METHODOLOGY OF PLACING PRINTING ASSIST FEATURE FOR RANDOM MASK LAYOUT

摘要

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method of placing printing assist features in a mask layout. The method includes providing a design layout having one or more designed features; generating a set of parameters, the set of parameters being associated with one or more printing assist features (PrAFs); adding the one or more PrAFs of the set of parameters to the design layout to produce a modified design layout; performing simulation of the one or more PrAFs and the one or more designed features on the modified design layout; verifying whether the one or more PrAFs are removable based on results of the simulation; and creating a set of PrAF placement rules based on the set of parameters, if the one or more PrAFs are verified as removable. The set of PrAF placement rules may be used in creating a final set of PrAF features to be used for creating the mask layout.