A New Approach to Abstracting AltPSM Lithography Requirements for IC Design Domains

Abstract

This paper lays the groundwork for defining the components needed to get clean alternating phaseshifting masks (altPSM) that ensure the manufacturability of subwavelength circuit designs. The authors create an abstract set of rules that can be used to advantage in various IC CAD tool domains. A new methodology and algorithm are presented that can quickly and easily integrate altPSM into existing and future tools earlier in the IC design flow. Finally, experimental results show how the methodology and algorithm is used to debug process-aware designs and make them altPSM-compliant.