Dynamic provisional decomposition of lithographic patterns having different interaction ranges

US8266554B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• International Business Machines Corporation · US

Inventors

• Saeed Bagheri · Ossining, US
• Francisco Barahona · White Plains, US
• Laszlo Ladanyi · Peekskill, US
• Jonathan Lee · Fremont, US
• David O. Melville · New York, US
• Alan E. Rosenbluth · Yorktown Heights, US
• Daniele P. Scarpazza · Dobbs Ferry, US
• Marc Alan Szeto-Millstone · Seattle, US
• Kehan Tian · 余新镇, CN
• Andreas Waechter · New York, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Aug 5, 2011
• Grant date: Sep 11, 2012
• Expiry date: Aug 5, 2031

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G03F1/68
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A method for obtaining mask and source patterns for printing integrated circuit patterns includes providing initial representations of a plurality of mask and source patterns. The method identifies long-range and short-range factors in the representations of the plurality of mask and source patterns, and provides a plurality of clips including a specified number of mask patterns. Short-range factors having overlapping ranges for each of the clips are specified. The method includes determining an initial processing priority for the plurality of clips, and determining a patterning relationship between integrated circuit patterns and the mask and source patterns. A primary objective is determined which expresses the printability of the integrated circuit patterns in terms of the patterning relationship. The method defines and iteratively solves a master problem employing the primary objective to generate values for the long-range factors, and solves subproblems employing a second objective for generating values for the short-range factors.