JP5958212B2 - Pattern matching method, mask pattern generation method, and library construction method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a pattern matching method, a mask pattern generation method, and a library construction method.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the importance of pattern matching technology is increasing in error verification of data verification after optical proximity correction (OPC) in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor integrated circuit.

  In the OPC process, the pattern at the time of design is corrected so as to obtain a development pattern according to the design pattern based on the prediction of the influence due to the optical proximity effect, and a mask pattern is generated. Then, in pattern matching, it is determined whether or not each pattern of the mask pattern is matched and matched with a registered pattern detected based on experience or the like in advance. In pattern matching, for example, a pattern matching process is performed by referring to a library or the like in which registered patterns are stored.

  For example, Patent Document 1 describes a pattern matching method.

JP 2009-222609 A

  However, the pattern after the OPC processing is subtle even if the original pattern pattern is the same due to the pattern arranged around the pattern, the distance relationship with the peripheral pattern, the difference in the convergence value of the arithmetic processing, etc. An infinite number of different patterns are generated. For this reason, when performing pattern matching by referring to the library, it is necessary to register all slightly different patterns to be extracted in the library. This greatly increases the number of library registrations and increases the time required for pattern matching.

  Therefore, for example, a method for avoiding registering all verification patterns in the library by changing the degree of matching determined to match according to the patterns registered in the library or lowering the degree of matching of some patterns There is. However, according to this method, it is difficult to set the degree of coincidence and it is difficult to extract only the intended pattern.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a pattern matching method, a mask pattern generation method, and a library construction method that improve the efficiency of mask pattern pattern matching processing.

As a first aspect , in a semiconductor manufacturing process, there is a pattern matching method for a mask pattern after optical proximity correction of a design pattern, and the mask pattern is a pattern of the plurality of registered matching patterns classified as the same group. Refer to a library having a common part of outline as outline information of the first hierarchy and a non-common part as outline information of the second hierarchy, and match target outline information of a pattern to be matched with a plurality of outlines of the first hierarchy A first matching step that matches whether or not the information matches, and a plurality of the first-related outline information related to the matched first layer outline information with reference to the library when matched in the first matching step Whether or not it matches the outline information of the second hierarchy Ngushi, the matching target pattern, matched pattern matching method with a second matching step of determining a match with the registered matching pattern corresponding to the outline information of the first and second hierarchy is provided.
Further, as a second aspect, there is provided a method for generating a mask pattern after correcting the optical proximity effect of a design pattern, the generation step for generating the mask pattern, and a plurality of mask pattern patterns classified as the same group The registered matching pattern outline is referred to a library having a common part as outline information of the first hierarchy and a non-common part as outline information of the second hierarchy. If the first matching process matches whether or not the outline information of the first hierarchy matches, and the first matching process matches, the outline information of the matched first hierarchy is referred to by referring to the library Does it match the outline information of the plurality of related second layers A second matching step for determining that the matching target pattern matches the registered matching pattern corresponding to the matched outline information of the first and second hierarchies, and the second matching step. An extraction step for extracting the determined matching target pattern is provided.
Further, as a third aspect, in the semiconductor manufacturing process, there is a library construction method referred to in the pattern matching processing of the mask pattern after the optical proximity effect correction of the design pattern, the mask pattern pattern being the same group A first registration step of registering a common part of the outlines of the plurality of registered matching patterns in the library as outline information of a first hierarchy; and a non-common part of the outlines of the plurality of registered matching patterns in a second A second registration step of registering as outline information of a hierarchy, the library is referred to in a matching process between a matching target pattern and the plurality of registered matching patterns, and the outline information of the first hierarchy is Matching target pattern match The outline information of the second hierarchy is matched with the outline information of the first hierarchy when the outline information of the second hierarchy is matched in the matching with the outline information of the first hierarchy. A plurality of second layer outline information related to information is matched to match with the matching target outline information, and the registered matching pattern corresponding to the matched first and second layer outline information is the matching A library construction method that is determined to match the target pattern is provided.

  According to the first aspect, the pattern matching process of the mask pattern is made efficient.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the pattern matching processing apparatus of the present embodiment. It is a figure illustrated about a plurality of slightly different patterns which a mask pattern has. It is a flowchart figure explaining the production | generation process of the library of this Example. It is a figure which shows an example of a registration matching pattern and its outline information. It is a figure which shows an example of the outline information of a 1st, 2nd hierarchy. It is a flowchart figure explaining a pattern matching process. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of library rebuilding processing. It is a figure explaining the specific example in the reconstruction process of a 1st library. It is a figure explaining the specific example in the reconstruction process of another library.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but extends to the matters described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

[Configuration of pattern matching processor]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a pattern matching processing device according to the present embodiment. In the figure, the pattern matching processing device 100 includes, for example, a processing device 10, a storage device 11, an input device 12, and an output device 13. Further, the storage device 11 includes, for example, a library storage area 14, a matching target pattern storage area 15, a matching extraction pattern storage area 16, and a program area 17.

The program area 17 stores a computer program executed by the processing device 10. In the present embodiment, for example, the pattern matching program 20 and the library generation program 21 are stored in the program area 17. The library storage area 14 stores a library LB referred to in the pattern matching process. The matching target pattern storage area 15 stores information on patterns to be subjected to pattern matching. The matching extraction pattern storage area 16 stores information on the pattern that is determined to be matched by the pattern matching process and extracted.

  For example, in the pattern matching processing device 100 of FIG. 1, information on a matching target pattern to be matched is input from the input device 12 and stored in the matching target pattern storage area 15. Then, the pattern matching program 20 matches the matching target pattern with the registered matching pattern registered in the library LB. Information on the pattern determined to match by the pattern matching program 20 is stored in the matching extraction pattern storage area 17 and output from the output device 13. The library generation program 21 generates a library LB and stores it in the library storage area 14.

  Here, the pattern matching process will be described.

[Pattern matching process]
In the present embodiment, the pattern matching process is performed on the mask pattern generated by performing the OPC process on the design pattern. In the OPC process, an infinite number of slightly different patterns are generated even if the original pattern in the design pattern is the same due to the surrounding environment of the pattern, the pattern direction, the difference in the convergence value of the arithmetic process, and the like. In the pattern matching process, among patterns after the OPC process, for example, a pattern that is recognized in advance as requiring correction based on experience or the like is an extraction target. The pattern requiring correction is, for example, a pattern that merges with an adjacent pattern as a result of development processing.

  More specifically, in the pattern matching process, for example, for each pattern included in the mask pattern, first, it is determined whether or not the verification rule is satisfied, and a pattern that does not satisfy is detected. Subsequently, the pattern satisfying the verification rule is matched with each registered matching pattern stored in the library LB to verify whether or not they match. In the library LB, an incorrect error pattern that requires correction may be registered, or a correct pattern may be registered. In the present embodiment, an error pattern is registered as a registered matching pattern in the library LB.

  Subsequently, a plurality of slightly different patterns in the mask pattern after the OPC process will be exemplified.

[Pattern after OPC processing]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a plurality of slightly different patterns included in the mask pattern. In the figure, nine similar patterns are illustrated. In this example, for example, the patterns P2 to P9 are patterns generated by correcting the pattern P1 of the original drawing by the OPC process. In this way, the original pattern is slightly differently corrected by the OPC process. When extracting a predetermined pattern included in a plurality of slightly different patterns as shown in the figure, a plurality of slightly different patterns are registered in the library LB. Therefore, in the pattern matching method according to the present embodiment, matching processing is performed by referring to a library LB in which outlines of slightly different patterns classified into the same group are hierarchized into common part information and non-common part information. .

  That is, in the pattern matching method according to the present embodiment, the common part of the outlines of the plurality of registered matching patterns classified as the same group, which is the pattern of the mask pattern after the OPC process, is used as the outline information of the first hierarchy, A library LB having the common part as outline information of the second hierarchy is referred to. Then, the first and second matching steps are performed with reference to the library LB.

  In the first matching step, matching is performed as to whether the matching target outline information of the matching target pattern matches the outline information of the plurality of first hierarchies. In the second matching step, when matching is made in the first matching step, it is matched whether or not a plurality of second layer outline information related to the matched first layer outline information matches, and matching is performed. It is determined that the target matching pattern matches the registered matching pattern corresponding to the matched first and second layer outline information.

  Thus, in the pattern matching method in the present embodiment, information on a plurality of similar registered matching patterns registered in the library LB is hierarchized. As a result, the matching process with the first hierarchy narrows down the matching target patterns to be matched with the second hierarchy, and the unnecessary matching process can be omitted. As a result, the matching process is made efficient.

  Next, library LB generation processing referred to in the pattern matching method in the present embodiment and its configuration will be described.

[Flow of library LB generation processing]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a library LB generation process referred to in the pattern matching method according to the present embodiment. When the construction process of the hierarchical library LB is started (S11), the library generation program 21 first extracts a pattern group to be treated as the same group from the pattern groups to be registered in the library LB (S12). Pattern groups desired to be treated as the same group may be arbitrarily designated by the user, or pattern groups having the same original drawing pattern before the OPC process may be extracted.

  Subsequently, the library generation program 21 extracts a common portion of outlines of matching patterns (hereinafter referred to as registered matching patterns) that are registered in the same group (S13). Specifically, the library generation program 21 generates outline information, which is line segment information of the pattern outline, based on the registered matching pattern information. Each pattern of the mask pattern is constituted by a combination of figures such as rectangles. Therefore, the library generation program 21 generates a line segment indicating the outline of the combined figure as outline information.

  Subsequently, the library generation program 21 stores the common part of the outline information of the plurality of registered matching patterns classified into the same group in the library LB as the outline information of the first hierarchy (S14). Specifically, for example, when there are N registered matching patterns, the library generation program 21 performs an AND process on the outline information of two registered matching patterns out of N. When there are three or more registered matching patterns, the library generation program 21 performs an AND process on the outline information after the AND process and the outline information of the third registered matching pattern. By repeating this AND processing, common outline information in the outline information of the N registered matching patterns is obtained. Then, the library generation program 21 stores the common outline information in the library LB as outline information of the first hierarchy.

  Further, the library generation program 21 stores the non-common part of the outline information of the plurality of registered matching patterns in the library LB as the outline information of the second hierarchy related to the outline information of the first hierarchy (S14). . Specifically, for example, the library generation program 21 performs an XOR process between the outline information of the first hierarchy and the outline information of N registered matching patterns. Thereby, N pieces of difference information between the outline information of the first hierarchy and the outline information of the registered matching library LB are calculated. Then, the library generation program 21 stores the difference outline information, that is, the information of the non-common part of the outline, in the library LB as N pieces of second layer outline information.

