Method for high yield reticle formation

Abstract

A system and method for optimizing the production of lithography reticles involves identifying “proximity effect halos” around tight tolerance features in an IC layout data file. Features and defects outside the halos will not have a significant effect on the printing of the tight tolerance features. During reticle formation, the tight tolerance features and associated halos can be carefully written and inspected to ensure accuracy while the other portions of the reticle can be written/inspected less stringently for efficiency. The halo width can be determined empirically or can be estimated by process modeling. If an electron beam tool is used to write the reticle, a small spot size can be used to expose the tight tolerance features and the halos, whereas a large spot size can be used to expose the remainder of the reticle. A reticle production system can include a computer to read an IC layout data file, identify tight tolerance features, and define proximity effect halos. Tight tolerance features can be individually selected or automatically flagged according to user specifications. A graphical user interface can be provided to enable user input and control. The reticle production system can be coupled to a remote IC layout database through a LAN or a WAN. The reticle production system can be coupled to directly send a reticle data file to a reticle-writing tool.

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