US 2006/0141365 A1Published application

Designing method and device for phase shift mask

AssigneeDai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.

InventorsNobuhito Toyama, Yasutaka Morikawa, Kei Mesuda

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Abstract

A planar pattern (11), having a plurality of apertures of the same size (Wx×Wy), is determined by a two-dimensional layout determination tool (10), and a three-dimensional structure, having a depth d and an undercut amount Uc for making the phase of the transmitted light be shifted by 180 degrees with every even-numbered aperture, is determined by a three-dimensional structure determination tool (20). Simulation of transmitted light is executed for a structural body having the planar pattern (11) and the three-dimensional structure (21) by a three-dimensional simulator (30) to determine the light intensity deviation D of transmitted light for an odd-numbered aperture without a trench and an even-numbered aperture with a trench. At a two-dimensional simulator (40), simulations using a two-dimensional model prepared based on this deviation D are performed to determine a correction amount δ for making the deviation D zero and obtain a new planar pattern (12). The work load spent on designing a trench-type, Levenson-type phase shift mask can be lightened and the working time for the designing process can be shortened.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method for designing a phase shift mask, having a substrate (200) with a transparent property, and an opaque layer (100) formed on said substrate and having an opaque property, wherein a plurality of rectangular apertures are formed in said opaque layer, a two-dimensional layout pattern is formed by opaque parts (120) comprising regions at which said opaque layer is formed, and transparent parts (110) comprising regions at which said apertures are formed, and for a pair of adjacently disposed apertures, so that a phase of light transmitted through one of said pair of adjacent apertures will be shifted by 180 degrees with respect to a phase of light transmitted through the other of said pair of adjacent apertures, a trench (220), having a predetermined depth and an outline greater than an outline of said one aperture, is formed on a portion of said substrate at which said one aperture is formed,

said phase shift mask designing method comprising the steps of:
a two-dimensional layout designing step (S1) of defining an XY plane on a surface of said substrate, determining a width Wx in the X-axis direction and a width Wy in the Y-axis direction of an aperture and a width Ws of an opaque part, and positioning a plurality of apertures of the same size at least along the X-axis to thereby design a two-dimensional layout on said XY plane;
a three-dimensional structure determination step (S2) of determining, for each of said plurality of apertures, whether or not phase shifting is to be performed and determining, for the apertures with which phase shifting is to be performed, a trench depth d and an undercut amount Uc, which indicates a distance between a position of the outline of the trench and a position of the outline of the aperture, to thereby determine a three-dimensional structure;
a three-dimensional analysis step (S3) of using a three-dimensional structural body, which is defined by said two-dimensional layout and said three-dimensional structure, to determine a light intensity deviation D, which indicates, for a case where light is transmitted under same exposure conditions through a pair of adjacent apertures that have been designed to realize a phase shift of 180 degrees with respect to each other, a deviation in intensities of light transmitted through the respective apertures;
a two-dimensional analysis step (S4) of using a two-dimensional structural body, which is defined by said two-dimensional layout, to determine, in a case where, for said pair of adjacent apertures, a light transmittance of one aperture is set to 100% and a light transmittance of the other aperture is set to T%, a transmittance T such that a deviation in intensities of light transmitted through each of said pair of adjacent apertures will be equal to said light intensity deviation D;
and
a layout correction step (S5) of correcting said two-dimensional layout based on said transmittance T.

4 more elements

A device for designing a phase shift mask, having a substrate (200) with a transparent property, and an opaque layer (100) formed on said substrate and having an opaque property, wherein a plurality of rectangular apertures are formed in said opaque layer, a two-dimensional layout pattern is formed by opaque parts (120) comprising regions at which said opaque layer is formed, and transparent parts (110) comprising regions at which said apertures are formed, and for a pair of adjacently disposed apertures, so that a phase of light transmitted through one of said pair of adjacent apertures will be shifted by 180 degrees with respect to a phase of light transmitted through the other of said pair of adjacent apertures, a trench (220), having a predetermined depth and an outline greater than an outline of said one aperture, is formed on a portion of said substrate at which said one aperture is formed,

