Patent ID: 7739651
Filing Date: 2010-06-15
Classification: G03F

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method for determining if a design intent is robustly manufacturable, the method comprising: receiving the design intent which is desired to be printed on a wafer using a photolithography process and an etch process; determining by computer an etch pre-image for the design intent, wherein subjecting the etch pre-image to the etch process is expected to generate the design intent; determining by computer if the etch pre-image is robustly manufacturable by determining whether a process window at an evaluation point in the etch pre-image is within a desired range, wherein determining the process window includes convolving, at the evaluation point, the etch pre-image with a photolithography sensitivity model which models the sensitivity of the photolithography process to process variations; and in response to determining that the etch pre-image is not robustly manufacturable, reporting that the design intent is not robustly manufacturable.