-magnification observation image itself.

[0038] <First embodiment: Summary> The inspection device 1 according to the first embodiment identifies the defect position in the high-magnification FOV using an electron beam (first electron beam having a first landing energy) emitted at a low acceleration voltage for observation, and then obtains a low-magnification FOV image (second electron beam image) using an electron beam (second electron beam having a second landing energy) emitted at a high acceleration voltage for EDS analysis. By identifying the position of the high-magnification FOV region in the low-magnification FOV image, the defect position therein is further identified. As a result, even if the high-acceleration electron beam passes through the defect, the defect position can be identified under high-acceleration conditions via the defect position identified using the low-acceleration electron beam. Similarly, even if the defect cannot be identified on the observation image due to contamination, the defect position can be identified under high-acceleration conditions via the defect position identified using the low-acceleration electron beam.

[0039] <Embodiment 2> In the first embodiment, it has been described that contamination occurs on the sample 113 when an observation image is obtained at a low acceleration voltage. Whether contamination occurs or not depends on the irradiation density of the electron beam, and the higher the irradiation density, the higher the possibility of occurrence. In particular, the irradiation density increases during high-magnification observation, so contamination is likely to occur. On the other hand, when the irradiation density of the electron beam is low even during high-magnification observation and contamination does not occur (or the degree of contamination is weak), instead of identifying the contamination region in S414, it is necessary to identify the correspondence between the defect coordinates in S408 and the defect coordinates in the EDS process by another means. In the second embodiment of the present disclosure, an example of this will be described. Since the configuration of the inspection device 1 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the following mainly describes the differences in the inspection procedure.

[0040] Fig. 8 is a flow chart for explaining the procedure for inspecting the sample 113 by the inspection device 1 in the present embodiment 2. Explanations of the same steps as in Fig. 4 will be omitted. In Fig. 8, S801 is performed after S409, and S802 is performed instead of S414. The rest is the same as in Fig. 4.

[0041] (Figure 8: Step S801) The control unit 131 performs marking with the electron beam having an increased irradiation density on an appropriate location near the FOV in S408. The irradiation density can be increased, for example, by: (a) reducing the size of the irradiation area; (b) irradiating the same irradiation position with the electron beam multiple times; etc.

[0042] (Figure 8: Step S802) The calculation unit 133 specifies the marking position in S801. For example, if a specific shape is marked in S801, the marking position can be specified by searching for the shape by pattern matching or the like. Any other appropriate method may be used. In S415, the defect position C can be specified according to the relative relationship between the center coordinates and the marking position in S408.

[0043] 9 shows an example of marking. The low-magnification observation image in S406 includes the high-magnification observation image in S408. A marking 901 is added near the FOV of the high-magnification observation image. According to the relative relationship between the position of the high-magnification FOV and the position of the marking 901, a defect position C can be specified based on the position of the marking 901. The positions of the low-magnification FOV / high-magnification FOV / marking 901 as shown in FIG. 9 may be presented on a user interface provided in the computer system 13.

[0044] Considering the ease of formation, the shape of the marking 901 is preferably a square. However, other shapes are acceptable as long as the position can be specified by calculation processing. If the marking 901 overlaps with a defect, the defect components cannot be analyzed accurately, so the marking 901 must be formed at least outside the defect. Since specifying the exact position and shape of the defect at the time of forming the marking 901 requires a considerable calculation load, it is more desirable to form the marking 901 outside the high magnification FOV area.

[0045] FIG. 10 is an example of a user interface presented by the computer system 13 in the present embodiment 2. In addition to the GUI described in the embodiment 1, the computer system 13 may provide a GUI for giving instructions to the inspection device 1 as shown in FIG. 10. For example, as the EDS analysis mode, it is possible to instruct to switch between a spot analysis mode in which a component analysis is performed on a specific spot and a scan analysis in which a component analysis is performed over a certain range of area. In addition, it is possible to specify whether or not to perform the method for identifying the contamination area described in the embodiment 1, whether or not to perform the marking described in the embodiment 2, etc. The size of the marking 901 may be specified. The computer system 13 controls the charged particle beam device 11 according to the designated input and performs the inspection process. A similar GUI may be presented in the embodiment 1 as well.

[0046] <Embodiment 2: Summary> In the inspection device 1 according to the second embodiment, when the amount of contamination caused by irradiation with a low-acceleration electron beam is assumed to be less than a threshold (for example, when the irradiation density of the electron beam is relatively low because the defect size is large), the marking 901 is formed around the high-magnification FOV, and the defect position under high acceleration conditions is specified based on the marking 901. As a result, even if it is difficult to specify the contamination position, the defect position in the EDS process can be specified as in the first embodiment.

