WO2024065980A1

WO2024065980A1 - Detection method and apparatus, storage medium, and electronic device

Info

Publication number: WO2024065980A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/132015
Authority: WO
Inventors: 宫凯歌
Original assignee: 长鑫存储技术有限公司
Priority date: 2022-09-29
Filing date: 2022-11-15
Publication date: 2024-04-04
Also published as: CN117830195A

Abstract

An overlapping state detection method, an overlapping state detection apparatus, a mask detection method, a mask detection apparatus, a computer readable storage medium, and an electronic device. The overlapping state detection method comprises: preparing a first patterned material layer (S210); acquiring a first image corresponding to a specified area of the first patterned material layer (S220); preparing a second patterned material layer (S230); acquiring a second image corresponding to a specified area of the second patterned material layer (S240); and performing image registration on the first image and the second image according to the correspondence between a first design layout of the first patterned material layer and a second design layout of the second patterned material layer, so as to obtain an overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer (S250). An overlapping state acquisition method for accurately determining the mask design situation is provided.

Description

Detection method and device, storage medium and electronic device

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202211203802.3, filed on September 29, 2022, and entitled “Detection method and device, storage medium and electronic device”. The entire contents of the Chinese patent application are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of integrated circuits, and in particular to an overlap state detection method, an overlap state detection device, a mask detection method, a mask detection device, a computer-readable storage medium, and an electronic device.

Background technique

In the manufacturing process of semiconductor components, the pattern information is usually transferred to the product substrate through a mask to form different patterned material layers. However, due to the existence of optical proximity effects, the design accuracy of the mask needs to be detected, which can usually be achieved by detecting the overlapping state (or alignment state) of two adjacent patterned material layers.

However, it is difficult to eliminate the offset problem caused by the process based on the existing overlapping state method, resulting in an inability to determine whether there is a problem with the mask design based on the overlapping state.

Summary of the invention

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an overlapping state detection method, comprising: preparing a first patterned material layer; obtaining a first image corresponding to a specified area of the first patterned material layer; preparing a second patterned material layer; obtaining a second image corresponding to a specified area of the second patterned material layer, wherein the positions of the specified area of the second patterned material layer and the specified area of the first patterned material layer correspond to each other; and performing image registration on the first image and the second image according to a correspondence between a first design layout of the first patterned material layer and a second design layout of the second patterned material layer, so as to obtain an overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the first image and the second image are image-aligned according to the correspondence between the first design layout of the first patterned material layer and the second design layout of the second patterned material layer, including: image-aligning the first image with a specified area of the first design layout; image-aligning the second image with a specified area of the second design layout; and superimposing the first image and the second image according to the correspondence between the first design layout and the second design layout.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, performing image registration between the first image and the designated area of the first design layout includes: extracting a first edge feature of the first image; and performing image registration between the first edge feature and the designated area of the first design layout.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the image registration of the first edge feature with the specified area of the first design layout includes: first aligning the image center of gravity formed by the first edge feature with the image center of gravity of the specified area of the first design layout; and then aligning the first edge feature with a reference point or reference line of the specified area of the first design layout.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, performing image registration of the second image with the designated area of the second design layout includes: extracting a second edge feature of the second image; and performing image registration of the second edge feature with the designated area of the second design layout.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the image registration of the second edge feature with the designated area of the second design layout includes: first aligning the image center of gravity formed by the second edge feature with the image center of gravity of the designated area of the second design layout; and then aligning the second edge feature with a reference point or reference line of the designated area of the second design layout.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, obtaining the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer includes: superimposing the first edge feature and the second edge feature; obtaining the process window value corresponding to the first edge feature and the second edge feature; and determining whether the process window value is within an allowable preset range.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: acquiring multiple groups of the first images and the second images; acquiring multiple groups of the first edge features and the second edge features based on the multiple groups of the first images and the second images; and acquiring the average values of the process window values corresponding to the multiple groups of the first edge features and the second edge features.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the second patterned material layer and the first patterned material layer are disposed adjacent to each other or spaced apart.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a mask plate detection method is provided, comprising: obtaining the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer according to the above-mentioned overlapping state detection method; and judging whether there is a design problem in the mask design layout according to the overlapping state.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: acquiring a plurality of the mask design layouts, determining a process window value corresponding to each of the mask design layouts according to an overlapping state determined by each of the mask design layouts; and determining the mask design layout with the largest process window value as the target mask design layout.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, judging whether there is a design problem in the mask design layout based on the overlapping state includes: if the process window values corresponding to the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer exceed the allowable preset range, then determining that there is a design problem in the mask design layout.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: if the second patterned material layer is the current layer of the wafer and the first patterned material layer is the front layer of the wafer, then determining that there is a design problem in the mask design layout of the second patterned material layer.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an overlapping state detection device, comprising: a first image acquisition module, used to prepare a first patterned material layer; and acquire a first image corresponding to a specified area of the first patterned material layer; a second image acquisition module, used to prepare a second patterned material layer; and acquire a second image corresponding to a specified area of the second patterned material layer, wherein the positions of the specified area of the second patterned material layer and the specified area of the first patterned material layer correspond to each other; and an overlapping state acquisition module, used to perform image registration on the first image and the second image according to a first design layout of the first patterned material layer and a second design layout of the second patterned material layer, so as to acquire the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer.

According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a mask plate detection device is provided, including: an overlapping state acquisition module, used to obtain the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer through the above-mentioned overlapping state detection device; a judgment module, used to judge whether there is a design problem in the mask design layout according to the overlapping state.

