Reticle enhancement technology: implications and challenges for physical design

In this paper, we review phase shift lithography, rule vs. model based methods for OPC and model-based tiling, and discuss their implications for layout and verification. We will discuss novel approaches, using polarizing films on reticles, which change the game for phase-shift coloring, and could lead to a new direction in c:PSM constraints on physical design. We emphasize the need to do tiling that is model-driven and uses optimization techniques to achieve planarity for better manufacturing tolerance in the subwavelength dimensions era. Electromagnetic solver results will be presented which estimate the effect of tiling on circuit timing.