Calibre Multi-Patterning
Student Workbook
2017 Mentor Graphics Corporation
All rights reserved.
This document contains information that is trade secret and proprietary to Mentor Graphics Corporation or its licensors and
is subject to license terms. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, translated, distributed, disclosed or
provided to third parties without the prior written consent of Mentor Graphics.
This document is for information and instruction purposes. Mentor Graphics reserves the right to make changes
in specifications and other information contained in this publication without prior notice, and the reader should, in
all cases, consult Mentor Graphics to determine whether any changes have been made.
The terms and conditions governing the sale and licensing of Mentor Graphics products are set forth in written
agreements between Mentor Graphics and its customers. No representation or other affirmation of fact
contained in this publication shall be deemed to be a warranty or give rise to any liability of Mentor Graphics
whatsoever.
MENTOR GRAPHICS MAKES NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND WITH REGARD TO THIS MATERIAL
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
MENTOR GRAPHICS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOST PROFITS)
ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS PUBLICATION OR THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN IT, EVEN
IF MENTOR GRAPHICS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
U.S. GOVERNMENT LICENSE RIGHTS: The software and documentation were developed entirely at private
expense and are commercial computer software and commercial computer software documentation within the
meaning of the applicable acquisition regulations. Accordingly, pursuant to FAR 48 CFR 12.212 and DFARS
48 CFR 227.7202, use, duplication and disclosure by or for the U.S. Government or a U.S. Government
subcontractor is subject solely to the terms and conditions set forth in the license agreement provided with the
software, except for provisions which are contrary to applicable mandatory federal laws.
TRADEMARKS: The trademarks, logos and service marks ("Marks") used herein are the property of Mentor
Graphics Corporation or other parties. No one is permitted to use these Marks without the prior written consent
of Mentor Graphics or the owner of the Mark, as applicable. The use herein of a third- party Mark is not an
attempt to indicate Mentor Graphics as a source of a product, but is intended to indicate a product from, or
associated with, a particular third party. A current list of Mentor Graphics’ trademarks may be viewed at:
www.mentor.com/trademarks.
End-User License Agreement: You can print a copy of the End-User License Agreement from:
www.mentor.com/eula.
Mentor Graphics Corporation
8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777
Telephone: 503.685.7000
Toll-Free Telephone: 800.592.2210
Website: www.mentor.com
SupportNet: supportnet.mentor.com/
Send Feedback on Documentation: supportnet.mentor.com/doc_feedback_form
Part Number: 073533
Table of Contents
Module 1: Why Multi-Patterning? ........................................................................ 9
Objectives ........................................................................................................................................... 10
Glossary .............................................................................................................................................. 11
So Far, So Good ................................................................................................................................. 12
The 20nm Litho Challenge ................................................................................................................. 13
It 痴 All About K1 .............................................................................................................................. 14
Advanced Lithography k1 Trend ....................................................................................................... 15
Migration of Mfg Requirements Into Design ..................................................................................... 16
Litho/Mask Cost Comparison ............................................................................................................ 17
Wafer Price Trend .............................................................................................................................. 18
Industry Move to Multi-Patterning .................................................................................................... 19
Costs and Benefits of MP Processing ................................................................................................ 20
Multi-Patterning Growth in Multiple Domains .................................................................................. 21
Lab Exercise ....................................................................................................................................... 22
Module 2: What Is Multi-Patterning? ................................................................. 23
Objectives ........................................................................................................................................... 24
Double Patterning — the Concept ..................................................................................................... 25
Layer Decomposition ......................................................................................................................... 26
Double Patterning Manufacturing — LLE/LFE ................................................................................ 28
Double Patterning Manufacturing — LELE ...................................................................................... 29
Mask Alignment Issues ...................................................................................................................... 30
Using Multi-Patterning — A Knowledge Roadmap .......................................................................... 31
Lab Exercise ....................................................................................................................................... 32
Module 3: How Does DRC : Change with MP? ................................................. 33
Calibre Multi-Patterning I
Table of Contents
Objectives ........................................................................................................................................... 34
Foundry Impact On MP Design ......................................................................................................... 35
Colored DP DRC Flow ...................................................................................................................... 36
DRC Rules for Coloring a DP Layout ............................................................................................... 37
Multiple Versions of Spacing Rules ................................................................................................... 38
Example Colored DRC rules for DP .................................................................................................. 39
Colorless DP DRC Flow using Optional Anchoring ......................................................................... 40
DRC Rules for Colorless DP Layout — Minimum Space and Cycle Checks .................................. 41
Understanding Cycles ........................................................................................................................ 42
Odd Cycles Cannot Be Legally Colored for DP ................................................................................ 43
What is Anchoring? ............................................................................................................................ 44
Why Use Anchoring? ......................................................................................................................... 45
Anchoring Can Lead To Coloring Violations .................................................................................... 46
DRC Rules for a Colorless DP Layout — Path Checks ..................................................................... 47
Anchoring ........................................................................................................................................... 48
How is Multi-Patterning "Special" for EDA? .................................................................................... 49
