The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 12, 2006
Filed:
Sep. 20, 2002
Paul Filseth, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Neal Callan, Lake Oswego, OR (US);
Kunal Taravade, Portland, OR (US);
Mario Garza, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Paul Filseth, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Neal Callan, Lake Oswego, OR (US);
Kunal Taravade, Portland, OR (US);
Mario Garza, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
LSI Logic Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US);
Abstract
A method and system for detecting defects in a physical mask used for fabricating a semiconductor device having multiple layers is disclosed, where each layer has a corresponding mask. The method and system include receiving a digital image of the mask, and automatically detecting edges of the mask in the image using pattern recognition. The detected edges, which are stored in a standard format, are imported along with processing parameters into a process simulator that generates an estimated aerial image of the silicon layout that would be produced by a scanner using the mask and the parameters. The estimated aerial image is then compared to an intended aerial image of the same layer, and any differences found that are greater than predefined tolerances are determined to horizontal defects. In addition, effects that the horizontal defects may have on adjacent layers are analyzed to discover vertical defects.