Accurate detection for process-hotspots with vias and incomplete specification

ABSTRACT

This paper introduces the concept of via range patterns and incompletely specified range patterns to represent new types of process-hotspots. Via range patterns can represent process-hotspots containing vias that are a major source of lithography issues. An incompletely specified range pattern can accurately and succinctly represent a process-hotspot where any configuration of objects (that is unknown to the user apriori) can exist in some of its peripheral regions. These new types of range patterns cannot be accurately represented and/or detected using the concept of range patterns introduced in [7].

A new detection algorithm that can accurately detect these new types of patterns is also proposed. This is necessitated since the range pattern matching algorithm proposed earlier causes mismatches: it either misses true matches or reports false matches for these new kinds of patterns. Theoretical results show that the proposed algorithm prevents the incorrect mis-match issues, while experimental results on fab provided process-hotspots show the algorithm is computationally efficient and practical for use on real industrial designs.

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