Graphs vs. Polygons ........................................................................................................................... 50
Multi-Patterning DRC Comparison ................................................................................................... 51
Lab Exercise ....................................................................................................................................... 52
Module 4: Debugging DP Violations ................................................................... 53
Objectives ........................................................................................................................................... 54
Fixing DP Cycle Violations in a Colorless Layout ............................................................................ 55
Fixing DP Cycle Violations in a Colored Layout .............................................................................. 56
DP Debugging Frustrations ................................................................................................................ 57
The Hazards of Whole-Polygon Movement ....................................................................................... 58
Calibre Multi-Patterning II
Table of Contents
Techniques to Avoid Polygon Movement Hazards ............................................................................ 59
Cycle Interactions can be Problematic ............................................................................................... 60
Calibre Highlights Cycle Interaction Problems ................................................................................. 61
Debugging Hints to Avoid Cycle Interactions ................................................................................... 62
Example Debug Options .................................................................................................................... 63
Colored vs. Colorless Error Debugging ............................................................................................. 64
How to Fix Path Violations ................................................................................................................ 65
Fixing Multiple Path Violations ......................................................................................................... 66
Example Cycle and Path Errors ......................................................................................................... 67
Fixing Multiple Error Types .............................................................................................................. 68
Foundry Multi-Patterning Violation Reporting.................................................................................. 69
Lab Exercise ....................................................................................................................................... 70
Module 5: Automated Decomposition ................................................................. 71
Objectives ........................................................................................................................................... 72
Automated Decomposition - A New Use Model ............................................................................... 73
Foundry Decomposition Summary .................................................................................................... 74
Related Foundry DP Design Flows .................................................................................................... 75
Manual vs. Automated Decomposition .............................................................................................. 76
PDK Usage Modes ............................................................................................................................. 77
Merging Decomposed Layers into Original ....................................................................................... 78
Detailed Flow ..................................................................................................................................... 79
Layout Considerations........................................................................................................................ 80
"Color As You Go" Issues.................................................................................................................. 81
"Color At the End" Issues .................................................................................................................. 82
Comparing Final Results .................................................................................................................... 83
Calibre Multi-Patterning III
Table of Contents
Hierarchy and Decomposition ............................................................................................................ 84
Density Balancing and Decomposition .............................................................................................. 85
Dealing with Arbitrarily-Colored Shapes .......................................................................................... 86
Alternation Behavior Details .............................................................................................................. 87
Alternation Coloring Behavior ........................................................................................................... 88
The Hierarchy and Density Trade-offs ............................................................................................... 89
Non-Obvious Cases ............................................................................................................................ 90
Dealing with Large-Area Shapes ....................................................................................................... 91
Lab Exercise ....................................................................................................................................... 92
Module 6: Auto-Stitching ..................................................................................... 93
Objectives ........................................................................................................................................... 94
Related Foundry DP Design Flows .................................................................................................... 95
What are Stitches and why do we use them? ..................................................................................... 96
Why use Stitches? .............................................................................................................................. 97
Stitched Decomposition ..................................................................................................................... 98
Stitch Locations .................................................................................................................................. 99
Lithographic Challenges of Stitching ............................................................................................... 100
Rule-Based Stitch Constraints .......................................................................................................... 101
Automated Stitch Generation ........................................................................................................... 102
Auto-Stitching vs. User Stitches ...................................................................................................... 103
Pre-Coloring in Stitched Decomposition ......................................................................................... 104
Anchors and Seeding ........................................................................................................................ 105
User Stitching for DP ....................................................................................................................... 106
Stitching Keep-Outs ......................................................................................................................... 107
Design Flow with Stitching .............................................................................................................. 108
Calibre Multi-Patterning IV
Table of Contents
Lab Exercise ..................................................................................................................................... 109
Module 7: Using DP with Other Tools .............................................................. 111
Objectives ......................................................................................................................................... 112
Placement Considerations ................................................................................................................ 113
Cell Boundary Conditions ................................................................................................................ 114
Power and Ground Color Dependencies .......................................................................................... 120
Real Examples .................................................................................................................................. 121
Density Impact Example .................................................................................................................. 122
Pin Coloring and In-Cell Routing .................................................................................................... 123
Cell DP Placement Characterization ................................................................................................ 124
Olympus-SoC MP-Driven Placement Engine .................................................................................. 125
DP Routing Approaches ................................................................................................................... 126
Routing DP Prevention Strategies .................................................................................................... 127
Impact of Routing DP Prevention Strategies ................................................................................... 128
DP Routing Repair Considerations .................................................................................................. 129
Traditional Halo Re-Checking Has Issues ....................................................................................... 130
Alternative Halo Approaches Still Have Problems .......................................................................... 131
Color Preservation Fixes Halo but Over Constrains ........................................................................ 132
Block Boundary and DFM Operation Issues ................................................................................... 133
Issues with Pre-colored data in cells/blocks ..................................................................................... 134
Real Example ................................................................................................................................... 135
LVS Considerations for DP.............................................................................................................. 136
Hierarchy Issues with LVS in DP Design ........................................................................................ 137
Approaches to Deal With LVS Hierarchy Issues ............................................................................. 138
DP Mask Misalignment Impacts PEX ............................................................................................. 139
Calibre Multi-Patterning V
Table of Contents
DP Impact On Circuit Performance ................................................................................................. 140
PEX Solutions for Double-Patterning .............................................................................................. 141
DP related corners ............................................................................................................................ 142
Designer Concerns ........................................................................................................................... 143
Seeing the Colors Is Not the Same as Controlling Them ................................................................. 144
Anchoring is the Only Reliable Solution ......................................................................................... 145
Calibre LFD For Multi-Patterning Design ....................................................................................... 146
SmartFill for Double Patterning ....................................................................................................... 147
Lab Exercise ..................................................................................................................................... 148
Module 8: Beyond Double-Patterning ............................................................... 149
Objectives ......................................................................................................................................... 150
Triple-Patterning (TP) ...................................................................................................................... 151
Triple Patterning Provides Greater Layout Flexibility ..................................................................... 152
TP Color Cycles are Unlike DP ....................................................................................................... 153
TP Coloring Violations .................................................................................................................... 154
TP Error Visualization ..................................................................................................................... 155
Biggest Process Challenge for Multi-Patterning .............................................................................. 156
Self-Aligned Double Patterning (SADP) ......................................................................................... 157
SID SADP Metal Process ................................................................................................................. 158
Mandrel-Fill/Cut-Mask SID ............................................................................................................. 159
SADP vs LELE Process Challenges ................................................................................................ 160
Lab Exercise ..................................................................................................................................... 161
Module 9: Writing DP Rule Files....................................................................... 163
Objectives ......................................................................................................................................... 164
General DP Rule File Structure* ...................................................................................................... 165
Calibre Multi-Patterning VI
Table of Contents
Calibre Double-Patterning SVRF Operations .................................................................................. 166
Calibre DP Flow Diagram (without Stitching) ................................................................................ 167
LITHO FILE and RET NMDPC ...................................................................................................... 168
LITHO FILE Action Layers ............................................................................................................. 169
RET NMDPC Syntax ....................................................................................................................... 170
RET NMDPC MAP Output ............................................................................................................. 171
Anchor-Specific RET NMDPC MAP Output .................................................................................. 172
Some MAP Output Comparisons ..................................................................................................... 173
Calibre DP Flow Diagram (with Stitching)...................................................................................... 174
LITHO FILE with Stitching ............................................................................................................. 175
Design Rule Definition..................................................................................................................... 177
Types of Stitches .............................................................................................................................. 178
dpStitchCandidates Litho File Options ............................................................................................ 179
Example Design Rule Definitions in dpStitch ................................................................................. 180
dpStitchCandidates -outLayer .......................................................................................................... 181
Lab Exercise ..................................................................................................................................... 182
Calibre Multi-Patterning VII
