Infineon Technologies Ag

Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Qimonda Ag

Christoph Friedrich

Rainer Pforr

Uwe Griesinger

Dietrich Widmann

Henning Haffner

Andreas Grassmann

Molela Moukara

Burkhard Ludwig

Armin Semmler

G&uuml;nther Czech

Fritz Gans

J&uuml;rgen Knobloch

Michael Heissmeier

Carsten F&uuml;lber

Wilhelm Maurer

Rainer K&auml;smaier

Klaus Ergenzinger

Layers are patterned with a lithography method during the fabrication of integrated circuits. A mask, which may be reflective or transmissive, for carrying out the method. The photosensitive layers are exposed to radiation that is emitted by a radiation source. The radiation lies in the extreme ultraviolet region and is guided via the mask onto the photosensitive layers.

Lithography method and lithography mask

An alternating phase mask having a branched structure containing two opaque segments is described. Two transparent surface segments are disposed on both sides of the segments or the components thereof, respectively. The surface segments are provided with phases that are displaced by 180&deg;&plusmn;&Dgr; &agr;, whereby &Dgr; &agr; a is not more than 25&deg;. The surface segments are separated by at least one transparent surface boundary segment whose phase is situated between the phases of the adjacent surface segments.

Alternating phase mask

The invention relates to a phase shift mask for lithographically producing small structures at the limit of a resolution that is predetermined by the wavelength of the exposure radiation. The phase shift mask has first regions A and second regions B that effect a phase-shift relative to the first regions. The second regions are arranged beside the first regions for producing a sudden phase shift along the boundaries between the first and the second regions. Individual first regions touch one another via corners at points, at which the second regions also touch one another via corners. The result is that the boundaries between first and second regions merge at these points and these points are opaque to the radiation. The invention makes it possible to expose extremely small contact holes with just a single exposure and thus leads to a reduction of costs in the fabrication of integrated semiconductor circuits.

Contact hole fabrication with the aid of mutually crossing sudden phase shift edges of a single phase shift mask

A method for generating mask layout data for lithography simulation includes prescribing original data defining an original layout of a mask and determining a deviation between the original layout and a subsequent layout of a mask derived from said original layout. On the basis of this deviation, new data defining a new layout is calculated. This new layout is more similar to the subsequent layout that it is to the original layout.

Generating mask layout data for simulation of lithographic processes

For lithographically producing the smallest structures at less than the exposure wavelengths in semiconductor fabrication, a double exposure is carried out using a thick phase mask and a trimming mask, the trimming mask further structures the phase-contrast lines produced by the phase mask. Besides transparent or opaque regions, the trimming mask also has phase-shifting regions. These surround transparent regions of the trimming mask through which the phase-contrast lines produced by the first mask are locally re-exposed, that is to say interrupted. The intensity profile of successive line sections is especially rich in contrast through the addition of the phase-shifting partially transparent regions on the second mask; the distances between the line sections can be reduced. The trimming mask, otherwise used only for larger structures, is therefore suitable for the configuration of the finest dimensionally critical structures.

Trimming mask with semitransparent phase-shifting regions

Growing community of inventors

München, Germany

Christoph Friedrich