Adaptive Replacement Maps for Digital Lithography Defect Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Maskless lithography techniques often result in imperfections such as warpage and die-shift defects in substrates, which affect subsequent layers and lead to suboptimal printing, necessitating a system to edit designs for improved pattern creation.
Innovation Solution
A server-based system that loads a virtual mask file, includes a replacement table to edit cells forming polygons, and creates an edited virtual mask file for digital lithography, accounting for defects detected by a metrology tool to enhance pattern accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If maskless lithography techniques are used to create patterns on substrates, then manufacturing flexibility and direct digital printing are improved, but substrate defects such as warpage and die-shift cause pattern imperfections and reduced manufacturing precision
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by detecting substrate defects (warpage, die-shift) before the lithography printing process, then pre-calculates and applies compensation adjustments to the digital mask pattern. This preliminary defect accounting ensures that even though substrate imperfections exist, the final printed pattern achieves the desired accuracy by counteracting anticipated distortions in advance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by using metrology tool measurements of actual substrate conditions to inform and adjust the digital mask pattern generation. The measured substrate defects feed back into the pattern creation process, allowing the system to adaptively compensate for specific substrate imperfections and maintain high manufacturing precision despite using flexible maskless lithography.
2Manufacturing precision
If substrate defects are detected and accounted for using metrology tools and replacement maps, then pattern quality and manufacturing precision are improved, but processing time and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the substrate into multiple regions or tiles, each with its own defect characteristics. Instead of processing the entire substrate uniformly, the replacement map is created by dividing and conquering individual defect areas, allowing parallel processing and reducing overall computation time while maintaining high pattern quality in each segment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes parameters by dynamically adjusting the digital mask pattern based on detected substrate conditions. Rather than using a fixed mask, the replacement map modifies pattern parameters (position, shape, size) locally where defects are detected, enabling adaptive compensation that improves pattern quality without requiring complete re-processing of the entire design.
3Manufacturing precision
If adaptive replacement maps are used to compensate for substrate defects, then pattern accuracy is improved, but computational complexity and system requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary component - the replacement map - that acts as a mediator between the substrate defect measurements and the final lithography pattern. This intermediate data structure simplifies the complexity by separating defect detection from pattern generation, allowing each function to be optimized independently while maintaining overall system accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments described herein relate to a system, software, and a method of using the system to edit a design to be printed by a lithography system. The system and methods utilize a server of a maskless lithography device. The server includes a memory. The memory includes a virtual mask file. The virtual mask file includes cells and the cells include sub-cells that form one or more polygons. The server further includes a controller coupled to the memory. The controller is configured to receive a replacement table. The replacement table includes instructions to replace the cells of the virtual mask file. The controller is further configured to replace the cells with replacement cells according to the replacement table to create an edited virtual mask file.