SMART SELECTION AND/OR WEIGHTING OF PARAMETERS FOR LITHOGRAPHIC PROCESS SIMULATION
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- identifying a model for simulating a lithographic process, the model being expressed as a mathematical series with a plurality of terms, which when combined with a mathematical representation a mask, generates a result that simulates performance of the lithographic process using the mask;
identifying characteristics of a desired mask layout;
selecting a subset of the plurality terms of the model based on the identified characteristics the desired mask layout; and
using the model with only the selected subset of the plurality of terms to simulate the performance of the lithographic process.
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Abstract
The present invention generally relates to simulating a lithographic process, and more particularly to methods for smart selection and smart weighting when selecting parameters and/or kernels used in aerial image computation. According to one aspect, advantages in simulation throughput and/or accuracy can be achieved by selecting TCC kernels more intelligently, allowing highly accurate aerial images to be simulated using a relatively fewer number of TCC kernels than in the state of the art. In other words, the present invention allows for aerial images to be simulated with the same or better accuracy using much less simulation throughput than required in the prior art, all else being equal.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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identifying a model for simulating a lithographic process, the model being expressed as a mathematical series with a plurality of terms, which when combined with a mathematical representation a mask, generates a result that simulates performance of the lithographic process using the mask; identifying characteristics of a desired mask layout; selecting a subset of the plurality terms of the model based on the identified characteristics the desired mask layout; and using the model with only the selected subset of the plurality of terms to simulate the performance of the lithographic process. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having instructions recorded therein, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method comprising:
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identifying a model for simulating a lithographic process, the model being expressed as a mathematical series with a plurality of terms, which when combined with a mathematical representation a mask, generates a result that simulates performance of the lithographic process using the mask; identifying characteristics of a desired mask layout; selecting a subset of the plurality terms of the model based on the identified characteristics the desired mask layout; and using the model with only the selected subset of the plurality of terms to simulate the performance of the lithographic process. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification