Subwavelength lithography: an impact of photomask errors on circuit performance

The impact of photo mask manufacturing errors in the photolithography process and subsequently on the final device and test circuit (ring oscillator) performance are investigated. A statistical Monte Carlo process generates a population of normally distributed simulated photo mask errors during the reticle manufacturing process. Further steps predict how these photo mask errors impact printed poly gate patterns under different lithography conditions. Sensitivity analysis performed with the Sequoia Device Designer software tool identified the metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) channel length (L poly ) as the most sensitive MOSFET parameter and an estimate of the distribution of device performance for realistic photo mask errors is made.