Hoya Corporation

Hoyo Corporation

Masaru Mitsui

Toshiyuki Suzuki

Masao Ushida

Hideki Suda

Kimihiro Okada

Shigenori Ishihara

Osamu Nozawa

Masaru Tanabe

Hideaki Mitsui

Shigekazu Matsui

Haruhiko Yamagata

Osamu Nagarekawa

Hitoshi Ootsuka

To provide a method for manufacturing a mask blank capable of manufacturing a high quality mask blank that suppresses generation of defects in a thin film for forming a mask pattern with high yields, a method for manufacturing a transfer mask that manufactures the thin film of the mask blank by patterning, and a sputtering target used for manufacturing the mask blank. By using the sputtering target containing silicon and having a hardness of 900 HV or more in Vickers' hardness, the thin film for forming the mask pattern on a substrate is formed by sputtering, and the high quality mask blank that suppresses generating of defects is manufactured, and further the transfer mask is manufactured by patterning the thin film.

Method for manufacturing mask blank, method for manufacturing transfer mask, sputtering target for manufacturing mask blank

There are provided a manufacturing method of a transparent substrate for a mask blank, a mask blank, or an exposure mask adapted to prevent occurrence of a transfer pattern defect or a mask pattern defect, by correcting a recessed defect existing on the surface of the transparent substrate, and a defect correction method of an exposure mask. With respect to an exposure mask having a transparent substrateformed thereon with a mask patternwhich becomes a transfer pattern, correction is performed by removing, by the use of a needle-shaped member, a peripheral portion of a recessed defectformed on a surfaceof the substrate, where the mask patternis not formed, so as to induce a reduction in transmission light quantity which causes a transfer pattern defect, thereby reducing a level difference between the surface of the substrate and the depth of the recessed defect. This correction of the recessed defect is carried out at the stage before forming a mask pattern forming thin film on the transparent substrate. A mask blank and an exposure mask are manufactured by the use of the transparent substrate applied with the correction of the recessed defect.

Manufacturing method of transparent substrate for mask blanks, manufacturing method of mask blanks, manufacturing method of exposure masks, manufacturing method of semiconductor devices, manufacturing method of liquid crystal display devices, and defect correction method of exposure masks

A sputtering target for manufacturing a mask blank having a backing platewhere a portion for bonding a target memberis protruded like the convex with respect to a base portion', and the target memberbeing formed to have a larger surface area than the area of the bonding portion of the backing platewith extending from the bonding portion over a whole periphery with a bonding agentinterposed in-between, and further a metalis deposited to a concave portion formed by a combination of the two structures in such a manner that the elution of the bonding agentcan be sealed.

Mask blank manufacturing method and sputtering target for manufacturing the same

For efficiently manufacturing half-tone phase shifting mask blanks having uniform product qualities, which enables the prevention of optical property variations when the blanks are mass-produced, there is provided a process for manufacturing half-tone phase shifting mask blanks each having a phase shifting film containing at least one half-tone film on a transparent substrate, comprising the step of providing a target containing a metal and silicon, and carrying out reactive sputtering in an atmosphere containing a reactive gas, to form said half-tone film on said transparent substrate, wherein the formation of the half-tone film by said reactive sputtering is carried out using, as said target, a target having a metal/silicon compositional ratio selected so as to give a predetermined optical property of the half-tone film, at a reactive gas flow rate selected from a region where a discharge characteristic is stabilized against a change in the flow rate of the reactive gas.

Process for manufacturing half-tone phase shifting mask blanks

Photomask blank

In obtaining a photomask blankby disposing a sputtering target in a vacuum chamber and forming thin filmsandwith a three-layer construction of CrN/CrC/CrON over a transparent substrateby reactive sputtering, the thin films are formed in a mixed gas atmosphere containing helium, and the helium gas flux in the mixed gas is controlled such that the crystal grain diameter of the CrC thin film, which is the thickest film, will be 3 to 7 nm. This yields a photomask blank having thin films with low film stress, having good film quality, and which can be produced at a high yield in mass production.

Photomask blank, photomask, methods of manufacturing the same and methods of forming micropattern

A method of manufacturing a photomask blank having at least a film for forming a mask pattern on a transparent substrate comprises the steps of causing a sputtering atmosphere to contain at least a helium gas to form a film for forming the mask pattern by sputtering, and heating the transparent substrate during or after the film forming step.

Photomask blank manufacturing method

Photomask blank, photomask, methods of manufacturing the same, and method of forming micropattern

There is provided a manufacturing apparatus and method able to manufacture a phase shift mask blank in which a total number of particles and pinholes having a diameter larger than about a half of an exposure wavelength in a light semi-transmission film is 0.1 or less per square centimeter. In a DC magnetron sputtering apparatus for manufacturing a halftone phase shift mask blank, for example, a target plane is disposed downwards with respect to a gravity direction, a whole-surface erosion cathode is used, a corner portion of an end of a target and a corner portion of an earth shield are chamfered (R processed), a target end , an exposed backing plate surface and the surface of an earth shield are roughened, and the earth shield is disposed above a target plane d (on a backing plate side).

Phase shift mask blank, photo mask blank and manufacturing apparatus and method of blanks

Method for manufacturing phase shift mask blank and method for manufacturing phase shift mask

A half tone type phase shift mask as well as a phase shift mask blank for the mask is formed with a thin film light translucent portion made of essentially, nitrogen, metal, and silicon. The containing rate of each element and ratio in the thin film is specified in a certain range to improve film characteristics, such as acid resistance, photo resistance, conductivity, refractive index rate (film thickness), light transmission rate, etching selectivity, etc. of the light translucent portion. The phase shift mask satisfies optical characteristics (i.e., light transmitting rate and phase shift amount) with high precision, as well as reduces defects in the thin film.

Growing community of inventors

Yamanashi, Japan

Masaru Mitsui