  Then, the library construction process is completed (S15), and the target registered matching pattern is deleted from the target pattern group to be registered (S16).

  Next, library LB generation processing will be described based on a specific example.

[Specific example of library LB generation processing]
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a registered matching pattern to be registered in the library LB and outline information thereof. In the figure, three registered matching patterns P1 to P3 classified into the same group and outline information PL1 to PL3 thereof are illustrated.

In the example of FIG. 4, the outline information of the three registered matching patterns is generated by being classified as the same group. As shown in the figure, the registered matching pattern P1 is composed of two rectangles p1 and p2. Specifically, the rectangle p1 is a figure having a distance ln1 in the X direction and a distance ln2 in the Y direction starting from the coordinate c1, and the rectangle p2 is a distance ln3 in the X direction and a distance ln3 in the Y direction starting from the coordinate c2. It is a figure having ln4. Then, the library generation program 21 generates outline information PL1 indicating the contour line segment based on the information of the registered matching pattern P1. For example, the outline information PL1 is clockwise coordinates, coordinates from coordinates c 1 coordinates c 3 from the coordinate c 4 from coordinates c 3, coordinates c 5 from the coordinate c 4, coordinates c 6 from the coordinates c 5, coordinates c 6 c 7, with information of the segment of coordinates c 1 from the coordinates c 7. Similarly, outline information PL2 and PL3 are generated.

  Subsequently, the library generation program 21 extracts common parts of the outline information PL1 to PL3 of the registered matching patterns P1 to P3 (S13) and stores them in the library LB (S14).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of outline information of the first and second layers corresponding to the registered matching patterns P1 to P3 of FIG. In the figure, outline information PL1 to PL3 corresponding to registered matching patterns P1 to P3 (FIG. 4), corresponding outline information A1 of the first hierarchy L1, and outline information B1 to B3 of the second hierarchy L2 are shown. Indicated. The second outline information B1 corresponds to the registered matching pattern P1, the second outline information B2 corresponds to the registered matching pattern P2, and the second outline information B3 corresponds to the registered matching pattern P3.

  In the example of FIG. 5, the outline information A1 of the first hierarchy L1 is extracted as a common part of the outline information PL1 to PL3 of the registered matching patterns P1 to P3. The outline information A1 is line segment information that the outline information PL1 to PL3 has in common. Further, outline information B1 to B3 of the second hierarchy L2 is extracted as a non-common part of the outline information PL1 to PL3 of the registered matching patterns P1 to P3. The outline information B1 is information on the difference between the outline information PL1 of the registered matching pattern P1 and the outline information A1 of the first hierarchy. Similarly, the outline information B2 is difference information between the outline information PL2 and the first layer outline information A1, and the outline information B3 is difference information between the outline information PL3 and the first layer outline information A1.

  Thus, the outline information of the first and second layers corresponding to the registered matching pattern is stored in the library LB as registered matching pattern information. The library LB has, for each group, one outline information of the first hierarchy and one or more outline information of the second hierarchy related to the outline information of the first hierarchy.

  Next, a pattern matching process performed by referring to the library LB in the present embodiment generated based on the processes described with reference to FIGS.

[Flow of pattern matching process]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the pattern matching process in the present embodiment. In the figure, a matching target pattern indicates a pattern to be a matching target included in the mask pattern, and a registered matching pattern indicates a pattern registered in the library LB.

  The pattern matching program 20 first selects one matching target pattern from the matching target pattern information FP, refers to the library LB, and performs matching processing with the outline information of the first hierarchy. Specifically, the pattern matching program 20 matches the outline information of the pattern to be matched with the outline information of the first hierarchy, and determines whether or not they match (S21). For example, the pattern matching program 20 determines that the outline information of the pattern to be matched matches when the outline information of the first hierarchy is included.

  If they match (YES in S21), the pattern matching program 20 further performs matching processing with outline information of the second hierarchy. Specifically, the pattern matching program 20 matches the pattern to be matched with one or more second hierarchy outline information related to the outline information of the first hierarchy, and determines whether or not they match ( S24). For example, the pattern matching program 20 determines whether the line segment of the non-common part between the outline information of the pattern to be matched and the outline information of the first hierarchy matches the outline information of the second hierarchy.

  Note that the matching processing with the outline information of the second hierarchy may be processed in parallel by a plurality of processors and devices. There are usually a plurality of second hierarchy outline information related to the matched first hierarchy outline information. For this reason, the processing speed is improved by processing and distributing the matching processing between the outline information of the plurality of second hierarchies and the matching target outline information in parallel by the plurality of processors or apparatuses.

  When there is matching second layer outline information (YES in S24), the pattern matching program 20 corresponds to the matching first pattern outline information and second layer outline information whose matching target pattern matches. It is determined that the registered matching pattern matches.

  On the other hand, if there is no match in the matching process with the outline information of the first hierarchy (NO in S21), the pattern matching program 20 determines whether or not to include the matching target pattern as a pattern of the same group to be extracted ( S22). If included (YES in S22), the pattern matching program 20 reconstructs the library LB in order to additionally register the matching target pattern (S23). This process will be described later.

  When the matching process with the outline information of the second hierarchy does not match (NO in S24), the pattern matching program 20 determines whether or not to include the matching target pattern as a pattern of the same group to be extracted ( S25). If included (YES in S25), the pattern matching program 20 reconstructs the library LB to additionally register the matching target pattern (S26).

  When the matching target pattern is not included as a pattern of the same group to be extracted (NO in S22, NO in S25), the pattern matching process ends without additionally registering the matching target pattern in the library LB.

[Reduction of matching frequency]
Here, an example in which the number of matching is reduced by the pattern matching method in the present embodiment will be described. In this example, for example, the number of registered matching patterns registered in the library LB is N, and the number of matching target patterns that are matched with the library LB is M. The N registered matching patterns are classified into the same group sharing the first hierarchy. That is, the library LB has one first layer outline information and N second layer outline information for N registered matching patterns.

  According to a general pattern matching method in which the library LB is not hierarchized, each of the M matching target patterns is matched with N registered matching patterns to determine whether or not they match. For this reason, the number of matching by a general pattern matching method is M × N.

  On the other hand, according to the pattern matching method in the present embodiment, each of the M matching target patterns is first matched with outline information of one first hierarchy. At this time, it is assumed that X (X ≦ M) matching target patterns match among the M matching target patterns. Therefore, each of the X matching target patterns that are matched is matched with N pieces of outline information of the second hierarchy. For this reason, the number of matching by the pattern matching method in this embodiment is 1 × M + X × N.

  For example, the case of N = 100, M = 10000, and X = 1000 is illustrated. In this case, according to a general pattern matching method, the number of matching is 1,000,000 (= 10000 × 100). On the other hand, according to the pattern matching method in the present embodiment, the number of matching is 110,000 times (= 1 × 10000 + 1000 × 100).

  As described above, according to the pattern matching method in the present embodiment, the number of times of matching is greatly reduced, and the time required for the matching process is shortened. That is, unnecessary matching processing is avoided by narrowing down the matching target patterns that are targets of matching processing with the second layer outline information based on the result of matching processing with the first layer outline information. The Thereby, the frequency | count of matching is reduced and a matching process is made efficient.

  However, the number of matching may not be improved depending on the number (X) of matching matching target patterns. For example, a case where N = 10000, M = 100, and X = 100 is illustrated. In this case, according to a general pattern matching method, the number of matching is 1,000,000 (= 100 × 10000). On the other hand, according to the pattern matching method in the present embodiment, the number of matching is 1,000,100 times (= 1 × 100 + 10000 × 100). In this example, the number of times of matching by the pattern matching method in the present embodiment is larger.

  As described above, when there are many matching target patterns (X) as a result of the matching process with the outline information of the first hierarchy, the matching object that is the object of the matching process with the outline information of the second hierarchy The pattern is not narrowed down. That is, when the matching rate in the matching process with the outline information of the first hierarchy is high, filtering by the outline information of the first hierarchy does not function properly, and the number of matching does not decrease. In such a case, for example, the pattern group classified as the same group is further subdivided into a plurality of groups, thereby lowering the matching rate. Thereby, the number of times of matching is improved.

[Rebuilding library LB]
Next, the library LB rebuilding process described in steps S23 and S26 in the flowchart of FIG. 6 will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the rebuilding process of the library LB. First, in the flowchart of FIG. 6, it is determined that the pattern to be matched does not match in the matching process with the outline information of the first hierarchy (NO in S21) and is included in the same group as the pattern to be extracted. An example of the rebuilding process of the library LB in the case where it is found (YES in S22) will be described.

  When it is determined that the matching target pattern is included in the same group as a pattern to be extracted (YES in S22), the rebuilding process of the library LB is started (S31). The library generation program 21 first generates outline information by selecting one additional matching pattern from the additional matching pattern information AP to be newly registered. Then, the library generation program 21 stores the common part of the outline information of the additional matching pattern and the outline information of the first hierarchy in the same group as the new outline information of the first hierarchy in the library LB (S32). ).

  Subsequently, the library generation program 21 converts the non-common part between the conventional outline information of the first hierarchy and the outline information of the new first hierarchy into the first and second information related to the outline of the second hierarchy. The first outline information between the hierarchies is stored in the library LB (S33). In addition, the library generation program 21 stores the non-common part between the additional matching outline information and the new first layer outline information in the library LB as second outline information between the first and second layers corresponding to the additional matching pattern. Store (S33). Thereby, the rebuilding process of the library LB is completed (S34), and the target additional matching pattern is deleted from the additional matching pattern information AP (S35).

  On the other hand, in the flowchart of FIG. 6, the matching target pattern matches in the matching process with the outline information of the first hierarchy (YES in S21 of FIG. 6), but in the matching process with the outline information of the second hierarchy. A description will be given of the rebuilding process of the library LB in the case where they do not match (NO in S24) and are determined to be included in the same group as patterns to be extracted (YES in S25).

  When it is determined that the matching target pattern is included in the same group as a pattern to be extracted (YES in S25), the rebuilding process of the library LB is started in the same manner (S31). In this case, the outline information of the additional matching pattern matches the outline information of the first hierarchy (YES in S21 of FIG. 6). For this reason, the outline information of the first hierarchy is not changed.

