The cost of photomasks has been rising year by year as the process node gets finer and the mask cost is becoming one of
the headaches in the semiconductor industry. For the purpose of the mask cost reduction, ASET started Mask D2I (Mask
Design, Drawing and Inspection Technology) project in 2006. In earlier papers[1-4], we introduced the idea of photomask
data prioritization method which is referred to as Mask Data Rank (MDR). We have built our software system to convert
Design Intent (DI) to MDR with cooperation of STARC. Then we showed the results of preliminary experiments with mask
data provided by STARC.
In this paper we explain the software mechanism of design intent extraction flow. Then we show the experimental results
with actual chip data in three semiconductor companies and address the related issues. Finally we introduce a new idea to extract design intent from analog circuits.
Mask D2I/ASET has been working to reduce TAT for mask writing and inspection. As a part of this program we have
developed a data flow process for mask manufacturing in which we refer to design intent information in order to reduce
TAT of mask manufacturing processes. We convert design level information "Design Intent (DI)" into priority
information of mask manufacturing data known as "Mask Data Rank (MDR)" so that we can identify and sort out the
importance of reticle patterns from the view point of the design side. As a result, we can reduce mask writing time and
mask inspection time significantly. Our objective is to build efficient data flow conversion system from DI to MDR.
Automatic DI creation flow from EDA tools, and an automatic MDR creation flow from the created DI have already
been established. We extracted design intents (Litho hotspot area, Shield net, Gate channel area, Timing critical net,
Dummy metal fill, Power ground net, etc.) from the database in EDA tools automatically, and converted them into MDR.
In an earlier paper, we had shown that by using this flow, we could achieve TAT reduction in mask writing and mask
inspection for a limited number of design data. In this presentation, we will show TAT reduction results for actual device
design data; we will then discuss related issues and their solutions.
KEYWORDS: Photomasks, Manufacturing, Inspection, Design for manufacturing, Analog electronics, Data conversion, Design for manufacturability, Semiconductors, Electronic design automation, Data processing
The problem of mask cost has been highlighted recently due to the complex manufacturing process as the semiconductor
node is getting smaller and smaller. It has been said that DFM methods can be useful for mask cost reduction. One of the
ASET/Mask D2I target is the mask data prioritization and its effective uses for mask manufacturing issues from the
viewpoints of mask DFM. The Mask D2I and STARC have been working together to build efficient data flow based on the
information transition from the design to the manufacturing level. By converting design level information called as "Design
Intent" to the priority information of mask manufacturing data called as "Mask Data Rank (MDR)", MDP or manufacturing
process based on the importance of reticle patterns is possible. Our main purpose is to build a novel data flow with the
priority information of mask patterns extracted from the design intent.
In this paper, we introduce a design intent extraction flow which has been newly developed and we show the effectiveness
of the fully automated MDR flow with actual chip data. In addition, we show how MDR flow can be applied to analog
circuits.
KEYWORDS: Photomasks, Inspection, Manufacturing, Semiconducting wafers, Data conversion, Design for manufacturing, Semiconductors, Design for manufacturability, Reticles, Data processing
MaskD2I and STARC have been working together to build efficient data flow based on the information transition from the
design to the manufacturing level. By converting design level information called as "Design Intent" to the priority
information of mask manufacturing data called as "Mask Data Rank (MDR)", MDP or manufacturing process based on the
importance of reticle patterns is possible. Our main purpose is to build a novel data flow with the priority information of
mask patterns extracted from the design intent.
In EMCL2008, we introduced the idea of MDR and showed its potential effectiveness. Then we addressed an additional
idea called DIF(Design Intent File) instead of RAF (Rank Assign File) in PMJ2008. Since DIF contains all the coordinate
information necessary for mask data prioritization, it has been proved that mask engineers do not need to access the design
information any more. Recently the necessity of information linkage between mask processes and wafer processes has been
pointed out and we have started to build a new flow to share the mask data priority information.
In this presentation, we will address two new progresses of MaskD2I. One is a new rank assignment method to inspection
tools and the other is information feed forward to wafer process.
One of the ASET/MaskD2I target is the mask data prioritization and it effective uses for mask manufacturing issues. The
MaskD2I and STARC have been working together to build efficient data flow based on the information transition from the
design to the manufacturing level. By converting design level information called as "Design Intent" to the priority
information of mask manufacturing data called as "Mask Data Rank (MDR)", MDP or manufacturing process based on the
importance of reticle patterns is possible. Our main purpose is to build a novel data flow with the priority information of
mask patterns extracted from the design intent.
In this paper, we introduce the basic activities of the MaskD2I, and address the effectiveness of MDR information. Then
we explain how to apply it to mask writing, inspection, MDP and MRC. We will show the new experimental results by
extracted MDR from actual mask data provided by STARC.
In order to go through the transition term from GDSII to OASIS successfully, the aid of the verification tools between
OASIS and GDSII is necessary. In general, we have two methods of OASIS file verification. One is a hierarchical method
that checks between GDSII and OASIS by each cell level. The other is a flat method that merges each pattern through its
hierarchy into a flat level and compares the flattened geometry one by one.