According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored, and the computer program implements the above method when executed by a processor.

According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an electronic device, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to perform the above method by executing the executable instructions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 schematically shows a schematic diagram of an exposure process;

FIG2 schematically shows a flowchart of the steps of an overlapping state detection method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG3 schematically shows a schematic diagram of a first image corresponding to a designated area of a first patterned material layer in a certain wafer;

FIG4 schematically shows a schematic diagram of a second image corresponding to a designated area of the second patterned material layer in the above wafer;

FIG5 schematically shows a first edge feature corresponding to the first image shown in FIG3 ;

FIG6 schematically shows a second edge feature corresponding to the second image shown in FIG4 ;

FIG7 schematically shows a schematic diagram of the first edge feature shown in FIG5 and the second edge feature shown in FIG6 after being superimposed;

8 and 9 schematically illustrate overlapping states of a first patterned material layer and a second patterned material layer corresponding to two different mask design layouts;

FIG10 schematically shows a schematic diagram of an overlapping state acquisition process in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG11 schematically shows a flowchart of steps of a mask detection method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG12 schematically shows a block diagram of an overlapping state detection device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG13 schematically shows a block diagram of a mask inspection device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 schematically shows a module diagram of an electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed ways

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, example embodiments can be implemented in a variety of forms and should not be construed as being limited to the examples set forth herein; on the contrary, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be more comprehensive and complete, and the concepts of the example embodiments are fully conveyed to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. In the following description, many specific details are provided to provide a full understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the technical solutions of the present disclosure may be practiced while omitting one or more of the specific details, or other methods, components, devices, steps, etc. may be adopted. In other cases, known technical solutions are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring various aspects of the present disclosure.

In addition, the accompanying drawings are only schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the figures represent the same or similar parts, and thus their repeated description will be omitted. Some of the block diagrams shown in the accompanying drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically independent entities. These functional entities can be implemented in software form, or implemented in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or implemented in different networks and/or processor devices and/or microcontroller devices.

The flowcharts shown in the accompanying drawings are only exemplary and do not necessarily include all the steps. For example, some steps may be decomposed, while some steps may be combined or partially combined, so the actual execution order may change according to the actual situation. In addition, all the terms "first", "second", and "third" below are only for the purpose of distinction and should not be used as limitations of the present disclosure.

In the manufacturing process of semiconductor components, the process of transferring the photomask pattern formed on the semiconductor wafer is mainly completed by repeatedly using photolithography and etching processes. In the process of transferring the photomask pattern, a mask is needed. The mask is a graphic master used in the photolithography process commonly used in micro-nano processing technology. The mask graphic structure is formed on the transparent substrate by an opaque light-shielding film, and then the graphic information is transferred to the product substrate through the exposure process. When the graphic information on the mask is transferred to the product substrate, due to effects such as optical proximity, there will be deviations between the optical graphic formed by the mask and the pattern of the mask, resulting in inconsistencies between the photolithography graphic on the product substrate and the pattern of the mask. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the design pattern of the mask for correction.

Existing computer systems generally use cheap, high-density DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) as the system main memory, also known as internal memory. DRAM mainly uses a mask to make patterned material layers on a silicon wafer layer by layer. The first patterned material layer can be called the front layer, and the later patterned material layer can be called the current layer.

When the manufacturing process meets the requirements, the overlap state of the previous layer and the current layer can be used to determine whether there is a problem with the mask, which is equivalent to determining whether there is a problem with the mask design layout. The overlap state here refers to the degree of alignment of the two layers of graphics, including alignment and misalignment.

In the process of overlapping state measurement, the overlapping images of the front layer and the current layer can be obtained by relying on the BSE (Backscattered electron) signal of the High Voltage SEM machine, and the overlapping state of the front layer and the current layer can be determined based on the overlapping images. In the process of obtaining the overlapping images, the front layer is mainly photographed by the backscattered electron signal penetrating the current layer, and the overlapping images of the front layer and the current layer are obtained.

In the above process of obtaining the overlapping state, there are at least the following problems: First, in the process of the backscattered electron signal penetrating the current layer, the thickness of the current layer is required not to be too thick. If it is too thick, the backscattered electron signal may not be able to penetrate; Second, it is difficult to eliminate the offset problem caused by the process for the overlapping state determined by the overlapping image. Since the offset problem caused by the process cannot be eliminated, even if it is determined through the overlapping state that the two layers of images are not aligned, it is impossible to determine whether the non-alignment state is caused by problems in the mask design layout; Third, the backscattered electron signal can generally only obtain the overlapping image of two adjacent patterned material layers, and it is impossible to obtain the overlapping image of two patterned material layers set at an interval, let alone the overlapping image of multiple patterned material layers; Fourth, the cost of the High Voltage SEM machine is expensive, which greatly increases the cost of obtaining the overlapping state.

Based on the above problems, a new overlapping state detection method is provided in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Although the following description mainly uses DRAM devices as an example, those skilled in the art will understand that the claimed disclosure can be implemented to support any semiconductor product that requires a mask for pattern transfer.

The manufacture of each semiconductor product generally requires hundreds of processes, and the entire manufacturing process can usually be divided into eight steps: wafer processing-oxidation-photolithography-etching-thin film deposition-interconnection-testing-packaging. Among them, photolithography is the use of light to "print" the circuit pattern onto the wafer, which can be understood as drawing the plane map required for semiconductor manufacturing on the surface of the wafer, that is, the patterned material layer. The higher the fineness of the circuit pattern, the higher the integration of the finished chip, so it needs to be achieved through advanced photolithography technology. Specifically, photolithography can be divided into three steps: coating photoresist, exposure and development.

