Reticle Information Adjustment Device, Reticle Data Adjustment Method, and Program

Abstract

The problem of the present invention is that in the conventional reticle information adjustment device, the data size of the reticle information for obtaining a highly accurate exposure pattern is huge. The solution of the present invention is that through the reticle information adjustment device (1), the data size of the reticle information can be reduced without significantly affecting the exposure pattern; the reticle information adjustment device (1) includes: an object information acquisition unit (141) that acquires pre-adjustment reticle information including a polygonal reticle pattern; a processing unit (140) that acquires the influence degree of each vertex or edge of the reticle pattern on the exposure pattern and pairs it with the vertex or edge, the exposure pattern is generated using the reticle corresponding to the reticle pattern, and each vertex or edge is removed according to whether a predetermined condition related to the acquired influence degree is satisfied, thereby simplifying the reticle pattern; and an output unit (160) that outputs adjusted reticle information including the reticle pattern simplified by the processing unit (140).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a reticle information adjustment device that outputs reticle information for manufacturing a reticle, a reticle data adjustment method, and a program. Background Art

[0002] In the exposure process of semiconductor manufacturing, a reticle is used. The reticle is manufactured in the following manner. That is, a photoresist is coated on a reticle substrate called a blank. Then, the photoresist is patterned with an electron beam. After that, the reticle is manufactured through the processes of development, etching, and stripping.

[0003] In addition, in recent years, as the process rules have moved towards miniaturization, there has been a problem in the exposure process: parts with patterns smaller (finer) than the wavelength of light, etc., are not resolved according to the reticle pattern. In order to obtain an ideal exposure pattern in the exposure process, countermeasures must be taken against such problems. As countermeasures, for example, it is considered to apply OPC (Optical Proximity Correction) technology or perform ILT (Inverse Lithograph Technology) to generate the reticle pattern of the reticle (for example, refer to Patent Document 1 below).

[0004] In addition, ILT uses the entire process including the exposure system as a model, takes the reticle pattern as a variable, and solves an equation so that the wafer pattern obtained from the model is consistent with the design pattern, thereby deriving an ideal reticle pattern. For example, the reticle pattern obtained by ILT will be a set of smooth curves.

[0005] In addition, if the reticle pattern is optimized in response to the miniaturization of the process rules, the reticle pattern will become complicated. Also, when applying the above ILT, etc., the resulting reticle pattern contains smooth closed curves. In the system for manufacturing a reticle, sometimes it is not possible to directly process a reticle pattern containing such curves. In such a case, the smooth closed curve must be approximated as a polygon so that it can be applied by the system. In order to obtain a highly accurate exposure pattern, the accuracy of the approximation must be improved. In a polygon reticle pattern with a complex shape or a reticle pattern with an improved approximation accuracy, the number of vertices increases. Therefore, if the number of vertices of the reticle pattern increases, the data size of the reticle information will increase.

[0006] If the data size of the reticle information is huge, it will cause various adverse effects on the manufacturing process. The transfer of reticle information between processing sites or between devices that process the reticle information will take time proportional to the data size. Also, the processing time for reticle data preparation, including pattern segmentation, MPC (Mask Process Correction), etc., depends on the data size. The exposure device that exposes the reticle or the inspection device for the reticle performs processing while referring to the reticle information. Therefore, if reticle information with too large a data size is used, the throughput of the system for manufacturing the reticle may deteriorate.

[0007] In order to reduce the data size of the reticle information, for example, as described in Non-Patent Document 1 below, it is considered to simplify polygons using the Ramar-Dougrass-Peuker algorithm or the like. Also, for example, Non-Patent Document 2 below describes that the data amount can be reduced by optimizing the grid size during OPC.

[0008] Prior Art Documents

[0009] Patent Documents

[0010] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-530494

[0011] Non-Patent Documents

[0012] Non-Patent Document 1: Urs Ramar, "An iterative procedure for the polygonal approximation of plane curves", Computer Graphics and Image Processing, Volume 1, Issue 3, November 1972, Pages 244-256, doi: / / 10.1016 / S0146-664X(72)80017-0

[0013] Non-Patent Document 2: Monica Laurel Kempsell, Eric Hendrickx, Alexander V. Tritchkov, Kyohei Sakajiri, Kenichi Yasui, Susuki Yoshitake, Yuri Granik, Geert Vandenberghe, and Bruce W. Smith "Inverse lithography for 45-nm-node contact holes at 1.35 numerical aperture," Journal of Micro / Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS 8(4), 043001 (1 October 2009). doi: / / 10.1117 / 1.3263702 Summary of the Invention

[0014] Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0015] In the simplification method described in the above Non-Patent Document 1, simplification can be achieved when the shape can still be judged by human vision. However, this method cannot strictly maintain the position or angle of the sides forming the polygon for input. The purpose of this method is only to appear properly simplified "to human vision", and less attention is paid to the position or angle of the figure. As a result, compared with the expected results obtained by performing OPC or the like, the performance of the produced photomask is significantly deteriorated. In most of these other known algorithms for simplifying two-dimensional figures, they are constructed based on whether they are appropriate for human vision, and cannot both obtain a highly accurate exposure pattern and reduce the data size of the photomask information.

[0016] Also, in the configuration described in the above Non-Patent Document 2, it is also difficult to both obtain a highly accurate exposure pattern and reduce the data size of the photomask information.

[0017] Thus, there has always been a problem that the data size of the photomask information for obtaining a highly accurate exposure pattern becomes larger. Although it is desired to reduce the data size of the photomask information, the commonly considered methods have the following trade-off relationship: if the data granularity of the curve is reduced, the performance of the produced photomask deteriorates. A simplification process of the photomask pattern is needed to eliminate this trade-off and combine the data size and accuracy.

[0018] Technical Solution for Solving the Problem

[0019] The reticle information adjustment device of the first invention in this case is a reticle information adjustment device that adjusts the reticle information for manufacturing a reticle, and includes: an object information acquisition unit that acquires pre-adjustment reticle information including a polygonal reticle pattern; a processing unit that acquires the degree of influence of each vertex or side of the reticle pattern on the exposure pattern and pairs it with the vertex or side, where the exposure pattern is generated using the reticle corresponding to the reticle pattern, and removes each vertex or side according to whether a predetermined condition related to the acquired degree of influence is satisfied, thereby simplifying the reticle pattern; and an output unit that outputs post-adjustment reticle information including the reticle pattern simplified by the processing unit.

[0020] With the above configuration, the data size of the reticle information can be reduced without significantly affecting the exposure pattern.

[0021] Furthermore, in the reticle information adjustment device of the second invention in this case, compared with the first invention, the processing unit acquires the degree of influence corresponding to all vertices or all sides of the reticle pattern, and removes the vertex or side with the smallest acquired degree of influence.

[0022] With the above configuration, the influence on the exposure pattern can be made smaller, and the data size of the reticle information can be reduced.

[0023] Furthermore, in the reticle information adjustment device of the third invention in this case, compared with the first invention, the processing unit removes one vertex or side of the reticle pattern, and acquires the degree of influence caused by removing each vertex or side in the reticle pattern after removing one vertex or side. If the predetermined end condition is not satisfied, one vertex or side of the reticle pattern is further removed according to the acquired degrees of influence. If the predetermined end condition is satisfied, the simplification of the reticle pattern ends.

[0024] With the above configuration, the degree of influence is further acquired for the reticle pattern after removal and the vertex or side is removed, so the data size of the reticle information can be effectively reduced.

[0025] Furthermore, in the reticle information adjustment device of the fourth invention in this case, compared with the third invention, after the processing unit acquires the degree of influence for the reticle pattern after removing one vertex or side, it compares the acquired degrees of influence with a predetermined threshold value. If the comparison result satisfies the end condition, the simplification of the reticle pattern ends.

[0026] With the above configuration, the data size of the reticle information can be effectively reduced without significantly affecting the exposure pattern.

[0027] Furthermore, in the reticle information adjustment device of the fifth invention in this case, compared with the first invention, for each vertex or side of the reticle pattern, the processing unit acquires a value corresponding to the area change amount of the reticle pattern caused by deleting the vertex or side as the degree of influence.

[0028] With the above configuration, the data size of the reticle information can be reduced, so that the impact of the simplification of the reticle pattern on the exposure pattern is reduced.

