Method of cutting conductive patterns

1. A method comprising:

providing a first layout of a first layer over a substrate, the first layer having a first metal pattern and a second metal pattern, and

generating a second layout of a cut mask having a cut pattern to be used in a first cut patterning step while the cut mask is in a first position relative to the substrate to remove material from a first region of the first metal pattern to divide the first metal pattern into a third metal pattern and a fourth metal pattern, such that the cut mask is to be used in a second cut patterning step while the cut mask is in a second position relative to the first layer over the substrate to remove material from a second region of the second metal pattern to divide the second metal pattern into a fifth metal pattern and a sixth metal pattern.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein

the first metal pattern comprises a plurality of first metal patterns, each of the plurality of first metal patterns having a respective first region; and

the second layout of the cut mask has a plurality of cut patterns, each respective cut pattern to be used during the first cut patterning step for removing material from the respective first region of a respective one of the first metal patterns, to divide a respective first metal pattern into a respective third metal pattern and a respective fourth metal pattern.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein

at least one of the cut patterns is positioned so as to perform a dummy cut during the second cut patterning step.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein: the generating step includes:

providing pairs of cut regions in the second layout, each pair having a respective first cut region in a respective first metal pattern and a respective second cut region in a respective second metal pattern, wherein each second cut has a common translation with respect to its corresponding first cut.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising

providing a respective first cut region in the second layout, corresponding to a further first metal pattern, for which there is no corresponding second metal pattern at a location separated from the first cut region by the common translation; and

inserting a dummy cut pattern in the second layout, at the location separated from the first cut region by the common translation.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first layout has a plurality of layout pattern pairs, corresponding to the respective pairs of cut regions.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first metal pattern is to be formed using a first pattern mask, and the second metal pattern is to be formed by shifting the first pattern mask relative to the first metal pattern to a second location, and patterning the same layer over the substrate while the same first pattern mask is in the second location.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a target layout of the layer over the substrate containing the third, fourth, fifth and sixth metal patterns; and

generating the first layout having the first metal pattern and the second metal pattern by connecting the third pattern to the fourth pattern, and connecting the fifth pattern to the sixth pattern.

9. A triple patterning technology (TPT) method comprising:

(a) patterning a first layer over an integrated circuit (IC) substrate with a first photomask to form a first metal pattern;

(b) patterning the first layer over the IC substrate with a second photomask to form a second metal pattern;

(c) shifting the first photomask relative to the first metal pattern after step (a); and

(d) patterning the first layer over the IC substrate with the first photomask after the shifting step to form a third metal pattern.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein triple patterning using two photomasks without using a cut mask.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first metal pattern includes at least a first line and a second line, and the second metal pattern includes at least a third line and a fourth line, such that after step (b), the third line of the second metal pattern is between the first line and the second line of the first metal pattern.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first metal pattern includes a first line, a second line, and a third line, and the second metal pattern includes a fourth line and a fifth line, wherein the fourth line is between the first line and the second line, and the third line is between the second line and the fifth line.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the third pattern includes a sixth line, a seventh line and an eighth line, wherein the sixth line is between the second line and the third line, and the seventh line is between the third line and the fifth line.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first metal pattern includes first, second and third lines, and the third metal pattern includes fourth, fifth and sixth lines, and the fourth line is between the second line and the third line.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising moving the cut mask and using the cut mask to remove material from the third line and fourth line, so as to divide each of the third and fourth lines into two segments.

16. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first metal pattern includes a first line and a second line, and the second metal pattern includes a third line and a fourth line, the method further comprising using a cut mask to remove material from the first line and the second line, so as to divide each of the first and second lines into two segments.

17. A method comprising

(a) patterning a first layer over a substrate with a first metal pattern using a first photomask;

(b) using a first trim mask to perform a first cut patterning while the first trim mask is in a first position relative to the the first layer for removing material from a first region within the first metal pattern;

(c) patterning the first layer over the substrate with a second photomask in a double patterning process to form a second metal pattern having a second region; and

(d) using the first trim mask to perform a second cut patterning while the first trim mask is in a second position relative to the first layer for removing material from the second region of the second metal pattern of the first layer over the substrate.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein step (b) divides the first metal pattern into a third metal pattern and a fourth metal pattern, the third metal pattern and the fourth metal pattern.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein step (a) is performed using a first photomask, further comprising, before step (c), patterning the first layer over the substrate with a second photomask to form the second metal pattern.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein a distance between the third and fourth metal patterns is smaller than a single-patterning minimum separation distance.

21. The method of claim 17 , wherein step (a) is performed using a first pattern mask, the method further comprising:

shifting a position of one of the substrate and the first pattern mask relative to the other of the substrate and the first pattern mask after step (a); and

patterning the same layer over the substrate with the second metal pattern using the first pattern mask before step (c).