The first step in drawing a circuit on a wafer is to coat the oxide layer with photoresist. Photoresist turns the wafer into "photographic paper" by changing its chemical properties. The thinner the photoresist layer on the surface of the wafer and the more evenly it is coated, the finer the pattern that can be printed. This step can be done by "spin coating". After the wafer is covered with a film of photoresist, circuit printing can be completed by controlling the light irradiation. This process is called "exposure". Light can be selectively passed through the exposure equipment. When the light passes through the mask containing the circuit pattern, the circuit can be printed on the wafer coated with a film of photoresist underneath. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of an exposure process.

During the exposure process, the finer the printed pattern, the more components the final chip can accommodate, which helps improve production efficiency and reduce the cost of each component. The step after exposure is to spray a developer on the wafer to remove the photoresist in the uncovered area of the pattern, so that the printed circuit pattern can appear.

That is to say, through the above-mentioned photolithography steps, the pattern on the mask can be transferred to the wafer, thereby forming a patterned material layer on the wafer.

In practical applications, in order to check whether there is a problem with the design of the mask, that is, to check whether there is a problem with the mask design layout, it is usually necessary to obtain whether the patterned material layer drawn by the mask is aligned with the previously drawn patterned material layer, that is, to check the overlapping status of at least two drawn patterned material layers.

Referring to FIG. 2 , a flowchart of the overlapping state detection method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. As shown in FIG. 2 , the overlapping state detection method provided by the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure mainly includes the following steps:

Step S210, preparing a first patterned material layer;

Step S220, acquiring a first image corresponding to a designated area of the first patterned material layer;

Step S230, preparing a second patterned material layer;

Step S240, acquiring a second image corresponding to a designated area of the second patterned material layer, wherein the designated area of the second patterned material layer corresponds to the designated area of the first patterned material layer;

Step S250, according to the correspondence between the first design layout of the first patterned material layer and the second design layout of the second patterned material layer, the first image and the second image are registered to obtain an overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer.

The overlapping state detection method provided by the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure prepares a first patterned material layer and obtains a first image corresponding to a specified area of the first patterned material layer, and after preparing a second patterned material layer, obtains a second image of the specified area of the second patterned material layer. Since the positions of the specified area of the second patterned material layer and the specified area of the first patterned material layer correspond, that is, the first image and the second image correspond, the first image and the second image can be image-aligned according to the correspondence between the first design layout of the first patterned material layer and the second design layout of the second patterned material layer; since there is no offset problem caused by the process between the first design layout and the second design layout, the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer obtained according to the aligned first image and the second image can greatly reduce the offset problem caused by the process, so that according to the overlapping state, it can be judged whether there is a problem with the mask design layout used to form the first patterned material layer or the second patterned material layer.

On the other hand, in the overlapping state detection method provided by the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, in the process of acquiring the first image and the second image, since only the image of the current patterned material layer is acquired, there is no need to penetrate the current layer to acquire the image of the previous layer. Therefore, there is no requirement for the thickness of the current layer, and an ordinary SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) can acquire the first image and the second image. In other words, from another perspective, acquiring the first image and the second image does not require an expensive High Voltage SEM machine, thereby reducing the cost of acquiring the overlapping state.

The overlapping state detection method will be described in detail below in conjunction with a specific implementation method:

In step S210 , a first patterned material layer is prepared.

In practical applications, the process of preparing the first patterned material layer can refer to the above-mentioned photolithography steps, which will not be described in detail here.

It should be noted that the first patterned material layer is prepared by using a mask corresponding to the first design layout of the first patterned material layer.

In practical applications, the first design layout can exist in the format of a Graphic Database System file (GDS). A GDS file is a "layout" file that contains various design information for producing the mask corresponding to the first patterned material layer required for the photolithography process. Usually, a GDS file can be opened using Klayout software.

In step S220, a first image corresponding to a designated area of the first patterned material layer is acquired.

After the first patterned material layer is prepared, an image of the first patterned material layer can be obtained as needed, that is, a first image corresponding to a specified area of the first patterned material layer can be obtained. The specified area here can be a local area in the first patterned material layer selected by the user as needed, or it can be the entire area of the first patterned material layer, which is not limited in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Specifically, in the process of acquiring the first image, a SEM scanning electron microscope can be used to acquire it, wherein a scanning electron microscope (SEM) is an observation method between a transmission electron microscope and an optical microscope. It uses a focused narrow high-energy electron beam to scan the surface of the first patterned material layer, and stimulates various physical information through the interaction between the beam and the material, and collects, amplifies, and re-images this information to achieve the purpose of characterizing the microscopic morphology of the material. Of course, without considering the cost, the acquisition of the first image can also be achieved using a High Voltage SEM machine, and the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are not particularly limited to this.

It should be noted that the first image represents an image of the surface of the first patterned material layer, that is, an image obtained when looking down at the surface of the first patterned material layer.

In step S230 , a second patterned material layer is prepared.

In practical applications, the process of preparing the second patterned material layer can refer to the above-mentioned photolithography steps, which will not be described in detail here.

It should be noted that the second patterned material layer is prepared by using a mask corresponding to the second design layout of the second patterned material layer.

Similarly, the second design layout can also exist in the format of a graphic database system file GDS, and the GDS file is used to produce a mask corresponding to the second patterned material layer required for the photolithography process. Generally, the GDS file can be opened using Klayout software.