[0029] Moreover, in the reticle information adjustment device of the sixth invention of the present case, compared with the first invention, the processing unit obtains the area of the triangle formed by an edge and a half-line as the influence degree for one edge constituting the reticle pattern, and the half-line includes an adjacent edge adjacent to the edge and has a vertex different from the vertex shared with the edge as the base point.

[0030] With the above configuration, the data size of the reticle information can be reduced, so that the impact of the simplification of the reticle pattern on the exposure pattern is reduced.

[0031] Moreover, in the reticle information adjustment device of the seventh invention of the present case, compared with the first invention, when removing one edge constituting the reticle pattern, the processing unit uses the intersection point of the half-lines as the vertex in the reticle pattern after removing the edge, and the half-lines respectively include adjacent edges adjacent to the edge and have vertices different from the vertex shared with the edge as the base points.

[0032] With the above configuration, the data size of the reticle information can be effectively reduced without significantly affecting the exposure pattern.

[0033] Moreover, in the reticle information adjustment device of the eighth invention of the present case, compared with the first invention, for one vertex constituting the reticle pattern, when the quadrilateral formed by the two edges sharing the vertex and the two half-lines is not a concave quadrilateral, the processing unit obtains the area of the quadrilateral as the influence degree, and the two half-lines respectively include adjacent edges adjacent to the two edges and have vertices different from the adjacent vertices adjacent to the vertex as the base points.

[0034] With the above configuration, the data size of the reticle information can be reduced, so that the impact of the simplification of the reticle pattern on the exposure pattern is reduced.

[0035] Moreover, in the reticle information adjustment device of the ninth invention of the present case, compared with the first invention, when removing one vertex constituting the reticle pattern, when the quadrilateral formed by the two edges sharing the vertex and the two half-lines is not a concave quadrilateral, the processing unit uses the intersection point of the half-lines as the vertex in the reticle pattern after removal, and the two half-lines respectively include adjacent edges adjacent to the two edges and have vertices different from the adjacent vertices adjacent to the vertex as the base points.

[0036] With the above configuration, the data size of the reticle information can be effectively reduced without significantly affecting the exposure pattern.

[0037] In addition, in the reticle information adjustment device of the tenth invention of this case, compared with the first invention, when the quadrilateral formed by two sides sharing a vertex and two half-lines is a concave quadrilateral for a vertex constituting the reticle pattern, the processing unit obtains the area of the triangle formed by the two sides sharing the vertex and the line segment connecting the two adjacent vertices as the influence degree. The two half-lines include the adjacent sides respectively adjacent to the two sides and take vertices different from the adjacent vertices adjacent to the vertex as the base points.

[0038] With the above configuration, the data size of the reticle information can be reduced, so that the influence of the simplification of the reticle pattern on the exposure pattern is reduced.

[0039] In addition, in the reticle information adjustment device of the eleventh invention of this case, compared with the first invention, when removing a vertex constituting the reticle pattern, when the quadrilateral formed by two sides sharing the vertex and two half-lines is a concave quadrilateral, the first point on one of the two half-lines and the second point on the other are used as the vertices in the reticle pattern after removal. The two half-lines include the adjacent sides respectively adjacent to the two sides and take vertices different from the adjacent vertices adjacent to the vertex as the base points; the first point and the second point are located at positions where the area of the following quadrilateral is equal to the area of the following triangle: the quadrilateral is formed by the line segment connecting the first point and the second point, the line segment connecting the adjacent vertices, and the two half-lines, and the triangle is formed by the two sides sharing the vertex and the line segment connecting the two adjacent vertices.

[0040] With the above configuration, the data size of the reticle information can be effectively reduced without significantly affecting the exposure pattern.

[0041] In addition, in the reticle information adjustment device of the twelfth invention of this case, compared with the first invention, the pre-adjustment reticle information includes a reticle pattern generated by OPC (Optical Proximity Correction).

[0042] With the above configuration, the data size of the reticle information for obtaining a highly accurate exposure pattern can be reduced.

[0043] In addition, in the reticle information adjustment device of the thirteenth invention of this case, compared with the first invention, the object information acquisition unit acquires a target reticle pattern corresponding to the target exposure pattern, and acquires the pre-adjustment reticle information according to the acquired target reticle pattern.

[0044] With the above configuration, the data size of the reticle information for obtaining a highly accurate exposure pattern can be reduced.

[0045] In addition, in the reticle information adjustment device of the fourteenth invention of this case, compared with the first invention, a preparation unit is further provided to perform reticle data preparation according to the post-adjustment reticle information output by the output unit.

[0046] With the above configuration, since the adjusted reticle information with a smaller data size is used, the manufacturing efficiency of the reticle can be improved.

[0047] Advantages of the Invention

[0048] The reticle information adjusting device according to the present invention can reduce the data size of the reticle information without significantly affecting the exposure pattern. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0049] Figure 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a reticle manufacturing system in the present embodiment;

[0050] Figure 2 is a block diagram of the reticle information adjusting device;

[0051] Figure 3 is a block diagram of the reticle manufacturing system;

[0052] Figure 4 is FIG. 1 for explaining obtaining the influence degree corresponding to one side in the reticle information adjusting device and removing the side;

[0053] Figure 5 is FIG. 2 for explaining obtaining the influence degree corresponding to one side in the reticle information adjusting device and removing the side;

[0054] Figure 6 is FIG. 3 for explaining obtaining the influence degree corresponding to one side in the reticle information adjusting device and removing the side;

[0055] Figure 7 is FIG. 1 for explaining obtaining the influence degree corresponding to one vertex in the reticle information adjusting device and removing the vertex;

[0056] Figure 8 is FIG. 2 for explaining obtaining the influence degree corresponding to one vertex in the reticle information adjusting device and removing the vertex;

[0057] Figure 9 is FIG. 3 for explaining obtaining the influence degree corresponding to one vertex in the reticle information adjusting device and removing the vertex;

[0058] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the reticle information design device;

[0059] Figure 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the reticle information adjusting device;

[0060] Figure 12It is a flowchart showing an example of the simplified process of the reticle information adjustment device;

[0061] Figure 13 It is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the reticle information conversion device;

[0062] Figure 14 It is FIG. 1 showing an example of the simplified process of the reticle information adjustment device;

[0063] Figure 15 It is FIG. 2 showing an example of the simplified process of the reticle information adjustment device;

[0064] Figure 16 It is FIG. 3 showing an example of the simplified process of the reticle information adjustment device;

[0065] Figure 17 It is FIG. 4 showing an example of the simplified process of the reticle information adjustment device;

[0066] Figure 18 It is a chart regarding the result of the simplified process of the reticle information adjustment device;

[0067] Figure 19 It is an overview diagram of the computer system in the above embodiment;

[0068] Figure 20 It is a block diagram of the computer system. Detailed implementation manners

[0069] Hereinafter, embodiments of the reticle information adjustment device and the like will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, components denoted by the same reference numerals in the embodiments perform the same operations, so there will be cases where repeated explanations are omitted.

[0070] In addition, the terms used hereinafter are generally defined as follows. In addition, the semantics of these terms should not be constantly interpreted as the meanings shown here. For example, in the following individual descriptions, they should also be interpreted based on that description.

[0071] The term "acquisition" may include acquiring matters input by a user or the like, and may also include acquiring information stored in the device itself or other devices (which may be pre-stored information or information generated by performing information processing in the device).

[0072] The term "output information" includes concepts such as display on a display, projection using a projector, printing by a printer, sound output, transmission to an external device, storage in a recording medium, transfer of a processing result to another processing device or another program, etc.

[0073] The so-called reception of information is a concept that includes the reception of information input from input devices such as keyboards, mice, and touch panels, the reception of information transmitted from other devices through wired or wireless communication lines, and the reception of information read from recording media such as optical discs, magnetic disks, and semiconductor memories.

[0074] (Embodiment)

[0075] An overview of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the reticle information adjustment device 1 is a device that adjusts reticle information for manufacturing a reticle. The reticle information adjustment device 1 is configured as follows: for a pre-adjustment reticle pattern of a polygon, the degree of influence of removing vertices or edges is obtained, and based on whether the obtained degree of influence satisfies a predetermined condition, each vertex or edge is removed, thereby simplifying the pre-adjustment reticle pattern and outputting adjusted reticle information including the simplified post-adjustment reticle pattern.

