METHOD OF CORRECTING A FLARE AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT

• US 20100323282A1
• Filed: 06/17/2010
• Published: 12/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: UNO, Taiga, Arisawa, Yukiyasu, Aoyama, Hajime
• Granted Patent: US 8,039,177 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 430/5
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 1/70 Adapting basic layout or design of masks to lithographic process requirements, e.g., second iteration correction of mask patterns for imaging

Abstract

A method of correcting a flare comprising: calculating a distribution of a flare value corresponding to pattern data on the pattern data as a flare map; calculating an occupancy of a pattern having a predetermined flare value on the pattern data as a flare value occupancy for each flare value, by using the flare map; determining a reference flare value to be a reference of the flare value based on the distribution of the flare value occupancy; and performing a pattern correction corresponding to the flare value with a pattern correction amount at the reference flare value as a reference.

Claims

1. A method of correcting a flare comprising:

calculating a distribution of a flare value corresponding to pattern data on the pattern data as a flare map;

calculating an occupancy of a pattern having a predetermined flare value on the pattern data as a flare value occupancy for each flare value, by using the flare map;

determining a reference flare value to be a reference of the flare value based on the distribution of the flare value occupancy; and

performing a pattern correction corresponding to the flare value with a pattern correction amount at the reference flare value as a reference.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the flare value occupancy is a pattern area occupancy of the pattern having the predetermined flare value with respect to a whole area of the pattern data.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the flare value occupancy is a pattern edge length occupancy of the pattern having the predetermined flare value with respect to a whole pattern edge length of the pattern data.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the flare value occupancy is a value calculated by using a change rate of the pattern correction amount with respect to change of the reference flare value or the pattern correction amount itself.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference flare value is a flare value that indicates a maximum value of the flare value occupancy in the distribution of the flare value occupancy.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference flare value is a flare value that is within a range of a flare value having the flare value occupancy higher than a predetermined value and indicates a value of approximately a center in the range, in the distribution of the flare value occupancy.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference flare value is a flare value that indicates approximately an intermediate value between a flare value indicating a maximum value of the flare value occupancy and a flare value indicating a minimum value of the flare value occupancy, in the distribution of the flare value occupancy.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference flare value is a flare value that indicates an average of the distribution of the flare value occupancy.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference flare value is determined from among flare values that are capable of ensuring an exposure margin of a predetermined value or more when forming a pattern corresponding to the pattern data.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference flare value is an average of reference flare values calculated for respective of a plurality of areas of the pattern data divided into the areas.

11. The method according to claim 4, wherein when the flare value occupancy is calculated by using the pattern correction amount itself, the reference flare value is determined so that a total of values obtained by multiplying an occupancy of an occupied pattern by a correction amount for each flare value is minimal.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the flare value occupancy is occupancy of critical patterns extracted from the pattern data, on the pattern data.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the critical pattern is a pattern having a predetermined line width or less, a pattern having a predetermined distance to a adjacent pattern or less, or a pattern that is a combination thereof and meets a predetermined dimensional condition.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the critical pattern is a pattern whose exposure margin when forming a pattern corresponding to the pattern data is a predetermined value or less.

19. A method of manufacturing a photomask comprising manufacturing the photomask by using the method according to claim 1.

20. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising manufacturing the semiconductor device by using a photomask manufactured by the method according to claim 9.

15. A computer program product executable by a computer and having a computer readable medium including a plurality of instructions for performing a pattern correction, wherein the instructions, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to perform:

calculating an occupancy of a pattern having a predetermined flare value on pattern data as a flare value occupancy for each flare value, by using a flare map that is a distribution of the flare value corresponding to the pattern data on the pattern data;

determining a reference flare value to be a reference of the flare value based on the distribution of the flare value occupancy; and

performing a pattern correction corresponding to the flare value with a pattern correction amount at the reference flare value as a reference.

16. The computer program product according to claim 15, wherein the flare value occupancy is a pattern area occupancy of the pattern having the predetermined flare value with respect to a whole area of the pattern data.

17. The computer program product according to claim 15, wherein the flare value occupancy is a pattern edge length occupancy of the pattern having the predetermined flare value with respect to a whole pattern edge length of the pattern data.

18. The computer program product according to claim 15, wherein the flare value occupancy is a value calculated by using a change rate of the pattern correction amount with respect to change of the reference flare value or the pattern correction amount itself.