In step S240, a second image corresponding to a designated area of the second patterned material layer is acquired, and the designated area of the second patterned material layer corresponds to the designated area of the first patterned material layer.

After the second patterned material layer is prepared, an image of the second patterned material layer can be obtained as needed, that is, a second image corresponding to a specified area of the second patterned material layer can be obtained. The specified area here can be a local area of the second patterned material layer selected by the user as needed, or it can be the entire area of the second patterned material layer, which is not limited in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Specifically, in the process of acquiring the second image, a SEM scanning electron microscope can be used to acquire it, wherein a scanning electron microscope (SEM) is an observation method between a transmission electron microscope and an optical microscope. It uses a focused narrow high-energy electron beam to scan the surface of the second patterned material layer, and stimulates various physical information through the interaction between the beam and the material, and collects, amplifies, and re-images this information to achieve the purpose of characterizing the microscopic morphology of the material. Of course, without considering the cost, the acquisition of the second image can also be achieved using a High Voltage SEM machine, and the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure do not specifically limit this.

It should be noted that the second image represents an image of the surface of the second patterned material layer, that is, an image obtained when looking down at the surface of the second patterned material layer.

In practical applications, to obtain the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer, it is necessary to ensure that the positions of the designated area of the first patterned material layer and the designated area of the second patterned material layer correspond to each other, so as to overlap the two corresponding areas. In the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to ensure that the positions of the designated area of the first patterned material layer and the designated area of the second patterned material layer correspond to each other, it is necessary to ensure that the shooting positions of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer are consistent. To this end, after selecting the shooting position of the first patterned material layer, it is necessary to record the shooting position, that is, to record the coordinates of the shooting position; when shooting the designated area of the second patterned material layer, it is necessary to refer to the coordinates of the shooting position of the first patterned material layer to ensure that the shooting position of the second patterned material layer corresponds to the shooting position of the first patterned material layer, that is, the acquired designated area of the first patterned material layer corresponds to the acquired designated area of the second patterned material layer.

In addition, in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to prevent the offset during the shooting process, it is necessary to perform addressing on the SEM platform. Before shooting, the SEM platform can first find the approximate sampling position, and then accurately find the required sampling coordinate position through addressing to ensure that the position of the SEM platform will not be offset during the shooting process. It is further ensured that the shooting positions of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer are consistent.

3 , a first image corresponding to a specified area of a first patterned material layer in a wafer obtained according to the above method is shown, and FIG. 4 , a second image corresponding to a specified area of a second patterned material layer in the wafer obtained according to the above method is shown.

In step S250, the first image and the second image are registered according to the correspondence between the first design layout of the first patterned material layer and the second design layout of the second patterned material layer to obtain an overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, according to the correspondence between the first design layout of the first patterned material layer and the second design layout of the second patterned material layer, image registration of the first image and the second image includes: image registration of the first image with a specified area of the first design layout; then image registration of the second image with a specified area of the second design layout; and according to the correspondence between the first design layout and the second design layout, superimposing the first image and the second image.

Image registration is the process of matching and superimposing two or more images acquired at different times, using different sensors (imaging devices) or under different conditions (weather, illumination, camera position and angle, etc.).

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, performing image registration on the first image and the designated area of the first design layout includes: first extracting a first edge feature of the first image; and then performing image registration on the first edge feature and the designated area of the first design layout. Performing image registration on the second image and the designated area of the second design layout includes: extracting a second edge feature of the second image; and then performing image registration on the second edge feature and the designated area of the second design layout.

Among them, the edge of the image is an important feature of the image. It is the discontinuity of the distribution of characteristics (such as pixel grayscale, texture, etc.) in the image, and the set of pixels around the image whose characteristics have step changes or roof-like changes. The edge of the image concentrates most of the information of the image. The edge structure and characteristics of an image are often an important part of determining the characteristics of the image. Another definition of the edge of the image refers to the set of pixels around which the grayscale of the pixels changes discontinuously. Edges are widely present between objects and backgrounds, and between objects. Therefore, edges are important features of image segmentation, image understanding, and image recognition.

Image edge detection is mainly used to enhance the contour edges, details and grayscale jump parts in the image to form a complete object boundary, so as to separate the object from the image or detect the area representing the surface of the same object. So far, the most common method is to detect the discontinuity of the brightness value, which can be obtained through the first-order derivative or second-order derivative detection. The first-order derivative takes the maximum value as the corresponding edge position, while the second-order derivative takes the zero-crossing point as the corresponding edge position.

In practical applications, the methods for extracting edge features may include: differentiation method, differential edge detection method, Roberts edge detection operator, Sobel edge detection operator, Prewitt edge detection operator, and Laplace edge detection operator, etc. The first edge feature and the second edge feature in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may be extracted using any of the above methods, and are not specifically limited here. As shown in FIG5 , the first edge feature corresponding to the first image shown in FIG3 ; as shown in FIG6 , the second edge feature corresponding to the second image shown in FIG4 .

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, after image registration of the first edge feature with the designated area of the first design layout and image registration of the second edge feature with the designated area of the second design layout, the first edge feature and the second edge feature can be directly superimposed.

In the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the superposition of the first edge feature and the second edge feature is mainly based on the correspondence between the first design layout of the first patterned material layer and the second design layout of the second patterned material layer. In the original design layout of the wafer, the designated area of the first design layout corresponds to the designated area of the second design layout. Since the alignment superposition between the design layouts is not affected by the process, the aligned first edge feature and the second edge feature can greatly reduce the offset problem of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer caused by the process after superposition.

