Patent ID: 8250495

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for generating a pair of layouts, which may be used to form a pair of double dipole lithographic masks, the method comprising: generating an intermediate y-dipole layout by decomposing a target layout, wherein the target layout includes a plurality of polygon edges that have been partitioned into a plurality of edge segments and wherein the intermediate v-dipole layout generation includes: designating ones of the plurality of edge segments having a first orientation as minor edges; designating ones of the plurality of edge segments having an orientation perpendicular to the first orientation as major edges; adjusting on the computer the target layout by implementing a few iterations of an optical proximity correction process on the target layout, wherein the mask rule constraint of the optical proximity correction process corresponds to a v-dipole decomposition mask rule constraint, the adjustments to the major edge segments are derived based in part upon a major v-dipole feedback value, and the adjustments to the minor edge segments are derived based in part upon a minor v-dipole feedback value; and collapsing ones of the minor edge segments separated by a distance of less than a target mask rule constraint; generating an intermediate x-dipole layout by decomposing the target layout; and generating a y-dipole layout and an x-dipole layout by implementing an optical proximity correction process on the intermediate y-dipole layout and the intermediate x-dipole layout.