  Therefore, the library generation program 21 generates outline information of the additional matching pattern to be newly registered, and the non-common part with the outline information of the first hierarchy is used as outline information of the second hierarchy corresponding to the additional matching pattern. It is added to the library LB and stored (S32, S33). Then, the rebuilding process of the library LB is completed (S34), and the target additional matching pattern is deleted from the additional matching pattern information AP (S35).

[Specific example of rebuilding process of library LB]
FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a specific example of the rebuilding process of the library LB. In this example, outline information PL5 of the additional matching pattern P5 (FIG. 2) of the same figure is additionally registered in the library LB. In the figure, a specific example of the rebuilding process of the library LB when the matching target pattern does not match in the matching process with the outline information of the first hierarchy (NO in S21) is shown.

  The library generation program 21 sets the common part of the outline information PL5 of the additional matching pattern and the outline information A1 of the conventional first hierarchy L1 as the new outline information A11 of the first hierarchy L1 (S32). In the figure, the outline information A11 of the new first hierarchy excludes the round dotted line portion ZZ that is not common to the outline information PL5 from the outline information A1 of the conventional first hierarchy.

  Subsequently, the library generation program 21 corresponds the non-common part between the outline information A11 of the new first hierarchy and the outline information A1 of the conventional first hierarchy to the outline information of the conventional second hierarchy L2. Is registered as outline information Z11 between the first and second hierarchies (LX) (S33). In FIG. 8, outline information Z11 between the first and second hierarchies (LX) is a line segment excluded from the new first hierarchy outline information A11, and the conventional first hierarchy outline information A1. It has the line segment of the round dotted line part ZZ which has.

  Further, the library generation program 21 converts the non-common part between the outline information PL5 of the additional matching pattern P5 and the outline information A11 of the new first hierarchy between the first and second hierarchies corresponding to the additional matching pattern P5 (LX ) Is registered as outline information Z12 (S33). For this reason, the outline information of the second hierarchy L2 corresponding to the additional matching pattern P5 is not generated.

  In this way, the additional matching pattern is additionally registered in the library LB. According to this method, even when an additional matching pattern is newly registered in the library LB, the conventional outline information B1 to B3 of the second hierarchy L2 is not changed. For example, when the number of outline information of the second hierarchy L2 is large, it is not necessary to change the outline information of the second hierarchy, so that an additional matching pattern can be registered easily and efficiently. For example, when the outline information corresponding to the additional matching library LB registered between the first and second hierarchies (LX) increases, the additional matching library corresponding to the outline information having a common part in the outline information The LB group may be reclassified as another group.

[Rebuilding process of another library LB]
The library generation program 21 determines that the matching target pattern is not included in the matching process with the outline information of the first hierarchy (NO in S21) and is included in the same group as the pattern to be extracted. In the case (YES in S22), the library LB may be reconstructed by another method.

  In this case, the library generation program 21 registers a plurality of registrations by using the common part of the additional matching outline information of the additional matching pattern and the outline information of the first hierarchy classified as the same group as the new first hierarchy outline information. Each non-common part of the outline information of the matching pattern, the additional matching outline information, and the new first layer outline information is stored again as new second layer outline information in the library LB.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a specific example in the rebuilding process of another library LB. Similar to the specific example of FIG. 8, outline information PL5 of the additional matching pattern P5 (FIG. 2) is added to the library LB.

  The library generation program 21 stores the common part between the outline information PL5 of the additional matching pattern and the conventional outline information A1 of the first hierarchy in the library LB as outline information A11 of the new first hierarchy L1. In addition, the library generation program 21 converts the non-common parts of the new first layer outline information A11, the outline information PL1 to PL3, and the outline information PL5 of the additional matching pattern, respectively, into a plurality of second layer information. The data is stored again in the library LB as outline information B11 to B14.

  According to another method, when an additional matching pattern is newly registered, the outline information of the conventional second hierarchy is also changed. However, since the number of hierarchies of the library LB is suppressed to two, the configuration of the library LB is simplified.

  As described above, in the pattern matching method according to the present embodiment, the common part of the outlines of the plurality of registered matching patterns classified as the same group, which is the pattern of the mask pattern, is used as the outline information of the first hierarchy, non-common A library LB having the portion as outline information of the second hierarchy is referred to.

  First, as the first matching step, by referring to the library LB, it is matched whether or not the matching target outline information of the matching target pattern matches the outline information of the plurality of first hierarchies. Then, as a second matching step, when matching is made in the first matching step, it is matched whether or not it matches with a plurality of second layer outline information related to the matched first layer outline information, It is determined that the matching target pattern matches the registered matching pattern corresponding to the matched outline information of the first and second layers.

  As a result, the first matching step narrows down the matching target pattern that is the target of the matching process with the outline information of the second hierarchy, based on the result of the matching process with the outline information of the first hierarchy. For this reason, in the second matching step, only the matching between the matching target pattern and the matching target pattern with the second hierarchy related to the matched first hierarchy is performed, thereby improving the efficiency of the pattern matching process. . As a result, the number of matching operations is reduced and the time required for the matching process is shortened.

