| CPC G03F 1/36 (2013.01) [G06F 30/398 (2020.01)] | 20 Claims |
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1. A method comprising:
in a first layout, grouping pattern regions, which have duplicate layout patterns, as a group, each of the pattern regions comprising a weak region in which a random defect may occur when an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography process is performed;
for each of the pattern regions, performing an optical proximity correction (OPC) simulation on the pattern region, calculating a stochastic variation of a linewidth of a simulation pattern in the weak region as a Gaussian distribution, and defining a threshold linewidth, which is used as a reference of the random defect, in the Gaussian distribution;
calculating defect probabilities of the pattern regions, respectively, based on the threshold linewidths of the respective pattern regions;
calculating a defect frequency and a defect rate of the group based on the defect probabilities of the pattern regions;
predicting a degree of defects of a second layout of the pattern regions, based on the defect frequency and the defect rate; and
performing an EUV lithography process on a substrate, based on the second layout.
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