Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method utilizing 2D run length encoding for image data compression
First Claim
1. A lithographic apparatus, comprising:
- an array of individually controllable elements that modulate a beam of radiation;
a data processing pipeline that converts a first representation of a requested dose pattern to a sequence of control data suitable for controlling the array of individually controllable elements to substantially form the requested dose pattern on a substrate, wherein the data processing pipeline comprises;
an offline pre-processing device that converts the first representation of the requested dose pattern to an intermediate representation that is rasterized in a fewer number of operations than the first representation;
a storage device that stores the intermediate representation; and
an online rasterizer that accesses the stored intermediate representation and produces therefrom a stream of bitmap data to be used to generate the sequence of control data substantially in real time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A lithographic apparatus comprises an array of individually controllable elements and a data processing pipeline. The array of individually controllable elements modulates a beam of radiation. The data processing pipeline converts a first representation of a requested dose pattern to a sequence of control data suitable for controlling the array of individually controllable elements in order substantially to form the requested dose pattern on a substrate. The data processing pipeline comprises an offline pre-processing device and an online rasterizer. The offline pre-processing device converts the first representation of the requested dose pattern to an intermediate representation, which can be rasterized in a fewer number of operations than the first representation. The storage device stores the intermediate representation. The online rasterizer accesses the stored intermediate representation and produces therefrom a stream of bitmap data to be used to generate the sequence of control data substantially in real time.
47 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A lithographic apparatus, comprising:
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an array of individually controllable elements that modulate a beam of radiation;
a data processing pipeline that converts a first representation of a requested dose pattern to a sequence of control data suitable for controlling the array of individually controllable elements to substantially form the requested dose pattern on a substrate, wherein the data processing pipeline comprises;
an offline pre-processing device that converts the first representation of the requested dose pattern to an intermediate representation that is rasterized in a fewer number of operations than the first representation;
a storage device that stores the intermediate representation; and
an online rasterizer that accesses the stored intermediate representation and produces therefrom a stream of bitmap data to be used to generate the sequence of control data substantially in real time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A device manufacturing method, comprising:
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modulating a beam of radiation using an array of individually controllable elements;
converting a first representation of a requested dose pattern to a sequence of control data suitable for controlling the array of individually controllable elements in order substantially to form the requested dose pattern on a substrate;
converting the first representation of the requested dose pattern offline to an intermediate representation that is rasterized in a fewer number of operations than the first representation;
storing the intermediate representation in a storage device; and
accessing the stored intermediate representation and producing therefrom a stream of bitmap data to be used to generate the sequence of control data substantially in real time. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A computer program product for controlling a lithographic apparatus comprising a computer useable medium having a computer program logic recorded thereon for controlling at least one processor, the computer program logic comprising:
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computer program code means for modulating a beam of radiation using an array of individually controllable elements;
computer program code means for converting a first representation of a requested dose pattern to a sequence of control data suitable for controlling the array of individually controllable elements in order substantially to form the requested dose pattern on a substrate;
computer program code means for converting the first representation of the requested dose pattern offline to an intermediate representation that is rasterized in a fewer number of operations than the first representation;
computer program code means for storing the intermediate representation in a storage device; and
computer program code means for accessing the stored intermediate representation and producing therefrom a stream of bitmap data to be used to generate the sequence of control data substantially in real time.
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Specification