Methods for optical proximity correction in the design and fabrication of integrated circuits
First Claim
1. A method of manufacturing an optical lithography mask, the method comprising the steps of:
- designing an optical photomask for forming a pre-pattern opening in a photoresist layer on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the step of designing the optical photomask comprises;
providing a patterned layout design comprising a plurality of polygons that correspond with the pre-pattern opening;
correcting the patterned layout design using optical proximity correction (OPC) by adjusting widths and lengths of one or more of the plurality of polygons, to generate a corrected patterned layout design;
converting the corrected patterned layout design into a mask writer-compatible format, to generate a mask writer-compatible layout design comprising the plurality of polygons; and
biasing each polygon in the plurality of polygons with a bias that accounts for large-scale density values of the patterned layout design, to generate a biased, mask writer-compatible layout design; and
manufacturing the optical photomask in a mask writer tool using the biased, mask writer-compatible layout design as a template for the optical photomask.
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Abstract
A method of manufacturing an optical lithography mask includes providing a patterned layout design comprising a plurality of polygons, correcting the patterned layout design using optical proximity correction (OPC) by adjusting widths and lengths of one or more of the plurality of polygons, to generate a corrected patterned layout design, converting the corrected patterned layout design into a mask writer-compatible format, to generate a mask writer-compatible layout design comprising the plurality of polygons, and biasing each polygon in the plurality of polygons with a bias that accounts for large-scale density values of the patterned layout design, to generate a biased, mask writer-compatible layout design.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of manufacturing an optical lithography mask, the method comprising the steps of:
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designing an optical photomask for forming a pre-pattern opening in a photoresist layer on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the step of designing the optical photomask comprises; providing a patterned layout design comprising a plurality of polygons that correspond with the pre-pattern opening; correcting the patterned layout design using optical proximity correction (OPC) by adjusting widths and lengths of one or more of the plurality of polygons, to generate a corrected patterned layout design; converting the corrected patterned layout design into a mask writer-compatible format, to generate a mask writer-compatible layout design comprising the plurality of polygons; and biasing each polygon in the plurality of polygons with a bias that accounts for large-scale density values of the patterned layout design, to generate a biased, mask writer-compatible layout design; and manufacturing the optical photomask in a mask writer tool using the biased, mask writer-compatible layout design as a template for the optical photomask. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for fabricating an integrated circuit, the method comprising:
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providing semiconductor substrate comprising a silicon material; forming a photoresist layer over the semiconductor substrate; providing an optical photomask mask, wherein providing the optical lithography mask comprises the steps of; designing the optical photomask for forming a pre-pattern opening in the photoresist layer on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the step of designing the optical photomask comprises; providing a patterned layout design comprising a plurality of polygons that correspond with the pre-pattern opening; correcting the patterned layout design using optical proximity correction (OPC) by adjusting widths and lengths of one or more of the plurality of polygons, to generate a corrected patterned layout design; converting the corrected patterned layout design into a mask writer-compatible format, to generate a mask writer-compatible layout design comprising the plurality of polygons; and biasing each polygon in the plurality of polygons with a bias that accounts for large-scale density values of the patterned layout design, to generate a biased, mask writer-compatible layout design; and manufacturing the optical photomask in a mask writer tool using the biased, mask writer-compatible layout design as a template for the optical photomask; disposing the optical photomask over the photoresist layer; and directing a light source through the photomask so as to expose a portion of the photoresist layer to the light source. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of manufacturing an optical lithography mask, the method comprising the steps of:
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designing an optical photomask for forming a pre-pattern opening in a photoresist layer on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the step of designing the optical photomask comprises; providing a patterned layout design comprising a plurality of polygons that correspond with the pre-pattern opening; and converting the patterned layout design into a mask writer tool-compatible format, to generate a mask writer-compatible layout design comprising the plurality of polygons; and manufacturing the optical photomask in a mask writer tool using the mask writer tool-compatible layout design as a template for the optical photomask, wherein the step of manufacturing the optical photomask comprises correcting for flare by altering an intensity of the mask writer tool during a mask write process to one or more polygon images of the plurality of polygons.
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Specification