Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp. Ltd.

Luke Lo

Ru-Gun Liu

Hua-Tai Lin

Jeng-Shiun Ho

Chih-Ming Lai

Tsai-Sheng Gau

Wen-Chun Huang

Tsong-Hua Ou

Ken-Yu Chang

Jye-Yen Cheng

Chih-Hsiang Yao

Minghsing Tsai

Cheng-Cheng Kuo

Ying-Chou Cheng

Shang-Yu Huang

Yu-Hsiang Lin

Cheng Cheng Kuo

Josh J H Feng

Min-Hung Cheng

Ting-Chun Liu

Jing-Wei Shih

Wen-Han Chu

The present disclosure provides one embodiment of an integrated circuit (IC) design method. The method includes providing an IC design layout of a circuit; applying an electrical patterning (ePatterning) modification to the IC design layout according to an electrical parameter of the circuit and an optical parameter of IC design layout; and thereafter fabricating a mask according to the IC design layout.

Customized patterning modulation and optimization

The present disclosure provides a photomask. The photomask includes a first integrated circuit (IC) feature formed on a substrate; and a second IC feature formed on the substrate and configured proximate to the first IC feature. The first and second IC features define a dense pattern having a first pattern density. The second IC feature is further extended from the dense pattern, forming an isolated pattern having a second pattern density less than the first pattern density. A transition region is defined from the dense pattern to the isolated pattern. The photomask further includes a sub-resolution rod (SRR) formed on the substrate, disposed in the transition region, and connected with the first IC feature.

Sub-resolution rod in the transition region

Semiconductor integrated circuit line structures for improving a process window in the vicinity of dense-to-isolated pattern transition areas and a technique to implement the line structures in the layout process are described in this disclosure. The disclosed structure includes a semiconductor substrate, and a material layer above the substrate. The material layer has a closely spaced dense line structure, an isolated line structure next to the dense line structure, and a dummy line shoulder structure formed in the vicinity of the dense line and the isolated line structures. One end of the dummy line shoulder structure connects to the isolated line structure and another end extends away from the isolated line structure in an orientation substantially perpendicular to the isolated line structure.

Dummy shoulder structure for line stress reduction

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Pingjhen, Taiwan

Luke Lo