Abstract: The invention concerns a method of generating a digital signature of a geometric design represented by a geometric design file, the method involving generating, by a data processing device, the digital signature based on a single axis projection of the geometric design.

Abstract: A method for homogenizing the thickness of a uniform layer deposited on a layer of a material etched according to functional patterns, consisting of filling the empty areas with dummy patterns; a function, providing the thickness variation of the uniform layer for a given distribution of the functional and dummy patterns, being known; the method comprising: determining a guard distance greater than the minimum possible distance between patterns; calculating the thickness variation which would be obtained if dummy patterns were placed inside of a region defined by the dimension of the empty area reduced by said guard distance; and if the calculated thickness variation is satisfactory, adopting the chosen dummy pattern distribution, otherwise iteratively repeating the process with a reduced guard distance.

Abstract: A method for homogenizing the thickness of a uniform layer deposited on a layer of a material etched according to functional patterns, consisting of filling the empty areas with dummy patterns; a function, providing the thickness variation of the uniform layer for a given distribution of the functional and dummy patterns, being known; the method comprising: