&lt;title&gt;EUV mask fabrication with Cr absorber&lt;/title&gt;

Mangat, Pawitter J. S.; Hector, Scott Daniel; Rose, Stewart; Cardinale, Gregory Frank; Tejnil, Edita; Stivers, Alan R.

doi:10.1117/12.390099

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…[34][35][39][40][41][42] Mangat et al 40 and Yan et al 41,42 described desirable elements of mask absorbers, and Yan et al 42 concluded that Cr and TaN were leading choices. The absorber stack is comprised of one or more absorber layers and buffer layers.…”

Section: Absorber and Buffer Layer Choicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…35 This buffer layer serves as a physical spacer between the multilayers and the absorbing layer on the mask. The layer thickness is chosen to maximize inspection image contrast and to prevent ions in the FIB repair process from reaching the multilayer film since they might reduce the reflectivity of the multilayers at EUV wavelengths.…”

Section: Mask Buffer and Absorber Coatingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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EUVL masks: requirements and potential solutions

Hector

2002

Emerging Lithographic Technologies VI

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Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) is a leading next generation lithography technology. Significant progress has been made in developing mask fabrication processes for EUVL. The mask blank for EUVL consists of a low thermal expansion material substrate having a square photomask form factor that is coated with Mo/Si multilayers. A SEMI standard is now available for mask substrates. SEMI standards are also being developed for mask mounting, for mask blank multilayers and absorbers and for mask handling and storage. Several commercial suppliers are developing polishing processes for LTEM substrates, and they are progressing toward meeting the requirements for flatness, surface roughness, and defects defined in the SEMI standard.One of the challenges in implementing EUVL is to economically fabricate multilayer-coated mask blanks with no printable defects. Significant progress has been made in developing mask blank multilayer coating processes with low added defect density. Besides lowering added defect density, methods to reduce defect printability are being developed to effectively enable repair of many defect types. These repair processes might significantly increase yield of EUV mask blanks before defect density is lowered to production targets. Calculations of EUVL mask cost indicate that defect repair processes could allow the initial defect density targets for mask blanks to be relaxed.The mask patterning process for EUVL is nearly the same as that for conventional binary optical lithography masks. EUVL mask patterning efforts are focused on developing the EUV-specific aspects of the patterning process. Eight absorbers have been evaluated against the requirements for EUVL masks, and two absorbers-TaN and Cr--will probably meet the requirements after some further development.

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Section: Absorber and Buffer Layer Choicementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mask Buffer and Absorber Coatingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

EUVL masks: requirements and potential solutions

Hector

2002

Emerging Lithographic Technologies VI

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“…Several materials were investigated to fulfil these requirements. A chrome binary system was suggested because it could be the easiest available solution for integration into the current manufacturing infrastructure [4]. And the main features were demonstrated to be achieved with Cr layers as well as new chromless absorbers like TaN [5].…”

Section: Definition Of the Absorber Stack For Euv Lithographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Absorber stack optimization toward EUV lithography mask blank pilot production

et al. 2004

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EUV Lithography requires high end quality defect free layers from the backside coating to the absorber stack. Low thermal expansion materials (LTEM) substrates with super flat surfaces are already available with low defect backside coating for E-Chuck technology. The multilayer stack is well developed from a physical point of view and major effort relies nowadays on the layer defectivity. On the other hand, absorber stack becomes one of the main challenges in terms of stress, optical behavior for ultraviolet wavelengths and dry etching behavior.Schott Lithotec is currently developing absorber stack solutions that will fulfill the requirements of next generation lithographies. There are several options for achieving the mechanical, optical and chemical specs for buffer layers and absorber coatings. Some of them are already integrated in our production processes. Buffer layers were evaluated and reach almost the physical and chemical level necessary to fit with the mask processing. TaN based absorber coatings were designed and deposited by an ion beam sputter tool optimized for low defect deposition (LDD-IBS). The chemical composition of our layer and its manufacturing process is already optimized to achieve high quality etching behavior. The current results of defect density for the absorber stack will be presented.

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“…A reflecting layer has been developed by the EUV-LLC which is composed of 40 alternating pairs of molybdenum and silicon films. Tantalum silicon, tantalum silicon nitride, chromium, tantalum nitride and other materials have been investigated for use as absorber films [1][2][3][4][5] . Silicon oxynitride, silicon dioxide and ruthenium have been used as buffer layers [1][2][3][4][5][6] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tantalum silicon, tantalum silicon nitride, chromium, tantalum nitride and other materials have been investigated for use as absorber films [1][2][3][4][5] . Silicon oxynitride, silicon dioxide and ruthenium have been used as buffer layers [1][2][3][4][5][6] . Much additional work needs to be done to optimize mask blank and finished mask fabrication, including development of effective inspection and repair techniques, as well as control of mask flatness during write, measurement and printing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Status of fabrication of square-format masks for extreme-ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) at the MCoC

Racette¹,

Williams²,

Fisch³

et al. 2002

Emerging Lithographic Technologies VI

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Fabricating masks for extreme ultraviolet lithography is challenging. The high absorption of most materials at 13.4 nm and the small critical dimension (45 nm) at the target insertion node force many new features, including reflective mask design, new film choices, and stringent defect specifications. Fabrication of these masks requires the formation and patterning of both a repair buffer layer and an EUV absorber layer on top of a molybdenum/silicon multi-layer substrate.IBM and Photronics have been engaged in developing mask processing technology for x-ray, electron beam projection and extreme ultraviolet lithographies at the Next Generation Lithography Mask Center of Competency (NGL-MCoC) within IBM's mask facility at Essex Junction, Vermont. This paper describes recent results of mask fabrication on 6 x 6 x ¼ inch EUVL substrates (quartz with molybdenum silicon multi-layers) at the MCoC. Masks fabricated with high and low-stress chromium and externally deposited chromium absorber films are compared. In particular, etch characteristics, image size, image placement, line edge roughness, and defect levels are presented and compared. Understanding the influence of the absorber film characteristics on these parameters will enable us to optimize the effectiveness of a given absorber film or to select acceptable alternatives.

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<title>EUV mask fabrication with Cr absorber</title>

Cited by 16 publications

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EUVL masks: requirements and potential solutions

EUVL masks: requirements and potential solutions

Absorber stack optimization toward EUV lithography mask blank pilot production

Status of fabrication of square-format masks for extreme-ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) at the MCoC

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