DEFECTIVE ARTIFACT REMOVAL IN PHOTOLITHOGRAPHY MASKS CORRECTED FOR OPTICAL PROXIMITY

摘要

Defective artifact removal is described in photolithography masks corrected for optical proximity. In one example a method is described in which partitions are identified in a mask design for independent optimization. The partitions are grouped and ordering into stages. The first stage is processed. Geometries are extracted from the periphery of the first stage partitions. The extracted geometries are added to the peripheries of second stage partitions. Then the second stage partitions are processed.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
generating a photolithography mask design; identifying partitions in the design for independent optimization; grouping the partitions and ordering each group into one of a sequence of stages; processing a group of partitions ordered in the first stage; extracting geometries from the periphery of partitions in the first stage after processing; adding the extracted geometries to the peripheries of partitions of the second stage; and processing the partitions of the second stage, the partitions including the added extracted geometries.