Method, system, and computer program product for determining three-dimensional feature characteristics in electronic designs

• US 7,962,866 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2007
• Issued: 06/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cadence Design Systems Incorporated (Cadence Group)
• Original Assignee: Cadence Design Systems Incorporated (Cadence Group)
• Inventors: Scheffer, Louis K., White, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Kik; Phallaka
• Application Number:
  US11/866,383
• Publication Number:
  US 20080163142A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,351 Days
• Field of Search: 716/5, 716/21, 700/98, 700/110, 700/120, 700/121, 703/2, 703/14
• US Class Current: 716/54
• 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

Disclosed are an improved method, system, and computer program product for a method or system with concurrent models to more accurately determine and represent the three-dimensional design features of electronic designs. Some embodiments disclose a method or a system for determining the design feature characteristics based upon their respective three-dimensional profiles. Some other embodiments further determine whether the design objectives or constraints are met or may be relaxed based upon the design feature characteristics in order to complete the design. Other embodiments store the profile or geometric characteristics, or information derived therefrom, in a database associated with the design to reduce the need for potentially expensive computations. The method or system may modify the designs or the processes to reflect whether the design objectives or constraints are met or relaxed.

Claims

1. A machine implemented method for determining an electronic design characteristic based upon a geometric characteristic of an electronic design feature, comprising:

using a computer system which comprises at least one processor and is programmed for performing;

identifying a first concurrent model for a first level of an electronic circuit design of an electronic circuit to be manufactured by a first manufacturing process or technique;

determining a first three-dimensional geometric characteristic for a first feature on the first level by using at least the first concurrent model;

determining whether a first design requirement for the first level is satisfied based upon the first three-dimensional geometric characteristic; and

displaying a result of determining a first three-dimensional geometric characteristic or storing the result in a non-transitory, tangible machine accessible medium.

2. The machine implemented method of claim 1, further comprises:

identifying a second concurrent model for a second level of the electronic circuit design of the electronic circuit to be manufactured by a second manufacturing process or technique.

3. The machine implemented method of claim 2 further comprising:

determining a second three-dimensional geometric characteristic for a second feature on the second level; and

determining whether a second design requirement for the second level is satisfied based upon the second three-dimensional geometric characteristic.

4. The machine implemented method of claim 2, further comprising:

forwarding a result of determining a three-dimensional geometric characteristic for a feature on the first level to the second level of the electronic circuit design; and

determining whether a second design requirement for the second level is satisfied based upon the first three-dimensional geometric characteristic.

5. The machine implemented method of claim 4 further comprising:

determining whether a third design requirement for the first level and the second level combined is satisfied.

6. The machine implemented method of claim 2, in which the first manufacturing process or technique or the second manufacturing process or technique comprises a fabrication process or an image processing process or technique, wherein

the fabrication process comprises a deposition, removal, patterning, or property modification process;

and

the image processing processor or technique comprises OAI, SRAF, or PSM.

7. The machine implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a first characteristic for the first manufacturing process or technique.

8. The machine implemented method of claim 7, in which the first characteristic comprises plasma distribution, temperature distribution, process chemistry distribution, electromagnetic field distribution, or power distribution.

9. The machine implemented method of claim 7, the first characteristic comprising one or more attributes of a processing chamber within which the electronic circuit is to be manufactured.

10. The machine implemented method of claim 7, in which the determining a first three-dimensional geometric characteristic for a first feature on the first level is based upon the first characteristic for the first manufacturing process or technique.

11. The machine implemented method of claim 1, in which the determining a first three-dimensional geometric characteristic comprises:

directly simulating an underlying physics principle of the first process or technique.

12. The machine implemented method of claim 1, in which the determining a first three-dimensional geometric characteristic comprises:

directly simulating the first manufacturing process or technique; and

tuning a result of the directly simulating with information obtained from a patterned test wafer or from a source of limited fidelity.

13. The machine implemented method of claim 1, in which the determining a first three-dimensional geometric characteristic comprises:

determining a first effective three-dimensional geometric characteristic based upon one or more rules determined with information obtained from a patterned test wafer or from a source of limited fidelity.

14. The machine implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a property of the electronic design feature based upon the three-dimensional geometric characteristic of the first feature.

15. The machine implemented method of claim 14, in which the property of the feature comprises a physical property, an electrical property, a thermal property, or a chemical property of the feature.

