Intelligent photomask disposition
First Claim
1. A method for determining if an undesirable feature on a photomask will adversely affect the performance of a semiconductor device On a wafer, said device being created by said photomask through a lithographic process, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) inspecting said photomask for defects;
(b) measuring the size and location of said defects relative to features on said photomask;
(c) classifying said defects by type of defect;
(d) assigning an equivalent mask critical dimension error (EME) value to each of said features based on said size, said location and said type of defect, wherein said EME value for each defect is assigned by the equation;
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for determining whether a defect that is detected by photomask inspection will adversely affect a semiconductor device, such as a wafer. The method has the ability of relating defect specifications directly to device performance and wafer yields, and assessing the impact of combining the defect with the critical dimension error using standard inspection tools. More specifically, the method includes the steps of: inspecting the photomask for defects; measuring the size and location of the defects relative to features on the photomask; classifying the defects by type of defect; assigning an equivalent mask critical dimension error (EME) value to each of the features based on size, location and type of defect; assigning a total mask error to each of the features by adding EME values to each defect impacting the features; and comparing the equivalent critical dimension error to a mask critical dimension error tolerance to determine whether the defects adversely affect the performance of the semiconductor device.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method for determining if an undesirable feature on a photomask will adversely affect the performance of a semiconductor device On a wafer, said device being created by said photomask through a lithographic process, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) inspecting said photomask for defects;
(b) measuring the size and location of said defects relative to features on said photomask;
(c) classifying said defects by type of defect;
(d) assigning an equivalent mask critical dimension error (EME) value to each of said features based on said size, said location and said type of defect, wherein said EME value for each defect is assigned by the equation;
- 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, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification