U.S. patent application number 14/739989 was filed with the patent office on 2015-11-26 for method and system for design of enhanced edge slope patterns for charged particle beam lithography.
The applicant listed for this patent is D2S, Inc.. Invention is credited to Ingo Bork, Akira Fujimura, Kazuyuki Hagiwara, Stephen F. Meier.
Application Number | 20150338737 14/739989 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46719880 |
Filed Date | 2015-11-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150338737 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Fujimura; Akira ; et
al. |
November 26, 2015 |
Method and System for Design of Enhanced Edge Slope Patterns for
Charged Particle Beam Lithography
Abstract
A method and system for fracturing or mask data preparation are
presented in which overlapping shots are generated to increase
dosage in selected portions of a pattern, thus improving the
fidelity and/or the critical dimension variation of the transferred
pattern. In various embodiments, the improvements may affect the
ends of paths or lines, or square or nearly-square patterns.
Simulation is used to determine the pattern that will be produced
on the surface.
Inventors: |
Fujimura; Akira; (Saratoga,
CA) ; Hagiwara; Kazuyuki; (Tokyo, JP) ; Meier;
Stephen F.; (Sunnyvale, CA) ; Bork; Ingo;
(Mountain View, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
D2S, Inc. |
San Jose |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
46719880 |
Appl. No.: |
14/739989 |
Filed: |
June 15, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13037270 |
Feb 28, 2011 |
9057956 |
|
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14739989 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
716/53 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G03F 1/36 20130101; G03F
7/2061 20130101; G03F 7/2063 20130101; H01J 37/3026 20130101; G03F
1/70 20130101; H01J 2237/31771 20130101; H01J 37/3177 20130101;
G03F 1/68 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G03F 7/20 20060101
G03F007/20; G03F 1/70 20060101 G03F001/70 |
Claims
1. A method for fracturing or mask data preparation or proximity
effect correction comprising: calculating a line end pattern that
will be produced on a surface and calculating the edge slope of the
pattern from a set of shots comprising one or more shots; and
modifying the set of shots to improve the edge slope of the
calculated line end pattern, wherein the modification comprises at
least one of the group consisting of 1) determining an additional
shot which overlaps a shot in the set of shots; 2) varying the
overlap of two or more shots in the set of shots; 3) varying the
size of a shot which overlaps another shot; and 4) varying the
dosage of a shot in the set of shots with respect to the dosage of
another overlapping shot in the set of shots.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of calculating comprises
charged particle beam simulation.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the charged particle beam
simulation includes at least one of a group consisting of forward
scattering, backward scattering, resist diffusion, Coulomb effect,
etching, fogging, loading and resist charging.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the modified set of shots includes
a character projection shot of a complex character.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the modified set of shots
increases the peak dosage near the line end.
6. A method for fracturing or mask data preparation or proximity
effect correction comprising: determining a plurality of shots
which form a line end pattern on a surface, wherein the step of
determining comprises calculating the pattern on the surface and
calculating the edge slope of the pattern from the plurality of
shots, and wherein the edge slope of the line end pattern on the
surface is improved using a shot varying technique comprising at
least one of the group consisting of 1) varying the dosage of a
shot overlapping another shot; 2) varying the overlap of two or
more shots; and 3) varying the size of a shot which overlaps
another shot.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein the step of determining comprises
determining shots for multiple exposure passes, and wherein
overlapping shots are placed in different exposure passes.
8. The method of claim 6 wherein a complex character shot is
determined.
9. The method of claim 6 wherein an optimization technique is used
to determine the plurality of shots.
10. The method of claim 6 wherein the calculating comprises charged
particle beam simulation.
11. The method of claim 6, further comprising inputting a library
of precalculated glyphs, wherein the step of determining determines
shots from one or more glyphs, and wherein the glyph precalculation
constitutes at least a part of the pattern calculation.
12. A method for fracturing or mask data preparation or proximity
effect correction comprising: determining a plurality of shots
which form a square or nearly-square pattern on a surface, wherein
the step of determining comprises calculating the pattern on the
surface and calculating the edge slope of the pattern from the
plurality of shots, and wherein the edge slope of the square
pattern on the surface is improved using a shot varying technique
comprising at least one of the group consisting of 1) varying the
dosage of a shot overlapping another shot; 2) varying the overlap
of two or more shots; and 3) varying the size of a shot which
overlaps another shot.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of calculating
comprises charged particle beam simulation.
14. The method of claim 12 wherein the plurality of shots produces
a higher peak dosage near the corners of the pattern than in the
center of the pattern.
15.-25. (canceled)
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application: is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/037,270, filed Feb. 28, 2011, entitled
"Method and System for Design of Enhanced Edge Slope Patterns for
Charged Particle Beam Lithography," which is hereby incorporated by
reference for all purposes. This application also 1) is related to
Fujimura, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/037,263, entitled
"Method and System For Design Of A Surface To Be Manufactured Using
Charged Particle Beam Lithography," filed on Feb. 28, 2011; and 2)
is related to Fujimura, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/037,268
filed Feb. 28, 2011, entitled "Method and System For Design Of
Enhanced Accuracy Patterns For Charged Particle Beam Lithography";
both of which are hereby incorporated by reference for all
purposes.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] The present disclosure is related to lithography, and more
particularly to the design and manufacture of a surface which may
be a reticle, a wafer, or any other surface, using charged particle
beam lithography.
[0003] In the production or manufacturing of semiconductor devices,
such as integrated circuits, optical lithography may be used to
fabricate the semiconductor devices. Optical lithography is a
printing process in which a lithographic mask or photomask
manufactured from a reticle is used to transfer patterns to a
substrate such as a semiconductor or silicon wafer to create the
integrated circuit (I.C.). Other substrates could include flat
panel displays or even other reticles. Conventional optical
lithography typically uses radiation of 193 nm wavelength or
longer. Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) or X-ray lithography are also
considered types of optical lithography, but use wavelengths much
shorter than the 193 nm of conventional optical lithography. The
reticle or multiple reticles may contain a circuit pattern
corresponding to an individual layer of the integrated circuit, and
this pattern can be imaged onto a certain area on the substrate
that has been coated with a layer of radiation-sensitive material
known as photoresist or resist. Once the patterned layer is
transferred the layer may undergo various other processes such as
etching, ion-implantation (doping), metallization, oxidation, and
polishing. These processes are employed to finish an individual
layer in the substrate. If several layers are required, then the
whole process or variations thereof will be repeated for each new
layer. Eventually, a combination of multiples of devices or
integrated circuits will be present on the substrate. These
integrated circuits may then be separated from one another by
dicing or sawing and then may be mounted into individual packages.
In the more general case, the patterns on the substrate may be used
to define artifacts such as display pixels, holograms, or magnetic
recording heads.
[0004] In the production or manufacturing of semiconductor devices,
such as integrated circuits, maskless direct write may also be used
to fabricate the semiconductor devices. Maskless direct write is a
printing process in which charged particle beam lithography is used
to transfer patterns to a substrate such as a semiconductor or
silicon wafer to create the integrated circuit. Other substrates
could include flat panel displays, imprint masks for
nano-imprinting, or even reticles. Desired patterns of a layer are
written directly on the surface, which in this case is also the
substrate. Once the patterned layer is transferred the layer may
undergo various other processes such as etching, ion-implantation
(doping), metallization, oxidation, and polishing. These processes
are employed to finish an individual layer in the substrate. If
several layers are required, then the whole process or variations
thereof will be repeated for each new layer. Some of the layers may
be written using optical lithography while others may be written
using maskless direct write to fabricate the same substrate. Also,
some patterns of a given layer may be written using optical
lithography, and other patterns written using maskless direct
write. Eventually, a combination of multiples of devices or
integrated circuits will be present on the substrate. These
integrated circuits are then separated from one another by dicing
or sawing and then mounted into individual packages. In the more
general case, the patterns on the surface may be used to define
artifacts such as display pixels, holograms, or magnetic recording
heads.
[0005] Two common types of charged particle beam lithography are
variable shaped beam (VSB) and character projection (CP). These are
both sub-categories of shaped beam charged particle beam
lithography, in which a precise electron beam is shaped and steered
so as to expose a resist-coated surface, such as the surface of a
wafer or the surface of a reticle. In VSB, these shapes are simple
shapes, usually limited to rectangles of certain minimum and
maximum sizes and with sides which are parallel to the axes of a
Cartesian coordinate plane (i.e. of "manhattan" orientation), and
45 degree right triangles (i.e. triangles with their three internal
angles being 45 degrees, 45 degrees, and 90 degrees) of certain
minimum and maximum sizes. At predetermined locations, doses of
electrons are shot into the resist with these simple shapes. The
total writing time for this type of system increases with the
number of shots. In character projection (CP), there is a stencil
in the system that has in it a variety of apertures or characters
which may be complex shapes such as rectilinear, arbitrary-angled
linear, circular, nearly circular, annular, nearly annular, oval,
nearly oval, partially circular, partially nearly circular,
partially annular, partially nearly annular, partially nearly oval,
or arbitrary curvilinear shapes, and which may be a connected set
of complex shapes or a group of disjointed sets of a connected set
of complex shapes. An electron beam can be shot through a character
on the stencil to efficiently produce more complex patterns on the
reticle. In theory, such a system can be faster than a VSB system
because it can shoot more complex shapes with each time-consuming
shot. Thus, an E-shaped pattern shot with a VSB system takes four
shots, but the same E-shaped pattern can be shot with one shot with
a character projection system. Note that VSB systems can be thought
of as a special (simple) case of character projection, where the
characters are just simple characters, usually rectangles or
45-45-90 degree triangles. It is also possible to partially expose
a character. This can be done by, for instance, blocking part of
the particle beam. For example, the E-shaped pattern described
above can be partially exposed as an F-shaped pattern or an
I-shaped pattern, where different parts of the beam are cut off by
an aperture. This is the same mechanism as how various sized
rectangles can be shot using VSB. In this disclosure, partial
projection is used to mean both character projection and VSB
projection.
[0006] As indicated, in optical lithography the lithographic mask
or reticle comprises geometric patterns corresponding to the
circuit components to be integrated onto a substrate. The patterns
used to manufacture the reticle may be generated utilizing
computer-aided design (CAD) software or programs. In designing the
patterns the CAD program may follow a set of pre-determined design
rules in order to create the reticle. These rules are set by
processing, design, and end-use limitations. An example of an
end-use limitation is defining the geometry of a transistor in a
way in which it cannot sufficiently operate at the required supply
voltage. In particular, design rules can define the space tolerance
between circuit devices or interconnect lines. The design rules
are, for example, used to ensure that the circuit devices or lines
do not interact with one another in an undesirable manner. For
example, the design rules are used so that lines do not get too
close to each other in a way that may cause a short circuit. The
design rule limitations reflect, among other things, the smallest
dimensions that can be reliably fabricated. When referring to these
small dimensions, one usually introduces the concept of a critical
dimension. These are, for instance, defined as the smallest width
of a line or the smallest space between two lines, those dimensions
requiring exquisite control.
[0007] One goal in integrated circuit fabrication by optical
lithography is to reproduce the original circuit design on the
substrate by use of the reticle. Integrated circuit fabricators are
always attempting to use the semiconductor wafer real estate as
efficiently as possible. Engineers keep shrinking the size of the
circuits to allow the integrated circuits to contain more circuit
elements and to use less power. As the size of an integrated
circuit critical dimension is reduced and its circuit density
increases, the critical dimension of the circuit pattern or
physical design approaches the resolution limit of the optical
exposure tool used in conventional optical lithography. As the
critical dimensions of the circuit pattern become smaller and
approach the resolution value of the exposure tool, the accurate
transcription of the physical design to the actual circuit pattern
developed on the resist layer becomes difficult. To further the use
of optical lithography to transfer patterns having features that
are smaller than the light wavelength used in the optical
lithography process, a process known as optical proximity
correction (OPC) has been developed. OPC alters the physical design
to compensate for distortions caused by effects such as optical
diffraction and the optical interaction of features with proximate
features. OPC includes all resolution enhancement technologies
performed with a reticle.
[0008] OPC may add sub-resolution lithographic features to mask
patterns to reduce differences between the original physical design
pattern, that is, the design, and the final transferred circuit
pattern on the substrate. The sub-resolution lithographic features
interact with the original patterns in the physical design and with
each other and compensate for proximity effects to improve the
final transferred circuit pattern. One feature that is used to
improve the transfer of the pattern is a sub-resolution assist
feature (SRAF). Another feature that is added to improve pattern
transference is referred to as "serifs". Serifs are small features
that can be positioned on a corner of a pattern to sharpen the
corner in the final transferred image. It is often the case that
the precision demanded of the surface manufacturing process for
SRAFs are less than those for patterns that are intended to print
on the substrate, often referred to as main features. Serifs are a
part of a main feature. As the limits of optical lithography are
being extended far into the sub-wavelength regime, the OPC features
must be made more and more complex in order to compensate for even
more subtle interactions and effects. As imaging systems are pushed
closer to their limits, the ability to produce reticles with
sufficiently fine OPC features becomes critical. Although adding
serifs or other OPC features to a mask pattern is advantageous, it
also substantially increases the total feature count in the mask
pattern. For example, adding a serif to each of the corners of a
square using conventional techniques adds eight more rectangles to
a mask or reticle pattern. Adding OPC features is a very laborious
task, requires costly computation time, and results in more
expensive reticles. Not only are OPC patterns complex, but since
optical proximity effects are long range compared to minimum line
and space dimensions, the correct OPC patterns in a given location
depend significantly on what other geometry is in the neighborhood.
