Physical-resist model using fast sweeping

1. A computer-implemented method for determining a surface associated with a resist profile in a material, comprising:

calculating, using a computer, arrival times of a wavefront in a resist-development process at a first depth in the material in accordance with an Eikonal equation, wherein the first depth is proximate to an outer surface of the material, and wherein a vector development rate in the Eikonal equation corresponds to a physical property of the material;

calculating arrival times of the wavefront at a second depth in the material, which relative to the first depth is distal from the outer surface, in accordance with the Eikonal equation and the calculated arrival times at the first depth;

determining, using a fast-sweeping calculation, the surface associated with the resist profile in the material based on the calculated arrival times at the first depth, the calculated arrival times at the second depth, and a given time interval, wherein arrival times at a given depth in the material, which includes the first depth or the second depth, are calculated by directly determining a steady-state solution of the Eikonal equation;

wherein the calculation at the given depth, which is either or both of the first depth and the second depth, includes sweeping over the first set of values along a first direction in a plane associated with the given depth, and sweeping over a second set of values along a second direction in the plane; and

wherein the sweeping over a given set of values, which is either or both of the first set of values and the second set of values, includes sweeping from low-to-high values and sweeping from high-to-low values.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the arrival times at the first depth are calculated in accordance with an initial condition on the outer surface.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing the determined surface in the material in a computer-readable medium.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

calculating arrival times of the wavefront at a group of depths in the material, wherein the calculations are sequentially performed at depths in the group of depths further away from the outer surface than depths in preceding calculations, and wherein the calculation at a given depth in the group of depths is in accordance with the Eikonal equation and the calculated arrival times at an immediately preceding depth in the group of depths; and

determining the surface in the material based on the calculated arrival times at the group of depths and the given time interval.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein calculations at the first depth and the second depth are performed once.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein calculations at the first depth and the second depth are performed sequentially as opposed to iteratively.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface is 3-dimensional.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the material at a given depth, which is either or both of the first depth and the second depth, is divided into a set of cells, and wherein the arrival times are calculated in each cell in the set of cells.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface corresponds to a resist profile in a lithographic process.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the material corresponds to a film to be deposited during a semiconductor-manufacturing process.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the Eikonal equation includes:

|grad( T )|· r= 1,

where grad( ) is a vector gradient operator, T is a function corresponding to the surface, and r is a vector development rate.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein r is determined from a Mack model, a notch model, a lumped-parameter model, an enhanced-Mack model, or an enhanced-notch model.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein T includes a level-set function.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein T includes a grayscale or a bitmap representation of the surface.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination of the surface is included when determining a process window for a lithographic process.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination of the surface is included when determining a process window for a semiconductor-manufacturing process.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the calculation at a given depth, which is either or both of the first depth and the second depth, progress out from a starting location in a plane associated with the given depth.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the Eikonal equation includes a form of a Hamilton-Jacobi equation.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the steady-state solution is determined using fast sweeping.

20. A computer-program product for use in conjunction with a computer system, the computer-program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium and computer-program instructions stored therein for determining a surface associated with a resist profile in a material, the computer-program product including:

instructions for calculating arrival times of a wavefront in a resist-development process at a first depth in the material in accordance with an Eikonal equation, wherein the first depth is proximate to an outer surface of the material, and wherein a vector development rate in the Eikonal equation corresponds to a physical property of the material;

instructions for calculating arrival times of the wavefront at a second depth in the material, which relative to the first depth is distal from the outer surface, in accordance with the Eikonal equation and the calculated arrival times at the first depth;

instructions for determining, using fast-sweeping calculation, the surface associated with the resist profile in the material based on the calculated arrival times at the first depth, the calculated arrival times at the second depth, and a given time interval, wherein arrival times at a given depth in the material, which includes the first depth or the second depth, are calculated by directly determining a steady-state solution of the Eikonal equation;

wherein the instructions for calculation at the given depth, which is either or both of the first depth and the second depth, includes instructions for sweeping over the first set of values along a first direction in a plane associated with the given depth, and sweeping over a second set of values along a second direction in the plane; and

wherein the instructions for sweeping over a given set of values, which is either or both of the first set of values and the second set of values, includes instructions for sweeping from low-to-high values and sweeping from high-to-low values.

21. A computer system, comprising:

at least one processor;

at least one memory; and

at least one program module, the program module stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the processor, wherein at least the program module is for determining a surface associated with a resist profile in a material, at least the program module including:

instructions for calculating arrival times of a wavefront in a resist-development process at a first depth in the material in accordance with an Eikonal equation, wherein the first depth is proximate to an outer surface of the material, and wherein a vector development rate in the Eikonal equation corresponds to a physical property of the material;

instructions for calculating arrival times of the wavefront at a second depth in the material, which relative to the first depth is distal from the outer surface, in accordance with the Eikonal equation and the calculated arrival times at the first depth;

instructions for determining, using fast-sweeping calculation, the surface associated with the resist profile in the material based on the calculated arrival times at the first depth, the calculated arrival times at the second depth, and a given time interval, wherein arrival times at a given depth in the material, which includes the first depth or the second depth, are calculated by directly determining a steady-state solution of the Eikonal equation;

wherein the instructions for calculation at the given depth, which is either or both of the first depth and the second depth, includes instructions for sweeping over the first set of values along a first direction in a plane associated with the given depth, and sweeping over a second set of values along a second direction in the plane; and

wherein the instructions for sweeping over a given set of values, which is either or both of the first set of values and the second set of values, includes instructions for sweeping from low-to-high values and sweeping from high-to-low values.

22. A computer system, comprising:

means for computing;

means for storing; and

at least one program module mechanism, the program module mechanism stored in at least the means for storing and configured to be executed by at least the means for computing, wherein at least the program module mechanism is for determining a surface associated with a resist profile in a material, at least the program module mechanism including:

instructions for calculating arrival times of a wavefront in a resist-development process at a first depth in the material in accordance with an Eikonal equation, wherein the first depth is proximate to an outer surface of the material, and wherein a vector development rate in the Eikonal equation corresponds to a physical property of the material;

instructions for calculating arrival times of the wavefront at a second depth in the material, which relative to the first depth is distal from the outer surface, in accordance with the Eikonal equation and the calculated arrival times at the first depth;

instructions for determining, using fast-sweeping calculation, the surface associated with the resist profile in the material based on the calculated arrival times at the first depth, the calculated arrival times at the second depth, and a given time interval, wherein arrival times at a given depth in the material, which includes the first depth or the second depth, are calculated by directly determining a steady-state solution of the Eikonal equation;

wherein the instructions for calculation at the given depth, which is either or both of the first depth and the second depth, includes instructions for sweeping over the first set of values along a first direction in a plane associated with the given depth, and sweeping over a second set of values along a second direction in the plane; and

wherein the instructions for sweeping over a given set of values, which is either or both of the first set of values and the second set of values, includes instructions for sweeping from low-to-high values and sweeping from high-to-low values.