METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FAST AERIAL IMAGE SIMULATION

摘要

PURPOSE: A method and an apparatus for fast aerial image simulation are provided to simulate a projection lithography system using the Hopkins model that does not use a numerically expensive eigenvector diagonalization operation. CONSTITUTION: The method for simulating an aerial image projected from an optical system, the optical system including a pupil and a mask plane, the method comprising the steps of providing a mask to the mask plane, obtaining parameters for the optical system, calculating a kernel based on an orthogonal pupil projection of the parameters of the optical system onto a basis set, obtaining parameters of the mask, calculating a vector based on an orthogonal mask projection of the parameters of the mask onto a basis set, calculating a field intensity distribution using the kernel and the vector, and obtaining aerial image data from the field intensity distribution.