Semiconductor Design Layout Misalignment Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
In highly integrated semiconductor devices, misalignments during the fabrication process can lead to narrow gaps between patterns, causing damage or performance degradation of insulating films, which existing technologies struggle to correct effectively.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a computing device that separates a target layer of patterns from an original design layout, shifts these patterns based on misalignment values, and combines them back into the original layout to generate a corrected design layout, facilitating the fabrication of a semiconductor device with improved alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If misalignment occurs in semiconductor device fabrication, then manufacturing complexity increases, but insulating film performance degrades due to narrow gaps between misaligned patterns
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by calculating and applying misalignment correction values to the design layout before fabrication. The system separates target layers, calculates correction values based on expected misalignment, shifts patterns accordingly, and combines them back into the design layout. This pre-correction prevents the narrow gap formation that would otherwise occur during fabrication, thereby protecting insulating film performance before the actual manufacturing process begins.
2Reliability
If design layout correction is applied to prevent misalignment, then insulating film performance is protected, but manufacturing process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the design layout into separate target layers that can be independently processed. The system separates specific layers requiring misalignment correction from the original design layout, applies correction values to only those layers, and then combines them back. This selective approach corrects only the necessary portions rather than processing the entire design layout, thereby reducing the overall manufacturing process complexity while still protecting insulating film performance.
3Manufacturing precision
If misalignment correction is performed on all layers, then alignment precision improves, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by identifying and applying misalignment correction only to specific target layers that require it, rather than uniformly processing all layers. The system determines which layers need correction based on their specific alignment requirements and applies correction values selectively. This localized approach maintains high alignment precision for critical layers while minimizing the overall processing time by avoiding unnecessary corrections on layers that don't require them.
Data Source
AI summary
A computing device separates a first target layer including a plurality of target patterns from an original design layout, shifts the plurality of target patterns in the first target layer based on misalignment values at positions of the plurality of target patterns to generate a second target layer, and combines the second target layer with the original design layout from which the first target layer is separated to generate a corrected design layout.