16. The machine implemented method of claim 1, in which the first design requirement comprises a performance objective or constraint, a manufacturability objective or constraint, or a reliability objective or constraint.

17. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

combining the first concurrent model with statistical variability measured from or produced by an additional model for the first level to produce a distribution of values related to the first geometric characteristic.

18. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, in which a portion of the electronic circuit design is generated by a context simulation method.

19. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-usable storage medium having executable code which, when executed by a processor of a computer system, causes the computer system to execute a process for accurately determining an electronic design characteristic based upon a geometric characteristic of an electronic design feature, the process comprising:

identifying a first concurrent model for a first level of an electronic circuit design of an electronic circuit to be manufactured by a first manufacturing process or technique;

determining a first three-dimensional geometric characteristic for a first feature on the first level by using at least the first concurrent model;

determining whether a first design requirement for the first level (objective or constraint) is satisfied based upon the first three-dimensional geometric characteristic; and

displaying a result of determining a first three-dimensional geometric characteristic or storing the result in a non-transitory tangible machine accessible medium or a computer storage device.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, the process further comprising:

identifying a second concurrent model for a second level of the electronic circuit design of the electronic circuit to be manufactured by a second manufacturing process or technique;

determining a second three-dimensional geometric characteristic for a second feature on the second level; and

determining whether a second design requirement for the second level is satisfied based upon the second three-dimensional geometric characteristic.

21. The computer program product of claim 19, the process further comprising:

identifying a second concurrent model for a second level of the electronic circuit design of the electronic circuit to be manufactured by a second manufacturing process or technique;

forwarding a result of determining a three-dimensional geometric characteristic for a feature on the first level to the second level of the electronic circuit design;

determining whether a second design requirement for the second level is satisfied based upon the first three-dimensional geometric characteristic; and

determining whether a third design requirement for the first level and the second level combined is satisfied.

22. The computer program product of claim 19, the process further comprising:

identifying a first characteristic for the first manufacturing process or technique;

determining a first effective three-dimensional geometric characteristic based upon one or more rules determined with information obtained from a patterned test wafer or from a source of limited fidelity.

23. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the act of determining the first three-dimensional geometric characteristic comprises:

directly simulating the first manufacturing process or technique; and

tuning a result of the directly simulating with information obtained from a patterned test wafer or from a source of limited fidelity.

24. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising:

combining the first concurrent model with statistical variability measured from or produced by an additional model for the first level to produce a distribution of values related to the first geometric characteristic.

25. A system for accurately determining an electronic design characteristic based upon a geometric characteristic of an electronic design feature, comprising:

a computer system which comprises at least one processor and is programmed for performing;

identifying a first concurrent model for a first level of an electronic circuit design of an electronic circuit to be manufactured by a first manufacturing process or technique;

determining a first three-dimensional geometric characteristic for a first feature on the first level by using at least the first concurrent model;

determining whether a first design requirement for the first level is satisfied based upon the first three-dimensional geometric characteristic; and

displaying a result of determining a first three-dimensional geometric characteristic or storing the result in a tangible machine accessible medium.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the computer system is further programmed for performing:

identifying a second concurrent model for a second level of the electronic circuit design of the electronic circuit to be manufactured by a second manufacturing process or technique;

determining a second three-dimensional geometric characteristic for a second feature on the second level; and

determining whether a second design requirement for the second level is satisfied based upon the second three-dimensional geometric characteristic.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the computer system is further programmed for performing:

identifying a second concurrent model for a second level of the electronic circuit design of the electronic circuit to be manufactured by a second manufacturing process or technique;

forwarding a result of determining a three-dimensional geometric characteristic for a feature on the first level to the second level of the electronic circuit design;

determining whether a second design requirement for the second level is satisfied based upon the first three-dimensional geometric characteristic; and

determining whether a third design requirement for the first level and the second level combined is satisfied.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein the computer system is further programmed for performing:

identifying a first characteristic for the first manufacturing process or technique;

determining a first effective three-dimensional geometric characteristic based upon one or more rules determined with information obtained from a patterned test wafer or from a source of limited fidelity.

29. The system of claim 25, wherein the computer system is further programmed for performing:

directly simulating the first manufacturing process or technique; and

tuning a result of the directly simulating with information obtained from a patterned test wafer or from a source of limited fidelity.

30. The system of claim 25, wherein the computer system is further programmed for performing:

combining the first concurrent model with statistical variability measured from or produced by an additional model for the first level to produce a distribution of values related to the first geometric characteristic.