[0076] In addition, in this embodiment, the degree of influence may be, for example, a value corresponding to the area changed due to deleting each vertex or edge. More specifically, for example, the degree of influence corresponding to one edge may be the area of a triangle formed by the edge and a half-line that includes an adjacent edge adjacent to the edge and has a vertex different from the vertex shared with the edge as a base point. Also, for example, the degree of influence corresponding to one vertex may be a value corresponding to the area of the quadrilateral formed by the two edges sharing the vertex and two half-lines when the quadrilateral formed by the two edges sharing the vertex and two half-lines is not a concave quadrilateral. Also, for example, the degree of influence corresponding to one vertex may be a value corresponding to the area of a triangle formed by the two edges sharing the vertex and a line segment connecting two adjacent vertices when the above quadrilateral is a concave quadrilateral.

[0077] Also, in this embodiment, when removing one edge, the intersection point of the above half-lines can be used as a vertex in the post-removal reticle pattern. Also, when removing one vertex, when the quadrilateral is not a concave quadrilateral, the intersection point of the above half-lines can be used as a vertex in the post-removal reticle pattern. On the other hand, when removing one vertex, when the quadrilateral is a concave quadrilateral, a first point on one of the two half-lines and a second point on the other can be used as vertices in the post-removal reticle pattern.

[0078] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the pre-adjustment mask information may also include, for example, the pre-adjustment mask pattern generated by OPC, that is, the mask pattern corresponding to the target exposure pattern. In other words, the mask information adjustment device 1 may be configured, for example, in the following manner: obtaining the pre-adjustment mask information including the pre-adjustment mask pattern (which may be the one optimized by OPC itself or the one approximated to a polygon from the curved mask pattern obtained by ILT, etc.) corresponding to the mask pattern optimized by OPC, etc., and performing simplification.

[0079] The configuration of the mask manufacturing system 900 including the mask information adjustment device 1 configured in this way will be described below.

[0080] Figure 1 It is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of the mask manufacturing system 900 in the present embodiment.

[0081] As Figure 1 shown, in the present embodiment, the mask manufacturing system 900 includes a mask information adjustment device 1, a mask information design device 200, a mask information conversion device 300, and a mask drawing device 501. The mask manufacturing system 900 is used to manufacture a mask. Each device can communicate through a network connection such as a LAN or the Internet, but is not limited thereto.

[0082] The mask information design device 200 is used after the logical design and physical design of an integrated circuit. The mask information design device 200 generates mask information for manufacturing a mask based on the physical design data of the integrated circuit and outputs it. Here, the output mask information is called pre-adjustment mask information. In addition, the physical design data (circuit pattern) of the integrated circuit may be the ideal exposure pattern realized in the exposure process using the mask manufactured by the mask manufacturing system 900. The mask information design device 200 generates an optimized mask pattern by methods such as OPC or ILT so as to obtain an ideal exposure pattern. Then, the generated mask pattern, or the pre-adjustment mask information including the mask pattern corresponding thereto, that is, the mask pattern including polygons, is output. In addition, the degree of optimization is not limited. Also, in the present embodiment, it is also possible to output mask information including a mask pattern composed of curves from the mask information design device 200 and convert it into pre-adjustment mask information including a mask pattern polygonized by the mask information adjustment device 1.

[0083] In the present embodiment, the mask information adjustment device 1 obtains the pre-adjustment mask information transmitted from the mask information design device 200. Then, the mask information adjustment device 1 performs a simplification process on the mask pattern of the pre-adjustment mask information and outputs the adjusted mask information including the simplified mask pattern. By simplification, the total number of vertices of the polygon mask pattern is reduced.

[0084] The reticle information conversion device 300 obtains the adjusted reticle information transmitted from the reticle information adjustment device 1. Then, based on the adjusted reticle information, the reticle information conversion device 300 performs mask data preparation (MDP). In mask data preparation, for example, reticle layout, data generation, and conversion of the data format applicable to subsequent processes are carried out. Then, the reticle information conversion device 300 outputs the reticle drawing data generated via mask data preparation.

[0085] The reticle drawing device 501 is a device included in the reticle manufacturing process. The reticle drawing device 501 has a known configuration and, in accordance with the reticle drawing data transmitted from the reticle information conversion device 300, draws a simplified reticle pattern or the like onto the reticle blank with a light beam. Thereafter, in the reticle manufacturing process, a reticle is manufactured through various processes such as development, etching, and stripping.

[0086] Figure 2 It is a block diagram of the reticle information adjustment device 1. Figure 3 It is a block diagram of the same reticle manufacturing system 900.

[0087] As Figure 2 shown, the reticle information adjustment device 1 includes: a storage unit 110, a receiving unit 120, an acceptance unit 130, a processing unit 140, an output unit 160, and a transmission unit 170. The reticle information adjustment device 1 is, for example, a server device with a general configuration, but is not limited thereto, and may be other forms of electronic calculators or may be a device realized by connecting multiple devices to each other.

[0088] The storage unit 110 is preferably a non-volatile recording medium, but can also be realized with a volatile recording medium. Various information, programs, etc. are stored in the storage unit 110. In the present embodiment, in the program stored in the storage unit 110, predetermined conditions (sometimes referred to as removal conditions) related to whether to remove the edges or vertices of the reticle pattern used in the following simplification process are defined. Also, predetermined end conditions are defined. The end conditions are the conditions used when the processing unit 140 executes processing as described below. In the present embodiment, for example, they are the comparison results of the influence degrees obtained for each vertex or edge with a predetermined threshold value. In addition, the end conditions may also be conditions defined related to factors other than the influence degree, for example, removing any vertex or edge only when the number of times of a cycle of processing related to removing any vertex or edge reaches a predetermined number of times (N).

[0089] The receiving unit 120 receives information transmitted from other devices. The receiving unit 120 stores the received information in, for example, the storage unit 110. In the present embodiment, for example, it receives the pre-adjustment reticle information transmitted from the reticle information design device 200.

[0090] The reception unit 130 receives information input by an input means (not shown in the figure) connected to the reticle information adjustment device 1. The reception unit 130 stores the received information in, for example, the storage unit 110. In addition, the input means may be any one of using a numeric keypad, a keyboard, a mouse, and a menu page, etc. The reception unit 130 may also receive information input by an input operation (for example, information read by the device) performed by a reading device (such as a code reading device, etc.) connected to the reticle information adjustment device 1.

[0091] The processing unit 140 includes: an object information acquisition unit 141, an influence degree acquisition unit 143, and a removal unit 145. The processing unit 140 performs various processes. The so-called various processes are, for example, the processes performed by each part of the processing unit 140 as described below.

[0092] The object information acquisition unit 141 acquires the pre-adjustment reticle information including the polygonal reticle pattern stored in the storage unit 110. The polygonal reticle pattern included in the pre-adjustment reticle information is the object to be simplified. In addition, when the reticle information adjustment device 1 acquires reticle information including a curved reticle pattern from the reticle information design device 200, the object information acquisition unit 141 may also be configured as follows: perform a process of approximating the curved reticle pattern into a polygonal reticle pattern, thereby acquiring the pre-adjustment reticle information including the reticle pattern to be processed.

[0093] In the present embodiment, as described below, the influence degree acquisition unit 143 acquires the influence degree of removing each vertex or edge of the polygonal reticle pattern to be processed. The influence degree acquisition unit 143 acquires each influence degree and pairs it with the vertex or edge. Specifically, the identifier for identifying each vertex or edge is paired with the acquired influence degree and stored in the storage unit 110, whereby each influence degree can be acquired, but various other methods may also be adopted.

[0094] In addition, in the present embodiment, the influence degree represents the degree of influence on the exposure pattern generated by using the reticle corresponding to the reticle pattern when removing each vertex or edge of the reticle pattern. The acquisition of the influence degree is described below.

[0095] The removal unit 145 removes vertices or edges according to the respective influence degrees obtained by the influence degree acquisition unit 143. In the present embodiment, the removal unit 145 determines whether a predetermined removal condition related to the respective influence degrees obtained by the influence degree acquisition unit 143 is satisfied. Then, the removal unit 145 removes the respective vertices or edges based on the determination result of whether the removal condition is satisfied, thereby simplifying the mask pattern. Further, the removal unit 145 determines whether a predetermined end condition is satisfied according to the respective influence degrees obtained by the influence degree acquisition unit 143. When the predetermined end condition is satisfied, the removal unit 145 does not remove the respective vertices or edges and ends the simplification of the mask pattern.

