Optical proximity correction method and apparatus, semiconductor device manufacturing method

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of optical proximity correction, and discloses an optical proximity effect correction method and device and a semiconductor device manufacturing method, wherein the present application uses a reference line of a rule violation area as a repair basis of MRC, determines a repair frame corresponding to the rule violation area according to the reference line, and the width of a cross section line obtained by cutting the repair frame at any point on the reference line is greater than or equal to the minimum distance of a mask plate; after the repair frame is trimmed, there is no point with a distance less than the minimum distance of the mask plate on the two adjacent mask plate patterns. That is, the repair frame generated by the reference line can modify the rule violation part in the mask plate pattern at one time, so that the convergence speed of the overall mask plate modification is faster. In addition, compared with the direct trimming mode of the convex corner in the prior art, the present application performs more fine trimming on the top corner part, and the correction error is smaller.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of optical proximity correction technology, and in particular to an optical proximity effect correction method and apparatus, and a semiconductor device manufacturing method. Background Technology

[0002] In the photolithography process of chip manufacturing, the ideal situation is that the final circuit pattern on the wafer matches the design layout. However, due to the physical properties of light such as diffraction and interference, when the circuit pattern becomes small enough, the light will "distort," causing the pattern on the wafer to become distorted. This is known as the optical proximity effect.

[0003] To address this issue, Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) technology was developed. Simply put, it involves artificially adding small auxiliary shapes or fine-tuning the original shape (such as adding "ears" to the corners of a square) to pre-compensate for distortion caused by light, resulting in a more accurate final image.

[0004] If the limitations of Mask Rule Check (MRC) are completely ignored during Optical Proximity Correction (OPC), the corrected mask pattern may become too complex and extreme, making it impossible to manufacture. A key parameter in MRC is the "minimum mask spacing," which directly determines how close the patterns are. This limitation has the greatest impact on whether OPC can successfully converge (i.e., find a final pattern that satisfies both imaging accuracy requirements and mask manufacturing requirements).

[0005] Currently, there are two methods to limit the mask image to the MRC: one is to directly set the MRC value during the OPC process so that the mask after OPC conforms to the MRC, as shown in Figure 1(a). In Figure 1(a), the green area is the target image, the white solid line is the simulated key dimension, and the red area is the corrected mask image. At this time, the layout does not violate the MRC, but it will cause correction error (EPE). The other is the traditional Fix method, that is, not restricting the MRC in OPC, or setting a relatively loose MRC, and then using a box to remove the mask part that violates the MRC after OPC, as shown in Figure 1(b). In Figure 1(b), the blue area is the part removed by the fix. This method cannot completely remove the part that violates the MRC.

[0006] Current improved techniques include using repeated box removal of MRC. Generally, more than three times can remove most of the layouts that violate MRC. However, this method increases the computation time and removes too many layouts, resulting in a worse EPE, as shown in Figure 1(c). In Figure 1(c), the blue part is the part removed by repeated repair boxes.

[0007] Chinese patent publication CN120833282A identifies two initial patterns whose projections do not overlap and removes their vertex regions to ensure the spacing between adjacent patterns meets the MRC requirement; then, optical proximity correction is performed. This method ensures that the subsequently corrected pattern conforms to mask rules while controlling EPE. Chinese patent publication CN119148461A first removes the convex corners of small-pitch corner-to-corner structures in the original layout of the ion implantation layer, and then performs optical proximity correction (OPC) on the cut-corner layout, which can circumvent the limitations of mask rule checks on these corner-to-corner structures. However, the EPE accuracy obtained by this direct corner-cutting method is insufficient.

[0008] Chinese patent publication CN116360204A describes a modified layout method that detects irregular edges in an initial layout and sets reference control points (RCPs). The target edge is divided into multiple segments, and additional control points are added to each segment. Curved edges are then generated based on the RCPs and additional points to form a modified layout. The RCP positions are iteratively optimized, and the edge optimization point (EPE) is calculated to determine the optimal layout. Specifically, multiple additional control points are formed on each edge of the multi-edge pattern to create curved edges. The curved edges can be formed based on the reference control points and additional control points of each edge of the multi-edge pattern, and can correspond to Bézier curves or B-spline curves based on the control points. This method achieves high-precision, automated edge correction. However, the curved layout is very unfriendly to mask fabrication: in actual mask fabrication, a completely curved layout cannot be created, and multiple stepped layouts must be used instead. Furthermore, this method significantly increases mask fabrication time.

