METHOD OF MERGING COLOR SETS OF LAYOUT

• US 20140101623A1
• Filed: 12/12/2013
• Published: 04/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: HSIEH, Ken-Hsien, LIU, Ru-Gun, GAU, Tsai-Sheng, YANG, Wen-Ju, CHEN, Pi-Tsung, CHIH, Ming-Hui, WANG, Wei-Long, HUANG, Wen-Chun, CHANG, Gwan Sin, YEN, Yung-Sung
• Granted Patent: US 8,943,445 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 716/52
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/398 Design verification or optimisation, e.g. using design rule check [DRC], layout versus schematics [LVS] or finite element methods [FEM] optical proximity correction [OPC] design processes G03F1/36

Abstract

A method includes determining one or more potential merges corresponding to a color set A_i and a color set A_j of N color sets, represented by A₁ to A_N, used in coloring polygons of a layout of an integrated circuit. N is a positive integer, i and j are integers from 1 to N, and i≠j. One or more potential cuts corresponding to the color set A_i and the second color set A_j are determined. An index A_ij is determined according to the one or more potential merges and the one or more potential cuts. A plurality of parameters F related to the index A_ij is obtained based on various values of indices f_i and f_j. A parameter F is selected among the plurality of parameters F based on a definition of the index A_ij.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining one or more potential merges corresponding to a color set A_i and a color set A_j of N color sets, represented by A₁ to A_N, used in coloring polygons of a layout of an integrated circuit, N being a positive integer, i and j being integers from 1 to N, and i≠

j;

determining one or more potential cuts corresponding to the color set A_i and the second color set A_j;

determining an index A_ij according to the one or more potential merges and the one or more potential cuts, where A_ij=A_ji;

obtaining, by a computer, a plurality of parameters F related to the index A_ij based on various values of indices f_i and f_j; and

selecting a parameter F among the plurality of parameters F based on a definition of the index A_ij.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the index f_i includes a value of 1 or −

1.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the parameter F among the plurality of parameters F having a highest value if the index A_ij is defined as a number of the one or more potential merges M minus a number of the one or more potential cuts CT, and selecting the parameter F among the plurality of parameters F having a lowest value if the index A_ij is defined as the number of the one or more potential cuts CT minus the number of the one or more potential merges M.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the plurality of parameters

5. The method of claim 1, further merging a terminal color set to a color set that interacts with the terminal color set.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the index A_ij includes a weighting value based on one or a combination of a stitch shape, a location of stitch elements, a symmetrical pattern, or a user'"'"'s defined choice.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the index A_ij is represented by

8. The method of claim 3, wherein the number of the one or more potential merges M and the number of the one or more potential cuts CT corresponding to the color set A_i and the color set A_j are determined when f_i and f_j are assigned 1.

9. A method comprising:

determining one or more potential merges corresponding to a color set A_i and a color set A_j of N color sets, represented by A₁ to A_N, used in coloring polygons of a layout of an integrated circuit, N being a positive integer, i and j being integers from 1 to N, and i≠

j;

determining one or more potential cuts corresponding to the color set A_i and the second color set A_j;

determining an index A_ij according to the one or more potential merges and the one or more potential cuts, where A_ij=A_ji;

based on the equation

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining a C_j among the plurality of C_i having a lowest value;

if C_j<

0, then flipping an index f_j to a negative number; and

recalculating

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the positive number is equal to 1 and the negative number is equal to −

1.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising merging a terminal color set to color set interacting with the terminal color set.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the index A_ij includes a weighting value based on one or a combination of a stitch shape, a location of stitch elements, a symmetrical pattern, a user'"'"'s defined choice.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the index A_ij is represented by

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the index A_ij is determined according to a difference between a number of the one or more potential merges and a number of the one or more potential cuts corresponding to the color set A_i and a color set A_j that are determined when f_i and f_j are assigned 1.

16. A method comprising:

determining one or more potential merges between two sets of polygons of a layout, polygons of the two sets of polygons having corresponding coloring assignments, and each of the two sets of polygons being associated with a corresponding flipping index indicating if the corresponding coloring assignment is color-flipped;

determining one or more potential cuts between the two sets of polygons;

determining an index according to the one or more potential merges and the one or more potential cuts;

calculating, by a computer, a plurality of parameters based on the index and various values of flipping indices of the two sets of polygons;

selecting one of the plurality of parameters having the maximum value or the minimum value of the plurality of parameters; and

merging the two sets of polygons according to the coloring assignments of the two sets of polygons and the values of the flipping indices of the two sets of polygons corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of parameters.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein at least one of the flipping indices of the two sets of polygons has

a positive value indicating using the corresponding coloring assignment during the merging operation, or

a negative value indicating using a color-flipped version of the corresponding coloring assignment during the merging operation.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the positive value is 1, and the negative value is −

1.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the index is determined according to a difference between a number of the one or more potential merges and a number of the one or more potential cuts corresponding to the two sets of polygons that are determined when the two sets of polygons are merged using the coloring assignments.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the determining the index includes calculating an stitch index based on a weighting value, and the weighting value is determined based on one or a combination of a stitch shape, a location of stitch elements, a symmetrical pattern, or a user'"'"'s defined choice.