The effect of OPC optical and resist model parameters on the model accuracy, run time, and stability

Abstract

Performing model based optical proximity correction (MB-OPC) is an essential step in the production of advanced integrated circuits manufactured with optical lithography technology. The accuracy of these models highly depends on the experimental data used in the model development and on the appropriate selection of the model parameters. The optical and resist model parameters selected during model build have a significant impact on the OPC model accuracy, run time, and stability. In order to avoid excessively high run times as well as ensure acceptable results, a compromise must be made between OPC run time and model accuracy. The modeling engineer has to optimize the necessary model parameters in order to find a good trade-off that achieves acceptable accuracy with reasonable run time. In this paper, we investigate the effect of some selected optical and resist model parameters on the OPC model accuracy, run time, and stability.