Alliance targets lithography below 45nm

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Sep 25, 2006

Synopsys and Nikon Corp are working on advanced lithography software models and DFM enabled lithography manufacturing solutions for 45nm and below.

Synopsys and Nikon Corp are collaborating on the development and delivery of advanced lithography software models and DFM enabled lithography manufacturing solutions for 45nm and below.

The Synopsys-Nikon collaboration brings together EDA design and optical lithography imaging system expertise to focus on building next generation "manufacturing-aware" OPC and RET lithography simulation models.

At 45nm and below, critical dimension (CD) control will be at the single nanometre levels pushing current OPC/RET models and optical lithography system performance to the extreme limits.

Early work will focus on the development and optimisation of new advanced lithography simulation models, which can intelligently capture the Nikon lithography system's proprietary signatures.

Leveraging the new manufacturing-aware models and the collaborative expertise gained, future work will focus on the development and deployment of advanced DFM manufacturing in-fab solutions for Nikon lithography systems.

"At 45 nanometres and below, the characterisation and integration of both design and manufacturing information is essential", said Anantha Sethuraman, Vice President of DFM Solutions at Synopsys.

"In this new DFM centric landscape, design companies must work together to accelerate time to entitled yield and reduced time to market".

New lithography simulation and OPC/RET models must be developed to improve CD performance for 45nm and below.

To achieve nanometre level CD control with fast turnaround time, models must be characterised beyond traditional input parameters such as lithography dose, defocus, light source type and lens parameters.

New simulation and modelling inputs must include immersion effects, polarisation impacts, global and local flare, wave front aberrations, and other factors that may impact CD performance.

"We believe the accuracy of OPC models can be significantly improved and mask qualification time reduced, by incorporating our unique lithography tool characteristics into the EDA software", stated Toshikazu Umatate, Executive Officer, Precision Equipment Company, Nikon Corporation.

"By partnering with leading-edge EDA companies like Synopsys we can provide enhanced imaging performance for our customers".