September 11-13, 2012
Synopsys Booth #402
Exhibit Dates and Hours
Tuesday, September 11: 10:00 AM-4:00 PM and 6:00 PM-7:30 PM
Wednesday, September 12: 10:00 AM-4:00 PM
Overview
Synopsys is a world leader in EDA and IC manufacturing software and has the industry's most comprehensive solution from design to silicon. Synopsys' approach ensures an intelligent use of technology and data throughout the flow. Speak with experts about how Synopsys' production-proven mask synthesis, lithography simulation, and leading mask data preparation can provide superior turnaround time, cost of ownership, and accuracy of results at advanced technology nodes.
Meetings and Product Updates Overview
Mask Data Preparation – CATS
CATS is the industry's most widely used solution for mask data preparation. During this meeting, Synopsys will present technical details and results on the latest developments that enable CATS to offer unmatched quality-of-results and fastest throughput for mask manufacturing. It will also provide an opportunity for customers and partners to participate in CATS roadmap discussions with the Synopsys team.
Advanced OPC/RET – Proteus / Sentaurus Lithography
Proteus OPC has been providing industry-proven scalability and lowest cost of ownership for over a decade, and with the well-established Proteus Pipeline Technology (a unique concept of concurrent processing of all manufacturing applications), foundries and IDM's have recognized additional performance and cost savings benefits. Also, great strides have been made to increase accuracy in manufacturing through the integration of Proteus and Sentaurus Lithography, where rigorous simulations are seamlessly utilized to supplement correction and verification flows. The Proteus team would like to meet with you to discuss the latest updates in our continual progression towards accuracy, runtime, and cost-of-ownership improvements.
Meet with Synopsys
If you are planning to attend SPIE Photomask and you'd like to schedule an on-site meeting or product update with Synopsys, please contact your sales rep or send an email to manufacturing@synopsys.com. Include your business title, company name, office and mobile numbers, names of all participants and the topic you'd like to discuss.
Synopsys Technical Program
Tuesday, September 11
Poster Session: Patterning (6 pm – 7:30 pm)
Paper 8522-94 - Direct dose map synthesis for raster-based multiple electron-beam systems
Amyn A. Poonawala, Synopsys, Inc. (United States); Lars H. Bomholt, Synopsys Switzerland, LLC (Switzerland)
Abstract:
Multi-beam maskless lithography has been gaining momentum in the recent years. In this paper, we address the correction of proximity effects of maskless lithography using inverse algorithms. Traditional correction strategies target variable shaped beam (VSB) tools with dose modulation capability of individual shots. However, they fail to take full advantage of the raster-addressability of the multi-beam tools. The inverse correction framework we employ in the present paper is pixel-based and makes use of this extra degree of freedom provided by the multi-beam tools. The proximity correction can be characterized as an inverse imaging problem, similar to the one in mask synthesis in optical lithography. The goal is to find a rasterized dose map, which meets the required contour matching criteria along with other desirable characteristics. Note that by directly synthesizing a pixel-based dose map, the separation between dose and geometric correction as it is known from VSB tools is removed. We show simulation results for 15nm maskless lithography targeted at 5keV systems as the one developed by Mapper. We conclude with an outlook to account for scalability and long-range effects.
Poster Session: Mask Data Preparation (6 pm – 7:30 pm)
Paper 8522-78: Efficient Boolean and multi-input flow techniques for advanced mask data processing
William Moore, Daniel Salazar, John Valadez, Synopsys, Inc. (United States)
Abstract:
Mask data preparation (MDP) typically involves multiple, sometimes many steps to ensure that the data is properly written on the mask. This may include multiple inputs, transformations (scaling, orientation, etc.), and processing (layer extraction, sizing, Boolean operations, data filtering). Many MDP techniques currently in practice require multiple passes through the input data and/or multiple file I/O steps to achieve these goals. This paper details an approach which efficiently process the data, resulting in minimal I/O and greatly improved turnaround times (TAT). This approach takes advanced processing algorithms and adapts them to produce efficient and reliable data flow. In tandem with this processing flow, an internal jobdeck mapping approach, transparent to the user, allows an essentially unlimited number of pattern inputs to be handled in a single pass, resulting in increased flexibility and ease of use.