  Further, when a plurality of slightly different registered matching patterns are registered in the library LB as in the pattern matching process of the mask pattern, the registered matching patterns are similar. For this reason, it is possible to effectively hierarchize information of registered matching patterns, the number of outline information in the first hierarchy is suppressed, and filtering by the first matching process is more effectively performed. Moreover, according to the pattern matching method in the present embodiment, it is not necessary to set an allowable range of the matching rate. For this reason, only the pattern that matches the pattern to be extracted can be extracted by the matching process.

  Further, in the case of mask patterns, among a plurality of slightly different patterns, grouping is performed for each of a plurality of patterns having the same original drawing, so that classification can be easily performed. Thereby, the registered matching patterns are effectively hierarchized, and the number of matching times can be reduced more effectively. Further, the processing speed can be improved by matching and distributing the matching processing between the outline information of the second hierarchy and the matching target outline information in parallel.

  Furthermore, according to the pattern matching method in the present embodiment, the library LB is further classified into the same group as the additional matching outline information of the additional matching pattern newly registered in the library LB. And the common part as new outline information of the first hierarchy. The library LB also includes the first outline information between the first and second hierarchies related to the outline of the second hierarchy as a non-common part between the outline information of the first hierarchy and the outline information of the new first hierarchy. As the second outline information between the first and second hierarchies corresponding to the additional matching pattern, the non-common part of the additional matching outline information and the new first hierarchy outline information is included.

  Then, the second matching step matches whether the first and second outline information related to the outline information of the matched first hierarchy matches before matching with the outline information of the second hierarchy, If it matches one outline information, it is matched whether or not it matches a plurality of second hierarchy outline information. If it matches the second outline information, it is determined that the matching target pattern matches the additional matching pattern.

  Thus, according to the pattern matching method in the present embodiment, a new additional matching pattern can be easily registered without changing the outline information of the second hierarchy. For this reason, according to the pattern matching method, it is easy to continue to learn by adding a registered matching pattern to the library LB. In particular, when the number of outline information of the second hierarchy is large, it is not necessary to change the outline information of the second hierarchy, so that an additional matching pattern can be efficiently registered.

  Further, according to the pattern matching method in the present embodiment, the library LB is an additional matching pattern newly registered in the library LB, and an additional matching outline of the additional matching pattern that matches in the first matching step. A non-common part between the information and the matched first layer outline information is included as second layer outline information corresponding to the additional matching pattern. The second matching step determines that the matching target pattern matches the additional matching pattern when the second hierarchical outline information matches the second hierarchy outline information corresponding to the additional matching pattern.

  Thus, according to the pattern matching method in the present embodiment, a new additional matching pattern can be easily registered without changing the outline information of the second hierarchy. For this reason, according to the pattern matching method, it becomes easy to continue to add a registered matching pattern to the library LB and learn it.

  The above embodiment is summarized as follows.

(Appendix 1)
A pattern matching method of a mask pattern after optical proximity correction of a design pattern in a semiconductor manufacturing process,
Reference is made to a library having a mask pattern pattern that has a common portion of outlines of a plurality of registered matching patterns classified as the same group as outline information of the first layer and a non-common portion as outline information of the second layer. A first matching step for matching whether or not the matching target outline information of the matching target pattern matches a plurality of outline information of the first hierarchy;
If they match in the first matching step, match the plurality of second hierarchy outline information related to the matched first hierarchy outline information with reference to the library; And a second matching step for determining that the matching target pattern matches the registered matching pattern corresponding to the matched outline information of the first and second hierarchies.

(Appendix 2)
In Appendix 1,
The library further includes a common part of additional matching outline information of an additional matching pattern newly registered in the library and outline information of the first hierarchy classified as the same group as a new first hierarchy outline. As information, a non-common part between the outline information of the first hierarchy and the outline information of the new first hierarchy is a first between the first and second hierarchies related to the outline information of the second hierarchy. As the outline information, there is a non-common part between the additional matching outline information and the new first layer outline information as second outline information between the first and second layers corresponding to the additional matching pattern, respectively. ,
The second matching step matches whether or not the first and second outline information related to the matched first hierarchy outline information matches before matching with the outline information of the second hierarchy, If it matches the first outline information, it is matched whether or not it matches the plurality of second hierarchy outline information, and if it matches the second outline information, the matching target pattern matches the additional matching pattern. A pattern matching method that determines that they match.

(Appendix 3)
In Appendix 1,
The library is an additional matching pattern newly registered in the library, and the additional matching outline information of the additional matching pattern that matches in the first matching step, and the matched first hierarchy outline information And a non-common part as the outline information of the second hierarchy corresponding to the additional matching pattern,
In the second matching step, the matching target pattern matches the additional matching pattern when the outline information of the second hierarchy matches the outline information of the second hierarchy corresponding to the additional matching pattern among the outline information of the second hierarchy. Pattern matching method to judge.

(Appendix 4)
A method of generating a mask pattern after correcting the optical proximity effect of a design pattern,
A generating step of generating the mask pattern;
Reference is made to a library having a mask pattern pattern that has a common portion of outlines of a plurality of registered matching patterns classified as the same group as outline information of the first layer and a non-common portion as outline information of the second layer. A first matching step for matching whether or not the matching target outline information of the matching target pattern matches a plurality of outline information of the first hierarchy;
If they match in the first matching step, match the plurality of second hierarchy outline information related to the matched first hierarchy outline information with reference to the library; A second matching step for determining that the matching target pattern matches a registered matching pattern corresponding to the matched outline information of the first and second layers;
A method of generating a mask pattern comprising: an extraction step of extracting the matching target pattern determined to be coincident in the second matching step.