[0047] <Modifications of the present disclosure> The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modified examples. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present disclosure, and are not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described. In addition, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

[0048] In the above embodiment, the charged particle beam device 11 can be configured separately from the inspection device 1. That is, the inspection device 1 can be configured to receive a detection signal of the secondary particles or a digital value thereof from the charged particle beam device 11 arranged outside the inspection device 1, and generate an observation image using the signal.

[0049] In the above embodiments, the control unit 131, the calculation unit 133, and the user interface control unit 135 can be configured by hardware such as a circuit device that implements these functions, or can be configured by a calculation device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing software that implements these functions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 1: Inspection equipment 11: Charged particle beam device 12: Communication line 13: Computer Systems 131: Control unit 132: Storage section 133: Arithmetic section 134: Input / output section 135: User interface control unit 136: Operation terminal

Claims

1. 1. An inspection apparatus for inspecting a sample for defects using an image obtained by irradiating the sample with an electron beam, comprising: a computer system for generating the image using a result of detecting secondary particles generated from the sample by irradiating the sample with the electron beam; the computer system generates a second electron beam image obtained by irradiating a first region of the specimen including the defect with a first electron beam having a first landing energy, and then irradiating a second region of the specimen including the first region with a second electron beam having a second landing energy higher than the first landing energy; the computer system identifies a position of the first region within the second electron beam image by using information representative of the position of the first region; The computer system determines an irradiation position of a third electron beam for performing elemental analysis on the defects in the first region based on the identified position of the first region. An inspection device characterized by:

2. the computer system generates a first electron beam image obtained by irradiating the first region with the first electron beam; the computer system locating the defect in the first electron beam image; The computer system determines an irradiation position of the third electron beam using a position of the defect in the first electron beam image and a position of the first region in the second electron beam image.

2. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1.

3. the computer system generates, as the first electron beam image, an image including contamination occurring in the first region by irradiating the first electron beam onto the first region; The computer system identifies a location of the first region in the second electron beam image by identifying a location of the contamination in the second electron beam image.

3. The inspection apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The computer system includes a storage unit that stores a template image representing a shape of the contamination, the computer system searches for a location in the second electron beam image that matches the template image to obtain information representing a position of the first region; The computer system identifies a location of the first region within the second electron beam image according to the information obtained by searching with the template image.

4. The inspection apparatus according to claim 3.

5. The storage unit stores, as the template image, a first template having a rectangular region having a first luminance value and a peripheral region surrounding the rectangular region having a second luminance value; a second template inverted from the first template; Two types of images are stored: The computer system searches the second electron beam image for a location that matches at least one of the first template and the second template.

5. The inspection apparatus according to claim 4.

6. the computer system identifies a periphery of the second region by identifying a frame shape formed around the periphery of the second region in the first electron beam image; The computer system performs a search using the template image only within the specified second region.

5. The inspection apparatus according to claim 4.

7. the computer system generates, as the second electron beam image, an image including a marking formed on the sample by irradiating the sample with a fourth electron beam having a higher irradiation density than the first electron beam; the computer system searches for the marking in the second electron beam image to obtain information indicative of a position of the first region; The computer system identifies a location of the first region within the second electron beam image according to the information obtained by searching using the markings.

2. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1.

8. the computer system generates, as a first electron beam image obtained by irradiating the first region with the first electron beam, an image in a case where contamination caused in the first region by irradiating the first electron beam on the first region is less than a threshold; The computer system locates the first region in the second electron beam image without relying on the location of the contamination by searching for the marking in the second electron beam image.

8. The inspection apparatus according to claim 7.

9. The marking is square and is formed outside the first area.

8. The inspection apparatus according to claim 7.

10. The computer system includes: the location of the identified first region; a position of the first region within the second electron beam image; a location of the defect in the second electron beam image; As a result of performing the elemental analysis on the location of the defect, the second electron beam image; A user interface that presents at least one of 2. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1.

11. The sample is an unpatterned or bare wafer.

2. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1.

12. 1. An inspection method for inspecting a sample for defects using an image obtained by irradiating the sample with an electron beam, comprising: generating the image using a result of detecting secondary particles generated from the sample by irradiating the sample with the electron beam; The step of generating the image includes a step of generating a second electron beam image obtained by irradiating a first region on the sample including the defect with a first electron beam having a first landing energy, and then irradiating a second region of the sample including the first region with a second electron beam having a second landing energy higher than the first landing energy; generating the image includes identifying a position of the first region within the second electron beam image using information representative of a position of the first region; The step of generating the image includes a step of determining an irradiation position of a third electron beam for performing elemental analysis on the defects in the first region based on the identified position of the first region.

13. An inspection method comprising:

Images