Optimal scanner maps and field layouts

A photographic lithography apparatus, comprising:

• a surface supportive of a mask comprising a pattern of rows of chip sections, each alternating row comprising half-fields mirrored with respect to corresponding half-fields of an adjacent row;
• a chuck supportive of a wafer;
• optics optically interposed between the surface and the chuck;
• a light source to expose the pattern onto the wafer via the optics;
• and
• a controller to control operations of the surface, the chuck and the light source to:
• expose every other row of half-fields with the pattern and the wafer in a first relative orientation based on mirroring of the half-fields and the corresponding half-fields;
• re-orient the pattern and the wafer to have a second relative orientation opposite the first relative orientation;
• and
• expose remaining rows of the half-fields with the pattern and the wafer in the second relative orientation,
• wherein:
• the half-fields of each alternating row and each of the corresponding half-fields of the adjacent row share a common edge, and
• the half-fields of each alternating row are each mirrored with respect to each of the corresponding half-fields of the adjacent row about first and second perpendicular axes.

A photographic lithography method for printing chip sections of a mask to a wafer, the method comprising:

• generating the mask comprising a pattern of rows and columns of the chip sections, each alternating row and column comprising partial-fields mirrored with respect to corresponding partial-fields of an adjacent row and column;
• exposing every other row and column of partial-fields with the pattern and with the wafer in a first relative orientation based on mirroring of the partial-fields and the corresponding partial-fields;
• re-orienting the pattern and the wafer to have a second relative orientation opposite the first relative orientation;
• and
• exposing remaining rows and columns of the partial-fields with the pattern and with the wafer in the second relative orientation,
• wherein:
• the half-fields of each alternating row and each of the corresponding half-fields of the adjacent row share a common edge, and
• the partial-fields of each alternating row and column are each mirrored with respect to each of the corresponding partial-fields of the adjacent row and column about first and second perpendicular axes.