Dynamic provisional decomposition of lithographic patterns having different interaction ranges

A computer program product for use with a computer, the computer program product including a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having recorded thereon a computer program or program code, the computer program being executed by a processing unit for obtaining mask and source patterns for printing integrated circuit patterns on a semiconductor substrate, the computer program performing the steps of:

• identifying initial representations of a plurality of mask and source patterns;
• identifying long-range and short-range factors in the representations of the plurality of mask and source patterns;
• providing a plurality of clips including a specified number of mask patterns, and specifying short-range factors having overlapping ranges for each of the clips;
• determining an initial processing priority for the plurality of clips;
• determining a patterning relationship between integrated circuit patterns and the mask and source patterns;
• defining a primary objective expressing the printability of the integrated circuit patterns in terms of the patterning relationship;
• defining and iteratively solving at least one master problem employing the primary objective with at least one cut, to generate values for the long-range factors;
• defining and iteratively solving subproblems employing a second objective, using the specified short-range factors from the plurality of clips having a defined processing priority, for generating values for the short-range factors and for generating the cut for the master problem;
• swapping the clips meeting specified high processing priority into the master problem which were associated with solving subproblems, and swapping the clips not meeting the specified high processing priority from being in the master problem to being associated with the subproblems;
• and
• generating new masks and source patterns using the values of the long-range and short-range factors according to their representations.