said phase shift mask designing device comprising:
a two-dimensional layout determination tool (10), which, based on instructions from an operator, determines a width Wx in the X-axis direction and a width Wy in the Y-axis direction of an aperture and a width Ws of an opaque part on an XY plane defined on a surface of said substrate and positions a plurality of apertures of the same size at least along the X-axis to determine a two-dimensional layout on said XY plane;
a three-dimensional structure determination tool (20), which, based on instructions from an operator, determines whether or not phase shifting is to be performed for each of the plurality of apertures and determines, for apertures with which phase shifting is to be performed, a trench depth d and an undercut amount Uc, which indicates a distance between a position of the outline of the trench and a position of the outline of the aperture, to thereby determine a three-dimensional structure;
a three-dimensional simulator (30), which performs a three-dimensional analysis process of executing a three-dimensional simulation using a three-dimensional structural body, which is defined by said two-dimensional layout and said three-dimensional structure, as a model to determine a light intensity deviation D that indicates a deviation of intensities of light transmitted through each of a pair of adjacent apertures, designed to realize a phase shift of 180 degrees with respect to each other, when light is transmitted through the apertures under the same conditions;
and
a two-dimensional simulator (40), which performs a two-dimensional analysis process of executing two-dimensional simulations using a two-dimensional structural body, which is defined by said two-dimensional layout, as a model to determine a transmittance T, such that, when for a pair of adjacent apertures, a light transmittance of one aperture is set to 100% and a light transmittance of the other aperture is set to T%, a deviation in intensities of light transmitted through each of said pair of adjacent apertures becomes equal to said light intensity deviation D, and performs a layout correction process of executing two-dimensional simulations using a model, with which said transmittance T is applied to the two-dimensional structural body defined by said two-dimensional layout, to correct said two-dimensional layout.

3 more elements

said phase shift mask designing device comprising:
a two-dimensional layout determination tool (10), which, based on instructions from an operator, determines a width Wx in the X-axis direction and the width Wy in the Y-axis direction of an aperture and a width Ws of an opaque part on an XY plane defined on a surface of said substrate and positions a plurality of apertures of the same size at least along the X-axis to determine a two-dimensional layout on said XY plane;
a three-dimensional structure determination tool (20), which, based on instructions from an operator, determines whether or not phase shifting is to be performed for each of the plurality of apertures and determines, for apertures with which phase shifting is to be performed, a trench depth d and an undercut amount Uc, which indicates a distance between a position of the outline of the trench and a position of the outline of the aperture, to thereby determine a three-dimensional structure;
a first database (55), in which light intensity deviations D, each defined as a value that indicates a deviation of intensities of light transmitted through each of a pair of adjacent apertures, which are of a predetermined three-dimensional structural body and are designed to realize a phase shift of 180 degrees with respect to each other, when light is transmitted through the apertures under the same conditions, are stored according to various different combinations of parameter values of the width Wx in the X-direction of an aperture, the width Ws of an opaque part, and the undercut amount Uc;
a light intensity deviation determination tool (50), which determines a specific light intensity deviation D by searching said first database using specific parameter values determined by said two-dimensional layout determination tool and said three-dimensional structure determination tool;
a second database (65), in which light intensity deviations D, each defined as a value that indicates a deviation of intensities of light transmitted through each of a pair of adjacent apertures, which are of a predetermined two-dimensional structural body and with which a transmittance of one has been set to 100% and a transmittance of the other has been set to T%, when light is transmitted through the apertures under the same conditions, are stored according to various different combinations of parameter values of the width Wx in the X-direction of an aperture, the width Ws of an opaque part, and the transmittance T;
a transmittance determination tool (60), which searches said second database using specific parameter values determined by said two-dimensional layout determination tool and a specific light intensity deviation D determined by said light intensity deviation determination tool to determine a transmittance T, by which a light intensity deviation equal to said specific light intensity deviation D is obtained;
a third database (75), in which correction amounts δ, each of which concerns widths of the respective apertures and is required to make equal the intensities of light transmitted under the same conditions through each of a pair of adjacent apertures, which are of a predetermined two-dimensional structural body, are of the same size, and with which a transmittance of one has been set to 100% and a transmittance of the other has been set to T%, are stored according to various different combinations of parameter values of the width Wx in the X-direction of an aperture, the width Ws of an opaque part, and the transmittance T;
and
a correction amount determination tool (70), which searches said third database using specific parameter values determined by said two-dimensional layout determination tool and a specific transmittance T determined by said transmittance determination tool to determine a correction amount δ for said two-dimensional layout.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/497,743Filed 10 Dec 2002
Priority: JP 2001-37674311 Dec 2001
Published: 29 Jun 2006
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

G03F 1/30
Phase shift masks [PSM]; PSM blanks; Preparation thereof: alternating PSM, e.g. Levenson-Shibuya PSM; Preparation thereof
G06F 30/39
Circuit design: circuit design at the physical level
G06F 2119/18
Details relating to the type or aim of the analysis or the optimisation: manufacturability analysis or optimisation for manufacturability
Y02P 90/02
Enabling technologies with a potential contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation: total factory control, e.g. smart factories,…