Experiments using automated sample plan selection for OPC modeling

Abstract

OPC models have become critical in the manufacturing of integrated circuits (ICs) by allowing correction of complex designs, as we approach the physical limits of scaling in IC chip design. The accuracy of these models depends upon the ability of the calibration set to sufficiently cover the design space, and be manageable enough to address metrology constraints. We show that the proposed method provides results of at least similar quality, in some cases superior quality compared to both the traditional method and sample plan sets of higher size. The main advantage of our method over the existing ones is that it generates a calibration set much faster, considering a large initial set and even more importantly, by automatically selecting its minimum optimal size.