Patent ID: 6993455

Claim:
A method for determining the construction of a mask for the micropatterning of semiconductor substrates by means of photolithography, the method being carried out on a computer system and comprising the steps of: a) read-in of design data of a semiconductor substrate, b) determining the form and the arrangement of contact holes of a mask image present as a data structure, c) determining the form and the arrangement of auxiliary structures in the mask image by means of positioning rules, d) applying a mask bias during the imaging simulation of the mask image for the compensation of three-dimensional mask effects, the mask bias being compared by comparison of a simulated light intensity distribution on the semiconductor substrate with a light intensity distribution on the semiconductor substrate determined experimentally or by means of a rigorous mask simulation, e) providing the information about the form and about the arrangement of the contact holes and of the auxiliary structures of the mask image for the fabrication of the mask.