[0009] It is evident that existing technologies lack a method for correcting the optical proximity effect that offers both high accuracy and fast convergence. Summary of the Invention

[0010] The purpose of this invention is to provide a method for correcting the optical proximity effect with high accuracy and fast convergence speed.

[0011] The first aspect of this invention discloses a method for correcting optical proximity effects, the method comprising: Obtain an initial mask image and detect multiple non-compliant edges on the initial mask image that violate the mask rules; A violation region is formed between the two corresponding violation edges, and a baseline of the violation region is detected. The baseline is located inside the violation region and penetrates the violation region. The repair box corresponding to the violation area is determined based on the baseline, wherein the repair box extends along the baseline, and the width of the cross-section obtained after cutting the repair box at any point on the baseline is greater than or equal to the minimum spacing of the mask corresponding to the mask rule. The repair box is used to correct the two irregular edges corresponding to the irregular area. After iteratively correcting all the irregular edges, the corrected mask image is obtained.

[0012] As an optional implementation, in the first aspect of the present invention, the violation edge is a violation apex edge, and forming a violation region between two corresponding violation edges includes: An illegal region is formed between the corresponding two illegal apex edges, and the illegal region is a centrally symmetrical shape.

[0013] As an optional implementation, in the first aspect of the invention, the detection of the baseline of the violation area includes: The first and second sides of the violation area are detected. Both the first and second sides satisfy the following conditions: the length is greater than or equal to the minimum spacing of the mask corresponding to the mask rule, and one end is located on the edge of a violation apex and the other end is located on the edge of another violation apex. The baseline of the violation area is detected. The baseline passes through the midpoint of the first side and the second side, as well as the center symmetry point of the violation area. The baseline divides the violation area into two centrally symmetrical parts.

[0014] As an optional implementation, in the first aspect of the invention, the edge of the non-compliant apex corner is a right angle; If the violation area includes two right triangles, then the baseline for detecting the violation area includes: The baseline of the violation area is detected, and the baseline includes a first line segment and a second line segment; Wherein, one endpoint of the first line segment is the midpoint of the hypotenuse of a right triangle, and the other endpoint is the center symmetric point of the violation area; one endpoint of the second line segment is the midpoint of the hypotenuse of another right triangle, and the other endpoint is the center symmetric point of the violation area.

[0015] As an optional implementation, in the first aspect of the invention, the edge of the non-compliant apex corner is a right angle; If the violation area includes a first trapezoid and a second trapezoid, then the baseline for detecting the violation area includes: The baseline of the violation area is detected, and the baseline includes a first line segment and a second line segment; Wherein, one endpoint of the first line segment is the midpoint of the lower base of the first trapezoid, and the other endpoint is the midpoint of the upper base of the first trapezoid; one endpoint of the second line segment is the midpoint of the lower base of the second trapezoid, and the other endpoint is the midpoint of the upper base of the second trapezoid.

[0016] As an optional implementation, in the first aspect of the invention, the edge of the non-compliant apex corner is a right angle; If the violation area includes a first right-angled triangle, a second right-angled triangle, and a rectangle, then the baseline for detecting the violation area includes: The baseline of the violation area is obtained by detection, and the baseline includes a first segment, a second segment, and a third segment; Wherein, one endpoint of the first line segment is the midpoint of the hypotenuse of the first right triangle, and the other endpoint is the midpoint of the side of the rectangle that contacts the first right triangle; one endpoint of the second line segment is the midpoint of the hypotenuse of the second right triangle, and the other endpoint is the midpoint of the side of the rectangle that contacts the second right triangle; one endpoint of the third line segment is the midpoint of the side of the rectangle that contacts the first right triangle, and the other endpoint is the midpoint of the side of the rectangle that contacts the second right triangle.

[0017] As an optional implementation, in a first aspect of the invention, the baseline includes multiple sub-segments along different directions, and determining the repair box corresponding to the violation area based on the baseline includes: Each sub-segment is moved to both sides by half the minimum spacing of the mask, resulting in two displacement sub-segments corresponding to each sub-segment. For two adjacent but non-intersecting displacement sub-segments, extend the two displacement sub-segments to make them intersect; The area enclosed by all the displacement sub-segments is defined as the repair frame by extending along the baseline.