[0096] Here, in the present embodiment, the predetermined removal condition related to the obtained influence degree may be a condition regarding the relationship between the influence degree of each vertex or edge and the influence degree of other vertices or edges. Specifically, for example, the case where the influence degree is the smallest among the influence degrees obtained for each vertex or edge may be used as the condition for removing the vertex or edge. In other words, it may be the following condition: if the influence degree of the vertex or edge is greater than the influence degree of any other vertex or edge, then the vertex or edge will not be selected as the removal target. In addition, two or more vertices or edges with the smallest influence degree may be selected as the objects to be removed at one time, and the removal condition may be set in this way.

[0097] Further, in the present embodiment, it is determined that the predetermined end condition is satisfied when all the obtained influence degrees are greater than a predetermined threshold value. That is, when comparing the influence degrees obtained for each vertex or edge with the predetermined threshold value, the case where the influence degrees of any vertex and the corresponding point are all greater than the predetermined threshold value may be regarded as the predetermined end condition.

[0098] In addition, it can be interpreted that the end condition is included in the removal condition, or it can be interpreted that the removal condition and the end condition are different conditions.

[0099] More specifically, in the present embodiment, the processing unit 140 performs the following processing. That is, the influence degree acquisition unit 143 acquires the influence degree corresponding to each of all vertices or all sides of the polygon mask pattern to be processed. The removal unit 145 determines whether the comparison result of the influence degree acquired for each vertex or side with a predetermined threshold satisfies a predetermined end condition. When the end condition is not satisfied, the removal unit 145 removes the vertex or side with the smallest acquired influence degree, that is, removes the vertex or side that satisfies the removal condition. Thereby, a mask pattern after removal is generated. Thus, the influence degree acquisition unit 143 acquires the influence degree corresponding to each of all vertices or all sides of the mask pattern after removal. Then, the removal unit 145 makes a determination regarding the end condition, and when the end condition is not satisfied, removes the vertex or side with the smallest acquired influence degree, that is, removes the vertex or side that satisfies the removal condition. Thereby, a mask pattern further after removal is generated. Thus, the processing unit 140 repeatedly performs the acquisition of the influence degree corresponding to each of all vertices or all sides and the removal of one vertex or side until the end condition is satisfied.

[0100] Summarizing the above, in the present embodiment, the processing unit 140 removes one vertex or side of the mask pattern and acquires the influence degree caused by the removal of each vertex or side in the mask pattern after the removal of one vertex or side. When the pre-specified end condition is not satisfied, the processing unit 140 further removes one vertex or side of the mask pattern according to whether the acquired influence degrees satisfy the removal condition. On the other hand, when the end condition is satisfied, the processing unit 140 ends the simplification of the mask pattern. More specifically, after the processing unit 140 acquires the influence degree for the mask pattern after the removal of one vertex or side, it compares the acquired influence degrees with a predetermined threshold. The processing unit 140 ends the simplification of the mask pattern when the comparison result satisfies the predetermined end condition.

[0101] The output unit 160 outputs information by transmitting the information to other devices using the transmission unit 170 or the like. In addition, the output method is not limited thereto. For example, the information may also be output by displaying the information on a display device provided in the mask information adjustment device 1. Further, it may also be configured to store the information in the storage unit 110 or the like for processing by the processing unit 140 within the mask information adjustment device 1. In addition, it can be considered that the output unit 160 includes output components such as a display or a speaker, or it can also be considered not to include them. The output unit 160 can be implemented using the driver software of the output component or the driver software of the output component and the output device, etc.

[0102] In the present embodiment, the output unit 160 outputs adjusted mask information including the mask pattern simplified by the processing unit 140.

[0103] The transmission unit 170 transmits information to other devices constituting the reticle information adjustment device 1 via a network or the like. For example, the transmission unit 170 transmits the information output by the reticle information conversion device 300 or other devices.

[0104] Next, the configurations of the reticle information design device 200 and the reticle information conversion device 300 will be described.

[0105] The reticle information design device 200 or the reticle information conversion device 300 is, for example, a server device having a general configuration, but is not limited thereto, and may be other forms of electronic calculators, or may be a device implemented by connecting multiple devices to each other. The reticle information design device 200 or the reticle information conversion device 300 is configured in a form that can be connected to a network and can communicate with other devices connected to the network.

[0106] As Figure 3 shown, the reticle information design device 200 includes a second storage unit 210, a second processing unit 240, and a second transmission unit 270. Various information, programs, etc. are stored in the second storage unit 210.

[0107] The second processing unit 240 includes: a target exposure pattern acquisition unit 241, a reticle pattern generation unit 243, and a reticle pattern conversion unit 245. As described below, in the present embodiment, the second processing unit 240 acquires a target reticle pattern corresponding to the target exposure pattern. The second processing unit 240 acquires pre-adjustment reticle information including a polygonal reticle pattern based on the acquired target reticle pattern.

[0108] The target exposure pattern acquisition unit 241 acquires information indicating an exposure pattern that is expected to be obtained by using the reticle manufactured by the reticle manufacturing system 900. In other words, the target exposure pattern acquisition unit 241 acquires information indicating the target exposure pattern. In the present embodiment, the target exposure pattern is the same as the designed circuit pattern (semiconductor component manufacturing process using a reticle), but is not limited thereto.

[0109] The reticle pattern generation unit 243 generates a target reticle pattern corresponding to the target exposure pattern acquired by the target exposure pattern acquisition unit 241. In the present embodiment, the target reticle pattern is an ideal reticle pattern optimized using a known OPC technique to obtain the target exposure pattern. Specifically, for example, the reticle pattern generation unit 243 uses a known ILT method to generate an ideal reticle pattern corresponding to the target exposure pattern. Such an ideal reticle pattern includes curves.

[0110] The reticle pattern conversion unit 245 converts the target reticle pattern generated by the reticle pattern generation unit 243 into a polygonal reticle pattern. Thus, the second processing unit 240 obtains the pre-adjustment reticle information including the polygonal reticle pattern. The polygonal reticle pattern is approximated in a manner corresponding to the target exposure pattern and has a relatively large number of vertices and sides.

[0111] The second transmission unit 270 transmits information to other devices constituting the reticle information adjustment device 1 via a network or the like. In the present embodiment, the second transmission unit 270 transmits the pre-adjustment reticle information including the polygonal reticle pattern converted by the reticle pattern conversion unit 245 to the reticle information adjustment device 1.

[0112] The reticle information conversion device 300 includes a third storage unit 310, a third reception unit 320, a third processing unit 340, and a third transmission unit 370. Various information, programs, and the like are stored in the third storage unit 310.

[0113] The third reception unit 320 receives information such as the adjusted reticle information transmitted from the reticle information adjustment device 1 via a network. The third reception unit 320 is configured to store the received information in, for example, the third storage unit 310 for processing by the third processing unit 340 and the like.

[0114] The third processing unit 340 includes a preparation unit 341. The third processing unit 340 performs various processes.

[0115] The preparation unit 341 executes the reticle data preparation as described above based on the adjusted reticle information output by the reticle information adjustment device 1. Thus, for example, reticle drawing data is generated.

[0116] The third transmission unit 370 transmits the reticle drawing data generated by the reticle data preparation to the reticle drawing device 501. Thus, in the reticle drawing device 501, the light beam can be irradiated in a shape corresponding to the simplified reticle pattern.

[0117] In addition, the above processing unit 140, second processing unit 240, and third processing unit 340 can generally be implemented by an MPU or memory, etc. The processing order of the processing unit 140, second processing unit 240, and third processing unit 340 is generally implemented by software recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, it can also be implemented using hardware (a dedicated circuit).

[0118] Also, the reception unit 120 or the third reception unit 320 is generally implemented by wireless or wired communication means, but can also be implemented by means of receiving propagation.

[0119] Further, the transfer unit 170, the second transfer unit 270, and the third transfer unit 370 are usually implemented by wireless or wired communication means, but can also be implemented by propagation means.

