Inverse Mask Design and Correction for Electronic Design

Abstract

Various implementations of the invention provide for the generation of “smooth” mask contours by inverse mask transmission derivation and by subsequently “smoothing” the derived mask contours by proximity correction.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A computer system including one or more processors that are configured to execute a sequence of program instructions for computing mask data for the creation of one or more photolithographic masks that print a desired layout pattern on a wafer with a photolithographic printing system that is designed to print features at a predefined tightest pitch pattern, wherein the instructions cause the computer to:
 read all or a portion of a desired layout pattern;   define a set of mask data having a number of pixels that are assigned a transmission value;   determine an objective function that compares a simulation of the image intensity on a wafer to an ideal image intensity;   define a set of ideal image intensities from the desired layout pattern, wherein the maximum ideal image intensity is selected to be substantially equal to the maximum image intensity determined from a test image of features at the tightest pitch pattern produced by the photolithographic imaging system; and   minimize the objective function to determine the transmission values of the pixels in the mask data that will produce the desired layout on a wafer.