That is, after the first edge feature and the second edge feature are superimposed, the obtained overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer greatly reduces the offset problem of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer caused in the process, and based on the overlapping state, it can be directly judged whether there is a design problem in the mask of the first patterned material layer or the second patterned material layer, that is, whether there is a problem in the mask design layout. Referring to FIG. 7 , a schematic diagram after the first edge feature shown in FIG. 5 and the second edge feature shown in FIG. 6 are superimposed is shown.

In practical applications, there are many methods for image registration of the first edge feature and the designated area of the first design layout. In the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the image center of gravity formed by the first edge feature and the image center of gravity of the designated area of the first design layout may be first aligned; and then the first edge feature and the reference point or reference line of the designated area of the first design layout may be aligned.

An image is actually a matrix. The element at each position is the pixel at that position. The pixel value of each point in the image can be understood as the mass at that point. Since the image is a two-dimensional matrix, the center of gravity needs to be found independently in the x-direction and the y-direction. That is, for the center of gravity in the x-direction, the sum of pixels on the left and right sides of the image are equal; for the center of gravity in the y-direction, the sum of pixels on the upper and lower sides of the image are equal. Based on the center of gravity of the image in the x-direction and the center of gravity in the y-direction, the center of gravity of the image can be determined.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, by aligning the image center of gravity formed by the first edge feature with the image center of gravity of the designated area of the first design layout, the offset problem between the images can be eliminated and the accuracy of image alignment can be improved. On the basis of aligning the image center of gravity, some reference points or reference lines can be determined at positions in the first edge feature that are not prone to deformation, so as to align the first edge feature with the designated area of the first design layout based on these reference points or reference lines, so as to achieve the purpose of precise alignment. Among them, the specific positions of the reference points and reference lines need to be determined according to the specific image, and are not specifically limited here.

Similarly, in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the second edge feature is image-aligned with the designated area of the second design layout, and the image center of gravity formed by the second edge feature is first aligned with the image center of gravity of the designated area of the second design layout; and then the second edge feature is aligned with the reference point or reference line of the designated area of the second design layout. The specific alignment process can refer to the above description, which will not be repeated here.

In practical applications, since the first design layout and the second design layout correspond to each other, the first edge feature and the second edge feature respectively aligned with the first design layout and the second design layout can be directly superimposed and aligned. The superimposed first edge feature and the second edge feature can reflect the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer.

In practical applications, there may be multiple measurement criteria for the overlapping state. For example, taking the process window value W as an example, the process window values corresponding to the first edge feature and the second edge feature may be obtained first, and then it may be determined whether the process window values are within the allowable preset range. If the process window value is within the allowable preset range, it indicates that there is no design problem with the masks of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer; if the process window value exceeds the allowable preset range, it indicates that there is a design problem with at least one of the masks corresponding to the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer. The process window value W may be as shown in FIG. 7 .

Taking FIG7 as an example, the dots represent the first edge feature, the bar graph represents the second edge feature, and the shortest distance between the dot boundary and the bar graph boundary is the process window value W of the first edge feature and the second edge feature. It should be noted that in practical applications, the edge features can also be other shapes, not necessarily dots and bar graphs.

Since the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer obtained by the overlapping state detection method provided in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure can be directly used to detect the design problem of the mask, therefore, in the design process of the mask, it is also possible to judge which mask is better based on the obtained overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer, that is, to determine which mask design layout is better than designing a mask that meets the requirements, that is, to select a suitable mask and its corresponding mask design layout based on the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer.

Specifically, in the process of designing the mask, when the design conditions of the mask are changed, that is, when the mask design layout is changed, the corresponding overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer obtained will also change, and the corresponding process window value W of the first edge feature and the second edge feature will change, that is, a more suitable mask can be directly selected according to the size of the process window value W. Specifically, the larger the process window value W, the better the schedulability of the corresponding mask, and the better the mask.

8 and 9, the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer corresponding to two different mask design layouts is shown. It should be noted that the two different mask design layouts are used to produce the same mask. It can be seen from the process window value W1 shown in FIG8 and the process window value W2 shown in FIG9 that W1 is significantly smaller than W2, that is, the solution of the mask design layout corresponding to FIG9 is better.

In the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, in the process of acquiring the first image and the second image, multiple groups of first images and second images may be acquired, and multiple groups of first edge features and second edge features may be acquired based on the multiple groups of first images and second images. After acquiring the multiple groups of first edge features and second edge features, the first edge features and second edge features of each group may be superimposed. The specific superposition method may refer to the above description and will not be repeated here.

After the first edge feature and the second edge feature of each group are superimposed, the process window values corresponding to the multiple groups of first edge features and the second edge features can be obtained, and then the process window values of the multiple groups can be averaged to obtain a more accurate process window value. Subsequent judgment and analysis can then be performed based on the average value of the process window value, for example, to determine whether the average value of the process window value is within the allowable preset range. If it is within the allowable preset range, it means that the corresponding mask meets the requirements, etc.

The overlapping state detection method provided in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure does not require that the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer are adjacent to each other, that is, in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the second patterned material layer and the first patterned material layer can be arranged adjacent to each other or spaced apart, that is, the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer can be adjacent patterned material layers or spaced apart by other patterned material layers. Thus, the application scope of the overlapping state detection method can be expanded.

Since the overlapping state detection method provided in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure has no special requirements for the positional relationship between the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer, the overlapping state detection method can not only detect the overlapping state of two patterned material layers, but also detect the overlapping state of multiple patterned material layers, for example, the overlapping state of three patterned material layers, the overlapping state of four patterned material layers, etc.

