Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

Other

Mitsubishi Electric Company

Renesas Technology Corp.

Hiroshi Mohri

Masahiro Takahashi

Hiroyuki Miyashita

Junji Fujikawa

Katsuya Hayano

Takaharu Nagai

Yasutaka Morikawa

Minoru Utsumi

Hiroyuki Obata

Makoto Matsuo

Shunsuke Mukasa

Chihaya Ogusu

Yoshiaki Kudo

Takashi Aono

Toshifumi Yokoyama

Yukio Iimura

Norikazu Saito

Masato Koike

Keiji Hashimoto

Hideaki Amano

Naoya Hayashi

Koichi Mikami

Yoshinori Kinase

Toshiaki Motonaga

Takafumi Okamura

Chiaki Hatsuda

Keisuke Nakazawa

Chiaki Hatsuta

Jiro Takei

Nobuhito Toyama

Norihito Ito

Hiro-o Nakagawa

Toru Ogawa

Masashi Ohtsuki

Tsuyoshi Amano

Shu Shimada

Takahiro Matsuo

Haruo Kokubo

Shigeki Sumida

Satoshi Yusa

Kimio Ito

Hideyoshi Takamizawa

Toshio Onodera

Wataru Goto

Sachiko Ishikita

Shiho Sasaki

Yuuichi Yoshida

Keiji c/o Dai Nippon Printing Co Ltd Hashimoto

The present invention provides a halftone mask comprising an assist pattern and a manufacturing method of the halftone mask, which uses an ArF excimer laser as an exposing source, is used for a projection exposure by an off axis illumination, does not resolve the as pattern while keeping the focal depth magnification effect as the assist pattern, and may form a transferred image having high contrast of a main pattern. A photomask is a photomask comprising the main pattern which is transferred to a transfer-target surface by the projection exposure and the assist pattern which is formed nearby the main pattern and not transferred, characterized in that the main pattern and the assist pattern are each constituted from a semi-transparent film made of the same material, a retardation of 180&#xb0; is generated between the light transmitting through the main pattern and the light transmitting through a transparent region of a transparent substrate, and a predetermined retardation within the scope of 70&#xb0; to 115&#xb0; is generated between the light transmitting through the assist pattern and the light transmitting through the transparent region of the transparent substrate.

Photomask and methods for manufacturing and correcting photomask

The present invention provides a halftone mask comprising an assist pattern and a manufacturing method of the halftone mask, which uses an ArF excimer laser as an exposing source, is used for a projection exposure by an off axis illumination, does not resolve the assist pattern while keeping the focal depth magnification effect as the assist pattern, and may form a transferred image having high contrast of a main pattern. A photomask is a photomask comprising the main pattern which is transferred to a transfer-target surface by the projection exposure and the assist pattern which is formed nearby the main pattern and not transferred, characterized in that the main pattern and the assist pattern are each constituted from a semi-transparent film made of the same material, a retardation of 180&#xb0; is generated between the light transmitting through the main pattern and the light transmitting through a transparent region of a transparent substrate, and a predetermined retardation within the scope of 70&#xb0; to 115&#xb0; is generated between the light transmitting through the assist pattern and the light transmitting through the transparent region of the transparent substrate.

The invention provides a gradated photomask for reducing photolithography steps and its fabrication process, which make use of a generally available photomask blank, prevents the reflectance of a light shield film from growing high, makes alignment easy during the formation of a semitransparent film, and enables the semi-transparent film on a light shield pattern with good step coverage. A photomask () comprises a mixture of a light shield area including a light shield film () having a desired pattern on a transparent substrate wherein a film forming the pattern is substantially opaque to photolithographic light, a semitransparent film () that transmits the photolithographic light at a desired transmittance, and the light shield film () and the semitransparent film () are stacked on the transparent substrate () in that order; a semi-transparent area wherein there is only the semitransparent film (); and a transmissive area there is neither the light shield film () nor the semitransparent film (), and is characterized in that the semitransparent film () has an antireflection function with respect to the photolithographic light.

Gradated photomask and its fabrication process

The invention relates to a halftone phase shift photomask which is controlled with precision in terms of its transmittance at a wavelength applied to inspection, and measuring equipment, so that its quality can easily be assured even when its phase difference at an exposure wavelength is controlled at 180&deg; C. with precision and its transmittance is set at 1 to 20% as desired at that wavelength. The halftone phase shift photomask ( ) comprises on a transparent substrate ( ) and a halftone phase shift film containing at least tantalum, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen, and has a multilayer structure comprising at least two or more different layers ( ) and ( ).

Halftone phase shift photomask and blanks for halftone phase shift photomask for producing it

The invention relates to a halftone phase shift photomask whose transmittance and phase angle remain unchanged even when irradiated with an excimer laser used for exposure over an extended period of time, and a blank therefor, and provides a halftone phase shift mask comprising a pattern of halftone phase shift film containing at least chromium and fluorine on a transparent substrate , wherein optical characteristic changes upon irradiation with an exposure excimer laser have been reduced by patterning a film irradiated with light having a wavelength substantially absorbed by halftone phase shift film

Halftone phase shift photomask and blanks for halftone phase shift photomask for it and pattern forming method using this

In the information recording an reproducing method and apparatus according to the present invention, a piece of picture image information is recorded as an analog quantity or a digital quantity an information carrying medium in a planar manner at a high density, charge potential is read for outputting electric signals to correspond to the recorded picture image information and then the outputted signals are printed out by means of various display unit or output device, with high quality and high resolution as well as ease processing of the information. The information carrying medium provides a long period of storage of information and enables stored picture image information to be repeatedly reproduced with a picture quality according to need. Particularly, it is, according to the present invention, possible to read and output local potential of an information carrying medium with predetermined scanning density at a desired time, and so pictures of high quality may be output as a silver salt photograph is taken and reproduced by optically scanning the film. Thus, the present invention may be applied to a wide field including photographing, copying and printing.

Method for recording and reproducing information, apparatus therefor and recording medium

A blank for a halftone phase shift photomask in the present invention comprises a transparent substrate and a halftone phase shift film provided thereon, and said halftone phase shift film has a multilayer construction in which at least a first layer capable of being etched with a chlorinated gas and a second layer capable of being etched with a fluorinated gas are disposed in this order from the side near said transparent substrate. A film made of tantalum silicides is suitable to use as the second layer of the halftone phase shift film. When such a blank is first etched with a fluorinated gas and then etched with chlorinated gas, because an etching selective ratio to a transparent substrate made of synthetic quartz and the like can be taken sufficiently while maintaining the applicability to the exposure light with a short wavelength that is characteristic of silicide materials in addition to good chemical stability and good processing properties that are characteristic of tantalum materials, patterning in high precision will be made possible. As a result, it is possible to obtain an ideal halftone phase shift photomask excellent in stability after mask processing and in the applicability to the short wavelength.

Blank for halftone phase shift photomask and halftone phase shift photomask

Color imaging system with selectively openable optical shutter

A phase shift mask, e.g. a halftone phase shift mask, which need not to form an ultra-fine pattern and is capable of suppressing during exposure the occurrence of a sub-peak of light intensity, which has an adverse effect on the image formation, and which has a light-blocking pattern with a reduced transmittance at a region outside a device pattern area which corresponds to a region subjected to multiple exposure during transfer effected by using the mask. The halftone phase shift mask has on a transparent substrate (101) a halftone phase shift film (102) comprising a single layer or a plurality of layers. The composition of the halftone phase shift film (102) is changed in a region (107) outside a device pattern area on the transparent substrate (101) which corresponds to a multiple-exposure region by a method wherein the region (107) is irradiated with an electromagnetic wave, a particle beam, heat rays, etc., or a method wherein after a region in which the composition is not desired to change has been masked, the whole blank is exposed to an active atmosphere, thereby reducing the transmittance for exposure light at the region (107).

Phase shift mask and method of producing the same

A halftone phase shift photomask having a sufficiently high transmittance for light of short wavelength and usable for high-resolution lithography effected by exposure using deep-ultraviolet+radiation, e.g., krypton fluoride excimer laser light. The halftone phase shift photomask has on a transparent substrate a halftone phase shift layer which includes at least one layer composed mainly of a chromium compound. The chromium compound contains at least fluorine atoms in addition to chromium atoms. A transmittance higher than a predetermined level can be obtained even in exposure carried out a relatively short wavelength. The photomask can be used for exposure using deep-ultraviolet+radiation, e.g., krypton fluoride excimer laser light (wavelength: 248 nm). Thus, high-resolution lithography can be realized. Since the photomask can be formed by approximately the same method as in the case of the conventional photomasks, it is possible to improve the yield and reduce the cost.

Halftone phase shift photomask, halftone phase shift photomask blank,

A halftone phase shift photomask having a sufficiently high transmittance for light of short wavelength and usable for high-resolution lithography effected by exposure using deep-ultraviolet+radiation, e.g., krypton fluoride excimer laser light. The halftone phase shift photomask has on a transparent substrate a halftone phase shift layer which includes at least one layer composed mainly of a chromium compound. The chromium compound contains at least fluorine atoms in addition to chromium atoms. A transmittance higher than a predetermined level can be obtained even in exposure carried out at a relatively short wavelength. The photomask can be used for exposure using deep-ultraviolet+radiation, e.g., krypton fluoride excimer laser light (wavelength: 248 nm). Thus, high-resolution lithography can be realized. Since the photomask can be formed by approximately the same method as in the case of the conventional photomasks, it is possible to improve the yield and reduce the cost.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Hiroshi Mohri