650 results about "Phase-shift mask" patented technology

Improvements in the fabrication of integrated circuits are driven by the decrease of the size of the features printed on the wafers. Current lithography techniques limits have been extended through the use of phase-shifting masks, off-axis illumination, and proximity effect correction. More recently, liquid immersion lithography has been proposed as a way to extend even further the limits of optical lithography. This invention described a methodology based on contact printing using a projection lens to define the image of the mask onto the wafer. As the imaging is performed in a solid material, larger refractive indices can be obtained and the resolution of the imaging system can be increased.

A method of generating patterns of a pair of photomasks from a data set defining a circuit layout to be provided on a substrate includes identifying critical segments of the circuit layout to be provided on the substrate. Block mask patterns are generated and then legalized based on the identified critical segments. Thereafter, phase mask patterns are generated, legalized and colored. The legalized block mask patterns and the legalized phase mask patterns that have been colored define features of a block mask and an alternating phase shift mask, respectively, for use in a dual exposure method for patterning features in a resist layer of a substrate.

The present invention comprises a phase-shifting mask and a process for fabricating such a phase-shifting mask. The phase-shifting mask has trenches with vertical sidewall profiles which are retrograde. The retrograde profiles balance the transmission and phase of the light transmitted through the phase-shifted openings relative to the non-phase-shifted openings. The retrograde profile may be formed from an isotropic plasma etch.

After a plurality of main patterns are placed at a predetermined pitch P, the individual main patterns are extended by a predetermined resize quantity DELTA to form virtual regions. When the virtual regions have an overlapped part, the overlapped part is placed between the virtual regions, and is set as a halftone region forming part having a predetermined transmission factor T with respect to exposure light. The resize quantity DELTA and the transmission factor T are set such that a transferred size of the main patterns on a predetermined resist film is settled within a desired range according to the change of the pitch P under a predetermined exposure condition.

The present invention relates to Optical Maskless Lithography (OML). In particular, it relates to providing OML with a recognizable relationship to mask and phase-shift mask techniques.

A method and apparatus for determining optical mask corrections for photolithography. A plurality of grating patterns is printed onto a wafer utilizing a photomask having at least one grating. Each grating pattern within the plurality of grating patterns is associated with known photolithographic settings. Each grating pattern is illuminated independently with a light source, so that light is diffracted off each grating pattern. The diffracted light is measured utilizing scatterometry techniques to determine measured diffracted values. The measured diffracted values are compared to values in a library to determine a profile match. A 2-dimensional profile description is assigned to each grating pattern based on the profile match. A database is compiled of the profile descriptions for the plurality of grating patterns. Photomask design rules are then generated by accessing the database containing the 2-dimensional profile descriptions. In preferred embodiments, the design rules are used to create and correct masks containing OPC corrections, phase-shifting mask corrections and binary masks. In a preferred embodiment the at least one grating is a bi-periodic grating. In a preferred embodiment, the scatterometry technique is optical digital profilometry utilizing a reflectometer or ellipsometer.

Methods and apparatus are provided for extreme ultraviolet phase shift masks. The apparatus comprises a substrate, a reflectance region, and an attenuating phase shifter. The reflectance region overlies the substrate. The attenuating phase shifter overlies the reflectance region. The attenuating phase shifter includes a plurality of openings that expose portions of the reflectance region. The attenuating phase shifter attenuates radiation through a combination of absorption and destructive interference. The method comprises projecting radiation having a wavelength less than 40 nanometers towards a mask having a plurality of openings through an attenuating phase shifter. The plurality of openings expose a reflectance region in the mask. The attenuating phase shifter is less than 700 angstroms thick. Radiation impinging on the reflectance region exposed by said plurality of openings is reflected whereas radiation impinging on the attenuating phase shifter is attenuated and shifted in phase. The attenuating phase shifter attenuates using absorption and destructive interference.

One embodiment of the invention provides a system that automatically resolves conflicts between phase shifters during creation of a phase shifting mask to be used in an optical lithography process for manufacturing an integrated circuit. Upon receiving a specification of a layout on the integrated circuit, the system identifies critical-dimension features within the layout. Next, the system places phase shifters comprised of phase shifting geometries on the phase shifting mask to precisely define the critical-dimension features. In doing so, the system identifies junctions within and / or between the critical-dimension features, and removes phase shifting geometries associated with the junctions to obviate coloring conflicts between phase shifters on the phase shifting mask. In one embodiment of the invention, the junctions include T-junctions and / or L-junctions.

Improvements in the fabrication of integrated circuits are driven by the decrease of the size of the features printed on the wafers. Current lithography techniques limits have been extended through the use of phase-shifting masks, off-axis illumination, and proximity effect correction. More recently, liquid immersion lithography has been proposed as a way to extend even further the limits of optical lithography. This invention described a methodology based on contact printing using a projection lens to define the image of the mask onto the wafer. As the imaging is performed in a solid material, larger refractive indices can be obtained and the resolution of the imaging system can be increased.

A main wall part is provided so as to surround an integrated circuit part. A sub-wall part which is in “L” shape is provided between each corner of the main wall part and the integrated circuit part. Therefore, even if the stress is concentrated due to heat treatment or the like, the stress is dispersed to the main wall part and the sub-wall part, and hence peeling between layers and a crack are unlikely to occur, as compared with the conventional art. Further, even if the crack and the like occur at the corner, moisture from the outside hardly reaches the integrated circuit part when the main wall part and the sub-wall part are coupled to each other. For this reason, it is possible to ensure an extremely high moisture resistance.

A method of forming box-shaped cylindrical storage nodes includes forming an interlayer insulating layer on a semiconductor substrate. Buried contact plugs are formed to penetrate the interlayer insulating layer. A molding layer and a photoresist layer are then sequentially formed on the substrate. Using a first phase shift mask having line-and-space patterns, the photoresist layer is exposed, forming first exposure regions. Using a second phase shift mask having line-and-space patterns, the photoresist layer is exposed again, forming second exposure regions intersecting the first exposure regions. The photoresist layer is then developed, forming a photoresist pattern having rectangular-shaped openings formed at intersections of the first and the second exposure regions. The molding layer is etched using the photoresist pattern as an etch mask, forming storage node holes exposing the buried contact plugs. Storage nodes are formed inside the storage node holes.