Approach Abstracts AltPSM Lithography Requirements for sub-100nm IC Design Domains Pradiptya Ghosh, Chung-shin Kang, Michael Sanie and David Pinto Numerical Technologies, 70 West Plumeria Dr., San Jose, CA 95134 Since the semiconductor industry hit the 0.18-micron generation, device feature sizes have become increasingly smaller than the wavelength of light used by available optical-lithography equipment. In this subwavelength arena, manufacturing requirements must be handled up front in the IC design stage—while changes can still be made—to enhance quality and yield. This paper defines the components needed to get clean alternating phaseshifting masks (altPSM) that ensure the manufacturability of subwavelength circuit designs. The authors present a new design for manufacturability (DFM) approach, an abstract set of rules that can be used to advantage in various IC CAD tool domains, especially for 100nm and below design rules. A new methodology and algorithm are presented that can...