A photomask blank is provided comprising an etch stop film which is disposed on a transparent substrate and is resistant to fluorine dry etching and removable by chlorine dry etching, a light-shielding film disposed on the etch stop film and including at least one layer composed of a transition metal/silicon material, and an antireflective film disposed on the light-shielding film. When the light-shielding film is dry etched to form a pattern, pattern size variation arising from pattern density dependency is reduced, so that a photomask is produced at a high accuracy.

Photomask blank and photomask

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a halftone phase shift photomask using a molybdenum silicide-base halftone phase shift film material and having a structure with an enhanced etching selectivity ratio to a quartz substrate while retaining superior workability of the molybdenum silicide-base material and chemical stability after working. SOLUTION: A blank for the halftone phase shift photomask has a halftone phase shift layer on a transparent substrate and the halftone phase shift layer is formed from a multilayer film having at least a layer based on molybdenum silicide and containing oxygen and/or nitrogen and comprising two or more layers. A layer based on chromium, tantalum or a chromium-tantalum alloy is included in the multilayer film and this layer is disposed nearer the transparent substrate than the layer based on molybdenum silicide and containing oxygen and/or nitrogen. COPYRIGHT: (C)2002,JPO

Halftone phase shift photomask and blanks for the same

There is disclosed a manufacturing method of a phase shift mask blank in which dispersions of phase angle and transmittance among blanks can be reduced as much as possible and yield is satisfactory. In the manufacturing method of the phase shift mask blank, a process of using a sputtering method to continuously form a thin film on a transparent substrate comprises: successively subjecting a plurality of substrates to a series of process of supplying the transparent substrate into a sputtering chamber, forming the thin film for forming a pattern in the sputtering chamber, and discharging the transparent substrate with the film formed thereon from the sputtering chamber; supplying and discharging the transparent substrate substantially at a constant interval; and setting a film formation time to be constant among a plurality of blanks.

Manufacturing method and apparatus of phase shift mask blank

PURPOSE: A halftone phase shift photomask and blanks for a halftone phase shift photomask are provided, to allow the transmittance and reflectivity to be controlled by the combination of layer thickness and to simplify the structure of the photomask and the blanks. CONSTITUTION: The halftone phase shift photomask comprises a transparent region and a semitransparent region comprising the chromium compound formed by physical vapor growth method on a transparent substrate. The transmittance of the semitransparent region is 3-35 % when the transmittance of the transparent region is defined as 100 %, and the semitransparent region shifts the phase of the exposing wavelength to the transparent region. Preferably the chromium compound comprises chromium, oxygen or chromium, oxygen, nitrogen or chromium, oxygen, carbon or chromium, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon; and the semitransparent region layer is a monolayer or a multilayer.

Halftone phase shift photomask and blanks for halftone phase shift photomask

A photomask blank has a film of a transition metal/silicon base material comprising a transition metal, silicon, oxygen and nitrogen, having an oxygen content of at least 3 atom %, and satisfying the formula: 4×C Si /100−6×C M /100>1 wherein C Si is a silicon content in atom % and C M is a transition metal content in atom %.

Photomask blank and making method, photomask, light pattern exposure method, and design method of transition metal/silicon base material film

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a phase shift mask blank which can be easily processed to obtain transmittance, reflectance and a phase with higher accuracy, and to provide a phase shift mask using the blank and a method for transferring a pattern. SOLUTION: The phase shift mask blank is a multilayer phase shift mask blank which has a film mainly having a light absorbing function on a substrate and has one or more layers of films mainly having a phase shift function thereon. The film having the light absorbing function contains a group 4A metal, with the metal content higher in the upper part of the film than in the lower part. When the phase shift mask blank is processed into a phase shift mask, the light absorbing film is easily detected during dry etching in a drying etching process and selectivity against a substrate is advantageously obtained, which results in high-accuracy processing. Thus, a mask having the transmittance and a phase shift with higher accuracy can be obtained, and thereby, a larger focal depth can be kept in photolithography using the mask. COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Phase shift mask blank, phase shift mask and method for transferring pattern

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a producing method of a halftone phase shift mask, having a semitransparent part which is superior in film characteristics such as acid resistance, light resistance, conductivity, refractive index (film thickness), transmittance, phase shift amount and etching selectivity, and to provide a producing method of a phase shift mask blank. SOLUTION: By the producing method of a phase shift mask blank, a transparent substrate 1 is disposed in an atmosphere of gaseous mixture, containing nitrogen, and a semitransparent thin film 3a comprising nitrogen, metal and silicon as the main structural elements, is formed on the transparent substrate 1 by DC sputtering of a mixture target of metal and silicon. The amount of silicon in the mixture target is 70 to 95 mol.%. COPYRIGHT: (C)1999,JPO

Production of phase shift mask and production of phase shift mask blank

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a target for forming a film for manufacturing a halftone phase shift mask and its blank which can respond to shorter wavelengths of exposure light and have excellent chemical resistance, and to provide a method for manufacturing the halftone phase shift mask blank. SOLUTION: The target for forming a film is used to manufacture a halftone phase shift mask blank which has a single-layer or multilayer semitransparent film having a controlled phase and transmittance on a transparent substrate and simultaneously contains a Si element, Mo element and Zr element as structural elements of at least one layer of the semitransparent film, and the target contains at least two elements of Mo and Zr, with 0.05 to 5 molar ratio of the content ratio (Zr/Mo). A halftone phase shift mask and its blank which can respond to shorter wavelengths of exposure light and have excellent chemical resistance and patterning accuracy can be easily obtained by the present invention. COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Target for forming film and method for manufacturing phase shift mask blank

PURPOSE:To provide a phase shift mask blank forming a single film structure and capable of setting the transmission factor at a prescribed film thickness generating a phase shift in a wide range by providing a specific light half- transmission film for forming a light half-transmission section. CONSTITUTION:This phase shift mask blank is provided with a light half- transmission film 2a transmitting the light having the intensity not practically contributing to an exposure on a transparent substrate 1, and the light half- transmission film 2a is made of a film containing at least one kind of fluorine, carbon, and nitrogen and chromium, i.e., the phase shift mask blank is one on which the light half-transmission film 2a is formed on the transparent substrate 1. A phase shift mask is applied with patterning for removing part of the light half-transmission film 2a of the phase shift mask blank according to a prescribed pattern, and a mask pattern constituted of a light half- transmission section 2 and a light transmission section 3 is formed.

公宏岡田

Papers

Phase shift mask blank, phase shift mask and method for transferring pattern

Production of phase shift mask and production of phase shift mask blank

Target for forming film and method for manufacturing phase shift mask blank

Phase shift mask blank and phase shift mask

公宏 岡田

Papers

Phase shift mask blank, phase shift mask and method for transferring pattern

Production of phase shift mask and production of phase shift mask blank

Target for forming film and method for manufacturing phase shift mask blank

Phase shift mask blank and phase shift mask

公宏岡田