TOPOGRAPHY SIMULATION OF ETCHING AND/OR DEPOSITION ON A PHYSICAL STRUCTURE

• US 20170147724A1
• Filed: 11/23/2016
• Published: 05/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Synopsys Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Synopsys Incorporated
• Inventors: Regli, Peter, Bozza, Giovanni
• Granted Patent: US 10,599,789 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2111/08 Probabilistic or stochastic CAD
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2119/18 Manufacturability analysis or optimisation for manufacturability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/027 Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34 photographic masks or originals per se G03F1/00; registration or positioning of photographic masks or originals G03F9/00; photographic cameras G03B; control of position G05D3/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

Systems and techniques are described for topography simulation of etching and/or deposition on a physical structure. The structural information can be represented using a three-dimensional (3D) voxel grid data structure. For each particle emitted by a Monte-Carlo particle emission model, a topographical modification caused by the particle can be determined by (1) calculating fluxes, (2) evaluating surface reactions, and (3) modifying the physical structure. The effect of the etching and/or deposition on a physical structure can be displayed by rendering the 3D voxel grid data structure.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method for topography simulation of etching and/or deposition on a physical structure, the method comprising:

initializing a three-dimensional (3D) voxel grid data structure that represents a volume containing the physical structure, wherein each voxel in the 3D voxel grid data structure stores a value that represents an amount of material in a 3D region corresponding to the voxel; and

for each particle emitted by a Monte-Carlo particle emission model, performing a set of operations to determine a topographical modification caused by the particle, wherein the set of operations comprises;

calculating a flux contribution of the particle at a location where the particle impacts a surface of the physical structure, wherein an impacted voxel in the 3D voxel grid data structure corresponds to the location;

evaluating surface reactions at the location based on the flux contribution to obtain a value modification, wherein the value modification corresponds to an amount of material that is etched or deposited at the location by the particle; and

using the value modification to update values stored in the impacted voxel and potentially other voxels in proximity to the impacted voxel.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein each voxel in the 3D voxel grid data structure stores an integer value.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein calculating the flux contribution of the particle comprises using a voxel traversal technique to determine the location on the surface of the physical structure where the particle impacts the physical structure.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the topography simulation is performed by using multiple threads in the computer that execute in parallel, wherein each thread performs the set of operations for a subset of particles emitted by the Monte-Carlo particle emission model.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the multiple threads share the 3D voxel grid data structure and do not obtain a lock for a voxel before modifying the value stored in the voxel.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises displaying an image of the physical structure on a screen by rendering the 3D voxel grid data structure.

7. An integrated circuit (IC) design system, comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the IC design system to perform a method for topography simulation of etching and/or deposition on a physical structure, the method comprising;

initializing a three-dimensional (3D) voxel grid data structure that represents a volume containing the physical structure, wherein each voxel in the 3D voxel grid data structure stores a value that represents an amount of material in a 3D region corresponding to the voxel; and

for each particle emitted by a Monte-Carlo particle emission model, performing a set of operations to determine a topographical modification caused by the particle, wherein the set of operations comprises;

calculating a flux contribution of the particle at a location where the particle impacts a surface of the physical structure, wherein an impacted voxel in the 3D voxel grid data structure corresponds to the location;

evaluating surface reactions at the location based on the flux contribution to obtain a value modification, wherein the value modification corresponds to an amount of material that is etched or deposited at the location by the particle; and

using the value modification to update values stored in the impacted voxel and potentially other voxels in proximity to the impacted voxel.

8. The IC design system of claim 7, wherein each voxel in the 3D voxel grid data structure stores an integer value.

9. The IC design system of claim 7, wherein calculating the flux contribution of the particle comprises using a voxel traversal technique to determine the location on the surface of the physical structure where the particle impacts the physical structure.

10. The IC design system of claim 7, wherein the topography simulation is performed by using multiple threads in the computer that execute in parallel, wherein each thread performs the set of operations for a subset of particles emitted by the Monte-Carlo particle emission model.

11. The IC design system of claim 10, wherein the multiple threads share the 3D voxel grid data structure and do not obtain a lock for a voxel before modifying the value stored in the voxel.

12. The IC design system of claim 7, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium additionally storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the IC design system to display an image of the physical structure on a screen by rendering the 3D voxel grid data structure.

13. A method for topography simulation of etching and/or deposition on a physical structure, the method comprising:

initializing a three-dimensional (3D) voxel grid data structure that represents a volume containing the physical structure, wherein each voxel in the 3D voxel grid data structure stores a value that represents an amount of material in a 3D region corresponding to the voxel; and

for each particle emitted by a Monte-Carlo particle emission model, performing a set of operations to determine a topographical modification caused by the particle, wherein the set of operations comprises;

calculating a flux contribution of the particle at a location where the particle impacts a surface of the physical structure, wherein an impacted voxel in the 3D voxel grid data structure corresponds to the location;

evaluating surface reactions at the location based on the flux contribution to obtain a value modification, wherein the value modification corresponds to an amount of material that is etched or deposited at the location by the particle; and

using the value modification to update values stored in the impacted voxel and potentially other voxels in proximity to the impacted voxel.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein each voxel in the 3D voxel grid data structure stores an integer value.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein calculating the flux contribution of the particle comprises using a voxel traversal technique to determine the location on the surface of the physical structure where the particle impacts the physical structure.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the topography simulation is performed by using multiple threads in the computer that execute in parallel, wherein each thread performs the set of operations for a subset of particles emitted by the Monte-Carlo particle emission model.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the multiple threads share the 3D voxel grid data structure and do not obtain a lock for a voxel before modifying the value stored in the voxel.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises displaying an image of the physical structure on a screen by rendering the 3D voxel grid data structure.