Thus, for instance, a line end will have different size serifs
depending on what is near it on the reticle. This is even though
the objective might be to produce exactly the same shape on the
wafer. These slight but critical variations are important and have
prevented others from being able to form reticle patterns. It is
conventional to discuss the OPC-decorated patterns to be written on
a reticle in terms of main features, that is features that reflect
the design before OPC decoration, and OPC features, where OPC
features might include serifs, jogs, and SRAF. To quantify what is
meant by slight variations, a typical slight variation in OPC
decoration from neighborhood to neighborhood might be 5% to 80% of
a main feature size. Note that for clarity, variations in the
design of the OPC are what is being referenced. Manufacturing
variations, such as line-edge roughness and corner rounding, will
also be present in the actual surface patterns. When these OPC
variations produce substantially the same patterns on the wafer,
what is meant is that the geometry on the wafer is targeted to be
the same within a specified error, which depends on the details of
the function that that geometry is designed to perform, e.g., a
transistor or a wire. Nevertheless, typical specifications are in
the 2%-50% of a main feature range. There are numerous
manufacturing factors that also cause variations, but the OPC
component of that overall error is often in the range listed. OPC
shapes such as sub-resolution assist features are subject to
various design rules, such as a rule based on the size of the
smallest feature that can be transferred to the wafer using optical
lithography. Other design rules may come from the mask
manufacturing process or, if a character projection charged
particle beam writing system is used to form the pattern on a
reticle, from the stencil manufacturing process. It should also be
noted that the accuracy requirement of the SRAF features on the
mask may be lower than the accuracy requirements for the main
features on the mask.
[0009] There are a number of technologies used for forming patterns
on a reticle, including using optical lithography or charged
particle beam lithography. The most commonly used system is the
variable shaped beam (VSB), where, as described above, doses of
electrons with simple shapes such as manhattan rectangles and
45-degree right triangles expose a resist-coated reticle surface.
In conventional mask writing, the doses or shots of electrons are
conventionally designed to avoid overlap wherever possible, so as
to greatly simplify calculation of how the resist on the reticle
will register the pattern. Similarly, the set of shots is designed
so as to completely cover the pattern area that is to be formed on
the reticle.
[0010] Reticle writing for the most advanced technology nodes
typically involves multiple passes of charged particle beam
writing, a process called multi-pass exposure, whereby the given
shape on the reticle is written and overwritten. Typically, two to
four passes are used to write a reticle to average out precision
errors in the charged particle beam writer, allowing the creation
of more accurate photomasks. Also typically, the list of shots,
including the dosages, is the same for every pass. In one variation
of multi-pass exposure, the lists of shots may vary among exposure
passes, but the union of the shots in any exposure pass covers the
same area. Multi-pass writing can reduce over-heating of the resist
coating the surface. Multi-pass writing also averages out random
errors of the charged particle beam writer. Multi-pass writing
using different shot lists for different exposure passes can also
reduce the effects of certain systemic errors in the writing
process.
[0011] In EUV lithography, OPC features are generally not required.
Therefore, the complexity of the pattern to be manufactured on the
reticle is less than with conventional 193 nm wavelength optical
lithography, and shot count reduction is correspondingly less
important. In EUV, however, mask accuracy requirements are very
high because the patterns on the mask, which are typically 4.times.
the size of the patterns on the wafer, are sufficiently small that
they are challenging to form precisely using charged particle beam
technology such as E-beam.
[0012] There are numerous undesirable short-range and long-range
effects associated with charged particle beam exposure. These
effects can cause dimensional inaccuracies in the pattern
transferred to a surface such as a reticle. These effects can also
increase the dimensional changes that normal process variations
cause in the transferred pattern. It would be desirable both to
increase the accuracy of the transferred pattern, and also to
reduce the dimensional changes associated with process
variations.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0013] A method and system for fracturing or mask data preparation
are presented in which overlapping shots are generated to increase
dosage in selected portions of a pattern, thus improving the
fidelity and/or the critical dimension variation of the transferred
pattern. In various embodiments, the improvements may affect the
ends of paths or lines, or square or nearly-square patterns. The
shots may be varied in their amount of overlap, shot size, and
dosage with respect to the dosage of another overlapping shot.
Simulation is used to determine the pattern that will be produced
on the surface. A method for manufacturing a surface is also
disclosed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a character projection
charged particle beam system;
[0015] FIG. 2A illustrates an example of a single charged particle
beam shot and a cross-sectional dosage graph of the shot;
[0016] FIG. 2B illustrates an example of a pair of proximate shots
and a cross-sectional dosage graph of the shot pair;
[0017] FIG. 2C illustrates an example of a pattern formed on a
resist-coated surface from the pair of FIG. 2B shots;
[0018] FIG. 3A illustrates an example of a polygonal pattern;
[0019] FIG. 3B illustrates an example of a conventional fracturing
of the polygonal pattern of FIG. 3A;
[0020] FIG. 3C illustrates an example of an alternate fracturing of
the polygonal pattern of FIG. 3A;
[0021] FIG. 4A illustrates an example of a shot outline from a
rectangular shot;
[0022] FIG. 4B illustrates an example of a longitudinal dosage
curve for the shot of FIG. 4A using a normal shot dosage;
[0023] FIG. 4C illustrates an example of a longitudinal dosage
curve similar to FIG. 4B, with long-range effects included;
[0024] FIG. 4D illustrates an example of a longitudinal dosage
curve for the shot of FIG. 4A using a higher than normal shot
dosage;
[0025] FIG. 4E illustrates an example of a longitudinal dosage
curve similar to FIG. 4D, with long-range effects included;
[0026] FIG. 4F illustrates an example of a longitudinal dosage
curve similar to FIG. 4E, but with a higher background dosage
level;
[0027] FIG. 5A illustrates an example of how a 100 nm square VSB
shot may be registered on a reticle;
[0028] FIG. 5B illustrates an example of how a 60 nm square VSB
shot may be registered on a reticle;
[0029] FIG. 6A illustrates an example of a pattern comprising the
end portion of a line;
[0030] FIG. 6B illustrates an example of a conventional single-shot
method of forming the pattern of FIG. 6A on a surface;
[0031] FIG. 6C illustrates an example of a method of forming the
pattern of FIG. 6A on a surface by one embodiment of the current
invention;
[0032] FIG. 6D illustrates an example of a method of forming the
pattern of FIG. 6A on a surface by another embodiment of the
current invention;
[0033] FIG. 6E illustrates an example of a method of forming the
pattern of FIG. 6A on a surface by yet another embodiment of the
current invention;
[0034] FIG. 7 illustrates a conceptual flow diagram of how to
prepare a surface, such as a reticle, for use in fabricating a
substrate such as an integrated circuit on a silicon wafer using
optical lithography;
[0035] FIG. 8 illustrates a conceptual flow diagram of how to
prepare a surface for use in fabricating a substrate such as an
integrated circuit on a silicon wafer;
[0036] FIG. 9A illustrates a square pattern to be formed on a
surface;
[0037] FIG. 9B illustrates a single-shot method of forming the
pattern of FIG. 9A on a surface;
[0038] FIG. 9C illustrates an example of a method of forming the
pattern of FIG. 9A on a surface by one embodiment of the current
invention;
[0039] FIG. 9D illustrates an example of a method of forming the
pattern of FIG. 9A on a surface by another embodiment of the
current invention; and
[0040] FIG. 9E illustrates an example of a method of forming the
pattern of FIG. 9A on a surface by yet another embodiment of the
current invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0041] The present disclosure describes a method for fracturing
patterns into shots for a charged particle beam writer, where
overlapping shots are generated to improve the accuracy and/or the
edge slope of the pattern written to a surface. The use of
overlapping shots in this application typically increases shot
count and exposure time.
