Semiconductor Design Data Correction for Electron Beam Lithography
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in semiconductor manufacturing is that electron beam lithography and light exposure technologies produce different finished shapes, leading to deviations in line width, pattern shape, and element characteristics, which complicates the manufacturing process and increases costs for small quantity semiconductor production.
Innovation Solution
A data generating process that simulates both light and electron beam exposure patterns, extracts difference information, and modifies design data to align electron beam exposure with light exposure results, ensuring consistent shape and characteristics through the creation of a design data library for electron beam exposure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If electron beam exposure is used for small quantity production, then productivity and cost are improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to shape differences compared to light exposure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary simulation of both light exposure and electron beam exposure patterns before actual manufacturing. By predicting the shape differences in advance through simulation, the system pre-calculates correction amounts and applies them to the design data, ensuring that the final electron beam exposure produces shapes matching the light exposure results without requiring post-manufacturing adjustments
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters of the design data by adding correction amounts to line widths and pattern dimensions. The system calculates the difference between light exposure and electron beam exposure characteristics, then modifies the electron beam exposure design data parameters (such as line width, space width, and pattern shape) to compensate for the inherent differences in exposure mechanisms, thereby achieving consistent finished shapes
2Manufacturing precision
If reticle manufacturing is performed for light exposure, then manufacturing precision is improved, but loss of time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the light exposure process through simulation. Instead of physically manufacturing a reticle for light exposure, the system simulates the light exposure pattern and uses that simulated data as a reference to generate corrected electron beam exposure data. This virtual copying approach eliminates the need for physical reticle manufacturing while maintaining the precision characteristics of light exposure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical reticle manufacturing system with a computational simulation and data processing system. Instead of physically creating reticles through complex manufacturing processes, the system uses computer-based simulation to predict exposure patterns and data processing to generate corrected design files, substituting mechanical fabrication with digital computation
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor manufacturing method comprising, a data generating process including, acquiring a simulation light pattern that simulates a shape of a light exposure pattern formed on a substrate on the basis of design data of a semiconductor device, acquiring a simulation electron beam exposure pattern that simulates a shape of an electron beam exposure pattern formed by an electron beam exposure on the substrate on the basis of the design data, extracting difference information representing a shape difference portion between the simulation light pattern and the simulation electron beam exposure pattern, acquiring changed design data for modifying shape by changing the design data in accordance with the difference information, conducting the electron beam exposure on the substrate by use of the changed design data for modifying the shape.