Semiconductor device manufacturing method and mask manufacturing method
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A manufacturing method comprising:
- performing a mask process correction (MPC) on mask tape-out (MTO) design data describing a first mask pattern by applying the MPC to the MTO design data to obtain mask process corrected data describing a second mask pattern;
verifying the performance of the MPC by generating a two-dimensional (2D) contour of one or more mask pattern elements of a photolithography mask by performing a simulation of manufacturing the one or more mask pattern elements of the photolithography mask described by the mask process corrected data using a mask process model that models a photolithography mask manufacturing process; and
manufacturing at least one of a mask and a semiconductor device in response to the verifying,wherein the MPC is responsive to the mask process model and the mask process model is adjustable based on the verifying, andwherein verifying the MPC comprises comparing the 2D contour with a shape of one or more mask patterns with corresponding one or more mask patterns represented by the MTO design data.
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Abstract
A method of manufacture comprises a mask process correction (MPC) and verifying MPC accuracy. MPC may be performed on mask tape-out (MTO) data describing a mask pattern to obtain mask process corrected data. MPC may be performed to address a deviation between the MTO data and a mask to be manufactured. Verification of the MPC may be performed by generating a two-dimensional (2D) contour of mask pattern elements based on the mask process corrected data. When MPC has been verified, the mask process corrected data may be used to manufacture a mask and a semiconductor device.
16 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A manufacturing method comprising:
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performing a mask process correction (MPC) on mask tape-out (MTO) design data describing a first mask pattern by applying the MPC to the MTO design data to obtain mask process corrected data describing a second mask pattern; verifying the performance of the MPC by generating a two-dimensional (2D) contour of one or more mask pattern elements of a photolithography mask by performing a simulation of manufacturing the one or more mask pattern elements of the photolithography mask described by the mask process corrected data using a mask process model that models a photolithography mask manufacturing process; and manufacturing at least one of a mask and a semiconductor device in response to the verifying, wherein the MPC is responsive to the mask process model and the mask process model is adjustable based on the verifying, and wherein verifying the MPC comprises comparing the 2D contour with a shape of one or more mask patterns with corresponding one or more mask patterns represented by the MTO design data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A manufacturing method comprising:
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performing a mask process correction (MPC) on mask tape-out (MTO) design data describing a first mask pattern by applying the MPC to the MTO design data to obtain mask process corrected data describing a second mask pattern; verifying the performance of the MPC by generating a two-dimensional (2D) contour of one or more mask pattern elements by performing a simulation of manufacturing corresponding one or more mask pattern elements described by the mask process corrected data using a mask process model; manufacturing at least one of a mask and a semiconductor device in response to the verifying, including generating pixel data based on the mask process corrected data; performing electron beam writing on a mask blank based on the pixel data; and forming the mask by performing a development process and an etching process on a mask substrate, wherein the MPC is responsive to the mask process model and the mask process model is adjustable based on the verifying. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A manufacturing method comprising:
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performing a mask process correction (MPC) on mask tape-out (MTO) design data describing a first mask pattern by applying the MPC to the MTO design data to obtain mask process corrected data describing a second mask pattern; verifying the performance of the MPC by generating a two-dimensional (2D) contour of one or more mask pattern elements by performing a simulation of manufacturing corresponding one or more mask pattern elements described by the mask process corrected data using a mask process model; manufacturing at least one of a mask and a semiconductor device in response to the verifying, including wherein the mask tape-out (MTO) design data describes the first mask pattern having a plurality of first mask pattern elements; wherein performing the MPC comprises obtaining the mask process corrected data by applying the mask process correction to the MTO design data, the mask process corrected data representing a second mask pattern having a plurality of second mask pattern elements, each of the second mask pattern elements corresponding to a respective one of first mask pattern elements, at least some of the second mask pattern elements having a different size than the corresponding first mask pattern element; wherein verifying the performance of the MPC comprises; using the mask process model, simulating a manufacture of one or more of the second mask pattern elements to obtain first contours respectively corresponding to the one or more second mask pattern elements; determining a plurality of first deviation values, by, for each first contour, comparing the first contour to a corresponding first mask pattern element, to obtain a first deviation value for each first contour; based on the plurality of first deviation values, determining that the mask process correction is insufficient; adjusting the mask process model; adjusting the mask process correction based on the adjusted mask process model; using the adjusted mask process correction, modifying the MTO design data to obtain modified mask process corrected data representing a third mask pattern having a plurality of third mask pattern elements, each of the third mask pattern elements corresponding to a respective one of the first mask pattern elements, at least some of the third mask pattern elements having a different size than the corresponding first mask pattern element; using the adjusted mask process model, simulating a manufacture of one or more of the third mask pattern elements to obtain corresponding second contours respectively corresponding to the one or more third mask pattern elements; determining a plurality of second deviation values, by, for each second contour, comparing the second contour to a corresponding first mask pattern element, to obtain a second deviation value for each second contour; and based on the plurality of second deviation values, determining that the mask process correction is sufficient, and wherein the manufacturing of at least one of a mask and a semiconductor device uses the modified mask process corrected data. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification