JPH04238351A - Production of mask for exposure - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device (
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an exposure mask used in a so-called lithography process during the manufacturing process of LSI (LSI) and printed wiring boards.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a method as shown in FIG. 3 has been proposed as a method for manufacturing a so-called reticle (enlargement mask) among exposure masks. In this example, after inverting negative data (exposure data used for exposure of negative resist) 1 designed using CAD into positive data (exposure data used for exposure of positive resist) 2,
This positive data 2 is used to expose a positive type resist to produce a reticle 3.

[0003] In the negative data 1 and positive data 2, 4 to 6 are alignment mark data, 7 is main pattern (circuit pattern) data, 8 is pattern data indicating the area to be inspected, and the shaded area is , indicates the area to be exposed. Further, in the reticle 3, 9 to 11 are alignment marks, 12 is a main pattern, and 13 is a pattern indicating an inspection area.

[0004] As described above, the method of inverting negative data 1 designed using CAD into positive data 2 is as follows.
Regardless of whether a negative type resist or a positive type resist is used, designing using CAD is performed using one type of negative data, which is useful when trying to simplify the management of exposure data. It is something that can be done.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In such a conventional reticle manufacturing method, the positive data 2 obtained by inverting the negative data 1 designed using CAD is used as is, so the area to be exposed becomes wider. , an area that should originally be sufficient without exposure, that is, a part outside the pattern 13 indicating the inspection area, and a part that is not necessary for forming the alignment marks 9 to 11, for example, a chain double-dashed line Since even a portion 14 as shown by 14 is exposed, there is a problem in that the exposure time becomes longer than necessary.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing an exposure mask using positive data obtained from designed negative data as original data, which aims to shorten exposure time and improve throughput. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an exposure mask that enables the following.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The method for manufacturing an exposure mask according to the present invention is such that, for positive data obtained by inverting designed negative data, at least a portion of the area not required for pattern formation in the area to be exposed is After processing to make the area non-exposure target, the exposure mask is manufactured by including a step of exposing a positive resist using the processed positive data.

[0008]

According to the present invention, at least a portion of the area not required for pattern formation is set as a non-exposure area, so the area to be exposed can be reduced and the exposure time can be shortened.

[0009]

Embodiments A first embodiment and a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Note that these first and second embodiments are improvements on the conventional reticle manufacturing method shown in FIG. Therefore, in FIGS. 1 and 2, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanation thereof will be omitted.

(1) First embodiment...FIG. 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the first embodiment of the present invention, and in this embodiment, FIG.
Prepare cover data 15 as shown in FIG. This cover data 15 includes areas 16 to 18 as exposure areas and areas 19 to 2 as exposure areas.
2 is a non-exposed area.

Next, this cover data 15 and positive data 2 are AND-processed to obtain positive data 23, and then,
It is checked whether there is a part to be exposed for all the exposure fields 241 to 24n, and if there is no part to be exposed, the exposure field is skipped (
(exposing) to light.

Note that 25 indicates a reticle manufactured in this manner. In such a reticle 25,
In addition to the alignment marks 9 to 11, the main pattern 12, and the pattern 13 indicating the area to be inspected, patterns 26 to 29 are formed, but these patterns 26 to 29 have no effect on the exposure of the sample. It's not something you give.

[0013] Thus, in this first embodiment,
Exposure fields in which there is no part to be exposed are skipped and exposed, so the exposure time can be shortened and throughput can be improved.

(1) Second embodiment...FIG. 2 FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and in this embodiment, FIG.
Prepare cover data 30 as shown in FIG. This cover data 30 sets areas 31 to 34 as exposed areas and area 35 as a non-exposed area.

Next, this cover data 30 and positive data 2 are ANDed to obtain positive data 36, and then,
It is checked whether or not there is a portion to be exposed for all the exposure fields 241 to 24n, and exposure fields that do not have a portion to be exposed are skipped and exposed as in the first embodiment.

Note that 37 indicates a reticle manufactured in this manner. In such a reticle 37,
In addition to the alignment marks 9 to 11, the main pattern 12, and the pattern 13 indicating the area to be inspected, a pattern 38 is formed, but this pattern 38 does not affect the exposure of the sample in any way. .

[0017] In this way, also in this second embodiment,
Exposure fields that do not have portions to be exposed are skipped for exposure, so exposure time can be shortened and throughput can be improved. Also,
In this second embodiment, when exposure is performed using the vector scan method, the exposure time can be made shorter than in the first embodiment.

[0018]

Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, at least a portion of the area not required for pattern formation is set as a non-exposure area and the area to be exposed can be reduced, thereby shortening the exposure time and improving throughput. It is possible to aim for

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional method for manufacturing an exposure mask (reticle).

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Negative data 2, 23, 36 Positive data 4 to 6 Alignment mark data 7 Main pattern (circuit pattern) data 8 Pattern data indicating the inspection area 9 to 11 Alignment mark 12 Main pattern (circuit pattern) 13 Pattern indicating the inspection area Data 25, 37 Reticle

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Positive data obtained by inverting designed negative data is processed so that at least a part of the area not required for pattern formation among the areas to be exposed becomes a non-exposure area, and then the processing is performed. 1. A method of manufacturing an exposure mask, comprising the step of exposing a positive resist using the positive data obtained.