In the semiconductor industry, the inspection technique using an electron beam is expected to play an important role because of its high spatial resolution. In comparison with conventional scanning techniques, direct imaging produced by projection optics offers both faster mapping rates due to parallel detection and higher resolution. An electron microscope based on the projection imaging optics has been designed and constructed. Secondary electrons emitted by the area exposure are projected through the projection optics consisting of fully electrostatic lenses, and then imaged onto the image detection system. A computational analysis indicates resolution of 0.27 mu m which can satisfy both adequate resolution and image grab time. An image of a 0.2 mu m design rule device is demonstrated.