Mask plate making data generation method, plate making tool, medium and equipment

Abstract

According to the mask plate making data generation method, the plate making tool, the medium and the equipment, the layout to be typeset is uniquely named, and then the script is developed to automatically generate the layout related information in the mask plate making tool, so that the manpower can be remarkably saved, the efficiency is improved, and errors caused by manual operation are reduced.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, and in particular to a mask plate manufacturing data generation method, a mask plate manufacturing tool, a medium and equipment. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the continuous development of semiconductor technology, the process node is getting higher and higher. When the minimum line width of the mask plate is less than the resolution size of the photolithography machine, the pattern on the silicon wafer will gradually deviate from the pattern on the mask plate due to optical diffraction, and the pattern will be deformed until the period is less than the minimum resolvable size, and the image will completely disappear. This effect is called optical proximity effect (OPE). In view of this phenomenon, especially when the minimum line width of the mask plate is less than 180 nm, the role of optical proximity effect correction (OPC) becomes indispensable. The purpose of OPC correction is to restore the effect of pattern deformation caused by optical diffraction by changing the shape of the pattern on the mask plate.

[0003] When manufacturing the mask plate, not all the layout (generally in GDS format) needs to be corrected by OPC. Before layout, all the layout to be laid out is divided into two categories: one is the layout that needs to be corrected by OPC (possibly), and the other is the layout that does not need to be corrected by OPC (definitely). When laying out the FRAME (mask plate frame), for the layout that needs to be corrected by OPC, only a blank area with the same size as the pre-OPC GDS of the layout is reserved in the mask plate frame, and after publishing, the mask shop needs to splice the patterns of all layers into the FRAME. For the layout that does not need to be corrected by OPC, the pre-OPC GDS is directly spliced into the FRAME, and the post-OPC GDS is provided according to the layer after the OPC correction of the layout that needs to be corrected by OPC. When the mask shop splices the patterns (i.e. prepares the mask JDV data), according to the information in the mask plate manufacturing tool, it is judged whether the layer to be spliced needs to be corrected by OPC. If not, the pre-OPC GDS is used for splicing, and if yes, the post-OPC GDS is used for splicing.

[0004] Based on the above layout strategy, in order to enable the mask shop to generate accurate mask JDV data, for all the layout that needs to be corrected by OPC, the following information needs to be accurately indicated in the mask plate manufacturing tool:

[0005] (1) Basic information of the pre-OPC GDS corresponding to each layout;

[0006] (2) the basic information of the post-OPC GDS corresponding to each layout;

[0007] (3) the layout position information of each layout in the mask frame.

[0008] The three types of information mentioned above, which need to be filled in the mask making tool, are provided by different groups and finally classified and integrated together in the mask making tool. Each of the three types of information of each GDS needs to be one-to-one corresponding, otherwise it may cause mask making errors. Generally, the number of layouts and layers that need to be corrected by OPC for each product is large, and the number of information that needs to be filled in the mask making tool is huge. Each product needs to fill in several thousand to tens of thousands of lines of data, and manual data matching and data integration are time-consuming and prone to errors. SUMMARY

[0009] The purpose of the present application is to provide a mask making data generation method, a mask making tool, a medium and an equipment, so as to solve the problem that the number of information that needs to be filled in the mask making tool is huge, and manual data matching and data integration are time-consuming and prone to errors in the prior art.

[0010] To solve the above technical problems, the present application provides a mask making data generation method, comprising:

[0011] obtaining the information of all the layout to be arranged for making a target mask;

[0012] uniquely naming each of the layout to be arranged; and

[0013] using the unique name as a mapping, automatically generating all the information that needs to be filled in the mask making tool by using an automatic script.

[0014] Optionally, in the mask making data generation method, the obtained information of all the layout to be arranged comprises:

[0015] a first layout list, a second layout list corresponding to the first layout list, and a layout arrangement placeholder list;

[0016] the automatically generating all the information that needs to be filled in the mask making tool by using an automatic script comprises:

[0017] automatically matching the first layout list, the second layout list and the layout arrangement placeholder list by using an automatic script, and generating all the information that needs to be filled in the mask making tool according to the format requirements of the mask making tool;

[0018] The first layout list is a layout list of all the to-be-arranged layouts without OPC correction and all the to-be-arranged layouts requiring OPC correction, the second layout list is a layout list of all the to-be-arranged layouts after correction, and the arrangement placeholder list is a layout list of arrangement positions of all the to-be-arranged layouts on the target mask.