[0042] Referring now to the drawings, wherein like numbers refer to
like items, FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a conventional
lithography system 100, such as a charged particle beam writer
system, in this case an electron beam writer system, that employs
character projection to manufacture a surface 130. The electron
beam writer system 100 has an electron beam source 112 that
projects an electron beam 114 toward an aperture plate 116. The
plate 116 has an aperture 118 formed therein which allows the
electron beam 114 to pass. Once the electron beam 114 passes
through the aperture 118 it is directed or deflected by a system of
lenses (not shown) as electron beam 120 toward another rectangular
aperture plate or stencil mask 122. The stencil 122 has formed
therein a number of openings or apertures 124 that define various
types of characters 126, which may be complex characters. Each
character 126 formed in the stencil 122 may be used to form a
pattern 148 on a surface 130 of a substrate 132, such as a silicon
wafer, a reticle or other substrate. In partial exposure, partial
projection, partial character projection, or variable character
projection, electron beam 120 may be positioned so as to strike or
illuminate only a portion of one of the characters 126, thereby
forming a pattern 148 that is a subset of character 126. For each
character 126 that is smaller than the size of the electron beam
120 defined by aperture 118, a blanking area 136, containing no
aperture, is designed to be adjacent to the character 126, so as to
prevent the electron beam 120 from illuminating an unwanted
character on stencil 122. An electron beam 134 emerges from one of
the characters 126 and passes through an electromagnetic or
electrostatic reduction lens 138 which reduces the size of the
pattern from the character 126. In commonly available charged
particle beam writer systems, the reduction factor is between 10
and 60. The reduced electron beam 140 emerges from the reduction
lens 138, and is directed by a series of deflectors 142 onto the
surface 130 as the pattern 148, which is depicted as being in the
shape of the letter "H" corresponding to character 126A. The
pattern 148 is reduced in size compared to the character 126A
because of the reduction lens 138. The pattern 148 is drawn by
using one shot of the electron beam system 100. This reduces the
overall writing time to complete the pattern 148 as compared to
using a variable shape beam (VSB) projection system or method.
Although one aperture 118 is shown being formed in the plate 116,
it is possible that there may be more than one aperture in the
plate 116. Although two plates 116 and 122 are shown in this
example, there may be only one plate or more than two plates, each
plate comprising one or more apertures.
[0043] In conventional charged particle beam writer systems the
reduction lens 138 is calibrated to provide a fixed reduction
factor. The reduction lens 138 and/or the deflectors 142 also focus
the beam on the plane of the surface 130. The size of the surface
130 may be significantly larger than the maximum beam deflection
capability of the deflection plates 142. Because of this, patterns
are normally written on the surface in a series of stripes. Each
stripe contains a plurality of sub-fields, where a sub-field is
within the beam deflection capability of the deflection plates 142.
The electron beam writer system 100 contains a positioning
mechanism 150 to allow positioning the substrate 132 for each of
the stripes and sub-fields. In one variation of the conventional
charged particle beam writer system, the substrate 132 is held
stationary while a sub-field is exposed, after which the
positioning mechanism 150 moves the substrate 132 to the next
sub-field position. In another variation of the conventional
charged particle beam writer system, the substrate 132 moves
continuously during the writing process. In this variation
involving continuous movement, in addition to deflection plates
142, there may be another set of deflection plates (not shown) to
move the beam at the same speed and direction as the substrate 132
is moved.
[0044] The minimum size pattern that can be projected with
reasonable accuracy onto a surface 130 is limited by a variety of
short-range physical effects associated with the electron beam
writer system 100 and with the surface 130, which normally
comprises a resist coating on the substrate 132. These effects
include forward scattering, Coulomb effect, and resist diffusion.
Beam blur is a term used to include all of these short-range
effects. The most modern electron beam writer systems can achieve
an effective beam blur in the range of 20 nm to 30 nm. Forward
scattering may constitute one quarter to one half of the total beam
blur. Modern electron beam writer systems contain numerous
mechanisms to reduce each of the constituent pieces of beam blur to
a minimum. Some electron beam writer systems may allow the beam
blur to be varied during the writing process, from the minimum
value available on an electron beam writing system to one or more
larger values.
[0045] The shot dosage of a charged particle beam writer such as an
electron beam writer system is a function of the intensity of the
beam source 112 and the exposure time for each shot. Typically the
beam intensity remains fixed, and the exposure time is varied to
obtain variable shot dosages. The exposure time may be varied to
compensate for various long-range effects such as backscatter and
fogging in a process called proximity effect correction (PEC).
Electron beam writer systems usually allow setting an overall
dosage, called a base dosage, that affects all shots in an exposure
pass. Some electron beam writer systems perform dosage compensation
calculations within the electron beam writer system itself, and do
not allow the dosage of each shot to be assigned individually as
part of the input shot list, the input shots therefore having
unassigned shot dosages. In such electron beam writer systems all
shots have the base dosage, before proximity effect correction.
Other electron beam writer systems do allow dosage assignment on a
shot-by-shot basis. In electron beam writer systems that allow
shot-by-shot dosage assignment, the number of available dosage
levels may be 64 to 4096 or more, or there may be a relatively few
available dosage levels, such as 3 to 8 levels. Some embodiments of
the current invention are targeted for use with charged particle
beam writing systems which either do not allow dosage assignment on
a shot-by-shot basis, or which allow assignment of one of a
relatively few dosage levels.
[0046] FIGS. 2A-B illustrate how energy is registered on a
resist-coated surface from one or more charged particle beam shots.
In FIG. 2A rectangular pattern 202 illustrates a shot outline,
which is a pattern that will be produced on a resist-coated surface
from a shot which is not proximate to other shots. The corners of
pattern 202 are rounded due to beam blur. In dosage graph 210,
dosage curve 212 illustrates the cross-sectional dosage along a
line 204 through shot outline 202. Line 214 denotes the resist
threshold, which is the dosage above which the resist will register
a pattern. As can be seen from dosage graph 210, dosage curve 212
is above the resist threshold between the X-coordinates "a" and
"b". Coordinate "a" corresponds to dashed line 216, which denotes
the left-most extent of the shot outline 202. Similarly, coordinate
"b" corresponds to dashed line 218, which denotes the right-most
extent of the shot outline 202. The shot dosage for the shot in the
example of FIG. 2A is a normal dosage, as marked on dosage graph
210. In conventional mask writing methodology, the normal dosage is
set so that a relatively large rectangular shot will register a
pattern of the desired size on the resist-coated surface, in the
absence of long-range effects. The normal dosage therefore depends
on the value of the resist threshold 214.
[0047] FIG. 2B illustrates the shot outlines of two particle beam
shots, and the corresponding dosage curve. Shot outline 222 and
shot outline 224 result from two proximate particle beam shots. In
dosage graph 220, dosage curve 230 illustrates the dosage along the
line 226 through shot outlines 222 and 224. As shown in dosage
curve 230, the dosage registered by the resist along line 226 is
the combination, such as the sum, of the dosages from two particle
beam shots, represented by shot outline 222 and shot outline 224.
As can be seen, dosage curve 230 is above the threshold 214 from
X-coordinate "a" to X-coordinate "d". This indicates that the
resist will register the two shots as a single shape, extending
from coordinate "a" to coordinate "d". FIG. 2C illustrates a
pattern 252 that the two shots from the example of FIG. 2B may
form. The variable width of pattern 252 is the result of the gap
between shot outline 222 and shot outline 224, and illustrates that
a gap between the shots 222 and 224 causes dosage to drop below
threshold near the corners of the shot outlines closest to the
gap.
