Paper
16 September 2014 Double-patterning optimization in 20nm SRAM design
Qi Lin, Toshiyuki Hisamura, Nui Chong, Hans Pan, Yun Wu, Jonathan Chang, Xin Wu
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Abstract
As the semiconductor critical dimension (CD) is shrunk to 20nm node and beyond, double and triple patterning technologies become necessary for current 193nm optical lithography. However, the new technologies induce a new variation factor of the two or three mask pattern mismatching in terms of the wafer CD or alignment performance on silicon. This mismatch can degrade matching circuit performance such as SRAM and analog circuit. In this paper, we address the impact on our 20nm CRAM (configuration RAM used in FPGA circuit) performance caused by diffusion layer pattern decomposition (coloring). Furthermore, we propose a methodology to optimize the coloring based on an alignment performance assessment and CD control of two mask patterns printed on silicon wafer. In the same experiment, we observed that the OPC (Optical Proximity Correction) is also critical to the coloring methodology. The silicon results show that after the optimization, the impact of coloring-induced mismatch on CRAM performance can be reduced significantly.
© (2014) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Qi Lin, Toshiyuki Hisamura, Nui Chong, Hans Pan, Yun Wu, Jonathan Chang, and Xin Wu "Double-patterning optimization in 20nm SRAM design", Proc. SPIE 9235, Photomask Technology 2014, 923505 (16 September 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2066262
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KEYWORDS
Double patterning technology

Diffusion

Photomasks

Optical proximity correction

Critical dimension metrology

Silicon

Field programmable gate arrays

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