Patent ID: 7276315

Claim:
A method for mitigating sidelobe artifacts in a radiation-patterning tool design process, comprising: defining elements to be formed in a radiation-patterning tool as a function of a wavelength of radiation to be used to create desired patterns and resultant mitigated sidelobes; calculating a diffraction ring around each of the elements; identifying at least one location where one diffraction ring from one of the elements intersects another diffraction ring from another of the elements; and forming at least one sidelobe inhibitor across the at least one location, the sidelobe inhibitor being located to pass radiation in phase with the radiation passing through the elements, wherein the at least one location comprises a plurality of locations and wherein forming the at least one sidelobe inhibitor comprises: defining a guard ring extending around each of the plurality of locations; defining a common location in lieu of each of the plurality of locations when a portion of the guard ring from one of the plurality of locations is common with a portion of the guard ring from another one of the plurality of locations; and forming the at least one sidelobe inhibitor across at least a portion of the plurality of locations or the common location.