(Appendix 5)
In Appendix 4,
The library further includes a common part of additional matching outline information of an additional matching pattern newly registered in the library and outline information of the first hierarchy classified as the same group as a new first hierarchy outline. As information, a non-common part between the outline information of the first hierarchy and the outline information of the new first hierarchy is a first between the first and second hierarchies related to the outline information of the second hierarchy. As the outline information, there is a non-common part between the additional matching outline information and the new first layer outline information as second outline information between the first and second layers corresponding to the additional matching pattern, respectively. ,
The second matching step matches whether or not the first and second outline information related to the matched first hierarchy outline information matches before matching with the outline information of the second hierarchy, If it matches the first outline information, it is matched whether or not it matches the plurality of second hierarchy outline information, and if it matches the second outline information, the matching target pattern matches the additional matching pattern. A method of generating a mask pattern that is determined to match.

(Appendix 6)
In Appendix 4,
The library is an additional matching pattern newly registered in the library, and the additional matching outline information of the additional matching pattern that matches in the first matching step, and the matched first hierarchy outline information And a non-common part as the outline information of the second hierarchy corresponding to the additional matching pattern,
In the second matching step, the matching target pattern matches the additional matching pattern when the outline information of the second hierarchy matches the outline information of the second hierarchy corresponding to the additional matching pattern among the outline information of the second hierarchy. A method of generating a mask pattern for determination.

(Appendix 7)
In a semiconductor manufacturing process, a library construction method referred to in a pattern matching process of a mask pattern after optical proximity effect correction of a design pattern,
A first registration step of registering a common part of outlines of a plurality of registered matching patterns classified as the same group in the mask pattern into the library as outline information of a first hierarchy;
A second registration step of registering non-common parts of outlines of the plurality of registered matching patterns as outline information of a second hierarchy,
The library is referenced in a matching process between a matching target pattern and the plurality of registered matching patterns.
The outline information of the first hierarchy is matched whether or not it matches the matching target outline information of the matching target pattern,
Regarding the outline information of the second hierarchy, a plurality of outlines of the second hierarchy related to the outline information of the matched first hierarchy when matched with the outline information of the first hierarchy. A library construction method in which whether or not the information matches the matching target outline information is matched, and the registered matching pattern corresponding to the matched outline information of the first and second layers is determined to match the matching target pattern.

(Appendix 8)
In Appendix 7,
The common part of the additional matching outline information of the additional matching pattern newly registered in the library and the outline information of the first hierarchy classified as the same group as the additional matching pattern is used as a new first hierarchy outline. Registering as information, a non-common part between the outline information of the first hierarchy and the outline information of the new first hierarchy is between the first and second hierarchies related to the outline information of the second hierarchy As the first outline information, a non-common part between the additional matching outline information and the outline information of the new first layer is used as second outline information between the first and second layers corresponding to the additional matching pattern. A library restructuring step for registering each,
For the first and second outline information, before matching with the outline information of the second hierarchy, the first and second outline information related to the matched outline information of the first hierarchy is the matching outline information. It is matched whether or not it matches, and if it matches the first outline information, it is matched whether or not it matches the plurality of second hierarchy outline information, and if it matches the second outline information, the additional A library construction method in which a matching pattern is determined to match the matching target pattern.

(Appendix 9)
In Appendix 7,
An additional matching pattern newly registered in the library, wherein the additional matching outline information of the additional matching pattern that matches the outline information of the first hierarchy is not common to the outline information of the matched first hierarchy A library restructuring step of registering a portion as outline information of the second hierarchy corresponding to the additional matching pattern,
A library construction method in which, when the matching target outline information matches the outline information of the second hierarchy corresponding to the additional matching pattern, the additional matching pattern is determined to match the matching target pattern.

100: pattern matching processing device, 10: processing device, 11: storage device, 12: input device, 13: output device 13, 14: library storage region, 15: matching target pattern storage region, 16: matching extraction pattern storage region, 17: Program area, 20: Pattern matching program, 21: Library generation program

Claims (9)