[0019] Optionally, in the mask manufacturing data generation method, the automation script includes a first automation script, a second automation script and a third automation script.

[0020] The method for automatically generating all the information required to be filled in the mask manufacturing tool by using the automation script includes:

[0021] The first automation script is used to screen out layout names requiring OPC correction from the first layout list and automatically generate OPC pre-correction layout information required to be filled in the mask manufacturing tool.

[0022] The second automation script is used to screen out arrangement position information with matched names from the arrangement placeholder list by taking the layout names screened out by the first automation script as a whole and automatically generate arrangement position information required to be filled in the mask manufacturing tool.

[0023] The third automation script is used to screen out OPC post-correction layout information with matched names from the second layout list by taking the layout names screened out by the first automation script as a whole and automatically generate OPC post-correction layout information required to be filled in the mask manufacturing tool.

[0024] Optionally, in the mask manufacturing data generation method, the OPC pre-correction layout information, the arrangement position information and the OPC post-correction layout information required to be filled in the mask manufacturing tool are sorted in the same sorting mode.

[0025] Optionally, in the mask manufacturing data generation method, the sorting in the same sorting mode includes sorting according to the letters of the layout names.

[0026] Optionally, in the mask manufacturing data generation method, each to-be-arranged layout is uniquely named according to a unified naming rule.

[0027] Optionally, in the mask manufacturing data generation method, the unique naming includes product names and layout structure information.

[0028] The application further provides a mask plate making tool, wherein information filled in when making a mask plate is generated by the method according to any one of the preceding.

[0029] The application further provides a readable storage medium, wherein the readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed to implement the method according to any one of the preceding.

[0030] The application further provides an electronic device, wherein the electronic device comprises a processor and a memory, the memory stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by the processor to implement the method according to any one of the preceding.

[0031] In summary, the mask plate making data generation method, the making tool, the medium and the device provided by the application can uniquely name the layout to be laid out, and then develop a script to automatically generate layout related information in a mask plate making tool, so that the manpower can be significantly saved, the efficiency can be improved, and the errors caused by manual operation can be reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 A step diagram of the mask plate making data generation method provided by the embodiment of the application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] In order to make the purpose, advantages and characteristics of the application more clear, the application is described in detail below in combination with the drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that the drawings are very simplified and not drawn according to scale, and are only used to facilitate and clearly assist the purpose of describing the embodiments of the application. In addition, the structures shown in the drawings are often a part of the actual structures. In particular, the emphasis of each drawing is different, and sometimes different scales are used. It should also be understood that, unless specifically described or indicated, the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and the like in the description are only used to distinguish components, elements, steps and the like in the description, and are not used to represent the logical relationship or sequence relationship between the components, elements, steps and the like.

[0034] As shown in Figure 1 the application provides a mask plate making data generation method, comprising the following steps:

[0035] S1, obtaining information of all layouts to be laid out for making a target mask plate;

[0036] S2, uniquely naming each of the layouts to be laid out; and

[0037] S3, taking the unique naming as a mapping, and automatically generating all information needed to be filled in a mask plate making tool by using an automatic script.

[0038] The method provided by the embodiment of the present application can significantly save manpower, improve efficiency, and reduce errors caused by manual operation by uniquely naming the layout to be typeset and then developing a script to automatically generate layout related information in a mask plate manufacturing tool.

[0039] The above steps are further described in detail below.

[0040] In step S1, the information of all the layouts to be typeset obtained can specifically include: a first layout list, and a second layout list and a typesetting placeholder list corresponding to the first layout list, the first layout list being a layout list including all the layouts to be typeset without OPC correction (without being filled into a mask plate manufacturing tool) and all the layouts to be typeset requiring OPC correction (pre-OPC GDS, needing to be filled into the mask plate manufacturing tool), the second layout list being a layout list of the layouts to be typeset requiring OPC correction after correction (post-OPC GDS, needing to be filled into the mask plate manufacturing tool), and the typesetting placeholder list being a layout position list of all the layouts to be typeset on a target mask plate, specifically including layout positions of all the layouts to be typeset without OPC correction and all the layouts to be typeset requiring OPC correction, wherein each layout to be typeset requiring OPC correction has the same layout position before and after correction.