[0048] When using conventional non-overlapping shots using a single
exposure pass, conventionally all shots are assigned a normal
dosage before PEC dosage adjustment. A charged particle beam writer
which does not support shot-by-shot dosage assignment can therefore
be used by setting the base dosage to a normal dosage. If multiple
exposure passes are used with such a charged particle beam writer,
the base dosage is conventionally set according to the following
equation:
base dosage=normal dosage/# of exposure passes
[0049] FIGS. 3A-C illustrate two known methods of fracturing a
polygonal pattern. FIG. 3A illustrates a polygonal pattern 302 that
is desired to be formed on a surface. FIG. 3B illustrates a
conventional method of forming this pattern using non-overlapping
or disjoint shots. Shot outline 310, shot outline 312 and shot
outline 314, which are marked with X's for clarity, are mutually
disjoint. Additionally, the three shots associated with these shot
outlines all use a desired normal dosage, before proximity effect
correction. An advantage of using the conventional method as shown
in FIG. 3B is that the response of the resist can be easily
predicted. Also, the shots of FIG. 3B can be exposed using a
charged particle beam system which does not allow dosage assignment
on a shot-by-shot basis, by setting the base dosage of the charged
particle beam writer to the normal dosage. FIG. 3C illustrates an
alternate method of forming the pattern 302 on a resist-coated
surface using overlapping shots, disclosed in U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/473,265, filed May 27, 2009 and entitled
"Method And System For Design Of A Reticle To Be Manufactured Using
Variable Shaped Beam Lithography." In FIG. 3C the constraint that
shot outlines cannot overlap has been eliminated, and shot 320 and
shot 322 do overlap. In the example of FIG. 3C, allowing shot
outlines to overlap enables forming the pattern 302 in only two
shots, compared to the three shots of FIG. 3B. In FIG. 3C, however
the response of the resist to the overlapping shots is not as
easily predicted as in FIG. 3B. In particular, the interior corners
324, 326, 328 and 330 may register as excessively rounded because
of the large dosage received by overlapping region 332, shown by
horizontal line shading. Charged particle beam simulation may be
used to determine the pattern registered by the resist. In one
embodiment, charged particle beam simulation may be used to
calculate the dosage for each grid location in a two-dimensional (X
and Y) grid, creating a grid of calculated dosages called a dosage
map. The results of charged particle beam simulation may indicate
use of non-normal dosages for shot 320 and shot 322. Additionally,
in FIG. 3C the overlapping of shots in area 332 increases the area
dosage beyond what it would be without shot overlap. While the
overlap of two individual shots will not increase the area dosage
significantly, this technique will increase area dosages and total
dosage if used throughout a design.
[0050] In exposing, for example, a repeated pattern on a surface
using charged particle beam lithography, the size of each pattern
instance, as measured on the final manufactured surface, will be
slightly different, due to manufacturing variations. The amount of
the size variation is an essential manufacturing optimization
criterion. In mask masking today, a root mean square (RMS)
variation of no more than 1 nm (1 sigma) may be desired. More size
variation translates to more variation in circuit performance,
leading to higher design margins being required, making it
increasingly difficult to design faster, lower-power integrated
circuits. This variation is referred to as critical dimension (CD)
variation. A low CD variation is desirable, and indicates that
manufacturing variations will produce relatively small size
variations on the final manufactured surface. In the smaller scale,
the effects of a high CD variation may be observed as line edge
roughness (LER). LER is caused by each part of a line edge being
slightly differently manufactured, leading to some waviness in a
line that is intended to have a straight edge. CD variation is
inversely related to the slope of the dosage curve at the resist
threshold, which is called edge slope. Therefore, edge slope, or
dose margin, is a critical optimization factor for particle beam
writing of surfaces.
[0051] FIG. 4A illustrates an example of an outline of a
rectangular shot 402. FIG. 4B illustrates an example of a dosage
graph 410 illustrating the dosage along the line 404 through shot
outline 402 with a normal shot dosage, with no backscatter, such as
would occur if shot 402 was the only shot within the range of
backscattering effect, which, as an example, may be 10 microns.
Other long-range effects are also assumed to contribute nothing to
the background exposure of FIG. 4B, leading to a zero background
exposure level. The total dosage delivered to the resist is
illustrated on the y-axis, and is 100% of a normal dosage. Because
of the zero background exposure, the total dosage and the shot
dosage are the same. Dosage graph 410 also illustrates the resist
threshold 414. The CD variation of the shape represented by dosage
graph 410 in the x-direction is inversely related to the slope of
the dosage curve 412 at x-coordinates "a" and "b" where it
intersects the resist threshold.
[0052] The FIG. 4B condition of zero background exposure is not
reflective of actual designs. Actual designs will typically have
many other shots within the backscattering distance of shot 402.
FIG. 4C illustrates an example of a dosage graph 420 of a shot with
a normal dosage with non-zero background exposure 428. In this
example, a background exposure of 20% of a normal dosage is shown.
In dosage graph 420, dosage curve 422 illustrates the
cross-sectional dosage of a shot similar to shot 402. The CD
variation of curve 422 is worse than the CD variation of curve 412,
as indicated by the lower edge slope where curve 422 intersects
resist threshold 424 at points "a" and "b", due to the background
exposure caused by backscatter.
[0053] One method of increasing the slope of the dosage curve at
the resist threshold is to increase the shot dosage. FIG. 4D
illustrates an example of a dosage graph 430 with a dosage curve
432 which illustrates a total dosage of 150% of normal dosage, with
no background exposure. With no background exposure, the shot
dosage equals the total dosage. Threshold 434 in FIG. 4D is
unchanged from threshold 414 in FIG. 4B. Increasing shot dosage
increases the size of a pattern registered by the resist.
Therefore, to maintain the size of the resist pattern, illustrated
as the intersection points of dosage curve 432 with threshold 434,
the shot size used for dosage graph 430 is somewhat smaller than
shot 402. As can be seen, the slope of dosage curve 432 is higher
where it intersects threshold 434 than is the slope of dosage curve
412 where it intersects threshold 414, indicating a lower,
improved, CD variation for the higher-dosage shot of FIG. 4D than
for the normal dosage shot of FIG. 4B.
[0054] Like dosage graph 410, however, the zero background exposure
condition of dosage graph 430 is not reflective of actual designs.
FIG. 4E illustrates an example of a dosage graph 440 with the shot
dosage adjusted to achieve a total dosage on the resist of 150% of
normal dosage with a 20% background exposure, such as would occur
if the dosage of only one shot was increased to achieve total
dosage of 150% of a normal dosage, and dosage of other shots
remained at 100% of normal dosage. The threshold 444 is the same as
in FIGS. 4B-4D. The background exposure is illustrated as line 448.
As can be seen, the slopes of dosage curve 442 at x-coordinates "a"
and "b" are less than the slopes of dosage curve 432 at
x-coordinates "a" and "b" because of the presence of backscatter.
Comparing graphs 420 and 440 for the effect of shot dosage, the
slope of dosage curve 442 at x-coordinates "a" and "b" is higher
than the slope of dosage curve 422 at the same x-coordinates,
indicating that improved edge slope can be obtained for a single
shot by increasing dosage, if dosages of other shots remain the
same.
