Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp. Ltd.

Chih-Shiang Chou

Ru-Gun Liu

Yu-Po Tang

Fu-Sheng Chu

Wen-Chun Huang

Yan-Ying He

Nian-Fuh Cheng

Ching-Hsu Chang

Hsu-Ting Huang

Chih-Wei Hsu

Hsin-Chang Lee

Tsai-Sheng Gau

Hua-Tai Lin

Kuei Shun Chen

Cheng-Cheng Kuo

Ya-Ting Chang

Ching-Che Tsai

Tzu-Chun Lo

A microscope apparatus includes light source configured to generate an illuminating beam. The microscope apparatus further includes a first beam splitter configured to split the illuminating beam into a first component along a first path and a second component along a second path. The microscope apparatus further includes a movable reflector module along the second path. The microscope apparatus further includes a moving mechanism connected to the movable reflector module, wherein the moving mechanism is configured to move the movable reflector in a first direction for adjusting a length of the second path. The microscope apparatus further includes a second beam splitter configured to recombine the first component and the second component. The microscope apparatus further includes an observing device configured to receive the recombined first component and second component.

Microscope apparatus

An integrated circuit (IC) method is provided. The method includes building a mask model to simulate an aerial mask image of a mask, and a compound lithography computational (CLC) model to simulate a wafer pattern; calibrating the mask model using a measured aerial mask image of the mask; calibrating the CLC model using measured wafer data and the calibrated mask model; performing an optical proximity correction (OPC) process to a mask pattern using the calibrated CLC model, thereby generating a corrected mask pattern for mask fabrication. Alternatively, the method includes measuring a mask image of a mask optically projected on a wafer with an instrument; calibrating a mask model using the measured mask image; calibrating a CLC model using measured wafer data and the calibrated mask model; and performing an OPC process to a mask pattern using the calibrated CLC model, thereby generating a corrected mask pattern for mask fabrication.

Method of mask simulation model for OPC and mask making

A microscope apparatus including an electromagnetic wave source configured to generate an illuminating electromagnetic wave. The microscope apparatus includes a first beam splitter configured to split the illuminating electromagnetic wave into a first component along a first path and a second component along a second path. The microscope apparatus includes a movable reflector module configured to adjust the second path. The microscope apparatus includes a second beam splitter configured to recombine the first component and the second component. The microscope apparatus includes an observing device arranged along the first path and configured to receive the recombined first component and second component. The microscope apparatus is configured to acquire, from the observing device, a phase image based on positioning of the movable reflector module and representative of an electric field distribution near an object located along the first path between the first beam splitter and the second beam splitter.

The present disclosure provides an integrated circuit (IC) method in accordance with some embodiments. The method includes building a mask model to simulate a mask image and a compound lithography computational model to simulate a wafer pattern; calibrating the mask model using a measured mask image; calibrating the compound lithography computational model using a measured wafer data and the calibrated mask model; and performing an optical proximity correction (OPC) process to an IC pattern using the calibrated compound computational model, thereby generating a mask pattern for mask fabrication.

A microscope apparatus includes an electromagnetic wave source configured to generate an illuminating electromagnetic wave, a first beam splitter configured to split the illuminating electromagnetic wave into a first component along a first path and a second component along a second path, a movable reflector module configured to adjust a portion of the second path, and a second beam splitter configured to recombine the first component and the second component. An observing device is configured to receive the recombined first component and second component and the microscope apparatus is configured acquire a phase image from the observing device based on positioning of the movable reflector module and representative of an electric field distribution near an object located along the first path between the first beam splitter and the second beam splitter.

Microscope apparatus and method for phase image acquisition

The present disclosure provides a semiconductor lithography system. The lithography system includes a projection optics component. The projection optics component includes a curved aperture. The lithography system includes a photo mask positioned over the projection optics component. The photo mask contains a plurality of elongate semiconductor patterns. The semiconductor patterns each point in a direction substantially perpendicular to the curved aperture of the projection optics component. The present disclosure also provides a method. The method includes receiving a design layout for a semiconductor device. The design layout contains a plurality of semiconductor patterns each oriented in a given direction. The method includes transforming the design layout into a mask layout. The semiconductor patterns in the mask layout are oriented in a plurality of different directions as a function of their respective location.

Enhanced EUV lithography system

A microscope apparatus includes a condenser lens to make an illuminating electromagnetic wave relatively homogeneous, a first beam splitter splitting the illuminating electromagnetic wave after the condenser lens, a movable reflector module, a second beam splitter, an objective lens to project the illuminating electromagnetic wave propagating after an object to be observed toward an observing device. The object is loaded between the first beam splitter and the second beam splitter. The microscope apparatus is configured to split the illuminating electromagnetic wave into two paths at the first beam splitter. A first path goes through the first and the second beam splitters, and a second path goes through the movable reflector module to rejoin the first path at the second beam splitter. The microscope apparatus is configured acquire phase images with interferences of the electromagnetic wave from the two paths with at least two distance settings of the movable reflector module.

Microscope apparatus for phase image acquisition

A method of optical proximity correction (OPC) convergence control that includes providing a lithography system having a photomask and an illuminator. The method further includes performing an exposure by the illuminator on the photomask. Also, the method includes optimizing an optical illuminator setting for the lithography system with a defined gate pitch in a first direction in a first template. Additionally, the method includes determining OPC correctors to converge the OPC results with a target edge placement error (EPE) to produce a first OPC setting for the first template. The first OPC setting targets a relatively small EPE and mask error enhancement factor (MEEF)of the defined gate pitch in the first template. In addition, the method includes checking the first OPC setting for a relatively small EPE, MEEF and DOM consistency with the first template of the defined gate pitch in a second, adjacent template.

Optical proximity correction convergence control

Integrated circuit (IC) methods for optical proximity correction (OPC) modeling and mask repair are described. The methods include use of an optical model that generates a simulated aerial image from an actual aerial image obtained in an optical microscope system. In the OPC modeling methods, OPC according to stage modeling is simulated, and OPC features may be added to a design layout according to the simulating OPC. In the mask repair methods, inverse image rendering is performed on the actual aerial image and diffraction image by applying an optical model that divides an incoherent exposure source into a plurality of coherent sources.

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Pingzhen, Taiwan

Chih-Shiang Chou