[0041] It should be noted that each layout to be typeset requiring OPC correction in the first layout list has not been subjected to OPC correction, and after OPC correction, the layout to be typeset requiring OPC correction in the first layout list can correspondingly obtain the layout after OPC correction in the second layout list; when performing pattern splicing, a mask factory can correspondingly obtain the layout before OPC correction according to the first layout list or the layout after OPC correction according to the second layout list according to whether the current layer requires OPC correction, and complete splicing according to the corresponding position information.

[0042] As described above, before typesetting, all the layouts to be typeset are divided into two categories, one category being layouts requiring OPC correction and the other category being layouts without OPC correction. It should be understood that the layouts to be typeset described in step S1 of the embodiment include both the layouts requiring OPC correction and the layouts without OPC correction. The information of the layouts to be typeset without OPC correction does not need to be filled into a mask plate manufacturing tool, and the layouts to be typeset without OPC correction have been spliced into a mask plate frame during typesetting. The layouts requiring OPC correction, the layout versions before and after correction, and the position information of each layout all need to be obtained to be filled into the mask plate manufacturing tool, so that when performing pattern splicing, a mask factory can correspondingly obtain the layout before OPC correction or the layout after OPC correction according to whether the current layer requires OPC correction, and complete splicing according to the corresponding position information.

[0043] Since the three lists of the to-be-laid-out layouts are obtained in step S1, each layout in each list has a unique name after the unique naming of each to-be-laid-out layout in step S2, and the same layout in different lists has the same name. Preferably, in step S2, each to-be-laid-out layout is uniquely named according to a unified naming rule to avoid inconvenience caused by different naming rules. Further preferably, the unique name includes product name and layout structure information to facilitate subsequent checking.

[0044] Correspondingly, in step S3, the mapping of the unique name is used to automatically generate all information needed to be filled in the mask manufacturing tool by using an automatic script, including:

[0045] The first layout list, the second layout list and the layout placeholder list are automatically matched by using the automatic script with the unique name as the mapping, and all information needed to be filled in the mask manufacturing tool is generated according to the format requirement of the mask manufacturing tool.

[0046] Further, the automatic script can specifically include a first automatic script, a second automatic script and a third automatic script, and the specific process of step S3 can be as follows:

[0047] The first automatic script is used to screen out layout names that need to be corrected by OPC from the first layout list, and automatically generate OPC corrected layout information needed to be filled in the mask manufacturing tool;

[0048] The second automatic script is used to screen out layout names that need to be corrected by OPC from the first layout list, and automatically generate OPC corrected layout information needed to be filled in the mask manufacturing tool;

[0049] The third automatic script is used to screen out layout names that need to be corrected by OPC from the first layout list, and automatically generate OPC corrected layout information needed to be filled in the mask manufacturing tool.

[0050] The OPC-modified pre-layout information to be filled in the mask manufacturing tool includes: layout unique naming, layout file name, top cell name, layout window coordinates, and logic operation formula corresponding to the layout. The OPC-modified post-layout information to be filled in the mask manufacturing tool includes: layout unique naming, OPC level name, layout file name, and top cell name. The layout position information to be filled in the mask manufacturing tool includes: layout unique naming, layout level information, layout position information in the mask frame, and layout rotation information. Except for the layout unique naming, other information to be filled in the mask manufacturing tool is consistent with the information filled manually, and thus is not described herein.

[0051] Preferably, the OPC-modified pre-layout information, the layout position information, and the OPC-modified post-layout information to be filled in the mask manufacturing tool are sorted in the same sorting manner. In specific embodiments, the sorting in the same sorting manner includes: sorting according to the first letter of the layout name, and sorting according to the second letter of the layout name when the first letter is the same, and so on. In other embodiments, other sorting manners can be used, as long as the OPC-modified pre-layout information, the layout position information, and the OPC-modified post-layout information to be filled in the mask manufacturing tool are sorted in the same sorting manner, which is convenient for checking and comparison.

[0052] The embodiment of the present application further provides a mask manufacturing tool, and information filled in the mask manufacturing tool is generated by using the mask manufacturing data generation method as described in the embodiment.

[0053] The embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device, which includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by the processor to implement the mask manufacturing data generation method as described in the embodiment.

[0054] The memory can include a random access memory and a non-volatile memory, for example, at least one disk memory. Optionally, the memory can also be at least one storage device located away from the processor.

[0055] The processor can be a central processing unit, and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors, application-specific integrated circuits, programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or can also be any conventional processor. The processor is a control center of the electronic device, and connects various parts of the electronic device through various interfaces and lines.

