GDS FILE SEMICONDUCTOR REGISTRATION

Magnetic tape gave way to networks as a popular and easy means for data exchange. But at the same time, the data communication structure started changing. This made the process acceptable to the customer. The sizing operation and smashing of a predefined job deck, as well as reverse toning, are considered simple operations that have a minimal chance of changing the content of the data. Smashing, which merges fractured pattern files, then re-fractures the files again, results in the mask supplier having to make routine mask data modifications that is, the mask supplier starts re-fracturing the data.

GDS FILE SEMICONDUCTOR REGISTRATION

For instance, data was often вЂњsmashedвЂќ to improve registration between multiple patterns on the same mask. Write strategies were changed to deal with throughput issues. These tools were designed to be compatible with the existing MEBES mask data however, the high contrast optical resists used with these tools required sizing to get the best critical dimension (CD) performance. In the 1990s, raster-scan laser mask lithography tools were introduced. Technology advancements contribute to data volumes But as the technology roadmap advanced, things changed. In this process, the mask house did not treat the data unless necessary. This was perceived to give some measure of security, especially since data was often sent to the mask manufacturer in the physical form of a magnetic tape. Instead of a design database hand-off, flat mask layer-specific files were transferred. The process was fairly simple: MEBES and similar derived formats became the common exchange format. Mask data preparation used to be a commodity mostly done by the tapeout group affiliated with the design house. The result is not only a problem of logistics for storage and data transfer, but also a problem of longer processing times that significantly impact throughput and turn-around time (TAT).ДЄnother important contributor to exploding data volumes involves the evolution of the mask writing process. The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) predicts file sizes as large as 150 Gbytes in 2004. Complex pattern treatments and the splitting of single mask layers into multiple masks, such as in the case of phase shifting masks, have resulted in increased data volumes. More and more aggressive resolution enhancement techniques (RET), such as optical process correction (OPC), phase shift masks (PSM) and scattering bars are being developed and deployed in order to achieve the required feature sizes. The advancements inspired by Moore's Law have resulted in complex systems-on-chip. The source of exploding data volumes is several fold. With the 65-nanometer process technology node on the horizon, pressure is growing in the data preparation and mask manufacturing communities to create ways to handle an increasingly complex data flow.

Gds file semiconductor