[0120] The reticle information adjustment device 1, the reticle information design device 200, and the reticle information conversion device 300 can each be constituted by 1 server, or can be constituted by a plurality of servers that are interconnected and operate, and can also be an electronic calculator built into other devices, etc. In addition, the server can be a so-called cloud server, or an ASP server, etc., and its type is of course not limited.

[0121] Here, in the present embodiment, it can be said that the influence degree acquisition unit 143 acquires, as the influence degree, a value corresponding to the change amount of the reticle pattern area caused by deleting a vertex or an edge for each vertex or edge of the reticle pattern. Specifically, the influence degree corresponding to one edge constituting the reticle pattern and the influence degree corresponding to one vertex constituting the reticle pattern are acquired in the following manner, respectively.

[0122] In the present embodiment, for one edge constituting the reticle pattern, the influence degree acquisition unit 143 acquires the area of the triangle formed by the edge and a half-line, where the half-line includes an adjacent edge connected to the edge and has a vertex different from the vertex shared with the edge as a base point.

[0123] Figure 4 FIG. 1 is for explaining the acquisition of the influence degree corresponding to one edge in the reticle information adjustment device 1 and the removal of the edge.

[0124] Figure 4 A series of vertices forming a part of a polygonal reticle pattern are shown. The series of vertices are named L - P - Q - R. Here, when focusing on the edge PQ represented by a dashed line, the area of the triangle PQM formed by the edge PQ, the half-line QR, and the half-line PL (the area of the portion shown hatched in the figure) is acquired as the influence degree. Here, the half-line QR and the half-line PL respectively include the adjacent edges LP and QR adjacent to the edge PQ, and have vertices L and R different from the vertices P and Q shared with the edge PQ as base points. Here, the vertex M of the triangle PQM is the intersection point of the half-line PL extending the adjacent edge LP and the half-line QR extending the adjacent edge QR.

[0125] In addition, when removing such an edge PQ, the part of the mask pattern after removal becomes a shape formed by a semi-line PL, a semi-line QR, and a vertex M. When the removal part 145 removes an edge PQ that constitutes the mask pattern, it uses the intersection point M of the semi-line QR and the semi-line PL that respectively contain the adjacent edges LP and QR adjacent to the edge PQ and have different vertices L and R from the vertices P and Q shared with the edge PQ as the base points as the vertex in the mask pattern after removing the edge PQ. Thus, it can be said that a series of vertices of this part of the mask pattern after removal become L - M - R.

[0126] Figure 5 FIG. 2 is for explaining the acquisition of the influence degree corresponding to one edge in the mask information adjustment device 1 and the removal of this edge.

[0127] In a part having a shape connecting a series of vertices L - P - Q - R as shown in Figure 5 FIG. 9, the acquisition of the influence degree corresponding to the edge PQ or the removal of this edge can be explained in the same manner as above. That is, in this case, the area of the triangle PQM can also be acquired as the influence degree corresponding to the edge PQ. Also, when removing the edge PQ, a series of vertices of this part of the mask pattern after removal become L - M - R.

[0128] Figure 6 FIG. 3 is for explaining the acquisition of the influence degree corresponding to one edge in the mask information adjustment device 1 and the removal of this edge.

[0129] In addition, depending on the shape of the mask pattern, a situation as shown in Figure 6 FIG. 18 may occur. That is, when focusing on the edge PQ in a part having a series of vertices L - P - Q - R, the semi-line PL and the semi-line QR may not intersect. The semi-line PL contains an adjacent edge LP adjacent to the edge PQ and has a different vertex L from the vertex P shared with the edge PQ as the base point, and the semi-line QR contains the other adjacent edge QR adjacent to the edge PQ and has a different vertex R from the vertex Q shared with the edge PQ as the base point. In this way, when the edge PQ, the semi-line QR, and the semi-line PL do not form a triangle, it can be interpreted that the influence degree is infinite. That is, in such a case, the edge PQ will not be an object to be removed.

[0130] Further, in the present embodiment, the influence degree acquisition unit 143 acquires the influence degree corresponding to a vertex constituting the mask pattern based on whether the quadrilateral formed by two sides sharing the vertex and two half lines (hereinafter simply referred to as the target quadrilateral corresponding to the vertex) is a concave quadrilateral (a quadrilateral having a vertex with an interior angle greater than 180 degrees). The two half lines include adjacent sides respectively adjacent to the two sides and have different vertices adjacent to the vertex as base points. That is, when the target quadrilateral corresponding to the vertex is not a concave quadrilateral, the influence degree acquisition unit 143 acquires the area of the target quadrilateral as the influence degree. On the other hand, when the target quadrilateral corresponding to the vertex is a concave quadrilateral, the influence degree acquisition unit 143 acquires the area of the triangle formed by the two sides sharing the vertex and the line segment connecting the two adjacent vertices as the influence degree.

[0131] In addition, the fact that the target quadrilateral is not a concave quadrilateral can be said to be the same as the case where the two diagonals of the target quadrilateral intersect each other. That is, the influence degree acquisition unit 143 can acquire the influence degree corresponding to the vertex based on whether the two diagonals of the target quadrilateral intersect each other.

[0132] Further, for a vertex, sometimes the two half lines that include adjacent sides and have different vertices adjacent to the vertex as base points do not intersect each other. In such a case, the target quadrilateral is not formed. Thus, when the two half lines do not intersect each other and the target quadrilateral is not formed, it can be interpreted that the influence degree is infinite. That is, in such a case, the vertex will not be an object to be removed.

[0133] Figure 7 FIG. 1 is for explaining the acquisition of the influence degree corresponding to a vertex in the mask information adjustment device 1 and the removal of the vertex.

[0134] Figure 7 A series of vertices forming a part of the polygon mask pattern are shown. The series of vertices are named K - L - P - Q - R. Here, attention is focused on the vertex P. In this case, the vertices L and Q adjacent to the vertex P are referred to as adjacent vertices. The target quadrilateral corresponding to the vertex P becomes the quadrilateral PQML (shown hatched in the figure) formed by the sides PL and PQ (shown as dashed lines) sharing the vertex P, the half line LK that includes the adjacent side KL adjacent to the side PL and has the vertex K different from the adjacent vertex L as the base point, and the half line QR that includes the adjacent side QR adjacent to the side PQ and has the vertex R different from the adjacent vertex Q as the base point. Here, the vertex M of the target quadrilateral PQML is the intersection point of the half line LK and the half line QR.

[0135] As Figure 7In the case shown, the target quadrilateral PQML is not a concave quadrilateral. That is, the diagonal PM of the target quadrilateral PQML intersects with the diagonal QL. Therefore, the area of the target quadrilateral PQML is obtained as the influence degree.

[0136] In addition, when removing such a vertex P, this part of the mask pattern after removal becomes a shape formed by the half-line LK, the half-line QR, and the vertex M. That is, when removing the portion 145 that removes a vertex P of the mask pattern, in the case where the target quadrilateral PQML is not a concave quadrilateral, the intersection point M of the half-line LK and the half-line QR is used as the vertex in the mask pattern after removal. Thus, it can be said that a series of vertices of this part of the mask pattern after removal become K - M - R.

[0137] Figure 8 FIG. 2 is for explaining the acquisition of the influence degree corresponding to one vertex in the mask information adjustment device 1 and the removal of this vertex.

[0138] In a portion having a shape formed by connecting a series of vertices K - L - P - Q - R as Figure 8 shown, the acquisition of the influence degree corresponding to the vertex P or the removal of this side can be explained in the same manner as above. That is, in this case, the quadrilateral PQML as the target quadrilateral is not a concave quadrilateral. Therefore, the area of the target quadrilateral PQML is obtained as the influence degree for the vertex P. Also, when removing the vertex P, a series of vertices of this part of the mask pattern after removal become K - M - R.

[0139] Figure 9 FIG. 3 is for explaining the acquisition of the influence degree corresponding to one vertex in the mask information adjustment device 1 and the removal of this vertex.

