Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.

Shigeki Sumida

Junji Fujikawa

Toshifumi Yokoyama

Yoshinori Kinase

Toshiaki Motonaga

Hiro-o Nakagawa

Masashi Ohtsuki

Satoshi Yusa

Chiaki Hatsuta

Hiroshi Mohri

Takafumi Okamura

Disclosed is a blank for a halftone phase shift photomask comprising a transparent substrate and a halftone phase shift layer formed thereon, the halftone phase shift layer being provided with a layer containing molybdenum silicide as its major component and either one or both of oxygen and nitrogen and being formed of a multilayer film with two or more layers, wherein the multilayer film contains a layer whose major component is either one of chromium and tantalum or a chromium tantalum alloy and the layer whose major component is either one of chromium and tantalum or a chromium tantalum alloy is laminated on the side closer to the transparent substrate than the layer containing molybdenum silicide as its major component and either one or both of oxygen and nitrogen.

Halftone phase shift photomask and blank for halftone phase shift photomask

A blank for halftone phase shift photomask is disclosed. The blank has a transparent substrate, a halftone phase shift layer and a light shielding film, the halftone phase shift layer and the light shielding film being layered in this order on the transparent substrate, and the l light shielding film is a single layered or multiple layered film which has a layer of tantalum.

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

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Tokyo-to, Japan

Shigeki Sumida