Shilong Zhang, Ph.D. Candidate, Professor Youngsoo Shin’s Research Lab (DT Lab), Winner of the First Place Photronics Best Student Presentation Award at SPIE Photomask Technology 2025
Shilong Zhang, a Ph.D. candidate from Professor Youngsoo Shin’s research group (KAIST DT Lab) in the School of Electrical Engineering, has won the First Place Photronics Best Student Presentation Award at SPIE Photomask Technology + EUV Lithography 2025, held from September 22 to 26 in Monterey, California, USA.
SPIE Photomask Technology + EUV Lithography is a premier international symposium where professionals and academics from the semiconductor industry gather to present and discuss the latest advancements in photolithography mask technology. The Photronics Best Student Presentation Award, sponsored by Photronics, Inc., is established to encourage students working in fields related to photomasks and EUV lithography. The first place winner receives a $1,500 prize.
Zhang’s award-winning paper, titled “Integrated Curvilinear OPC and SRAF Optimization through Reinforcement Learning,” proposes a reinforcement learning-based method to co-optimize curvilinear sub-resolution assist features (SRAFs) and curvilinear main patterns for advanced semiconductor lithography. The proposed method reduces maximum vertex placement error (VPE) by 7.6% and maximum process variation band (PVB) width by 23.0% compared to conventional curvilinear OPC with fixed SRAFs, demonstrating significant improvements in both pattern fidelity and process window robustness.
For details, refer to the link below:
https://spie.org/conferences-and-exhibitions/photomask-technology-and-extreme-ultraviolet-lithography/program/conferences/awards
