Patent · US Active

Method for emulation of a photolithographic process and mask inspection microscope for performing the method

US8913120B2 · kind B2 · utility

9Cited by

0References

55Claims

0Family size

Assignee

Carl Zeiss SMS Ltd. · IL

Inventors

Eric Poortinga · Allen, US
Thomas Scherübl · Berlin, DE
Rigo Richter · Zeulenroda, DE
Arne Seyfarth · Jena, DE

Key dates

Filing date	Aug 24, 2010
Grant date	Dec 16, 2014
Priority date	—
Expiry date	Jan 21, 2032

Classification

Technology area (CPC G)Physics
CPC primaryG03F7/70666
WIPO fieldOptics
WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

In mask inspection, the defects that are of interest are primarily those that will also show up on wafer exposure. The aerial images generated in the resist and by emulation should be as identical as possible. This also applies to methods in which an overall structure that is divided into at least two substructures on at least two masks. A system and a method are provided for emulating a photolithographic process for generating on a wafer an overall structure that is divided into at least two substructures on at least two masks. The method includes generating aerial images of the at least two substructures, at least one of the aerial images being captured with a mask inspection microscope; correcting, by using a processing unit, errors in the at least one aerial image captured with a mask inspection microscope; and overlaying the aerial images of the at least two substructures to form an overall aerial image with the overall structure.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.