US7840390B2
Active / In Force
US
⏱️ 0.6 years remaining
Creating method of simulation model, manufacturing method of photo mask, manufacturing method of semiconductor device, and recording medium
Assignee: Kioxia Corp
•
Filing: 2007-05-30
•
Granted: 2010-11-23
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Expires: 2027-05-30
Abstract
Abstract A method of creating a simulation model, includes acquiring a CD value of a photoresist pattern actually formed based upon a test pattern, acquiring information about a shape of the photoresist pattern, acquiring an intensity distribution of an optical image based upon the test pattern by performing simulation, acquiring an empirical threshold defined according to a CD value on the intensity distribution, which corresponds to the CD value of the photoresist pattern, acquiring a parameter of the optical image based upon the intensity distribution of the optical image, acquiring a first correlation between the information about the shape of the photoresist pattern and the parameter of the optical image, acquiring a second correlation between the information about the shape of the photoresist pattern and the empirical threshold, and acquiring a third correlation between the parameter of the optical image and the empirical threshold by using first and second correlations.
Inventors
- 👤 Masaki Satake
- 👤 Shoji Mimotogi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 17:35
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03F; G03F7/00; G03F7/70; G03F7/70483; G03F7/70605; G03F7/70616; G03F7/70625; G03F7/70491; G03F7/705; G03F7/70516
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
176 words
A method of creating a simulation model, comprising: acquiring, by a computer, a CD value of a photoresist pattern actually formed based upon a test pattern; acquiring, by the computer, information about a shape of the photoresist pattern; acquiring, by the computer, an intensity distribution of an optical image based upon the test pattern by performing simulation; acquiring, by the computer, an empirical threshold defined according to a CD value on the intensity distribution, which corresponds to the CD value of the photoresist pattern; acquiring, by the computer, a parameter of the optical image based upon the intensity distribution of the optical image; acquiring, by the computer, a first correlation between the information about the shape of the photoresist pattern and the parameter of the optical image; acquiring, by the computer, a second correlation between the information about the shape of the photoresist pattern and the empirical threshold; and acquiring, by the computer, a third correlation between the parameter of the optical image and the empirical threshold by using the first correlation and the second correlation.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
176 words
A method of creating a simulation model, comprising: acquiring, by a computer, a CD value of a photoresist pattern actually formed based upon a test pattern; acquiring, by the computer, information about a shape of the photoresist pattern; acquiring, by the computer, an intensity distribution of an optical image based upon the test pattern by performing simulation; acquiring, by the computer, an empirical threshold defined according to a CD value on the intensity distribution, which corresponds to the CD value of the photoresist pattern; acquiring, by the computer, a parameter of the optical image based upon the intensity distribution of the optical image; acquiring, by the computer, a first correlation between the information about the shape of the photoresist pattern and the parameter of the optical image; acquiring, by the computer, a second correlation between the information about the shape of the photoresist pattern and the empirical threshold; and acquiring, by the computer, a third correlation between the parameter of the optical image and the empirical threshold by using the first correlation and the second correlation.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
58 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein the information about the shape of the photoresist pattern includes at least one of a taper angle of a sidewall of the photoresist pattern, a thickness of the photoresist pattern, rounding of the photoresist pattern, line edge roughness of the photoresist pattern, and line width roughness of the photoresist pattern.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein the parameter of the optical image includes at least one of a slope of the intensity distribution of the optical image, a minimum value of the intensity distribution of the optical image, and a maximum value of the intensity distribution of the optical image.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein the parameter of the optical image influences at least one of a shape and a size of a photoresist pattern.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first correlation between the information about the shape of the photoresist pattern and the parameter of the optical image is obtained by regression analysis.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second correlation between the information about the shape of the photoresist pattern and the empirical threshold is obtained by regression analysis.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: acquiring, by the computer, an image of the photoresist pattern.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method according to claim 7 , wherein the CD value of the photoresist pattern is acquired from the image of the photoresist pattern.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method according to claim 7 , wherein the information about the shape of the photoresist pattern is acquired from the image of the photoresist pattern.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein the CD value of the photoresist pattern includes a line width.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method of manufacturing a photomask, comprising: fabricating the photomask based upon a guideline obtained by the simulation model created by the method according to claim 1 .
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
44 words
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: fabricating a photomask based upon a guideline obtained by the simulation model created by the method according to claim 1 ; and transferring a pattern formed on the photomask onto a photoresist on a semiconductor wafer.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
166 words
A computer readable medium configured to store program instructions for execution on a computer, the program instructions causing the computer to perform: storing a CD value of a photoresist pattern actually formed based upon a test pattern; storing information about a shape of the photoresist pattern; acquiring an intensity distribution of an optical image based upon the test pattern by performing simulation; acquiring an empirical threshold defined according to a CD value on the intensity distribution, which corresponds to the CD value of the photoresist pattern; acquiring a parameter of the optical image based upon the intensity distribution of the optical image; acquiring a first correlation between the information about the shape of the photoresist pattern and the parameter of the optical image; acquiring a second correlation between the information about the shape of the photoresist pattern and the empirical threshold; and acquiring a third correlation between the parameter of the optical image and the empirical threshold by using the first correlation and the second correlation.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
166 words
A computer readable medium configured to store program instructions for execution on a computer, the program instructions causing the computer to perform: storing a CD value of a photoresist pattern actually formed based upon a test pattern; storing information about a shape of the photoresist pattern; acquiring an intensity distribution of an optical image based upon the test pattern by performing simulation; acquiring an empirical threshold defined according to a CD value on the intensity distribution, which corresponds to the CD value of the photoresist pattern; acquiring a parameter of the optical image based upon the intensity distribution of the optical image; acquiring a first correlation between the information about the shape of the photoresist pattern and the parameter of the optical image; acquiring a second correlation between the information about the shape of the photoresist pattern and the empirical threshold; and acquiring a third correlation between the parameter of the optical image and the empirical threshold by using the first correlation and the second correlation.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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