Corinne Miramond, Dominique Goubier & Michael Chomat, STMicroelectronics, Crolles, France; Yorick Trouiller, LETI-CEA, France; Yves Rody, Philips Semiconductors, France; Olivier Toublan, Mentor Graphics

ABSTRACT

The introduction of strong optical proximity correction (OPC) to process 0.13 μm designs and below has induced a new data-processing flow. This has been implemented at STMicroelectronics Crolles using a Mentor Graphics software suite. To deal more easily with model-based corrections and additional verification on critical layers, a separation of the design database into critical and non-critical layers has been introduced. The resist model and the correction parameters needed during the OPC processing are developed in an iterative way. File sizes and data-processing time are the main issues in mask data preparation. The impact on mask manufacturing is also addressed in this article.