In the process of detecting the overlapping state of the three patterned material layers, in addition to obtaining the images corresponding to the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer, it is also necessary to obtain the image corresponding to the third patterned material layer, and then extract the edge features corresponding to each image, and finally superimpose the three edge features to obtain the overlapping state of the three patterned material layers. The specific superposition process can refer to the process of superimposing the first edge feature and the second edge feature, which will not be repeated here.

Referring to FIG10 , a schematic diagram of the overlapping state acquisition process in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In FIG10 , the first patterned material layer is first acquired, and then the first image corresponding to the specified area of the first patterned material layer is obtained; then the second patterned material layer is acquired, and then the second image corresponding to the specified area of the second patterned material layer is obtained; wherein the acquisition sequence of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer is determined by the preparation sequence. Next, the first edge feature of the first image and the second edge feature of the second image are extracted; then, the first edge feature and the second edge feature are superimposed, and finally, the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer is obtained.

The overlapping state detection method provided by the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure obtains the first edge feature and the second edge feature corresponding to the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer; when the first edge feature and the second edge feature are superimposed, since there is no offset problem caused by the process between the first design layout and the second design layout, the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer obtained by superimposing the first edge feature and the second edge feature can greatly reduce the offset problem caused by the process, so that according to the overlapping state, it can be judged whether there is a problem with the mask design layout for forming the first patterned material layer or the second patterned material layer. On the other hand, in the overlapping state detection method provided by the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, in the process of obtaining the first image and the second image, since only the image of the current patterned material layer is obtained, it is not necessary to penetrate the current layer to obtain the image of the previous layer, so there is no requirement for the thickness of the current layer. On the other hand, the overlapping state detection method provided by the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure has no special requirements for the positional relationship between the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer, so the overlapping state detection method can not only detect the overlapping state of two patterned material layers, but also detect the overlapping state of multiple patterned material layers, thereby expanding the scope of use of the overlapping state detection method.

Furthermore, the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a mask detection method. Referring to FIG11 , a flowchart of the steps of the mask detection method of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. As shown in FIG11 , the mask detection method provided by the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure mainly includes the following steps:

Step S1110, obtaining an overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer according to the above-mentioned overlapping state detection method;

Step S1120, judging whether there is a design problem in the mask design layout according to the overlapping state.

The method for acquiring the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer has been described in detail in the above embodiment and will not be repeated here.

In the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, judging whether there is a design problem in the mask design layout according to the overlapping state is mainly based on whether the corresponding process window value obtained is within the allowable preset range. If the process window value corresponding to the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer exceeds the allowable preset range, it is judged that there is a design problem in the mask design layout. The acquisition of the process window value has been described in detail in the above embodiment and will not be repeated here.

In the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, multiple mask design layouts can also be obtained according to different design conditions, and the process window value corresponding to each mask design layout is determined according to the overlap state determined by each mask design layout; the mask design layout with the largest process window value is determined as the target mask design layout. That is to say, the optimal mask design layout can be selected as the target mask design layout according to the overlap state obtained in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

In practical applications, the specific determination of which patterned material layer has a problem in the mask design layout is mainly based on which patterned material layer is the reference layer, that is, the qualified patterned material layer. Usually, the current layer is determined based on the previous layer. For example, if the second patterned material layer is the current layer of the wafer and the first patterned material layer is the previous layer of the wafer, it is determined that the mask design layout of the second patterned material layer has a design problem.

In summary, in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, after obtaining the overlapping state between different patterned material layers, it is possible to determine whether the corresponding mask design layout has a design problem based on the overlapping state, thereby providing important experimental data support for the design of the mask plate, which is conducive to the improvement of the mask plate design.

It should be noted that, although the steps of the method of the present invention are described in a specific order in the drawings, this does not require or imply that the steps must be performed in this specific order, or that all the steps shown must be performed to achieve the desired results. Additionally or alternatively, some steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step, and/or one step may be decomposed into multiple steps, etc.

In addition, in this exemplary embodiment, an overlapping state detection device is also provided. Referring to FIG. 12 , the overlapping state detection device 1200 may include: a first image acquisition module 1210, a second image acquisition module 1220 and an overlapping state acquisition module 1230, wherein:

The first image acquisition module 1210 is used to prepare a first patterned material layer; acquire a first image corresponding to a specified area of the first patterned material layer;

A second image acquisition module 1220 is used to prepare a second patterned material layer; acquire a second image corresponding to a designated area of the second patterned material layer, where the designated area of the second patterned material layer corresponds to the designated area of the first patterned material layer;

The overlapping state acquisition module 1230 is used to perform image registration on the first image and the second image according to the first design layout of the first patterned material layer and the second design layout of the second patterned material layer to obtain the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the overlapping state acquisition module 1230 is used to perform image registration of the first image with the specified area of the first design layout; perform image registration of the second image with the specified area of the second design layout; and superimpose the first image and the second image according to the corresponding relationship between the first design layout and the second design layout.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the overlapping state acquisition module 1230 is used to extract a first edge feature of the first image; and perform image registration between the first edge feature and a designated area of the first design layout.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the overlapping state acquisition module 1230 is used to first align the image center of gravity formed by the first edge feature with the image center of gravity of the specified area of the first design layout; and then align the first edge feature with the reference point or reference line of the specified area of the first design layout.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the overlapping state acquisition module 1230 is used to extract the second edge feature of the second image; and perform image registration between the second edge feature and the designated area of the second design layout.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the overlapping state acquisition module 1230 is used to first align the image center of gravity formed by the second edge feature with the image center of gravity of the specified area of the second design layout; and then align the second edge feature with the reference point or reference line of the specified area of the second design layout.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the overlapping state acquisition module 1230 is used to superimpose the first edge feature and the second edge feature; obtain the process window value corresponding to the first edge feature and the second edge feature; and determine whether the process window value is within an allowable preset range.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the overlapping state acquisition module 1230 is used to acquire multiple groups of first images and second images; acquire multiple groups of first edge features and second edge features based on the multiple groups of first images and second images; and acquire the average value of the process window values corresponding to the multiple groups of first edge features and second edge features.

