Method for determining curvilinear patterns for patterning device
US11232249B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 28, 2019 |
| Grant date | Jan 25, 2022 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 28, 2039 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2119/18
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method to determine a curvilinear pattern of a patterning device that includes obtaining (i) an initial image of the patterning device corresponding to a target pattern to be printed on a substrate subjected to a patterning process, and (ii) a process model configured to predict a pattern on the substrate from the initial image, generating, by a hardware computer system, an enhanced image from the initial image, generating, by the hardware computer system, a level set image using the enhanced image, and iteratively determining, by the hardware computer system, a curvilinear pattern for the patterning device based on the level set image, the process model, and a cost function, where the cost function (e.g., EPE) determines a difference between a predicted pattern and the target pattern, where the difference is iteratively reduced.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.