Method for manufacturing a lithographic reticle for transferring an integrated circuit design to a semiconductor wafer

A method for manufacturing a lithographic reticle for transferring an integrated circuit design to a semiconductor wafer, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing the integrated circuit design having a plurality of pattern features;
• locating areas of the integrated circuit design that have features relatively densely packed and areas of the design that are devoid of design features;
• and
• adding a plurality of subresolution design features to the areas of the design that are devoid of features, wherein a width of an area of the integrated circuit design that is devoid of design features is less than two times a width of one feature of the plurality of pattern features, and wherein the subresolution design features do not resolve on a lithographic reticle used to transfer the integrated circuit design to the semiconductor wafer.