Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Shoji Mimotogi

Soichi Inoue

Satoshi Tanaka

Toshiya Kotani

Takashi Sato

Shigeki Nojima

Akiko Mimotogi

Tadahito Fujisawa

Osamu Ikenaga

Shigeru Hasebe

Kazuya Fukuhara

Yasunobu Onishi

Hiroko Nakamura

Yukiyasu Arisawa

Koji Hashimoto

Masamitsu Itoh

Masafumi Asano

Takahiro Ikeda

Kentaro Matsunaga

Daisuke Kawamura

Akiko Yamada

Masaki Satake

Katsuya Okumura

Chikaaki Kodama

Hideki Kanai

Kazuko Yamamoto

Yosuke Kitamura

Tetsuaki Matsunawa

Yasuharu Sato

Hiroki Yamamoto

According to a sub-resolution assist feature arranging method in embodiments, it is selected which of a rule base and a model base is set for which pattern region on pattern data corresponding to a main pattern as a type of the method of arranging the sub-resolution assist feature for improving resolution of the main pattern formed on a substrate. Then, the sub-resolution assist feature by the rule base is arranged in a pattern region set as the rule base and the sub-resolution assist feature by the model base is arranged in a pattern region set as the model base.

Sub-resolution assist feature arranging method and computer program product and manufacturing method of semiconductor device

According to a simulation model creating method of an embodiment, a resist pattern is formed by transferring a mask pattern on a first substrate with an exposing amount and a focus value being changed, and a line width of the resist pattern is measured. Next, measurement results which are not within an allowable change range due to an irregularity of the exposing amount, an irregularity of the focus value or pattern feature amount are removed. In addition, measurement results which are not with in an allowable change range due to an irregularity of the line width of the mask pattern are removed. Next, a simulation model is created by using measurement results which are not removed.

Simulation model creating method, computer program product, and method of manufacturing a semiconductor device

A method of simulating an optical intensity distribution on a substrate when a mask pattern formed on the mask is transferred to the substrate through a projection optical system by irradiating an illumination light obliquely on a mask surface of the mask, which comprises setting a phase difference between a zero-order diffraction light and a first-order diffraction light determined according to at least one of a distance between the zero-order diffraction light and the first-order diffraction light on a pupil of the projection optical system, thickness of a light-shielding portion formed on the mask, angle defined by an optical axis direction of the illumination light and an incident direction on the mask, and a difference between a size of the mask pattern and a half cycle of the mask pattern, and carrying out a simulation of the optical intensity distribution on the substrate according to the set phase difference.

Simulation method and simulation program

A lithography process window analyzing method for setting a process window based on ranges of exposure amounts and focus positions, and giving evaluation of reliability of the set process window, includes setting, based on a plurality of process conditions including exposure amounts and focus positions in the performed exposure processing, analysis reliability M for process conditions including an arbitrary exposure amount and an arbitrary focus position; calculating reliability R of the process window based on the analysis reliability M concerning the process conditions included in the process window; and comparing a magnitude relation between the reliability R and a predetermined threshold and determining presence or absence of reliability of the process window according to a result of the comparison.

Lithography process window analyzing method and analyzing program

A projection exposure method that projects the shape of a hole onto a wafer by projecting a diffracted light, which is produced by applying light to a mask having a pattern for forming a hole pattern, onto the wafer through a projection optical system for exposure, wherein, in a plane substantially perpendicular to an optical axis, the light applied to the mask has a first intensity distribution in which the intensity is higher in the vicinity of eight apexes of an octagon centered at the optical axis than in other areas, the mask has a plurality of first opening patterns are arranged in a rectangular lattice configuration having sides parallel to diagonals of the octagon passing through the optical axis, and a plurality of second opening patterns are arranged in a face-centered rectangular lattice configuration having sides parallel to diagonals of the octagon passing through the optical axis.

Projection exposure method

A simulation model creating method computes, for measurement results of a line width of a resist pattern formed with varied an exposure amount and focus value, a permissible fluctuation range of the pattern line width from a distribution of the exposure amount and a distribution of the focus value; computes difference values between the measurement results and corresponding approximation values on a fitting function which has the exposure amount and focus value as parameters; compares the difference values with the permissible fluctuation range; deletes any measurement values for which the difference value is larger than the permissible fluctuation range, and recomputes the fitting function accordingly; and deletes measurement values outside a permissible fluctuation range of a pattern line width of the mask, and creates a simulation model.

Simulation model creating method, mask data creating method and semiconductor device manufacturing method

A method of evaluating a photo mask, includes measuring each dimension of a plurality of pattern portions of a mask pattern formed on a photo mask, obtaining an inter-pattern distance between the pattern portion and a pattern different from the pattern portion with respect to each of the pattern portions, obtaining a dimensional difference between the measured dimension of the pattern portion and a target dimension of the pattern portion with respect to each of the pattern portions, grouping the dimensional difference obtained for each pattern portion into a plurality of groups in accordance with the inter-pattern distance obtained for each pattern portion, obtaining an evaluation value based on the dimensional difference in each group with respect to each of the groups, and evaluating the photo mask based on the evaluation value.

