SALELE process from theory to fabrication

In this work we are introducing a manufacturing flow for the SALELE Process in details. Starting with layout decomposition, where the drawn layer is decomposed into 4 Masks: 2 Metal-like Masks, and 2 Block-like Masks. Then each of these masks is subjected to Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) process, and here we explain more about the OPC recipe development for each mask. Then we introduce a verification flow that performs two levels of verifications: (a) Litho verification, where the litho fidelity of each mask is quantified based on image quality measurements. (b) Final Manufactured shapes verification vs. expected output. This work has been carried out on an N3 candidate layout designed by IMEC.