Patent ID: 8071278

Claim:
A double patterning method comprising: positioning a singular reticle in a lithographic apparatus, wherein the reticle has a first portion of a pattern and a second portion of the pattern, wherein interleaved features of the pattern are separated into the first and second portions and wherein the first portion and the second portion are within a scribe line of the reticle, wherein the interleaved features of the pattern require that for at least some pairs of adjacent features of the first portion there is at least one feature of the second portion located therebetween; exposing the first portion of the pattern onto a first photoresist that overlays a target region of a material to be patterned; transferring the first portion of the pattern from the first photoresist to the target region of the material; exposing the second portion of the pattern onto a second photoresist that overlays the target region of the material; transferring the second portion of the pattern from the second photoresist to the target region, wherein features of the second portion are interleaved in the target region with features of the first portion to form the pattern; wherein exposing the first portion and exposing the second portion is performed simultaneously while the reticle remains positioned in the lithographic apparatus; wherein the reticle includes a third portion of the pattern, the interleaved features of the pattern being separated into the first, second, and third portions and wherein the first portion, second, and third portions are distinct portions.