In addition, in this exemplary embodiment, a mask detection device is also provided. Referring to FIG. 13 , the mask detection device 1300 may include: an overlap state acquisition module 1310 and a judgment module 1320, wherein:

An overlapping state acquisition module 1310 is used to acquire an overlapping state between the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer through the above-mentioned overlapping state detection device;

The judgment module 1320 is used to judge whether there is a design problem in the mask design layout according to the overlapping state.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the judgment module 1320 is used to obtain multiple mask design layouts, determine the process window value corresponding to each mask design layout according to the overlap state determined by each mask design layout; and determine the mask design layout with the largest process window value as the target mask design layout.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the judgment module 1320 is used to determine that there is a design problem in the mask design layout if the process window values corresponding to the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer exceed the allowed preset range.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the judgment module 1320 is used to determine that there is a design problem in the mask design layout of the second patterned material layer if the second patterned material layer is the current layer of the wafer and the first patterned material layer is the front layer of the wafer.

The specific details of the virtual modules on each device side mentioned above have been described in detail in the corresponding method side, so they will not be repeated here.

It should be noted that, although several modules or units on the device side are mentioned in the above detailed description, this division is not mandatory. In fact, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above can be embodied in one module or unit. Conversely, the features and functions of one module or unit described above can be further divided into multiple modules or units to be embodied.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device capable of implementing the above method is also provided.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various aspects of the present invention may be implemented as a system, method or program product. Therefore, various aspects of the present invention may be specifically implemented in the following forms, namely: a complete hardware implementation, a complete software implementation (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software, which may be collectively referred to herein as a "circuit", "module" or "system".

The electronic device 1400 according to this embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to Fig. 14. The electronic device 1400 shown in Fig. 14 is only an example and should not bring any limitation to the functions and application scope of the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG14 , the electronic device 1400 is presented in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The components of the electronic device 1400 may include, but are not limited to: the at least one processing unit 1410, the at least one storage unit 1420, a bus 1430 connecting different system components (including the storage unit 1420 and the processing unit 1410), and a display unit 1440.

The storage unit 1420 stores a program code, and the program code can be executed by the processing unit 1410, so that the processing unit 1410 performs the steps according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention described in the above "Exemplary Method" section of this specification. For example, the processing unit 1410 can perform step S210 as shown in Figure 2 to prepare a first patterned material layer; step S220 to obtain a first image corresponding to a specified area of the first patterned material layer; step S230 to prepare a second patterned material layer; step S240 to obtain a second image corresponding to a specified area of the second patterned material layer, and the position of the specified area of the second patterned material layer corresponds to the position of the specified area of the first patterned material layer; step S250, according to the correspondence between the first design layout of the first patterned material layer and the second design layout of the second patterned material layer, the first image and the second image are image-aligned to obtain the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer. Step S1110 as shown in FIG. 11 may also be performed to obtain the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer according to the overlapping state detection method described above; and step S1120 to determine whether there is a design problem in the mask design layout according to the overlapping state.

The storage unit 1420 may include a readable medium in the form of a volatile storage unit, such as a random access storage unit (RAM) 14201 and/or a cache storage unit 14202 , and may further include a read-only storage unit (ROM) 14203 .

The storage unit 1420 may also include a program/utility 14204 having a set (at least one) of program modules 14205, such program modules 14205 including but not limited to: an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, each of which or some combination may include an implementation of a network environment.

Bus 1430 may represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory unit bus or memory unit controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, a processing unit, or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures.

The electronic device 1400 may also communicate with one or more external devices 1470 (e.g., keyboards, pointing devices, Bluetooth devices, etc.), may also communicate with one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the electronic device 1400, and/or communicate with any device that enables the electronic device 1400 to communicate with one or more other computing devices (e.g., routers, modems, etc.). Such communication may be performed via an input/output (I/O) interface 1450. Furthermore, the electronic device 1400 may also communicate with one or more networks (e.g., local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and/or public networks, such as the Internet) via a network adapter 1460. As shown, the network adapter 1460 communicates with other modules of the electronic device 1400 via a bus 1430. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figure, other hardware and/or software modules may be used in conjunction with the electronic device 1400, including but not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems.

Through the description of the above implementation, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the example implementation described here can be implemented by software, or by software combined with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solution according to the implementation of the present disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (which can be a CD-ROM, a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to enable a computing device (which can be a personal computer, a server, a terminal device, or a network device, etc.) to execute the method according to the implementation of the present disclosure.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, on which a program product capable of implementing the above method of the present specification is stored. In some possible implementations, various aspects of the present invention may also be implemented in the form of a program product, which includes a program code, and when the program product is run on a terminal device, the program code is used to enable the terminal device to perform the steps according to various exemplary implementations of the present invention described in the above "Exemplary Method" section of the present specification.

The program product for implementing the above method according to an embodiment of the present invention may adopt a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) and include program code, and may be run on a terminal device, such as a personal computer. However, the program product of the present invention is not limited thereto, and in this document, a readable storage medium may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program, which may be used by or in combination with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

The program product may use any combination of one or more readable media. The readable medium may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. The readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device or device, or any combination of the above. More specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of readable storage media include: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above.

