System and method of providing mask defect printability analysis

A method of providing printability analysis for a defect on a physical mask, the method comprising:

• generating a simulated wafer image of the physical mask;
• generating a simulated wafer image of a reference mask, the reference mask corresponding to a defect-free physical mask;
• and
• comparing the simulated wafer images of the physical and reference masks to provide the printability analysis.

A method of providing printability analysis for a defect on a physical mask, the method comprising:

• generating a simulated wafer image of the physical mask;
• identifying a first feature on the simulated wafer image affected by the defect;
• identifying a second feature on the simulated wafer image unaffected by the defect, wherein the first and second features have substantially the same critical dimension in the absence of the defect;
• and
• comparing the first and second features.

A method of fabricating a physical mask, the method comprising:

• designing an integrated circuit;
• creating mask design data for a layer of the integrated circuit;
• manufacturing a physical mask conforming to the mask design data;
• inspecting the physical mask based on a simulated wafer image of the physical mask and a simulated wafer image of a reference mask, wherein the reference mask corresponds to a defect-free physical mask;
• and
• determining whether the physical mask passes inspection.

A method of generating a defect severity score for a defect on a mask, the method comprising:

• providing two-dimensional analysis on the defect and a first feature on the mask, the first feature being proximate to the defect;
• providing a first wafer image of the mask;
• and
• providing defect analysis on a second feature on the wafer image, the second feature corresponding to the first feature being simulated.

A system for analyzing a defect on a physical mask, the system comprising:

• an inspection tool for generating a mask image from the physical mask and a reference image from a reference mask;
• a wafer image generator for simulating a stepper mask image from the mask image and a stepper reference image from the reference image;
• and
• a defect printability analysis generator for comparing the stepper mask image and the stepper reference image.

A system for generating a defect severity score for a defect on a physical mask, the system comprising:

• means for generating a first image of a feature on the physical mask proximate to the defect and a second image of the feature on the reference image;
• means for simulating a first wafer image of the first image and a second wafer image of the second image;
• and
• means for generating the defect severity score based on the first and second wafer images.

An integrated circuit fabricated using a physical mask made by the following steps:

• generating a simulated wafer image of the physical mask;
• generating a simulated wafer image of a reference mask, the reference mask corresponding to a defect-free physical mask;
• and
• comparing the simulated wafer images of the physical and reference masks.

Computer software for analyzing a defect on a first mask, the software including:

• means for generating a simulated wafer image of the first mask;
• means for generating a simulated wafer image of a second mask, the second mask corresponding to a defect-free first mask;
• and
• means for comparing the simulated wafer images of the first and second masks to analyze printability of the defect.

A method of inspecting a physical mask, the physical mask including a defect, the method comprising the following steps:

• generating a simulated wafer image of the physical mask;
• generating a simulated wafer image of a reference mask, the reference mask corresponding to a defect-free physical mask;
• and
• comparing the simulated wafer images of the physical and reference masks to provide information on the defect.