Poster Session: Mask Pattern Generators (6 pm – 7:30 pm)
Paper 8522-87: Proximity effect correction optimizing image quality and writing time for an electron multi-beam mask writer
Martin Schulz, Synopsys GmbH (Germany); Jan Klikovits, IMS Nanofabrication AG (Austria); Thomas Klimpel, Synopsys GmbH (Germany); Alex Zepka, Synopsys, Inc. (United States); Hans-Jürgen Stock, Synopsys GmbH (Germany)
Abstract:
Electron multi-beam mask writers address the challenge of long mask write times for increasingly complex masks. The writing speed of the multi-beam mask writer under consideration here depends on the maximum dose required for exposing the patterns. We present a proximity effect correction scheme that improves image quality (compared to a dose-only correction) and allows for a maximum dose limit. We test this scheme with and without maximum dose limit, and compare the achieved image quality against that for a dose-only correction. The results of this simulation study are verified by comparing top down SEM images of resist structures from exposures using the different corrections.
Wednesday, September 12
11:20 – 11:40 AM
Paper 8522-30 - Generating well-behaved OASIS files for mask data processing
Daniel D. Hung, Synopsys, Inc. (United States); Juan Pablo Canepa, Synopsys, Inc. (Chile); Ken Kuo, Synopsys Taiwan Ltd. (Taiwan); Jia-Guei Jou, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (Taiwan)
Abstract
Since the introduction of OASIS 1.0, the OASIS file format has gradually become adopted across the semiconductor manufacturing industry for advanced technology nodes. However, within the range of possible OASIS format options, choices made during file creation can result in inefficiencies in mask data processing. This paper starts by pointing out some common problems with existing OASIS file generation and the corresponding issues that these problems create in subsequent processing. We then present some strategies and methodologies on generating well-behaved OASIS files. We conclude with some comments on the OASIS standard for the future.
12:00 – 12:20 PM
Paper 8522-32 - Automatic marking by use of MRCC and range pattern matching for advanced MDP
Daniel Salazar, Synopsys, Inc. (Chile); William Moore, John Valadez, Synopsys, Inc. (United States)
Abstract
One step in MDP is the process of marking CD features via the jobdeck. These marks are usually further translated into specially formatted files used by optical metrology tools or CD SEM. There are various practices currently in use to accomplish the marking process, e.g.: by eye with a point and click GUI, by script using a list of known coordinates, by searching for a coordinate within a very limited neighborhood of a suspect coordinate, etc. However, all of these methods suffer from various shortcomings. They require extensive user intervention, or not all or enough marking places are found, or the coordinates that are supposed to be known are slightly off and cause mark placement scripts to fail, and so on.
This paper details an approach using CATS MRCC-RPM, where a new pattern matching functionality is used to find locations suitable for mark placements. The location coordinates thus found are then passed to well known mark placing functionality to then place the marks.
2:20 – 2:40 PM
Paper 8522-36 - The impact of the simulation model on SMO results
Thomas Mülders, Ulrich K. Klostermann, Synopsys GmbH (Germany); Vitaliy M. Domnenko, Synopsys, Inc. (Russian Federation); Bernd Küchler, Hans-Jürgen Stock, Synopsys GmbH (Germany)
Abstract
Simultaneous source-mask optimization (SMO) has demonstrated significant improvements compared to sequential optimization schemes of the source and the mask, respectively. However, as long as the underlying simulation model does not realistically reflect the printing on wafer the predicted improvements might not be experimentally observable. It is even much more challenging than for classical OPC to prepare and to employ a predictive model for SMO because the model is required to conserve its predictive power not only under nominal conditions and for a given source but through process conditions and across variable source shapes. In this paper we investigate the impact of the simulation model on the SMO results. We compare different degrees of model rigor, ranging from a simple 2D aerial image model, blurred aerial images in 2D and 3D and a physical resist model including explicit simulations for the process steps of Post-Exposure-Bake and Development. By extending the approach described in Ref.1 for incorporating a rigorous simulation model into SMO, we study the impact of the simulation model on the resulting source shape. Additionally, we use the physical resist model as a reference simulation model to assess the potential loss of lithographic process stability due to the usage of simplified models within SMO.
Ref.1: T. Mülders et al., Source-mask optimization incorporating a physical resist model and manufacturability constraints, Proceedings of SPIE 8326, 83260G (2012)