Structure and methodology for fabrication and inspection of photomasks by a single design system
First Claim
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1. A method of designing a photomask, comprising:
- using a computer, generating a chip dataset representing an integrated circuit chip design to be included in a cell region of the photomask;
using a computer, generating a kerf dataset representing a kerf design to be included in the cell region;
determining a portion of the kerf dataset to copy;
using a computer, generating a kerf copy dataset, the kerf copy dataset including the portion of the kerf dataset to copy; and
using a computer, merging the chip dataset, the kerf dataset and the kerf copy dataset into a photomask dataset representing a pattern of clear and opaque regions of the photomask.
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Abstract
A method and system for designing a photomask. The method provides a single machine methodology for inspecting photomasks having regions that repeat and regions that do not repeat. The method includes generating a chip dataset representing an integrated circuit chip design to be included in a cell region of a photomask, generating a kerf dataset to be included in the cell region, generating a kerf copy dataset, and merging the chip dataset, the kerf dataset and the kerf copy dataset into a photomask dataset representing a pattern of clear and opaque regions of the photomask.
27 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of designing a photomask, comprising:
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using a computer, generating a chip dataset representing an integrated circuit chip design to be included in a cell region of the photomask; using a computer, generating a kerf dataset representing a kerf design to be included in the cell region; determining a portion of the kerf dataset to copy; using a computer, generating a kerf copy dataset, the kerf copy dataset including the portion of the kerf dataset to copy; and using a computer, merging the chip dataset, the kerf dataset and the kerf copy dataset into a photomask dataset representing a pattern of clear and opaque regions of the photomask. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer system comprising a processor, an address/data bus coupled to the processor, and a computer-readable memory unit coupled to communicate with the processor, the memory unit containing instructions that when executed implement a method of designing a photomask, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of:
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generating a chip dataset representing an integrated circuit chip design to be included in a cell region of the photomask; generating a kerf dataset representing a kerf design to be included in the cell region; determining a portion of the kerf dataset to copy; generating a kerf copy dataset, the kerf copy dataset including the portion of the kerf dataset to copy; and merging the chip dataset, the kerf dataset and the kerf copy dataset into a photomask dataset representing a pattern of clear and opaque regions of the photomask. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification