Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Sharp Microelectronics Technology, Inc.

Hiroki Tabuchi

Masaya Hijikigawa

Hisatoshi Furubayashi

Makoto Tanigawa

Takayuki Taniguchi

Katsuji Iguchi

Hiroyuki Moriwaki

Yasuhiko Inami

Takashi Sugihara

Kazutaka Uda

Akihito Jinda

Shoei Kataoka

Shuji Miyoshi

Nobuo Hashizume

Masashi Inoue

Takashi Fukushima

David A Vidusek

Tetsuya Hatai

A photomask for use in manufacturing a semiconductor includes a chrome pattern serving as a mask pattern. The chrome pattern is formed so as to have a size substantially equivalent to a wavelength of an exposure light at an interval substantially equivalent to the wavelength. The chrome pattern includes a band-shaped first chrome pattern and a second chrome pattern having a side in the widthwise direction substantially orthogonal to the side in the lengthwise direction of the first chrome pattern. Then, auxiliary patterns of a size of not more than the wavelength of the exposure light, which have a function of reducing the exposure light or shifting the phase of the exposure light, are formed at both corners of the side of the second chrome pattern so as to partially overlap the second chrome pattern. When forming a resist pattern of a size substantially equivalent to the wavelength of the exposure light or a resist pattern at an interval substantially equivalent to the wavelength of the exposure light, the described photomask suppresses the backward shift of the corner of the first resist pattern corresponding to the auxiliary patterns as well as the deformation of the second resist pattern positioned apart from the corner by a distance substantially equivalent to the wavelength of the exposure light.

Photomask utilizing auxiliary pattern that is not transferred with the

A method for forming a fine resist pattern by exposing comprising the steps of: (i) forming a resist layer on a semiconductor substrate; (ii) forming a phase shifting pattern in an upper portion of the resist layer, the phase-sifting pattern having a tapered edge corresponding to a portion to which formation of an objective fine resist pattern is not desired; (iii) exposing the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate including the phase-shifting pattern; and (iv) forming a fine resist pattern below an outline except for the tapered edge of the phase-shifting pattern.

Method for forming a fine resist pattern

Sub-micron features are defined photo-lithographically by combining phase-shifting techniques with conventional photo lithographic techniques. In a first step, phase-shifting edges are defined in a photoresist layer. Dark-bands develop at the phase-shifting edges due to wavefront interference of an illuminating radiation in a subsequent exposure step. Development leaves behind sub-micron sections of photoresist which were covered by the dark-band regions. The dark-band sections are hardened and overcoated with a new layer of photoresist. A second pattern is projected onto the second layer of photoresist using conventional techniques. The second pattern is developed so as to create features having dimensions reduced by parts of the dark-band sections previously developed.

Lithographic process for producing small mask apertures and products

A mask for photolithography having a transparent substrate which allows light having a predetermined wavelength to pass therethrough; an opaque pattern provided on said substrate for inhibiting the light from passing therethrough; and a stepped portion provided adjacent to said opaque pattern on said substrate and having an inclined area, said stepped portion being transparent for allowing the light to pass therethrough, which can be used in a photolithographic system in fabrication of semiconductor devices and the like.

Mask for photolithography

In the system according to the present invention detects defects by projecting illumination light for exposure having a certain wavelength perpendicularly onto a phase shift mask to be examined; picking up, by means of an image acquisition section, two pattern images which are formed from the irradiated light having passed through two neighboring dies on the phase shift mask and image-formed individually through respective magnifying projection optical systems, and superposing the image patterns of two dies through an alignment to compare therebetween.

Defect inspection system for phase shift masks

A method for forming a resist mask pattern by light exposure providing the steps of forming a resist layer on a semiconductor substrate, forming a phase shifter pattern for inverting a phase of exposed light in an upper portion of the resist layer itself or over the surface of the resist layer, exposing the surface of the semiconductor substrate including the phase shifter pattern, and forming a fine mask pattern below the edge of the phase shifter pattern.

Method for forming resist mask pattern by light exposure having a phase

A moisture-sensitive device comprising a substrate such as silicon substrate, a pair of belt-like heating elements extending over recesses formed in the substrate, the heating elements being composed of a resistive film of platinum or nickel and a heat-resistant insulating film covering the resistive film in which one of the heating elements acts as a detector element and the other as a reference element, which device can exactly determine an absolute humidity irrespective of sudden changes of temperature.

Moisture-sensitive device

A sensor having a pair of sensor units, one of which is a detecting sensor unit and the other of which is a reference sensor unit, wherein each of the units comprises a substrate with a hollow portion, a thin insulating layer with a bridge, cantilever or diaphragm shape disposed on the substrate, a sensitive film disposed on the bridge, cantilever or diaphragm portion of the thin insulating layer, and a pair of electrodes being in contact with the sensitive film, the sensitive film section of the detecting sensor unit being exposed to an atmosphere to be measured so that the electrical resistance of the sensitive film changes with a variation in the physical quantity of the atmosphere to be detected, and the sensitive film section of the reference sensor unit being sealed within a shielding container so that the electrical resistance of the sensitive film is not influenced by a variation in the physical quantity of the atmosphere outside of the container, whereby the absolute physical quantity of the atmosphere to be detected is determined by the output power of the sensor based on a difference between the electrical resistance of the detecting sensor unit and the electrical resistance of the reference sensor unit.

Sensor

A method of manufacturing a resistance thermometer which includes the steps of preparing a support substrate and forming a platinum film, which serves as a temperature measuring element, on the support substrate by a sputtering process employing a sputtering gas which contains a predetermined amount of oxygen gas, and a resistance thermometer produced by the method. The method which optionally includes forming an aluminum oxide film, the substrate and the platinum film.

Method of manufacturing platinum resistance thermometer

A platinum resistor for the measurement of temperatures having a silicon substrate, an aluminum oxide film formed on said silicon substrate, and a platinum film formed on said aluminum oxide film.

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Nara, Japan

Hiroki Tabuchi