Abstract: A photomask designing method used in a lithography process, the lithography process comprises illuminating light on a photomask and converging the light which has passed through the photomask on a photosensitive substrate via a projection optical system, the photomask designing method comprises acquiring a transmittance characteristic of the projection optical system, the characteristic varing depending on a difference in optical paths of light in the projection optical system, the light passing through the projection optical system, and acquiring mask bias of the photomask by use of the transmittance characteristic of the projection optical system.

Abstract: Disclosed is a mask comprising a first area including a first surrounding area in which a halftone phase shift film or a stacked film of a halftone phase shift film and an opaque film is provided on a transparent substrate, and a first opening area surrounded by the first surrounding area, and a second area including a second surrounding area in which a halftone phase shift film is provided on the transparent substrate and a second opening area surrounded by the second surrounding area, wherein a transparent film is provided in at least a part of the second opening area, the transparent film being configured to give a predetermined phase difference to exposure light passing through that part of the second opening area in which the transparent film is provided relative to exposure light passing through the second surrounding area.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of setting a process parameter for use in manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit, comprising correcting a first pattern by using process parameter information to obtain a second pattern, the first pattern being one which corresponds to a design layout of the semiconductor integrated circuit, predicting a third pattern by using the process parameter information, the third pattern being one which corresponds to the second pattern and which is to be formed on a semiconductor wafer in an etching process, obtaining an evaluation value by comparing the third pattern with the first pattern, determining whether the evaluation value satisfies a preset condition, and changing the process parameter information when the evaluation value is found not to satisfy the preset condition.

Abstract: A photomask has a device pattern, which has an opening portion and a mask portion, and either a focus monitor pattern or an exposure dose monitor pattern, which has an opening portion and a mask portion and which has the same plane pattern shape as at least a partial region of a device pattern. The phase difference in transmitted exposure light between the opening portion and the mask portion of the focus monitor pattern is different from that between the opening portion and the mask portion of the device pattern. The opening portion of the exposure dose monitor pattern has a different exposure dose transmittance from that of the opening portion of the device pattern.

Abstract: Disclosed is a mask comprising a first area including a first surrounding area in which a halftone phase shift film or a stacked film of a halftone phase shift film and an opaque film is provided on a transparent substrate, and a first opening area surrounded by the first surrounding area, and a second area including a second surrounding area in which a halftone phase shift film is provided on the transparent substrate and a second opening area surrounded by the second surrounding area, wherein a transparent film is provided in at least a part of the second opening area, the transparent film being configured to give a predetermined phase difference to exposure light passing through that part of the second opening area in which the transparent film is provided relative to exposure light passing through the second surrounding area.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a photo mask comprising preparing mask data for a mask pattern to be formed on a mask substrate, calculating edge moving sensitivity with respect to each of patterns included in the mask pattern using the mask data, the edge moving sensitivity corresponding to a difference between a proper exposure dose and an exposure dose to be set when a pattern edge varies, determining a monitor portion of the mask pattern, based on the calculated edge moving sensitivity, actually forming the mask pattern on the mask substrate, acquiring a dimension of a pattern included in that portion of the mask pattern formed on the mask substrate which corresponds to the monitor portion, determining evaluation value for the mask pattern formed on the mask substrate, based on the acquired dimension, and determining whether the evaluation value satisfies predetermined conditions.

Abstract: Light emitted from an illumination optical system is guided to a photomask where a pattern is formed of an optical member including a light transmission pattern as a diffraction grating pattern, in which a light transmission part and a opaque part are repeated in a finite period and a periphery of the light transmission pattern is shielded by a opaque area, such that a plurality of ratios are given between the light transmission part and the opaque part. Diffraction light, which has passed through the photomask, is irradiated on a projection optical system, thereby to transfer a pattern reflecting an intensity distribution of the diffraction light to a wafer. A change of transmittance depending on a light path of the projection optical system is measured, based on a pattern image of the diffraction light transferred to the wafer. Pattern transfer is carried out in a non-conjugate state.

Abstract: There is provided a method which forms master masks used when a pattern of size larger than a region which can be exposed at one time is exposed on a to-be-exposed object. The pattern of the size larger than the region which can be exposed at one time is divided into a region of low repetitiveness and a region of high repetitiveness. A pattern of the region of low repetitiveness is drawn on at least one first master mask. Further, a pattern of the region of high repetitiveness is drawn on at least one second master mask.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including, forming a photosensitive-film on a substrate, carrying the substrate on which the photosensitive-film is formed, to an exposure device provided with a mask in which an on-mask-inspection-mark and an on-mask-device-pattern are formed, selectively exposing the photosensitive-film to light to transfer the on-mask-inspection-mark to the photosensitive-film to form a latent-image of the inspection-mark on the photosensitive-film, heating at least that area of the photosensitive-film in which the latent-image of the inspection-mark is formed, measuring the inspection-mark, changing set-values for the exposure device used for the selective exposure, on the basis of result of the measurement so that exposure conditions conform to the set-values, exposing the photosensitive-film on the basis of the changed set-values to transfer the on-mask-device-pattern to the photosensitive-film to form a latent image of the device-pattern on the photosensitive-film, heat

Abstract: There is disclosed an exposure method for correcting a focal point, comprising: illuminating a mask, in which a mask-pattern including at least a set of a first mask-pattern and a second mask-pattern mutually different in shape is formed, from a direction in which a point located off an optical axis of an exposure apparatus is a center of illumination, and exposing and projecting an image of said mask-pattern toward an image-receiving element; measuring a mutual relative distance between images of said first and second mask-patterns exposed and projected on said image-receiving element, thereby measuring a focal point of a projecting optical system of said exposure apparatus; and moving said image-receiving element along a direction of said optical axis of said exposure apparatus on a basis of a result of said measurement, and disposing said image-receiving element at an appropriate focal point of said projecting optical system.