[0018] A second aspect of this invention discloses a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method comprising: Obtain semiconductor device design drawings; The semiconductor device design is corrected using any of the optical proximity effect correction methods disclosed in the first aspect of the present invention to obtain the corrected design. Semiconductor devices are manufactured using the revised design.

[0019] A third aspect of the present invention discloses an optical proximity effect correction device, the device comprising: a memory storing executable program code; a processor coupled to the memory; the processor calling the executable program code stored in the memory to execute the optical proximity effect correction method disclosed in any one of the first aspects of the present invention.

[0020] The fourth aspect of the present invention discloses that the computer storage medium stores computer instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the optical proximity effect correction method disclosed in any of the first aspects of the present invention.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present invention can produce the following unexpected technical effects: This invention creatively utilizes a baseline of the violation area as the basis for MRC (Mean Correction Regulation). Any point on the baseline satisfies the following condition: there exists at least one line passing through that point to two violation edges, with a length exceeding the minimum mask spacing. Then, based on this baseline, the invention determines the corresponding repair box for the violation area. For this repair box, the width of the cross-section obtained by truncating the repair box at any point on the baseline must be greater than or equal to the minimum mask spacing corresponding to the mask rule. The unexpected technical effect of the repair box proposed in this invention is that, on two adjacent mask patterns after being trimmed by the repair box, there are no longer any points with a distance less than the minimum mask spacing. That is, the repair box generated through this baseline can correct the rule-violating parts of the mask pattern in one go, resulting in faster overall mask correction convergence.

[0022] Compared to the existing technology of directly trimming off protruding corners, this invention performs more precise trimming on the top corner, resulting in smaller correction errors. Compared to the existing technology of trimming by bending the edges, this invention can design the repair frame as a geometric shape composed of line segments, which is more friendly to photomask fabrication than bending the edges (photomask fabrication cannot obtain a theoretically perfect curved pattern and can only approximate the curve through multi-step shapes).

[0023] In summary, this invention provides a method for correcting optical proximity effects with high accuracy and fast convergence speed. Attached Figure Description

[0024] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0025] Figure 1(a) is a partial schematic diagram of the mask after optical proximity effect correction when setting the MRC value; Figure 1(b) is a partial schematic diagram of the mask after optical proximity effect correction using the one-time box repair method; Figure 1(c) is a partial schematic diagram of the mask after optical proximity effect correction using the multiple box repair method; Figure 2This is a flowchart of an optical proximity effect correction method disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the violation edges and violation areas on the initial mask image; Figure 4 These are schematic diagrams of different types of violation areas on the initial mask graphic; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the baseline of the detected violation area; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the repair outline corresponding to the violation area determined based on the baseline; Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating the use of the repair box to correct the two edges of the violation area. Figure 8 This is a comparison chart of the effects of different correction methods on mask correction in Experiment 1; Figure 9 This is a comparison chart of the effects of different correction methods on mask correction in Experiment 2; Figure 10 This is a comparison chart of the effects of different correction methods on mask correction in Experiment 3; Figure 11 This is a flowchart illustrating the process of detecting the baseline of the violation area when the violation area includes the first right triangle, the second right triangle, and a rectangle. Figure 12 This is a flowchart illustrating the process of determining the corresponding repair box for the violation area by moving line segments; Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an optical proximity effect correction device disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0026] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present invention, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this invention are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, apparatus, product, or end that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or ends.

[0028] In this document, the term "embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearance of this phrase in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0029] This invention discloses an optical proximity effect correction method and apparatus, and a semiconductor device manufacturing method, which provide a high-precision and fast-convergence optical proximity effect correction method. These will be described in detail below.

[0030] Example 1 The mask pattern determines the final circuit pattern on the wafer. Typical semiconductor device manufacturing methods include: Obtain semiconductor device design drawings; The semiconductor device design drawing is corrected using the optical proximity effect correction method to obtain the corrected design drawing; Semiconductor devices, such as SRAM circuits and photoelectric sensors, are manufactured using revised designs.

[0031] This invention discloses an optical proximity effect correction method for correcting semiconductor device design drawings, resulting in a corrected design drawing, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the method includes: Step 101: Obtain the initial mask image and detect multiple non-compliant edges on the initial mask image that violate the mask rules.

[0032] In this embodiment of the invention, the initial mask design can be unrestricted by mask rules, or a relatively lenient minimum mask spacing can be set to obtain the initial mask pattern quickly and efficiently. At this time, the initial mask pattern may contain edges that violate mask rules. In this embodiment of the invention, multiple non-compliant edges mainly refer to the edges of two adjacent patterns (corresponding to two devices in the chip circuit) whose distance is less than the minimum mask spacing. A key parameter in the Mask Rule Check (MRC) is the "minimum mask spacing," which directly determines how close the patterns are. Figure 3 As shown in (a), the initial mask pattern contains two closely spaced patterns, such as two adjacent corner regions. Figure 3 As shown in (b), the blue top corner edge is the edge that violates the mask rules.

[0033] Step 102: Form a violation region between the two corresponding violation edges and detect the baseline of the violation region.

[0034] In embodiments of the present invention, such as Figure 3 As shown in the blue area of ​​(c), a violation region is formed between the two corresponding violation edges. These violation edges can be directly connected to form a violation region between them. The vertex proximity case can be categorized into several types, including... Figure 3 In case (c), the violation area is divided into two triangles and one rectangle, which also includes... Figure 4 In the case of violations, the area is divided into two triangles or two trapezoids.

[0035] In this embodiment of the invention, the baseline is located inside and penetrates the violation area; wherein, neither of the two endpoints of the baseline is located on the edge of the violation, that is, the two endpoints of the baseline need to be located on the edge of the violation area that is not the edge of the violation. Figure 3 The baseline obtained from the detection of the violation area in (c) is as follows. Figure 5 The black broken line segment is shown in the image.

[0036] In this embodiment of the invention, the purpose of finding the violation area and obtaining its baseline is that: most existing technologies focus on MRC repair of areas on the mask pattern or the violation edges themselves. This embodiment of the invention creatively utilizes the baseline of the violation area as the basis for MRC repair. Specifically, any point within the violation area satisfies the following condition: there exists at least one line passing through that point to two violation edges, with a length exceeding the minimum spacing of the mask. In this case, all points on the baseline traversing the violation area will also satisfy the above condition.

[0037] In an optional embodiment, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, the violation edge is the top corner edge of the violation, forming a violation area between two corresponding violation edges, including: An illegal region is formed between the edges of the two corresponding illegal corners, and the illegal region is a centrally symmetrical figure.

[0038] Step 103: Determine the repair box corresponding to the violation area based on the baseline.

[0039] Among them, such as Figure 6 As shown, the repair box extends along the baseline, and the width of the cross-section obtained after cutting the repair box at any point on the baseline is greater than or equal to the minimum mask spacing corresponding to the mask rule. In this embodiment of the invention, the repair box is a geometrically shaped trimming box, which is generated based on the baseline. It is required that the width of the cross-section obtained after cutting the repair box at any point on the baseline is greater than or equal to the minimum mask spacing corresponding to the mask rule. The effect achieved is that on two adjacent mask patterns after being trimmed by the repair box, there are no longer any points with a distance less than the minimum mask spacing.

[0040] Step 104: Use the repair box to correct the two illegal edges corresponding to the illegal area. Iterate through all illegal edges to obtain the corrected mask image.

[0041] like Figure 7 As shown, using the repair box to correct the two violation edges corresponding to the violation area is to treat the repair box as a clipping box and remove all masks located within the clipping box, thereby achieving the effect of correcting the violation edges.

[0042] The embodiments of the present invention can produce the following unexpected technical effects: This invention creatively utilizes a baseline of the violation area as the basis for MRC (Mean Correction Regulation). Any point on the baseline satisfies the following condition: there exists at least one line passing through that point to two violation edges, with a length exceeding the minimum mask spacing. Then, this invention determines the repair box corresponding to the violation area based on the baseline. For this repair box, the width of the cross-section obtained by truncating the repair box at any point on the baseline must be greater than or equal to the minimum mask spacing corresponding to the mask rule. The unexpected technical effect of the repair box proposed in this invention is that on two adjacent mask patterns after being trimmed by the repair box, there are no longer any points with a distance less than the minimum mask spacing. That is, the repair box generated by this baseline can correct the rule-violating parts of the mask pattern in one go, resulting in a faster overall mask correction convergence speed.

[0043] Compared to the existing technology of directly trimming off protruding corners, the embodiments of the present invention perform more precise trimming on the top corners, resulting in smaller correction errors. Compared to the existing technology of trimming by bending the edges, the embodiments of the present invention can design the repair frame as a geometric shape composed of line segments, which is more friendly to photomask fabrication than bending the edges (photomask fabrication cannot obtain a theoretically perfect curved pattern, and can only approximate the curve through multi-step shapes).