[0055] FIG. 4F illustrates an example of a dosage graph 450,
illustrating the case where the dosages of all shots have been
increased to 150% of normal dose. Two background dosage levels are
shown on dosage graph 450: a 30% background dose 459, such as may
be produced if all shots use 150% of normal dosage, and a 20%
background dose 458 shown for comparison, since 20% is the
background dosage in the dosage graph 440. Dosage curve 452 is
based on the 30% background dose 459. As can be seen, the edge
slope of dosage curve 452 at x-coordinates "a" and "b" is less than
that of dosage curve 442 at the same points.
[0056] In summary, FIGS. 4A-F illustrate that higher-than-normal
dosage can be used selectively to lower CD variation for isolated
shapes. Increasing dosage has two undesirable effects, however.
First, an increase in dose is achieved in modern charged particle
beam writers by lengthening exposure time. Thus, an increase in
dose increases the writing time, which increases cost. Second, as
illustrated in FIGS. 4E-F, if many shots within the backscatter
range of each other use an increased dosage, the increase in
backscatter reduces the edge slope of all shots, thereby worsening
CD variation for all shots of a certain assigned dosage. The only
way for any given shot to avert this problem is to increase dosage
and shoot a smaller size. However, doing this increases the
backscatter even more. This cycle causes all shots to be at a
higher dose, making write times even worse. Therefore, it is better
to increase dose only for shots that define the edge.
[0057] FIG. 5A illustrates an example of a square VSB shot 502. In
this example square 502 has a dimension 504 of 100 nm. Pattern 506
is an example of how shot 502, with a normal dose, may register on
a resist-coated surface. As can be seen, the corners 508 of pattern
506 are rounded, due to beam blur. If formed on a reticle to be
used for EUV optical lithography using 4.times. reduction printing,
pattern 506 could be used to form a pattern on a wafer having a
size of approximately 25 nm. FIG. 5B illustrates an example of a
smaller square VSB shot 512. In this example, the dimension 514 of
shot 512 is 60 nm, suitable for manufacturing a 4.times. reticle
for a pattern intended to be 15 nm on a wafer. Pattern 516 is an
example of how shot 512 may register on a resist-coated surface. As
can be seen, the corner rounding effects of beam blur have caused
the registered pattern to be virtually circular. Additionally,
though not illustrated, the edge slope of pattern 516 will be lower
than that of pattern 506, and may be below a minimum pre-determined
level to produce acceptable CD variation. FIGS. 5A&B illustrate
how beam blur effects become more significant as pattern dimensions
decrease.
[0058] As fabrication processes get smaller, short-range beam blur
effects become a more significant issue for both direct-write and
for reticle/mask fabrication. Small geometries can also have
problems with edge slope due to long-range effects. Accurate
fabrication of the ends of minimum-width lines--that is the lines
having the minimum width permissible in a fabrication process--can
become challenging using conventional techniques, as will be shown
below. One type of pattern on which these problems may be exhibited
is at a line end, which is the region near an end of a path, where
the path may be of constant width, such as interconnect lines or
where polysilicon crosses and extends beyond diffusion to form a
MOS transistor.
[0059] FIG. 6A illustrates an example of a portion 602 of a line
that is desired to be formed on a reticle. The portion includes
line end 604. In this example the designed width on the wafer is 20
nm. Using a 4.times. mask, the target width 606 on the reticle is
therefore 80 nm. FIG. 6B illustrates an example of an outline of a
single VSB shot 614 that may be used with normal dosage to
conventionally form the pattern on a reticle. FIG. 6B also
illustrates a pattern 618 formed on the reticle by the shot 614. As
can be seen, the corners of line-end pattern 618 are significantly
rounded. A portion 619 of the perimeter of pattern 618 is
illustrated with a dashed line, indicating that this portion of the
perimeter has an edge slope that is less than a pre-determined
minimum. FIG. 6C illustrates an example of a method for forming the
pattern 602 according to the current invention. In FIG. 6C, two
shots are used to expose the line-end pattern 602: shot 624 and
shot 625 which overlaps shot 624. Shot 624 uses higher-than-normal
dosage. The additional shot 625 provides additional peak dosage
near the line end. Shot 625 uses a lower dosage than shot 624, if
assigned shot dosages are allowed. If assigned shot dosages are not
allowed, multi-pass exposure may be used with shot 625 being
grouped into an exposure pass having a lower base dosage than the
exposure pass with shot 624. The two shots 624 and 625 can produce
a pattern 628 on the reticle, where the corners of pattern 628 are
less rounded than the corners of pattern 618. The dashed line
portions 629 of the perimeter of pattern 628 is shorter than the
dashed line portion 619 of pattern 618, indicating improved line
end edge slope in pattern 628, due to the higher line-end exposure
in pattern 628 compared to pattern 618.
[0060] FIG. 6D illustrates another embodiment of the current
invention, using three shots to form the line end 604 of pattern
602. Shot 634 uses higher-than-normal dosage, like shot 624 of FIG.
6C. Additionally, shots 635 and shot 636 overlap shot 634 and add
additional peak dosage near the line end corners. Shots 635 and 636
may have lower dosage than shot 634. Shots 635 and 636 may, as
illustrated in this example, extend beyond the outline of shot 634
and of the original pattern 602. Also, the illustrated shapes 635
and 636 may be shot as separate VSB shots, or in a single CP shot
if a complex CP character is designed with the two illustrated
shapes 635 and 636. The three VSB shots 634, 635 and 636, or two
shots if a CP shot is used to shoot illustrated shapes 635 and 636,
can produce a pattern 638 on a reticle, where pattern 638 corners
are less rounded than the corners of pattern 628 which resulted
from two shots. Additionally, low edge slope portion 639 of the
perimeter of pattern 638 is smaller than perimeter portion 629 of
pattern 628. FIG. 6D illustrates how larger numbers of shots may be
used to form line end patterns which both more accurately achieve
the desired shape and which have a higher edge slope.
[0061] FIG. 6E illustrates yet another embodiment of the current
invention, using four shots to form the line end 604 of pattern
602. In addition to main shot 644, which may have a
higher-than-normal dosage, two corner shots 645 and 646 are used,
and shot 647 adds exposure to the middle of the line-end. The
dosage of shot 647 may be less than the dosage of shots 645 and
646. Shot 647 allows the dosage in the middle of the line end to be
adjusted independently of the dosages for the line end corners.
Pattern 648 illustrates a pattern that shots 644, 645, 646 and 647
can produce on a reticle. In pattern 648 the perimeter portion 649
which has a lower-than-minimum edge slope is slightly smaller than
FIG. 6D perimeter portion 639. Additionally, the illustrated shapes
645 and 646 may be shot as a single complex CP character shot, if
these shapes are designed and fabricated on a stencil.
[0062] FIGS. 6C-E illustrate how a set of shots may be modified
with overlapping shots to produce small areas of high peak dosage
near line ends, improving both the accuracy and the edge slope of
the pattern manufactured on a reticle. Exposure of only a small
area with a higher-than-normal dosage produces less increase in
backscatter than if the higher-than-normal dosage was used for the
entire pattern. The shots are modified with a shot varying
technique, which may include varying one or all of: shot dosages,
the placement of the overlap, and the size of the overlapping shot.
Particle beam simulation may be used to determine the effect that a
set of shots and dosages will produce on the reticle surface.
[0063] FIGS. 9A-E illustrate the use of overlapping shots with
square patterns, such as are commonly used for contact and via
patterns in integrated circuit design. FIG. 9A illustrates an
example of a desired pattern 902 to be formed on a reticle. FIG. 9B
illustrates a single VSB shot 912 which may be used to form pattern
902 conventionally. For small patterns, however, use of single VSB
shot 912 may cause corner rounding similar to the corner rounding
illustrated in FIG. 6B pattern 618. Also like pattern 618, use of
single shot 912 may cause edge slope to be undesirably low. FIG. 9C
illustrates an example of one embodiment of the present invention
for forming a square or nearly-square pattern. Five VSB shots may
be used, including shot 922, which is cross-hatched for
identification, and four VSB corner shots 924 which overlap the
corners of shot 922. Alternatively, all four illustrated corner
shapes 924 may be designed into a single complex CP character on a
stencil, allowing the example of FIG. 9C to be shot with one VSB
shot 922 and one CP shot 924. As with the FIG. 6D line-end shot
configuration, the addition of corner shots to increase peak dosage
near the corners of the pattern may improve the fidelity of the
transferred pattern, and may also improve the edge slope near the
corners of the transferred pattern, so as to reduce CD
variation.
[0064] FIG. 9D illustrates an example of another embodiment of the
present invention. Like the FIG. 9C shot configuration, FIG. 9D may
be shot using five VSB shots, including shot 932, which is
cross-hatched, and four additional shots 934 around the perimeter
areas of the original pattern 902. Also like FIG. 9C, a CP
character may be designed to expose the pattern illustrated by the
four rectangles 934 in a single CP shot, allowing FIG. 9D to be
exposed in one VSB shot 932 and one CP shot for all shapes 934. The
use of the perimeter CP shot or VSB shots can increase the edge
slope of the entire perimeter of the transferred pattern by
increasing peak dosage near the perimeter. The small perimeter CP
shot or VSB shots do not increase the area dosage as much as if a
higher dosage was used for shot 912, reducing the backscatter
compared to if a higher dosage shot 912 was used alone.
[0065] FIG. 9E illustrates an example of another embodiment of the
present invention. Nine regions are illustrated in FIG. 9E: a) a
large region 942, b) four side regions 944, and c) four corner
regions 948. As can be seen, all regions 944 and 948 overlap region
942. These regions may be exposed by any of the following methods:
[0066] Nine separate VSB shots, including one for region 942, four
shots for the four regions 944, and four shots for the four corner
regions 948. [0067] Five VSB shots. Region 942 is exposed by one
shot. For the remaining four VSB shots, each shot includes the
union of one side region 944 and two corner regions 948 adjacent to
the side regions. This provides a higher dosage at the corners than
along the side perimeters. The additional peak exposure near the
corner may provide improved accuracy and/or edge slope. [0068] One
VSB shot for region 942 and two CP shots--one shot each of two CP
characters. One CP character may be designed, for example to
include the four side regions 944 and a second CP character may be
designed to include the four corner regions 948. This solution
allows independent dosage control of the corner regions and
non-corner side regions. The method using one VSB shot with two CP
shots should require less exposure time than either the nine-shot
VSB or the five-shot VSB methods. Additionally, the size of shot
942 may be modified to be smaller than the desired pattern 902.
[0069] The methods of this invention may also be employed with
fabrication processes that use rectangular contacts and/or vias.
For rectangular patterns with an aspect ratio of about 1:1.5 or
less, the method illustrated in FIG. 9D may be used. For
rectangular patterns with greater aspect ratios, each end of the
longer axes of the rectangular pattern may be treated as a line
end.
[0070] The solution described above with FIG. 9C may be implemented
even using a charged particle beam system that does not allow
dosage assignment for individual shots. In one embodiment of the
present invention, a small number of dosages may be selected, for
example two dosages such as 1.0.times. normal and 0.6.times.
normal, and shots for each of these two dosages may be separated
and exposed in two separate exposures passes, where the base dosage
for one exposure pass is 1.0.times. normal and the base dosage for
the other exposure pass is 0.6.times. normal. In the example of
FIG. 9C, shot 922 may be assigned to a first exposure pass which
uses a base dosage of 1.0.times. normal dosage before PEC
correction. The four shots 924 may be assigned to a second exposure
pass which uses a base dosage of 0.6.times. normal dosage before
PEC correction. Thus, overlapping shots can create pattern dosages
greater than 100% of normal, even with charged particle beam
writers which do not support dosage assignment for individual
shots.
[0071] The dosage that would be received by a surface can be
calculated and stored as a two-dimensional (X and Y) dosage map
called a glyph. A two-dimensional dosage map or glyph is a
two-dimensional grid of calculated dosage values for the vicinity
of the shots comprising the glyph. This dosage map or glyph can be
stored in a library of glyphs. The glyph library can be used as
input during fracturing of the patterns in a design. For example,
referring again to FIG. 9D, a dosage map may be calculated for the
combination of shots 932 and the four shots 934 and stored in the
glyph library. If during fracturing, one of the input patterns is a
square pattern of the same size as pattern 902, the glyph for
pattern 902 and the five shots comprising the glyph may be
retrieved from the library, avoiding the computational effort of
determining an appropriate set of shots to form the square input
pattern. Glyphs may also contain CP shots, and may contain dragged
CP or VSB shots. A series of glyphs may also be combined to create
a parameterized glyph. Parameters may be discrete or may be
continuous. For example, the shots and dosage maps for forming
square patterns such as square pattern 902 may be calculated for a
plurality of pattern sizes, and the plurality of resulting glyphs
may be combined to form a discrete parameterized glyph. In another
example, a pattern width may be parameterized as a function of
dragged shot velocity.
[0072] FIG. 7 is a conceptual flow diagram 750 of how to prepare a
reticle for use in fabricating a surface such as an integrated
circuit on a silicon wafer. In a first step 752, a physical design,
such as a physical design of an integrated circuit, is designed.
This can include determining the logic gates, transistors, metal
layers, and other items that are required to be found in a physical
design such as that in an integrated circuit. Next, in a step 754,
optical proximity correction is determined. In an embodiment of
this disclosure this can include taking as input a library of
pre-calculated glyphs or parameterized glyphs 776. This can also
alternatively, or in addition, include taking as input a library of
pre-designed characters 770 including complex characters that are
to be available on a stencil 760 in a step 762. In an embodiment of
this disclosure, an OPC step 754 may also include simultaneous
optimization of shot count or write times, and may also include a
fracturing operation, a shot placement operation, a dose assignment
operation, or may also include a shot sequence optimization
operation, or other mask data preparation operations, with some or
all of these operations being simultaneous or combined in a single
step. Once optical proximity correction is completed a mask design
is developed in a step 756.