Abstract: A computer implemented method for correcting a mask pattern includes: predicting a displacement of a device pattern by using a mask pattern to form the device pattern and a variation of a process condition; determinating an optical proximity correction value so that the displacement falls within a displacement tolerance of the device pattern; and correcting the mask pattern using the optical proximity correction value.

Abstract: A design pattern data preparing method including preparing first mask pattern data based on first design pattern data, predicting a wafer pattern to be formed on a wafer corresponding to the first mask pattern based on the first mask pattern data, judging whether or not a finite difference between the predicted wafer pattern and the pattern to be formed on the wafer is within a predetermined allowable variation amount, correcting a portion of the first design pattern data selectively, the portion including a part corresponding to the finite difference when the finite difference is not within the allowable variation amount, and preparing second design pattern data by synthesizing the first mask pattern data corresponding to the portion including the part selectively corrected and data obtained by eliminating the first mask pattern data corresponding to the portion including the part selectively corrected from the first mask pattern data.

Abstract: An inspection method of a mask pattern for exposure comprises using substantially the same inspection wavelength as an exposure wavelength for use in the exposure apparatus and using a detection optical system of the inspection apparatus having a numerical aperture larger than a numerical aperture of a projection optical system of the exposure apparatus to prepare image data of the mask pattern for exposure using the detection optical system and reconstructing low-ordered diffracted light distribution obtained from the mask pattern for exposure by using the image data based on information of the detection optical system. The inspection method comprises using transfer simulation in the projection optical system of the exposure apparatus to obtain an image intensity distribution obtained on a wafer from the low-ordered diffracted light distribution and judging acceptance/rejection of inspection based on the obtained image intensity distribution.

Abstract: An exposure system includes a simulator speculating first and second calculated doses to project first and second reference marks onto first and second resist films, respectively, an exposure tool projecting the first reference mark onto the first resist film at test doses to form test resist patterns, a choose module choosing an optimum pattern among the test resist patterns and choosing a first optimum dose used for the optimum pattern, and a dose calculator calculating a second optimum dose for the second reference mark by correcting the first optimum dose based on the first and the second calculated doses.

Abstract: A pattern data correction method is disclosed, which comprises preparing an integrated circuit pattern, setting a tolerance to the pattern that is allowable error range when the pattern is transferred on a substrate, creating a target pattern within the tolerance, and making correction for the target pattern to make a first correction pattern under a predetermined condition.

Abstract: There is disclosed a measuring method of illuminance unevenness of an exposure apparatus in which the illuminance unevenness resulting from a projection optical system, to project the light passed through the photomask onto the finite area on the photosensitive substrate via the projection optical system and to expose the photomask to the light, the method comprising calculating an average value of transmittance of the projection optical system of each path of the light emitted from one point of the photomask and reaching an imaging point for each of a plurality of imaging points in the finite area on the photosensitive substrate, and calculating the illuminance unevenness in the finite area on the photosensitive substrate from the average value of the transmittance obtained for each imaging point.

Abstract: There is here disclosed a method for inspecting an exposure apparatus, comprising illuminating a mask, in which a mask-pattern including at least a set of a first mask-pattern and a second mask-pattern mutually different in shape is formed, from a direction in which a point located off an optical axis of an exposure apparatus is a center of illumination, and exposing and projecting an image of the mask-pattern toward an image-receiving element, and measuring a mutual relative distance between images of the first and second mask-patterns exposed and projected on the image-receiving element, thereby inspecting a state of an optical system of the exposure apparatus.

Abstract: A pattern correcting method for correcting a design pattern to form a desired pattern on a wafer is disclosed, which comprises defining an allowable dimensional change quantity of each of design patterns, defining a pattern correction condition for the each design pattern based on the allowable dimensional change quantity defined for the each design pattern, and correcting the each design pattern based on the pattern correction condition defined for the each design pattern.

Abstract: A mask pattern generation method of generating a mask pattern from a designed pattern, comprising preparing the designed pattern, preparing a correction parameter, preparing a first correction library in which a plurality of pairs of an edge coordinate group and a correction value group to correct the edge coordinate group is registered, acquiring edge coordinate groups of the designed patterns, generating a second correction library in which only the plurality of pairs of an edge coordinate group agreeing with the acquired edge coordinate group and the correction value group is registered in the first correction library and simulation using the correction parameter, and correcting the designed pattern using the second correction library.

Abstract: There is disclosed a method of producing a design layout by optimizing at least one of design rule, process proximity correction parameter and process parameter, including calculating a processed pattern shape based on a design layout and a process parameter, extracting a dangerous spot having an evaluation value with respect to the processed pattern shape, which does not satisfy a predetermined tolerance, generating a repair guideline of the design layout based on a pattern included in the dangerous spot, and repairing that portion of the design layout which corresponds to the dangerous spot based on the repair guideline.