[0044] In summary, the embodiments of the present invention provide a method for correcting optical proximity effects with high accuracy and fast convergence speed.

[0045] To verify the aforementioned beneficial effects of the optical proximity effect correction method proposed in this embodiment of the invention, the following comparative experiments were conducted: Experiment 1 like Figure 8 As shown, the existing one-time fix method is used respectively. Figure 8 (a) and multiple fix methods ( Figure 8 (b) in the present invention (the fix method in the embodiment of the present invention) Figure 8 (c) In the same mask correction, the effects of the three methods are compared in terms of maximum spatial distance, minimum spatial distance, convergence time, and EPE (OPC correction error). The results are shown in the table below: Table 1 Comparison of Correction Effects in Experiment 1

[0046] As shown in Table 1, the optical proximity effect correction method proposed in this invention reduces the maximum spatial distance, minimum spatial distance, convergence time, and EPE compared to the multiple fix method in the prior art. This indicates that the correction accuracy of this invention is higher and the convergence speed is faster. In contrast, the single fix method in the prior art failed to successfully correct the mask.

[0047] Experiment 2 like Figure 9 As shown, Figure 9 In (a): the green area is the original mask, the blue area is the mask obtained by the fix method of directly trimming the convex corners in the prior art, and the red area is the mask obtained by the fix method in the embodiment of the present invention. Figure 9 (b) in the figure is a mask obtained by the fix method in the prior art, which directly trims off the convex corners. Figure 9 In the figure, (c) represents the mask obtained by the fix method in this embodiment of the invention. Experiment 2 uses template 1, and the results of Experiment 2 are shown in the table below: Table 2 Comparison of Correction Effects in Experiment 2

[0048] Experiment 3 like Figure 10 As shown, Figure 10 In (a) of this invention: the green area is the original mask, the blue area is the mask obtained by the fix method of directly trimming the protruding corners in the prior art, and the red area is the mask obtained by the fix method in the embodiment of this invention. Figure 10 (b) in the figure is a mask obtained by the fix method in the prior art, which directly trims off the convex corners. Figure 10 In the figure, (c) represents the mask obtained by the fix method in this embodiment of the invention. Experiment 3 uses template 2, and the results of Experiment 3 are shown in the table below: Table 3 Comparison of Correction Effects in Experiment 3

[0049] As can be seen from Tables 2 and 3, the optical proximity effect correction method proposed in this embodiment of the invention achieves a significant reduction in EPE compared to the existing method of directly trimming the convex corner (fix), indicating that the correction accuracy of this embodiment of the invention is higher.

[0050] In this embodiment of the invention, the detection of the baseline determines the formation of the correction box. In an optional embodiment, detecting the baseline of the violation area includes: The detection yielded the first and second side edges of the violation area. Both the first and second side edges satisfy the following conditions: their length is greater than or equal to the minimum mask spacing corresponding to the mask rule; one endpoint is located on the edge of a violation's apex corner, and the other endpoint is located on the edge of another violation's apex corner. Figure 4 As shown, the first and second sides are the edges connecting the two mask patterns in the blue area, that is, the two edges of the non-violation edge in the blue area.

[0051] The baseline of the violation area is obtained by detection. The baseline passes through the midpoint of the first side and the second side, as well as the central symmetric point of the violation area. The baseline divides the violation area into two centrally symmetric parts.

[0052] In this optional embodiment, for the area adjacent to the apex, the violation region is a centrally symmetrical shape. The baseline then passes through the central symmetry point and the midpoint of the first and second side edges. This satisfies the baseline requirement (at any point on the baseline, there must be at least one line passing through that point to both violation edges, with a length exceeding the minimum spacing between the mask plates) and divides the violation region into two centrally symmetrical parts. This operation brings the following unexpected technical effect: the repair box generated based on this baseline can cut off identical shapes from two adjacent mask plate shapes, preventing over-cropping of one mask plate shape during trimming, ultimately improving the simplicity of the overall layout design.