A pattern matching method of a mask pattern after optical proximity correction of a design pattern in a semiconductor manufacturing process,
Reference is made to a library having a mask pattern pattern that has a common portion of outlines of a plurality of registered matching patterns classified as the same group as outline information of the first layer and a non-common portion as outline information of the second layer. A first matching step for matching whether or not the matching target outline information of the matching target pattern matches a plurality of outline information of the first hierarchy;
If they match in the first matching step, match the plurality of second hierarchy outline information related to the matched first hierarchy outline information with reference to the library; And a second matching step for determining that the matching target pattern matches the registered matching pattern corresponding to the matched outline information of the first and second hierarchies. In claim 1,
The library further includes a common part of additional matching outline information of an additional matching pattern newly registered in the library and outline information of the first hierarchy classified as the same group as a new first hierarchy outline. As information, a non-common part between the outline information of the first hierarchy and the outline information of the new first hierarchy is a first between the first and second hierarchies related to the outline information of the second hierarchy. As the outline information, there is a non-common part between the additional matching outline information and the new first layer outline information as second outline information between the first and second layers corresponding to the additional matching pattern, respectively. ,
The second matching step matches whether or not the first and second outline information related to the matched first hierarchy outline information matches before matching with the outline information of the second hierarchy, If it matches the first outline information, it is matched whether or not it matches the plurality of second hierarchy outline information, and if it matches the second outline information, the matching target pattern matches the additional matching pattern. A pattern matching method that determines that they match. In claim 1,
The library is an additional matching pattern newly registered in the library, and the additional matching outline information of the additional matching pattern that matches in the first matching step, and the matched first hierarchy outline information And a non-common part as the outline information of the second hierarchy corresponding to the additional matching pattern,
In the second matching step, the matching target pattern matches the additional matching pattern when the outline information of the second hierarchy matches the outline information of the second hierarchy corresponding to the additional matching pattern among the outline information of the second hierarchy. Pattern matching method to judge. A method of generating a mask pattern after correcting the optical proximity effect of a design pattern,
A generating step of generating the mask pattern;
Reference is made to a library having a mask pattern pattern that has a common portion of outlines of a plurality of registered matching patterns classified as the same group as outline information of the first layer and a non-common portion as outline information of the second layer. A first matching step for matching whether or not the matching target outline information of the matching target pattern matches a plurality of outline information of the first hierarchy;
If they match in the first matching step, match the plurality of second hierarchy outline information related to the matched first hierarchy outline information with reference to the library; A second matching step for determining that the matching target pattern matches a registered matching pattern corresponding to the matched outline information of the first and second layers;
A method of generating a mask pattern comprising: an extraction step of extracting the matching target pattern determined to be coincident in the second matching step. In claim 4,
The library further includes a common part of additional matching outline information of an additional matching pattern newly registered in the library and outline information of the first hierarchy classified as the same group as a new first hierarchy outline. As information, a non-common part between the outline information of the first hierarchy and the outline information of the new first hierarchy is a first between the first and second hierarchies related to the outline information of the second hierarchy. As the outline information, there is a non-common part between the additional matching outline information and the new first layer outline information as second outline information between the first and second layers corresponding to the additional matching pattern, respectively. ,
The second matching step matches whether or not the first and second outline information related to the matched first hierarchy outline information matches before matching with the outline information of the second hierarchy, If it matches the first outline information, it is matched whether or not it matches the plurality of second hierarchy outline information, and if it matches the second outline information, the matching target pattern matches the additional matching pattern. A method of generating a mask pattern that is determined to match. In claim 4,
The library is an additional matching pattern newly registered in the library, and the additional matching outline information of the additional matching pattern that matches in the first matching step, and the matched first hierarchy outline information And a non-common part as the outline information of the second hierarchy corresponding to the additional matching pattern,
In the second matching step, the matching target pattern matches the additional matching pattern when the outline information of the second hierarchy matches the outline information of the second hierarchy corresponding to the additional matching pattern among the outline information of the second hierarchy. A method of generating a mask pattern for determination. In a semiconductor manufacturing process, a library construction method referred to in a pattern matching process of a mask pattern after optical proximity effect correction of a design pattern,
A first registration step of registering a common part of outlines of a plurality of registered matching patterns classified as the same group in the mask pattern into the library as outline information of a first hierarchy;
A second registration step of registering non-common parts of outlines of the plurality of registered matching patterns as outline information of a second hierarchy,
The library is referenced in a matching process between a matching target pattern and the plurality of registered matching patterns.
The outline information of the first hierarchy is matched whether or not it matches the matching target outline information of the matching target pattern,
Regarding the outline information of the second hierarchy, a plurality of outlines of the second hierarchy related to the outline information of the matched first hierarchy when matched with the outline information of the first hierarchy. A library construction method in which whether or not the information matches the matching target outline information is matched, and the registered matching pattern corresponding to the matched outline information of the first and second layers is determined to match the matching target pattern. The claim 7 further comprising:
The common part of the additional matching outline information of the additional matching pattern newly registered in the library and the outline information of the first hierarchy classified as the same group as the additional matching pattern is used as a new first hierarchy outline. Registering as information, a non-common part between the outline information of the first hierarchy and the outline information of the new first hierarchy is between the first and second hierarchies related to the outline information of the second hierarchy As the first outline information, a non-common part between the additional matching outline information and the outline information of the new first layer is used as second outline information between the first and second layers corresponding to the additional matching pattern. A library restructuring step for registering each,
For the first and second outline information, before matching with the outline information of the second hierarchy, the first and second outline information related to the matched outline information of the first hierarchy is the matching outline information. It is matched whether or not it matches, and if it matches the first outline information, it is matched whether or not it matches the plurality of second hierarchy outline information, and if it matches the second outline information, the additional A library construction method in which a matching pattern is determined to match the matching target pattern. The claim 7 further comprising:
An additional matching pattern newly registered in the library, wherein the additional matching outline information of the additional matching pattern that matches the outline information of the first hierarchy is not common to the outline information of the matched first hierarchy A library restructuring step of registering a portion as outline information of the second hierarchy corresponding to the additional matching pattern,
A library construction method in which, when the matching target outline information matches the outline information of the second hierarchy corresponding to the additional matching pattern, the additional matching pattern is determined to match the matching target pattern.

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