[0073] In a step 758, a mask data preparation operation which may
include a fracturing operation, a shot placement operation, a dose
assignment operation, or a shot sequence optimization may take
place. Either of the steps of the OPC step 754 or of the MDP step
758, or a separate program independent of these two steps 754 or
758 can include a program for determining a limited number of
stencil characters that need to be present on a stencil or a large
number of glyphs or parameterized glyphs that can be shot on the
surface with a small number of shots by combining characters that
need to be present on a stencil with varying dose, position, and
degree of partial exposure to write all or a large part of the
required patterns on a reticle. Combining OPC and any or all of the
various operations of mask data preparation in one step is
contemplated in this disclosure. Mask data preparation step 758,
which may include a fracturing operation, may also comprise a
pattern matching operation to match glyphs to create a mask that
matches closely to the mask design. In some embodiments of this
disclosure, mask data preparation step 758 may include generating
overlapping shots so as to produce a higher peak dosage near line
ends or near perimeters of square or nearly-square patterns. Mask
data preparation may also comprise inputting patterns to be formed
on a surface with the patterns being slightly different, selecting
a set of characters to be used to form the number of patterns, the
set of characters fitting on a stencil mask, the set of characters
possibly including both complex and VSB characters, and the set of
characters based on varying character dose or varying character
position or applying partial exposure of a character within the set
of characters or dragging a character to reduce the shot count or
total write time. A set of slightly different patterns on the
surface may be designed to produce substantially the same pattern
on a substrate. Also, the set of characters may be selected from a
predetermined set of characters. In one embodiment of this
disclosure, a set of characters available on a stencil in a step
770 that may be selected quickly during the mask writing step 762
may be prepared for a specific mask design. In that embodiment,
once the mask data preparation step 758 is completed, a stencil is
prepared in a step 760. In another embodiment of this disclosure, a
stencil is prepared in the step 760 prior to or simultaneous with
the MDP step 758 and may be independent of the particular mask
design. In this embodiment, the characters available in the step
770 and the stencil layout are designed in step 772 to output
generically for many potential mask designs 756 to incorporate
slightly different patterns that are likely to be output by a
particular OPC program 754 or a particular MDP program 758 or
particular types of designs that characterizes the physical design
752 such as memories, flash memories, system on chip designs, or
particular process technology being designed to in physical design
752, or a particular cell library used in physical design 752, or
any other common characteristics that may form different sets of
slightly different patterns in mask design 756. The stencil can
include a set of characters, such as a limited number of characters
that was determined in the step 758, including a set of adjustment
characters.
[0074] Once the stencil is completed the stencil is used to
generate a surface in a mask writer machine, such as an electron
beam writer system. This particular step is identified as a step
762. The electron beam writer system projects a beam of electrons
through the stencil onto a surface to form patterns in a surface,
as shown in a step 764. The completed surface may then be used in
an optical lithography machine, which is shown in a step 766.
Finally, in a step 768, a substrate such as a silicon wafer is
produced. As has been previously described, in step 770 characters
may be provided to the OPC step 754 or the MDP step 758. The step
770 also provides characters to a character and stencil design step
772 or a glyph generation step 774. The character and stencil
design step 772 provides input to the stencil step 760 and to the
characters step 770. The glyph generation step 774 provides
information to a glyphs or parameterized glyphs step 776. Also, as
has been discussed, the glyphs or parameterized glyphs step 776
provides information to the OPC step 754 or the MDP step 758.
[0075] Referring now to FIG. 8, another exemplary conceptual flow
diagram 800 of how to prepare a surface which is directly written
on a substrate such as a silicon wafer is shown. In a first step
802, a physical design, such as a physical design of an integrated
circuit is designed. This may be an ideal pattern that the designer
wants transferred onto a substrate. Next, in a step 804, various
data preparation (DP) steps, including fracturing and PEC, are
performed to prepare input data to a substrate writing device. Step
804 may include fracturing of the patterns into a set of complex CP
and/or VSB shots, where some of the shots may overlap each other.
The step 804 may also comprise inputting possible glyphs or
parameterized glyphs from step 824, the glyphs being based on
predetermined characters from step 818, and the glyphs being
determined using a calculation of varying a character dose or
varying a character position or applying partial exposure of a
character in glyph generation step 822. The step 804 may also
comprise pattern matching to match glyphs to create a wafer image
that matches closely to the physical design created in the step
802. Iterations, potentially including only one iteration where a
correct-by-construction "deterministic" calculation is performed,
of pattern matching, dose assignment, and equivalence checking may
also be performed. In some embodiments of this disclosure, data
preparation step 804 may include generating overlapping shots near
the line ends or near the perimeters of square or nearly-square
patterns. A stencil is prepared in a step 808 and is then provided
to a wafer writer in a step 810. Once the stencil is completed the
stencil is used to prepare a wafer in a wafer writer machine, such
as an electron beam writer system. This step is identified as the
step 810. The electron beam writer system projects a beam of
electrons through the stencil onto a surface to form patterns in a
surface. The surface is completed in a step 812.
[0076] Further, in a step 818 characters may be provided to the
data preparation and PEC step 804. The step 818 also provides
characters to a glyph generation step 822. The character and
stencil design step 820 provides input to the stencil step 808 or
to a character step 818. The character step 818 may provide input
to the character and stencil design step 820. The glyph generation
step 822 provides information to a glyphs or parameterized glyphs
step 824. The glyphs or parameterized glyphs step 824 provides
information to the Data Prep and PEC step 804. The step 810 may
include repeated application as required for each layer of
processing, potentially with some processed using the methods
described in association with FIG. 7, and others processed using
the methods outlined above with respect to FIG. 8, or others
produced using any other wafer writing method to produce integrated
circuits on the silicon wafer.
[0077] The fracturing, mask data preparation, proximity effect
correction and glyph creation flows described in this disclosure
may be implemented using general-purpose computers with appropriate
computer software as computation devices. Due to the large amount
of calculations required, multiple computers or processor cores may
also be used in parallel. In one embodiment, the computations may
be subdivided into a plurality of 2-dimensional geometric regions
for one or more computation-intensive steps in the flow, to support
parallel processing. In another embodiment, a special-purpose
hardware device, either used singly or in multiples, may be used to
perform the computations of one or more steps with greater speed
than using general-purpose computers or processor cores. In one
embodiment, the special-purpose hardware device may be a graphics
processing unit (GPU). In another embodiment, the optimization and
simulation processes described in this disclosure may include
iterative processes of revising and recalculating possible
solutions, so as to minimize either the total number of shots, or
the total charged particle beam writing time, or some other
parameter. In yet another embodiment, an initial set of shots may
be determined in a correct-by-construction method, so that no shot
modifications are required.
[0078] While the specification has been described in detail with
respect to specific embodiments, it will be appreciated that those
skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the
foregoing, may readily conceive of alterations to, variations of,
and equivalents to these embodiments. These and other modifications
and variations to the present methods for fracturing, mask data
preparation, and proximity effect correction may be practiced by
those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the
spirit and scope of the present subject matter, which is more
particularly set forth in the appended claims. Furthermore, those
of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the foregoing
description is by way of example only, and is not intended to be
limiting. Steps can be added to, taken from or modified from the
steps in this specification without deviating from the scope of the
invention. In general, any flowcharts presented are only intended
to indicate one possible sequence of basic operations to achieve a
function, and many variations are possible. Thus, it is intended
that the present subject matter covers such modifications and
variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and
their equivalents.
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