[0053] In this optional embodiment, the edge of the violation's apex is further optionally a right angle; the violation area includes... Figure 3 In case (c), the violation area is divided into two triangles and one rectangle, which also includes... Figure 4 In the case where the violation area is divided into two triangles or two trapezoids, the examples are as follows: (1) If the violation area includes two right triangles, such as Figure 4 (a) and Figure 4 As shown in (b), the baseline for detecting the violation area includes: The baseline of the violation area is detected, and the baseline includes a first line segment and a second line segment; In the first line segment, one endpoint is the midpoint of the hypotenuse of a right triangle, and the other endpoint is the central symmetric point of the violation area; in the second line segment, one endpoint is the midpoint of the hypotenuse of another right triangle, and the other endpoint is the central symmetric point of the violation area.

[0054] (2) If the violation area includes the first trapezoid and the second trapezoid, such as Figure 4 As shown in (c), the baseline for detecting the violation area includes: The baseline of the violation area is detected, and the baseline includes a first line segment and a second line segment; In this case, one endpoint of the first line segment is the midpoint of the lower base of the first trapezoid, and the other endpoint is the midpoint of the upper base of the first trapezoid; one endpoint of the second line segment is the midpoint of the lower base of the second trapezoid, and the other endpoint is the midpoint of the upper base of the second trapezoid.

[0055] (3) If the violation area includes the first right triangle, the second right triangle, and a rectangle, such as Figure 3 and Figure 11 As shown, the baseline for detecting the violation area includes: The baseline for the detected violation area is defined by three line segments: the first line segment, the second line segment, and the third line segment. In this system, one endpoint of the first line segment is the midpoint of the hypotenuse of the first right triangle, and the other endpoint is the midpoint of the side of the rectangle that touches the first right triangle; one endpoint of the second line segment is the midpoint of the hypotenuse of the second right triangle, and the other endpoint is the midpoint of the side of the rectangle that touches the second right triangle; one endpoint of the third line segment is the midpoint of the side of the rectangle that touches the first right triangle, and the other endpoint is the midpoint of the side of the rectangle that touches the second right triangle.

[0056] In yet another alternative embodiment, such as Figure 12 As shown, the baseline includes multiple sub-segments along different directions. The repair boxes corresponding to the violation areas are determined based on the baseline, including: Move each sub-segment to both sides by half the minimum spacing of the mask, resulting in two displacement sub-segments corresponding to each sub-segment, such as... Figure 12 As shown in (a); For two adjacent but non-intersecting displacement sub-segments, extend the two displacement sub-segments to make them intersect, such as... Figure 12 The dashed line in (b) is shown in the diagram; The area enclosed by all displacement sub-segments is defined as the repair frame by extending along the baseline, such as... Figure 12 As shown in (c) in the figure.

[0057] In this optional embodiment, by moving the sub-segment by half the distance of the minimum mask spacing, and then extending the non-intersecting segments to make them intersect, the resulting repair frame can satisfy the requirements of the repair frame (the width of the cross section obtained after cutting the repair frame at any point on the baseline is greater than or equal to the minimum mask spacing corresponding to the mask rule), and also ensure that the edges of the repair frame are all line segments, which is more friendly to photomask fabrication than bending the edges.

[0058] Example 2 Embodiment 2 of the present invention discloses a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method comprising: Obtain semiconductor device design drawings; The semiconductor device design drawing is corrected using any of the optical proximity effect correction methods in Embodiment 1 of the present invention to obtain the corrected design drawing. Semiconductor devices are manufactured using the revised design drawings.

[0059] Example 3 Please see Figure 13 , Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of an optical proximity effect correction device disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention. The optical proximity effect correction device may include: Memory 301 storing executable program code; Processor 302 coupled to memory 301; The processor 302 calls the executable program code stored in the memory 301 to execute some or all of the steps in any of the optical proximity effect correction methods in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0060] Example 4 This invention discloses a computer storage medium storing computer instructions. When executed by a processor, these computer instructions implement some or all of the steps in any of the optical proximity effect correction methods in Embodiment 1 of this invention.

[0061] The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as modules may or may not be physical modules; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network modules. Some or all of the modules can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can understand and implement this without any creative effort.

[0062] Through the detailed description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that each implementation method can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms, and of course, it can also be implemented by hardware. Based on this understanding, the above technical solutions, in essence or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, including read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), one-time programmable read-only memory (OTPROM), electrically-Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, disk storage, magnetic tape storage, or any other computer-readable medium that can be used to carry or store data.