Method of evaluating a photo mask and method of manufacturing a semiconductor device

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.

Creating method of simulation model, manufacturing method of photo mask, manufacturing method of semiconductor device, and recording medium

A lithography simulation method includes: taking in design data of a pattern to be formed on a substrate and mask data to prepare a mask pattern used in forming a latent image of the pattern on the substrate by transmission of an energy ray; obtaining the latent image of the pattern by calculation of an intensity of the energy ray; locally changing, at least in a portion corresponding to a pattern to be interested, a relative position in a direction of the intensity of the energy ray between a latent image curve and a reference intensity line in accordance with a distance between the pattern to be interested and a pattern of a neighboring region, the latent image curve being an intensity distribution curve of the energy ray constituting the latent image, the reference intensity line being defined to specify a position of an edge of the pattern to be interested; and calculating a distance between intersections of a portion of the latent image curve corresponding to the pattern to be interested and the reference intensity line in the changed relative position to define an interested line width of the pattern to be interested.

Mask pattern preparation method, semiconductor device manufacturing method and recording medium

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a mask data correction method used when forming a photomask used in a photolithography process, comprising correcting mask data on the basis of simulation performed by using information including nonuniformity of an illumination luminance distribution in an exposure apparatus which uses the photomask formed by using the mask data obtained by the correction result.

Mask data correction method, photomask manufacturing method, computer program, optical image prediction method, resist pattern shape prediction method, and semiconductor device manufacturing method

A photomask quality estimation system comprises a measuring unit, a latitude computation unit and an estimation unit. The measuring unit measures the mask characteristic of each of a plurality of chip patterns formed on a mask substrate. The latitude computation unit computes the exposure latitude of each chip pattern based on the mask characteristic. The estimation unit estimates the quality of each chip pattern based on the exposure latitude.

Photomask quality estimation system and method for use in manufacturing of semiconductor device, and method for manufacturing the semiconductor device

A light intensity distribution simulation method for predicting an intensity distribution of light on a substrate when photomask including a pattern is irradiated with light in which a shape distribution of an effective light source is defined includes extracting plural point light sources from a shape distribution of the effective light source, entering the light emitted from each of the plural point light sources onto the pattern of the photomask, calculating an effective shape for each of the plural point light sources, the effective shape being a pattern obtained by excluding a part which is not irradiated with the light directly due to a sidewall of a pattern film including the pattern from a design shape of an aperture of the pattern, and calculating a distribution of diffraction light generated in the pattern for each of the plural point light sources by using the effective shape.

Light intensity distribution simulation method and computer program product

An exposure method is disclosed, which comprises preparing a first mask in which a size of a mask pattern is measured in advance, calculating a first exposure quantity to be applied to the first mask to provide a first resist pattern by using the first mask, simulating optical intensity distributions on a wafer in a case where the first mask is used and an optical intensity distribution on the wafer in a case where a second mask is used, a size of a mask pattern of the second mask being measured in advance, calculating a difference in optical intensity between the first mask and the second mask from the simulated optical intensity distributions, and calculating a second exposure quantity to be applied to the second mask to provide a second resist pattern, from the first exposure quantity and the difference in optical intensity.

Exposure method, exposure quantity calculating system using the exposure method and semiconductor device manufacturing method using the exposure method

A mask pattern data producing method is disclosed, which comprises preparing design pattern data in which contact holes are arranged on part of the grid points in matrix, preparing first mask pattern data in which first opening patterns are arranged on all of the grid points, and designing second mask pattern data in which second opening patterns and third opening patterns are arranged, the second opening patterns being arranged on the grid points at which the contact holes are arranged in the design pattern data to include the first opening patterns, the third opening patterns being arranged on a pair of grid points, which is a pair of diagonal grid points only on which the contact holes are arranged in a unit grid formed by four grid points, to include the first opening patterns arranged on the pair of grid points, in place of the second opening patterns.

Mask pattern data producing method, patterning method, reticle correcting method, reticle manufacturing method, and semiconductor apparatus manufacturing method

A projection exposure mask acceptance decision system includes assurance object measuring unit to measure quality assurance objects relating to projection exposure mask, first exposure characteristic deterioration quantity calculating unit to calculate first exposure characteristic deterioration quantity caused by deviations in average values of the quality assurance objects measured by the measuring unit, second exposure characteristic deterioration quantity calculating unit to calculate second exposure characteristic deterioration quantity caused by dispersion in the quality assurance objects measured by the measuring unit, sum calculating unit to calculate simple sum of the first and second quantity, root sum square calculating unit to calculate root sum square of the first and second quantity, entire exposure characteristic deterioration quantity calculating unit to calculate entire exposure characteristic deterioration quantity as an interior division value of the simple sum and root sum square, and judgment unit to judge whether the entire exposure characteristic deterioration quantity is acceptable value.

Projection exposure mask acceptance decision system, projection exposure mask acceptance decision method, method for manufacturing semiconductor device, and computer program project

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Shoji Mimotogi