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  Anchor Semiconductor, Inc.  
 

A Kernel-Based DfM Model for Process from Layout to Wafer

 

 

ABSTRACT
A layout design that passes the design rule check(DRC)may still have manufacturing problems today, especially around areas of critical patterns. Thus a design-for-manufacturability(DfM)model, which can simulate the process from designed layout to wafer and predict the final contours, is necessary. A new kind of DfM model called free-elementmodel(FEM)is proposed in this paper. The framework of FEM is borrowed from the forward process model, which is basically a set of convolution kernels in matrix form, yet the unknown variables are the kernel elements instead of process parameters. The modeling process is transformed into a non-linear optimization problem, with equality constraints which involve norm-2 regulation of kernels and inner production of any two kernels to keep the normalization and orthogonality of optimized kernels. Gradient-based method with Lagrange penalty function is explored to solve the optimization problem to minimize the difference between simulated contours and real contours.

The dimension of kernels in FEM is determined by the cutoff frequency and the ambit. Since kernels are calculated by optimization method instead of decomposition of transmission cross coefficient(TCC), every element of kernels becomes a factor to describe the process. FEM is more flexible, and in it all effects that can be integrated into convolution kernels join naturally, such as the resist deviation and asymmetry of the process. No confidential process parameters, for example NA and defocus, appear in FEM explicitly, and thus the encapsulated FEM is suitable for IC manufacturers to publish. Moreover, enhancements and supplements to FEM are discussed in this paper, including the sufficiency of test patterns. In our experiments, DfM models for 2 process lines are generated based on test patterns, and the results show that the simulated shapes have an area error less than 2% compared to the real shapes of test patterns and an area error less than 3% compared to the shapes in typical blocks chosen from chip for verification purpose. The root mean square error of contour deviation between the 2 simulation results from FEM and conventional lithographic model is 10nm in a 65nm process.

Keywords:Design-for-Manufacturability(DfM), DfM Model, Manufacturability Verification, Optimization, Free-Element-Model(FEM)

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