Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ:MENT) and Applied
Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) today announced an important milestone in
the adoption of open data formats for mask manufacturing. The first volume production
deployment of the new OASIS.MASK (SEMI standard P44) format was performed on
Applied's Aera2™ advanced mask inspection systems using Mentor Graphics'
mask data preparation software technology. The new format greatly simplifies
the task of creating the complex, high fidelity photomasks that are vital to
fabricating semiconductor devices at 32nm and below technology nodes.
OASIS.MASK (Open Artwork System Interchange Standard for Photomasks) is an
open standard interchange format used to represent and express chip level physical
and mask layout data. The OASIS.MASK format reduces the size of mask data files
by approximately one-half, eliminating the file transfer bottleneck between
software tools and mask manufacturing equipment – a key benefit with today's
near-terabyte file sizes. As an open interface, it enables the same data file
to be used for pattern generation, metrology and inspection, simplifying mask
manufacturing process flows by eliminating complex format conversion steps.
“We are working with Mentor Graphics, a leader in the adoption of OASIS
standards, to improve efficiency up and down the mask-making value chain by
encouraging the adoption of open standards,” said Tom St. Dennis, senior
vice president and general manager of Applied's Silicon Systems Group.
“By incorporating the OASIS.MASK format in our Aera2 systems, we can continue
to provide the most competitive, high throughput, die-to-database inspection
solutions for our most advanced customers.”
“Applied Materials' decision to implement OASIS.MASK in their products
shows the value of OASIS mask data format,” said Joseph Sawicki, vice
president and general manager for the Design-to-Silicon division at Mentor Graphics.
“Mentor's experience with OASIS goes back to the development of
the original OASIS format (SEMI standard P39), so incorporating our technology
into Aera2 was a logical extension of our product efforts. The use of OASIS.MASK
for mask manufacturing is fully supported by the Calibre® platform in the
Calibre FRACTUREv™, Calibre MDPverify™, and Calibre MDPview™
products, which are all available today.”
Applied and Mentor will showcase their pioneering deployment of OASIS.MASK
in a production environment at SPIE Photomask 2009, the mask-making industry's
premier technical symposium, to be held September 14-17 in Monterey, California.
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is the global leader in Nanomanufacturing
Technology™ solutions with a broad portfolio of innovative equipment,
service and software products for the fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat
panel displays, solar photovoltaic cells, flexible electronics and energy efficient
glass. At Applied Materials, we apply Nanomanufacturing Technology to improve
the way people live.
Posted September 14th, 2009