Computer readable signal media may include data signals propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, in which readable program code is carried. Such propagated data signals may take a variety of forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination of the above. Readable signal media may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium, which may send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

The program code embodied on the readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Program code for performing the operations of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages such as Java, C++, etc., and conventional procedural programming languages such as "C" or similar programming languages. The program code may be executed entirely on the user computing device, partially on the user device, as a separate software package, partially on the user computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In the case of a remote computing device, the remote computing device may be connected to the user computing device through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or may be connected to an external computing device (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

In addition, the above-mentioned figures are only schematic illustrations of the processes included in the method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and are not intended to be limiting. It is easy to understand that the processes shown in the above-mentioned figures do not indicate or limit the time sequence of these processes. In addition, it is also easy to understand that these processes can be performed synchronously or asynchronously, for example, in multiple modules.

Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate other embodiments of the present disclosure after considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present disclosure that follow the general principles of the present disclosure and include common knowledge or customary technical means in the art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure. The specification and examples are to be regarded as exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of the present disclosure are indicated by the claims.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the exact structures that have been described above and shown in the drawings, and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the present disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

An overlapping state detection method, comprising:

preparing a first patterned material layer;

Acquire a first image corresponding to a designated area of the first patterned material layer;

preparing a second patterned material layer;

Acquire a second image corresponding to a designated area of the second patterned material layer, where the designated area of the second patterned material layer corresponds to the designated area of the first patterned material layer;

According to the correspondence between the first design layout of the first patterned material layer and the second design layout of the second patterned material layer, the first image and the second image are registered to obtain an overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the performing image registration on the first image and the second image according to the correspondence between the first design layout of the first patterned material layer and the second design layout of the second patterned material layer comprises:

Performing image registration on the first image and a designated area of the first design layout;

Performing image registration on the second image and the designated area of the second design layout;

The first image and the second image are superimposed according to the corresponding relationship between the first design layout and the second design layout.
The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of performing image registration on the first image and the designated area of the first design layout comprises:

extracting a first edge feature of the first image;

Perform image registration on the first edge feature and the designated area of the first design layout.
The method according to claim 3, wherein the step of performing image registration of the first edge feature with the designated area of the first design layout comprises:

Firstly, aligning the image center of gravity formed by the first edge feature with the image center of gravity of the designated area of the first design layout;

Then, the first edge feature is aligned with a reference point or a reference line of a designated area of the first design layout.
The method according to claim 4, wherein the step of performing image registration on the second image and the designated area of the second design layout comprises:

extracting a second edge feature of the second image;

Perform image registration on the second edge feature and the designated area of the second design layout.
The method according to claim 5, wherein the performing image registration of the second edge feature with the designated area of the second design layout comprises:

First, aligning the image gravity center formed by the second edge feature with the image gravity center of the designated area of the second design layout;

Then, the second edge feature is aligned with a reference point or a reference line of a designated area of the second design layout.
The method according to claim 6, wherein obtaining the overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer comprises:

superimposing the first edge feature and the second edge feature;

Obtaining process window values corresponding to the first edge feature and the second edge feature;

It is determined whether the process window value is within an allowable preset range.
The method according to claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

Acquire multiple groups of the first images and the second images;

Acquire multiple groups of the first edge features and the second edge features according to multiple groups of the first images and the second images;

The average values of the process window values corresponding to the plurality of groups of the first edge features and the second edge features are obtained.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the second patterned material layer and the first patterned material layer are arranged adjacent to each other or spaced apart.
A mask detection method, comprising:

Acquiring an overlapping state of a first patterned material layer and a second patterned material layer according to the overlapping state detection method according to any one of claims 1 to 9;

According to the overlapping state, it is determined whether there is a design problem in the mask design layout.
The method according to claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

Acquire a plurality of the mask design layouts, and determine a process window value corresponding to each of the mask design layouts according to an overlap state determined by each of the mask design layouts;

The mask design layout with the largest process window value is determined as the target mask design layout.
The method according to claim 10, wherein judging whether there is a design problem in the mask design layout according to the overlapping state comprises:

If the process window values corresponding to the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer exceed an allowable preset range, it is determined that there is a design problem with the mask design layout.
The method according to claim 12, wherein the method further comprises:

If the second patterned material layer is a current layer of a wafer and the first patterned material layer is a front layer of the wafer, it is determined that there is a design problem in the mask design layout of the second patterned material layer.
An overlapping state detection device, comprising:

A first image acquisition module, used for preparing a first patterned material layer; acquiring a first image corresponding to a designated area of the first patterned material layer;

A second image acquisition module is used to prepare a second patterned material layer; acquire a second image corresponding to a designated area of the second patterned material layer, where the designated area of the second patterned material layer corresponds to the designated area of the first patterned material layer;

An overlapping state acquisition module is used to perform image registration on the first image and the second image according to a first design layout of the first patterned material layer and a second design layout of the second patterned material layer to obtain an overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer.
A mask detection device, comprising:

an overlapping state acquisition module, configured to acquire an overlapping state of the first patterned material layer and the second patterned material layer by using the overlapping state detection device according to claim 14;

The judging module is used to judge whether there is a design problem in the mask design layout according to the overlapping state.
A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.
An electronic device, comprising:

Processor; and

A memory, configured to store executable instructions of the processor;

The processor is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1-13 by executing the executable instructions.