Simplified resist models for efficient simulation of contact holes and line ends

Nowadays, users of optical lithography simulation tools have to determine more than 40 parameters before simulation can be started. Furthermore, the simulation of areas larger than 1 μm2 is hardly possible by full models, as computation time increases dramatically with the accuracy which is requested. On the other hand, large area simulators, as used in OPC software, work fast, but use empirical models to take into account the impact of processing conditions on the resist performance. Users have no insight regarding the real physical and chemically processes. To fill the gap between the full resist models used in physically and chemically based simulators and the pure empirical models used in OPC simulation, 1D simplified resist models, such as “ADDIT” or “DAIM” were developed. In this paper, simplified resist models are extended for the first time to simulate 2D features and the models were calibrated to experimental data.