[0056] The electronic device can further include a communication interface and a communication bus, and the processor, the communication interface and the memory can communicate with each other through the communication bus. The communication bus can be a peripheral component interconnect standard bus or an extended industry standard architecture bus, etc. The communication bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. The communication interface is used for communication between the electronic device and other devices.

[0057] The embodiment of the present application further provides a readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed to realize the mask plate manufacturing data generation method as described in the embodiment.

[0058] The readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The readable storage medium can be, for example but not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the readable storage medium include the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, and / or a mechanism of

[0059] To sum up, the mask plate making data generation method, the mask plate making tool, the medium and the equipment provided by the embodiment of the application can uniquely name the layout to be composed, and then develop a script to automatically generate the layout related information in the mask plate making tool, so that the manpower can be significantly saved, the efficiency can be improved, and the errors caused by manual operation can be reduced.

[0060] It should be noted that in the present embodiment, although the present embodiment is exemplarily described as "matching the pre-OPC GDS list, the post-OPC GDS list and the layout placeholder list by unique naming, and automatically generating the OPC correction pre-layout information, the layout position information and the OPC correction post-layout information required to be filled in the mask making tool", it should be understood that the above-mentioned mask making data automatic generation method provided by the present application can also have other aspects of application, for example, only applied to the automatic filling of any one or two of the OPC correction pre-layout information, the layout position information and the OPC correction post-layout information, or meet the automatic filling needs of other types of layout information.

[0061] In addition, it should be recognized that although the present application has been disclosed with the preferred embodiments as above, the above-mentioned embodiments are not intended to limit the present application. For any skilled person in the art, many possible changes and modifications, or equivalent embodiments of equivalent changes can be made to the technical solutions of the present application by using the disclosed technical content without departing from the scope of the technical solutions of the present application. Therefore, any simple modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above-mentioned embodiments according to the technical essence of the present application without departing from the content of the technical solutions of the present application shall still fall within the scope of protection of the technical solutions of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for generating mask plate making data, characterized in that: include: Obtain information on all layouts to be laid out for making a target mask; Uniquely naming each of the layouts to be typeset; as well as, Using the unique name as a mapping, an automated script is used to automatically generate all the information that needs to be filled in the mask making tool.

2. The method for generating mask plate making data according to claim 1, wherein: The information of all the layouts to be typeset obtained includes: A first layout list, and a second layout list and a layout placeholder list corresponding to the first layout list; All the information required to be filled in the mask making tool automatically generated by the automated script includes: Using an automated script to automatically match the first layout list, the second layout list, and the layout placeholder list, and generating all required information in the mask making tool according to the format requirements of the mask making tool; Among them, the first layout list is a layout list of all layouts to be typeset that do not require OPC correction and all layouts to be typeset that require OPC correction, the second layout list is a layout list after all layouts to be typeset that require OPC correction are corrected, and the layout placeholder list is a list of layout positions of all the layouts to be typeset on the target mask.

3. The method for generating mask plate making data according to claim 2, wherein: The automation scripts include a first automation script, a second automation script and a third automation script; The method of automatically generating all the information required to be filled in the mask making tool by using an automated script includes: Using a first automated script, screen out layout names that require OPC correction from the first layout list, and automatically generate layout information before OPC correction that needs to be filled in the mask plate making tool; Using a second automated script, with the layout names filtered out by the first automated script as the complete set, screen out layout position information with matching names from the layout placeholder list, and automatically generate the layout position information required to be filled in the mask plate making tool; Using the third automated script, with the layout names filtered out by the first automated script as the complete set, the OPC corrected layout information with matching names is filtered out from the second layout list, and the OPC corrected layout information that needs to be filled in the mask plate making tool is automatically generated.

4. The method for generating mask plate making data according to claim 3, wherein: When automatically generating the mask plate making tool, the layout information before OPC correction, the layout position information, and the layout information after OPC correction that need to be filled in are all sorted in the same sorting manner.

5. The method for generating mask plate making data according to claim 4, wherein: The sorting in the same sorting manner includes: sorting by the letters of the layout names.

6. The method for generating mask plate making data according to claim 1, wherein: Each layout to be typeset is uniquely named according to a unified naming rule.

7. The method for generating mask plate making data according to claim 6, wherein: The unique naming includes product name and layout structure information.

8. A mask plate making tool, characterized in that: The information filled in the mask making tool when making the mask is generated using the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A readable storage medium, characterized in that The readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is implemented.

10. An electronic device, characterized in that: The electronic device includes a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is implemented.

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