[0140] In a series of vertices K - L - P - Q - R forming a part of the polygon mask pattern as Figure 9 shown, the vertex P is focused on. In this case, the quadrilateral PQML becomes the target quadrilateral. Figure 9 The target quadrilateral PQML shown in

[0141] In addition, in the present embodiment, when the removing unit 145 removes a vertex P that constitutes the mask pattern, in this part of the mask pattern after removal, it is preferable that the first point L' on one half-line LK among the two half-lines and the second point Q' on the other half-line QR be the vertices in the mask pattern after removal. In this case, as long as a series of vertices of this part of the mask pattern after removal are K - L' - Q' - R. In this case, it is preferable to set the positions of the first point L' and the second point Q' respectively in such a way that the area of the quadrilateral LL'Q'Q is equal to the area of the triangle PQL, where the quadrilateral LL'Q'Q is formed by the line segment L'Q' connecting the first point L' and the second point Q', the line segment LQ connecting the adjacent vertices L and Q, and the half-lines LK and QR. Thus, by taking the first point L' and the second point Q' as the vertices in the mask pattern after removal, the influence of vertex removal can be reduced.

[0142] In addition, when the removing unit 145 removes a vertex P that constitutes the mask pattern, if it is noted that the quadrilateral PQML is a concave quadrilateral, a series of vertices of this part of the mask pattern after removing the vertex P can also be K - L - Q - R.

[0143] In addition, as Figure 9 shown, when it is noted that the quadrilateral PQML is a concave quadrilateral, the intersections of the perpendicular lines from the vertex P and the vertex M to the line LQ are set as S and T respectively. If the vertices S and T do not exist on the line segment LQ, the vertex P is not removed. Also, if the line segment MT is shorter than the line segment PS, the vertex P is not removed. In such a case, it can be interpreted that the influence degree is infinite.

[0144] Hereinafter, an example of the processing flow performed in the mask information design device 200, the mask information adjustment device 1, and the mask information conversion device 300 will be described.

[0145] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the mask information design device 200.

[0146] (Step S11) The target exposure pattern acquisition unit 241 acquires information showing the target exposure pattern as the target.

[0147] (Step S12) The mask pattern generation unit 243 obtains a target mask pattern corresponding to the target exposure pattern by performing OPC or the like.

[0148] (Step S13) The mask pattern conversion unit 245 converts the acquired mask pattern into a polygonal mask pattern. Thus, the second processing unit 240 acquires the pre-adjustment mask information including the polygonal mask pattern.

[0149] (Step S14) The second transfer unit 270 outputs the pre-adjustment mask information including the polygon mask pattern. That is, the second transfer unit 270 transfers the pre-adjustment mask information to the mask information adjustment device 1.

[0150] Figure 11 It is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the mask information adjustment device 1.

[0151] (Step S31) The object information acquisition unit 141 acquires the pre-adjustment mask information including the polygon mask pattern. The pre-adjustment mask information is received, for example, by the receiving unit 120 and stored in the storage unit 110.

[0152] (Step S32) The influence degree acquisition unit 143 acquires the influence degree corresponding to each vertex or side of the polygon mask pattern to be processed. As described above, in the method of acquiring the influence degree, the influence degree corresponding to the vertex is different from the influence degree corresponding to the side. Also, in the method of acquiring the influence degree corresponding to the vertex, it differs depending on whether the target quadrilateral is a concave quadrilateral, but the description is omitted here. In addition, when the number of times of performing Step S32 is after the second time, the influence degree acquisition unit 143 may acquire only the influence degree corresponding to the vertex or side whose influence degree changes as the shape of the mask pattern changes since the previous acquisition of the influence degree, or may acquire the influence degree corresponding to all vertices or sides each time Step S32 is performed.

[0153] (Step S33) The removal unit 145 compares the acquired influence degree with a predetermined threshold for each vertex or side.

[0154] (Step S34) The removal unit 145 determines whether the comparison result satisfies a predetermined end condition. In the present embodiment, the removal unit 145 determines whether the influence degree corresponding to any vertex and point is greater than the predetermined threshold (whether there is a vertex or side with an influence degree less than the predetermined threshold). If it is determined that the comparison result satisfies the predetermined end condition, the process proceeds to Step S36. Otherwise, the process proceeds to Step S35.

[0155] (Step S35) The removal unit 145 performs a simplification process. The flow of the simplification process is described below. After that, the process returns to Step S32.

[0156] (Step S36) The output unit 160 outputs the post-adjustment mask information including the mask pattern simplified by the processing unit 140. Thus, the post-adjustment mask information is transferred to the mask information conversion device 300.

[0157] Figure 12 It is a flowchart showing an example of the simplification process of the mask information adjustment device 1.

[0158] (Step S101) The removal unit 145 determines whether the influence degree corresponding to the vertex is the smallest among the influence degrees of the photomask pattern to be processed. If the smallest influence degree is that of the vertex, the process proceeds to Step S102. If this is not the case, that is, if the influence degree corresponding to the edge is the smallest, the process proceeds to Step S105.

[0159] (Step S102) The removal unit 145 starts the process of removing the vertex with the smallest influence degree. That is, the removal unit 145 first determines whether the target quadrilateral related to the vertex with the smallest influence degree is a concave quadrilateral. If the target quadrilateral is a concave quadrilateral, the process proceeds to Step S103. If this is not the case, the process proceeds to Step S104.

[0160] (Step S103) As described above, the removal unit 145 uses the first point on one of the two half-lines and the second point on the other as vertices to generate a photomask pattern after removing the vertex with the smallest influence degree.

[0161] (Step S104) On the other hand, as described above, the removal unit 145 uses the intersection point of the two half-lines as a vertex to generate a photomask pattern after removing the vertex with the smallest influence degree.

[0162] If the vertex with the smallest influence degree is removed in this way, the process returns to Figure 11 the process.

[0163] (Step S105) The removal unit 145 performs the process of removing the edge with the smallest influence degree. That is, the removal unit 145 uses the intersection point of the half-lines that respectively contain the adjacent edges adjacent to the edge with the smallest influence degree and have different vertices from the vertex shared with that edge as vertices to generate a photomask pattern after removing the edge with the smallest influence degree.

[0164] If the edge with the smallest influence degree is removed in this way, the process returns to Figure 11 the process.

[0165] Figure 13 It is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the photomask information conversion device 300.

[0166] (Step S71) The third processing unit 340 acquires the adjusted photomask information. The adjusted photomask information is, for example, received by the third receiving unit 320 and stored in the third storage unit 310.

[0167] (Step S72) The preparation unit 341 performs photomask data preparation based on the adjusted photomask information.

[0168] (Step S73) The third transfer unit 370 transfers the photomask drawing data generated through the photomask data preparation to the photomask drawing device 501.

[0169] If such processing is performed, the mask drawing data can be used to start the process performed by the mask drawing apparatus 501.

[0170] An example of simplifying the mask pattern by the method of the present embodiment will be described below.

[0171] Figure 14 FIG. 1 shows an example of the simplification process of the mask information adjustment apparatus 1.

[0172] First, the influence degrees corresponding to all the sides and vertices in the mask pattern (one polygon is shown for illustration) are calculated. In Figure 14 As an example, the influence degrees obtained for each vertex and each side of the mask pattern are shown beside the vertex or the side.

[0173] Next, the one with the smallest influence degree among all the sides and vertices in the mask pattern is removed, that is, the side a (influence degree = 1.7) is removed. The vertices and sides around the side a are named as shown in the figure respectively.

[0174] Figure 15 FIG. 2 shows an example of the simplification process of the mask information adjustment apparatus 1.

[0175] In Figure 15 The peripheral part of the side a in Figure 14 is enlarged and shown. When the side a is removed, the intersection point M of the half-line eg and the half-line bd becomes a new vertex. As a result, the side a and the vertices b and e on both sides of it disappear.

[0176] Figure 16 FIG. 3 shows an example of the simplification process of the mask information adjustment apparatus 1.

[0177] As shown in Figure 16 When the original side a, vertex b, and vertex e are removed in this way, the intersection point of the half-line eg and the half-line bd becomes a new vertex a'. The line segment a'd connecting the vertex a' and the vertex d is denoted as the side c', and the line segment a'g connecting the vertex a' and the vertex g is denoted as the side f'. If the shape of the mask pattern after removal changes in this way, the influence degrees of the sides c and f before removal and the vertices d and g at their front ends change. The state of obtaining the changed influence degrees again is shown in Figure 16 .

