© 2019 Elsevier Inc. We propose a new method of inspecting a surface for fine defects that combines the optical inspection method with observation of the physical behavior of a liquid. A liquid thin film on a substrate behaves as a near-field physical probe that autonomously captures nano-particulate defects. Optical observation of the interfacial behavior of the liquid thin film is used to detect minute defects. This method combines the characteristics of optical detection (i.e., detection from a remote field and simultaneous detectability on a plane) and the high sensitivity of a physical near-field probe. We examined the basic principles of the proposed method through numerical calculation and applied it in experiments to detect fine particulate defects on a silicon substrate for semiconductor manufacturing to demonstrate the validity of the basic concept of the proposed method.