[0063] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, not to limit them. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for correcting optical proximity effect, characterized in that, The method includes: Obtain an initial mask image and detect multiple non-compliant edges on the initial mask image that violate the mask rules; A violation region is formed between the two corresponding violation edges, and a baseline of the violation region is detected. The baseline is located inside the violation region and penetrates the violation region. The repair box corresponding to the violation area is determined based on the baseline, wherein the repair box extends along the baseline, and the width of the cross-section obtained after cutting the repair box at any point on the baseline is greater than or equal to the minimum spacing of the mask corresponding to the mask rule. The repair box is used to correct the two irregular edges corresponding to the irregular area. After iteratively correcting all the irregular edges, the corrected mask image is obtained.

2. The optical proximity effect correction method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The violation edge is the violation apex edge, and the formation of a violation region between two corresponding violation edges includes: An illegal region is formed between the corresponding two illegal apex edges, and the illegal region is a centrally symmetrical shape.

3. The optical proximity effect correction method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The detection obtains the baseline of the violation area, including: The first and second sides of the violation area are detected. Both the first and second sides satisfy the following conditions: the length is greater than or equal to the minimum spacing of the mask corresponding to the mask rule, and one end is located on the edge of a violation apex and the other end is located on the edge of another violation apex. The baseline of the violation area is detected. The baseline passes through the midpoint of the first side and the second side, as well as the center symmetry point of the violation area. The baseline divides the violation area into two centrally symmetrical parts.

4. The optical proximity effect correction method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The edge of the violation's apex corner is a right angle; If the violation area includes two right triangles, then the baseline for detecting the violation area includes: The baseline of the violation area is detected, and the baseline includes a first line segment and a second line segment; Wherein, one endpoint of the first line segment is the midpoint of the hypotenuse of a right triangle, and the other endpoint is the center symmetric point of the violation area; one endpoint of the second line segment is the midpoint of the hypotenuse of another right triangle, and the other endpoint is the center symmetric point of the violation area.

5. The optical proximity effect correction method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The edge of the violation's apex corner is a right angle; If the violation area includes a first trapezoid and a second trapezoid, then the baseline for detecting the violation area includes: The baseline of the violation area is detected, and the baseline includes a first line segment and a second line segment; Wherein, one endpoint of the first line segment is the midpoint of the lower base of the first trapezoid, and the other endpoint is the midpoint of the upper base of the first trapezoid; one endpoint of the second line segment is the midpoint of the lower base of the second trapezoid, and the other endpoint is the midpoint of the upper base of the second trapezoid.

6. The optical proximity effect correction method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The edge of the violation's apex corner is a right angle; If the violation area includes a first right-angled triangle, a second right-angled triangle, and a rectangle, then the baseline for detecting the violation area includes: The baseline of the violation area is obtained by detection, and the baseline includes a first segment, a second segment, and a third segment; Wherein, one endpoint of the first line segment is the midpoint of the hypotenuse of the first right triangle, and the other endpoint is the midpoint of the side of the rectangle that contacts the first right triangle; one endpoint of the second line segment is the midpoint of the hypotenuse of the second right triangle, and the other endpoint is the midpoint of the side of the rectangle that contacts the second right triangle; one endpoint of the third line segment is the midpoint of the side of the rectangle that contacts the first right triangle, and the other endpoint is the midpoint of the side of the rectangle that contacts the second right triangle.

7. The optical proximity effect correction method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The baseline includes multiple sub-segments along different directions, and determining the repair box corresponding to the violation area based on the baseline includes: Each sub-segment is moved to both sides by half the minimum spacing of the mask, resulting in two displacement sub-segments corresponding to each sub-segment. For two adjacent but non-intersecting displacement sub-segments, extend the two displacement sub-segments to make them intersect; The area enclosed by all the displacement sub-segments is defined as the repair frame by extending along the baseline.

8. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, characterized in that, The method includes: Obtain semiconductor device design drawings; The semiconductor device design drawing is corrected using the optical proximity effect correction method according to any one of claims 1-7 to obtain the corrected design drawing; Semiconductor devices are manufactured using the revised design.

9. An optical proximity effect correction device, characterized in that, The apparatus includes: a memory storing executable program code; a processor coupled to the memory; the processor calling the executable program code stored in the memory to execute the optical proximity effect correction method as described in any one of claims 1-7.

10. A computer storage medium, characterized in that, The computer storage medium stores computer instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the optical proximity effect correction method as described in any one of claims 1-7.

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