Patent ID: 8247141

Claim:
A method of generating reticle data for producing a reticle used in an exposure apparatus in which a projection optical system projects a pattern of the reticle onto a substrate, the pattern of the reticle including a main pattern, a first auxiliary pattern, and a second auxiliary pattern, the first auxiliary pattern and the second auxiliary pattern being patterns not to resolve, light having passed through the first auxiliary pattern and light having passed through the main pattern being in phase, and light having passed through the second auxiliary pattern and light having passed through the main pattern having a phase difference of 180° from each other, the method comprising the steps of: determining the main pattern based on an aerial image formed on an image plane of the projection optical system when a target pattern is placed on an object plane of the projection optical system; determining the first auxiliary pattern and the second auxiliary pattern based on the aerial image formed on the image plane when either of the target pattern and the main pattern is placed on the object plane; and when the first auxiliary pattern and the second auxiliary pattern overlap each other, deleting either of the first auxiliary pattern and the second auxiliary pattern or deforming at least either of the first auxiliary pattern and the second auxiliary pattern.