[0178] In the mask pattern after such removal, the one with the smallest influence degree becomes the side h (influence degree = 2.0). In this case, the side h is removed, and the influence degrees of the periphery after removal are obtained again. In this way, in the present embodiment, the removal and the obtaining of the peripheral influence degrees are repeatedly performed in order from the one with the smallest influence degree. Then, when the influence degrees corresponding to the sides or vertices in the mask pattern all become a fixed value or more, the simplification process ends.

[0179] Figure 17 FIG. 4 is an example of a simplified process showing the reticle information adjustment apparatus 1.

[0180] In Figure 17 , a state is shown in which the influence degrees corresponding to all the sides and vertices become 4 or more. When the condition that the influence degrees corresponding to the sides or vertices in the reticle pattern all become 4 or more is set as an end condition, the simplified process ends in such a state, and the process proceeds to the reticle data preparation step in the reticle information conversion apparatus 300.

[0181] As described above, in the present embodiment, for reticle information including a complex polygon reticle pattern such as a polygon reticle pattern approximated from a smooth curve, a highly accurate exposure pattern can be obtained, and the data size of the reticle information can be reduced by a method with a small computational load.

[0182] Hereinafter, simulation results related to the manufacture of the manufactured reticle are shown for the reticle pattern after the simplified process and the reticle pattern of the conventional example in the present embodiment. In the following conventional example, the result of the vertex number reduction process performed by an existing specific OPC software is used. In the vertex number reduction process in the conventional example, vertices are deleted in each fixed area.

[0183] Figure 18 FIG. is a graph showing the result of the simplified process of the reticle information adjustment apparatus 1.

[0184] Figure 18 In the graph shown in, the vertical axis represents EPE and the horizontal axis represents the number of vertices after the simplified process. The upper graph is for the simplified process in the present embodiment, and the lower graph is for the conventional example. The rightmost plot (about 80 Mpt) in each graph is the case where no simplified process or vertex number reduction process is performed. The result of calculating the average EPE (Edge Placement Error) of the entire reticle from the comparison between the reticle pattern before adjustment and the reticle pattern after adjustment is shown in each graph. When the two graphs are compared, it can be seen that in the case of performing the simplified process in the present embodiment, the value of EPE is smaller in the entire region of the number of vertices.

[0185] In addition, the configuration of the reticle information adjustment device 1 or other devices of the reticle manufacturing system 900 is not limited to the above-described embodiments. That is, the configuration of the reticle information adjustment device 1 may be included in other devices, or the configuration of other devices may be included in the reticle information adjustment device 1. For example, the reticle information adjustment device 1 may further include a preparation unit 341 that performs reticle data preparation based on the adjusted reticle information output from the output unit 160, so that the reticle information adjustment device 1 can perform MPC / MDP processing and the like. In this case, it can also be interpreted that the above-described reticle information conversion device 300 includes the configuration of the reticle information adjustment device 1. Also, for example, the reticle information adjustment device 1 may be configured in the following form: further including a reticle pattern generation unit 243 or a reticle pattern conversion unit 245 that performs OPC or generates a polygon reticle pattern before simplification, so that the reticle information adjustment device 1 can obtain a highly accurate exposure pattern and can generate reticle information with a smaller data size. In this case, it can also be interpreted that the above-described reticle information design device 200 includes the configuration of the reticle information adjustment device 1.

[0186] For example, when using the reticle information adjustment device 1 as a post-processing of OPC, there are the following advantages. That is, by performing ILT processing, a smooth curve can be obtained inside the program. After performing general polygon approximation with sufficient accuracy here, if the simplification processing is performed according to this embodiment, the final reticle performance will not be impaired, and the reticle pattern required by ILT can be output with a smaller data amount. And various data transmissions can be performed in a short time with a smaller data amount. After that, the burden on the reticle data preparation system including MPC becomes lighter, and data can also be transmitted to the reticle writing device 501 in a short time. Through the entire reticle manufacturing system 900, the throughput of data processing can be improved.

[0187] Also, for example, a pipeline method may be adopted, and after performing OPC as a data processing step, MPC / MDP is continuously performed in the device. When using the reticle information adjustment device 1 as an intermediate process of OPC-MPC / MDP pipeline processing in this way, similar to the above, MPC / MDP processing and transmission to the reticle writing device 501 can be performed in a short time.

[0188] Further, for example, when the OPC outputs a polygon group with sufficient approximation, the simplification process of the present embodiment can also be performed before the subsequent MPC / MDP process. When using the mask information adjustment device 1 as a pre-process for MPC / MDP in this way, similar to the above, compared with the case where no simplification is performed, the time taken for the MPC / MDP process is shortened. Also, the data after the MDP process can be transmitted to the drawing machine in a short time. In addition, when performing in this way, for the input of the MPC / MDP process, the output of the OPC is not required. For any pattern that is intended to present a smooth curve, the effect of the simplification process of the present embodiment can be expected. For example, the simplification process of the present embodiment can be used for the pattern of a photon component.

[0189] In addition, the process in the present embodiment can also be implemented using software. Then, the software can also be configured by software download or the like. Also, the software can be recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM for dissemination. In addition, the software that implements the mask information adjustment device 1 in the present embodiment is as follows. That is, this program is used to cause a computer that adjusts the mask information for manufacturing a mask to function as the following components: an object information acquisition unit that acquires pre-adjustment mask information including a polygon mask pattern; a processing unit that acquires the degree of influence of each vertex or edge of the mask pattern on the exposure pattern and pairs it with the vertex or edge, the exposure pattern being generated using the mask corresponding to the mask pattern, and performs removal of each vertex or edge based on whether the individually acquired degree of influence satisfies a predetermined condition, thereby simplifying the mask pattern; and an output unit that outputs adjusted mask information, the adjusted mask information including the mask pattern simplified by the processing unit.

[0190] (Others)

[0191] Figure 19 It is an overview diagram of the computer system 800 in the above embodiment. Figure 20 It is a block diagram of the computer system 800.

[0192] In these figures, a computer configuration that executes the program described in this specification and implements the functions of the mask information adjustment device 1 and the like in the above embodiment is shown. The above embodiment can be implemented using computer hardware and a computer program executed therein.

[0193] The computer system 800 includes a computer 801 having a CD-ROM drive, a keyboard 802, a mouse 803, and a display 804.

[0194] In addition to the CD-ROM drive 8012, the computer 801 further includes: an MPU 8013; a bus 8014 connected to the CD-ROM drive 8012 and others; a ROM 8015 for storing programs such as a startup program; a RAM 8016 connected to the MPU 8013 for temporarily storing commands of application programs and providing a temporary storage space; and a hard disk 8017 for storing application programs, system programs, and data. Here, although not shown in the figure, the computer 801 may further include a network card for providing connection to a LAN.

[0195] A program that executes the functions of the information processing device and others in the above-described embodiment in the computer system 800 may also be stored in a CD-ROM 8101, inserted into the CD-ROM drive 8012, and then transferred to the hard disk 8017. Instead, the program may also be transmitted to the computer 801 through a network not shown in the figure and stored in the hard disk 8017. The program is loaded into the RAM 8016 when it is executed. The program may also be directly loaded from the CD-ROM 8101 or the network.

[0196] The program may not necessarily include an operating system (OS) or third-party programs that cause the computer 801 to execute the functions of the information processing device and others in the above-described embodiment. The program only needs to include only the command part and call appropriate functions (modules) in a controlled form to obtain the expected results. How the computer system 800 operates is well known, and detailed description is omitted here.

[0197] In addition, in the above program, the transmission process of transmitting information or the reception process of receiving information does not include processing performed by hardware. For example, it does not include processing performed by a modem or adapter card in the transmission process (processing performed only by hardware).

[0198] Also, the computer that executes the above program may be singular or plural. That is, centralized processing may be performed, or distributed processing may also be performed.

[0199] Also, in the above embodiment, two or more components existing in one device may also be implemented using a single physical medium.

[0200] Also, in the above embodiment, each process (each function) may be implemented by centralized processing using a single device (system), or may also be implemented by distributed processing using multiple devices (in this case, the entire system composed of multiple devices performing distributed processing may be understood as one "device").

[0201] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, information transmission between the respective constituent elements, for example, when the two constituent elements performing the information transmission have different physical properties, can be performed by outputting information from one constituent element and receiving information by the other constituent element, or when the two constituent elements performing the information transmission have the same physical properties, it can also be performed by transferring from the processing stage corresponding to one constituent element to the processing stage corresponding to the other constituent element.