We did the experiments of comparison between two methods for OASIS to GDSII verification. The software tool called
'ogdiff' has been used for a hierarchical verification experiment. We used SmartMRC for the flat method experiment. In this
paper, we show the experimental results of comparison and we also address the pros and cons of each method. Then we
suggest which method is preferable for specific cases.
One of the ASET/MaskD2I target is the mask data prioritization and it effective uses for mask manufacturing issues. The
MaskD2I and STARC have been working together to build efficient data flow based on the information transition from the
design to the manufacturing level. By converting design level information called as "Design Intent" to the priority
information of mask manufacturing data called as "Mask Data Rank (MDR)", MDP or manufacturing process based on the
importance of reticle patterns is possible. Our main purpose is to build a novel data flow with the priority information of
mask patterns extracted from the design intent.
In this paper, we introduce the basic activities of the MaskD2I, and address the effectiveness of MDR information. Then
we explain how to apply it to mask writing, inspection, MDP and MRC. We will show the new experimental results by
extracted MDR from actual mask data provided by STARC.
Association of Super-Advanced Electronics Technologies (ASET) has started a project called "Mask Design, Drawing
and Inspection Technology (MaskD2I)" with the sponsorship from The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) since 2006. SIINT has joined the MaskD2I project and we have been developing MRC software considering DFM information for more effective data verification. By converting design level information
called as "Design Intent" to the priority information of mask manufacturing data called as "Mask Data Rank (MDR)", the
MRC process based on the importance of reticle patterns is possible. Our main purpose is to build a novel data checking
flow with the priority information of mask patterns extracted from the design intent. In this paper, we address the effectiveness of MRC technologies which have been widely applied in many mask data
fields. Then we present the current status of the new MRC development, its experimental results so far and the future
outlook using further Design Aware Manufacturing (DAM) information.
KEYWORDS: Data conversion, Photomasks, Data analysis, Error analysis, Standards development, Electronic design automation, Nanotechnology, Data processing, Data compression
The OASIS (Open Artwork System Interchange Standard) format is a new standard format for describing LSI layout data
and it has begun to be used for photomask data. One of the greatest features of OASIS format is its conciseness of
expressing pattern data and it has been proven that the size of GDS2 files can be significantly reduced down by converting
them to OASIS format. It is widely believed that OASIS will replace the position of GDS2 format which is currently most
frequently used. In general, OASIS has two aspects for the mask industry. One is OASIS format as a new replacement of
GDS2. The other is OASIS.VSB, which is a unified format to be defined for the description of fractured EB data.
However, the mask industry has not shifted completely into OASIS and sometimes software operation for both OASIS
and GDS2 is required. In the environment of OASIS and GDS2 mixture, bi-directional data conversion between OASIS
and GDS2 is a key issue. When GDS2 data is converted to OASIS format, the file size always gets smaller and there is no
file size problem. But when OASIS data is converted to GDS2 format, the file size can be more than one hundred times
larger than the OASIS file, which sometimes causes hard disk space problems.
In order to cope with this problem, we have developed a file size estimation tool for OASIS to GDS2 conversion. The
name of the tool is "o2gest" and it is a member of SmartOASIS, which provides comprehensive practical functions to
enable easy transition of data processing flow from conventional GDS2 or EB formats to OASIS. The processing speed and
the calculation accuracy is a key issue for an estimation tool.
OASIS format has begun to be accepted in the field of mask data processing gradually. Major EDA venders have announced their support of OASIS format and new versions of EDA tools which can handle with OASIS files have been shipped one by one. Still, there are great difficulties to convert all the data processing flow from old GDSII to new OASIS. One of the major issues is a problem of verification. Since all the tools have not been completely stable and reliable, there should be a method to verify whether the data is converted to OASIS without any problems. In addition to that, the integrity of the OASIS files itself have to be checked.
In general, OASIS has two aspects for the mask industry. One is a role as a new replacement of GDSII. The other is OASIS.VSB, which is a unified format defined for the description of fractured EB data. SII NanoTechnology has been developing a new software package called SmartOASIS. SmartOASIS provides lots of practical functions to enable easy transition of data processing flow from conventional GDSII or EB formats to OASIS.
KEYWORDS: Parallel processing, Photomasks, Image compression, Process control, Local area networks, Intellectual property, Data storage, Algorithm development, Control systems, Image processing
We have been developing intellectual properties (IP) protection software using OASIS format. In the Photomask Technology 2004 we presented that by taking advantage of repetition presentation of OASIS, it becomes possible to express arrayed patterns without any generation of new cells, which also brings less overhead and further compaction of the result file. As a result, we could rebuild the hierarchy without cell generation and reduce the output file size. In this paper, additionally we have applied a unique compression function CBLOCK defined in OASIS format. CBLOCK can compress any part of OASIS file. The experimental results show that there are no redundant cells generated and the file size has become approximately 20 times smaller than conventional methods.
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