[0202] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, information related to the processing performed by each constituent element, for example, information received, acquired, selected, generated, transmitted, or received by each constituent element, or information such as thresholds, mathematical formulas, addresses, etc. used by each constituent element in the processing, may not be explicitly described in the above description, or may be temporarily or permanently stored in a recording medium not shown in the figure. Also, each constituent element or a storage unit not shown in the figure may store information in the recording medium not shown in the figure. Also, each constituent element or a reading unit not shown in the figure may read information from the recording medium not shown in the figure.

[0203] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, information used by each constituent element, etc., such as thresholds, addresses, various setting values, etc. used by each constituent element in processing, can also be changed by the user. In this case, it is not necessary to explicitly describe it in the above description, and the user can appropriately change this information or may not do so. When the user changes this information, the change can also be realized, for example, by a reception unit not shown in the figure that receives a change instruction from the user and a change unit not shown in the figure that changes the information based on the change instruction. To receive a change instruction by the reception unit not shown in the figure, for example, it can be received from an input device, or information transmitted through a communication line can be received, or information read from a predetermined recording medium can be received.

[0204] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes can be made, and these changes are also included in the scope of the present invention.

[0205] Not limited to the configuration itself of the above-described embodiments, a part of the constituent elements or functions in the above-described embodiments can also be omitted.

[0206] Industrial Applicability

[0207] As described above, the reticle information adjustment device of the present invention can reduce the data size of reticle information without significantly affecting the effect of the exposure pattern, and is very useful as a reticle information adjustment device or the like.

[0208] Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0209] 1 Reticle information adjustment device

[0210] 110 Storage unit

[0211] 120 Reception Unit

[0212] 130 Acceptance Unit

[0213] 140 Processing Unit

[0214] 141 Target Information Acquisition Unit

[0215] 143 Influence Degree Acquisition Unit

[0216] 145 Removal Unit

[0217] 160 Output Unit

[0218] 170 Transmission Unit

[0219] 200 Reticle Information Design Device

[0220] 210 Second Storage Unit

[0221] 240 Second Processing Unit

[0222] 241 Target Exposure Pattern Acquisition Unit

[0223] 243 Reticle Pattern Generation Unit

[0224] 245 Reticle Pattern Conversion Unit

[0225] 270 Second Transmission Unit

[0226] 300 Reticle Information Conversion Device

[0227] 310 Third Storage Unit

[0228] 320 Third Reception Unit

[0229] 340 Third Processing Unit

[0230] 341 Preparation Unit

[0231] 370 Third Transmission Unit

[0232] 501 Reticle Lithography Device

[0233] 900 Reticle Manufacturing System

Claims

1. A reticle information adjustment device for adjusting reticle information used in manufacturing a reticle, characterized in that, Comprising: an object information acquisition unit that acquires pre-adjustment mask information including a polygon mask pattern; a processing unit that acquires the degree of influence of each vertex or edge of the mask pattern on the exposure pattern and pairs it with the vertex or edge, the exposure pattern being generated using the mask corresponding to the mask pattern, and starts removing vertices or edges from the vertex or edge with the smallest acquired degree of influence, thereby simplifying the mask pattern; and an output unit that outputs post-adjustment mask information including the mask pattern simplified by the processing unit.

2. The mask information adjustment device according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit removes one vertex or edge of the mask pattern, and acquires the degree of influence of removing each vertex or edge in the mask pattern after removing one vertex or edge. When a pre-specified end condition is not satisfied, one vertex or edge of the mask pattern is further removed according to the acquired degrees of influence. When the pre-specified end condition is satisfied, the simplification of the mask pattern ends.

3. The mask information adjustment device according to claim 2, wherein after the processing unit acquires the degree of influence for the mask pattern after removing one vertex or edge, it compares the acquired degrees of influence with a predetermined threshold value, and when the comparison result satisfies the end condition, ends the simplification of the mask pattern.

4. The mask information adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the processing unit acquires, for each vertex or edge of the mask pattern, a value corresponding to the area change amount of the mask pattern caused by deleting the vertex or edge as the degree of influence.

5. The mask information adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the processing unit acquires, for one edge constituting the mask pattern, the area of the triangle formed by the edge and a half-line, the half-line including an adjacent edge adjacent to the edge and having a vertex different from the vertex common to the edge as a base point, as the degree of influence.

6. The mask information adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the processing unit removes one edge constituting the mask pattern, it uses the intersection point of the half-lines as a vertex in the mask pattern after removing the edge, the half-lines respectively including adjacent edges adjacent to the edge and having vertices different from the vertex common to the edge as base points.

7. The mask information adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein for one vertex constituting the mask pattern, when the quadrilateral formed by the two edges sharing the vertex and two half-lines is not a concave quadrilateral, the processing unit acquires the area of the quadrilateral as the degree of influence, the two half-lines including adjacent edges respectively adjacent to the two edges and having vertices different from the adjacent vertices adjacent to the vertex as base points.

8. The mask information adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein When the processing unit removes a vertex constituting the reticle pattern, in a case where a quadrilateral formed by two sides sharing the vertex and two half-lines is not a concave quadrilateral, the processing unit uses the intersection point of the two half-lines as a vertex in the reticle pattern after removal. The two half-lines include adjacent sides respectively adjacent to the two sides and use vertices different from the adjacent vertices adjacent to the vertex as base points.

9. The reticle information adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that For a vertex constituting the reticle pattern, when a quadrilateral formed by two sides sharing the vertex and two half-lines including adjacent sides respectively adjacent to the two sides and using vertices different from the adjacent vertices adjacent to the vertex as base points is a concave quadrilateral, the processing unit obtains the area of a triangle formed by two sides sharing the vertex and a line segment connecting the two adjacent vertices as the influence degree.

10. The reticle information adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that When the processing unit removes a vertex constituting the reticle pattern, in a case where a quadrilateral formed by two sides sharing the vertex and two half-lines is a concave quadrilateral, the processing unit uses a first point on one of the two half-lines and a second point on the other half-line as vertices in the reticle pattern after removal. The two half-lines include adjacent sides respectively adjacent to the two sides and use vertices different from the adjacent vertices adjacent to the vertex as base points; The first point and the second point are located at positions where the area of the following quadrilateral is equal to the area of the following triangle: the quadrilateral is formed by a line segment connecting the first point and the second point, a line segment connecting the adjacent vertices, and the two half-lines, and the triangle is formed by two sides sharing the vertex and a line segment connecting the two adjacent vertices.

11. The reticle information adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The pre-adjustment reticle information includes a reticle pattern generated by optical proximity correction (OPC).

12. The reticle information adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The object information acquisition unit acquires a target reticle pattern corresponding to an exposure pattern as a target, and acquires the pre-adjustment reticle information based on the acquired target reticle pattern.

13. The reticle information adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that It further includes a preparation unit that performs reticle data preparation based on the adjusted reticle information output by the output unit.

14. A reticle data adjustment method for adjusting reticle information used for manufacturing a reticle, characterized in that, Comprising: An object information acquisition step of acquiring pre-adjustment reticle information including a polygonal reticle pattern; A processing step of acquiring the influence degree of each vertex or side of the reticle pattern on the exposure pattern and pairing it with the vertex or side, the exposure pattern being generated using the reticle corresponding to the reticle pattern, and starting from the vertex or side with the smallest acquired influence degree to remove the vertex or side, thereby simplifying the reticle pattern; and An output process outputs adjusted reticle information including a reticle pattern simplified by the above-mentioned processing process.

15. A program for reticle data adjustment, characterized in that it causes a computer that adjusts reticle information for manufacturing a reticle to function as the following components: An object information acquisition unit that acquires pre-adjustment reticle information including a polygon reticle pattern; A processing unit that acquires the influence degree of each vertex or edge of the reticle pattern on the exposure pattern and pairs it with the vertex or edge, and the exposure pattern is generated using the reticle corresponding to the reticle pattern. Starting from the vertex or edge with the smallest acquired influence degree, the vertex or edge is removed, thereby simplifying the reticle pattern; and An output unit that outputs adjusted reticle information including the reticle pattern simplified by the processing unit.

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