The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 27, 1997
Filed:
Jul. 11, 1995
John J DeMarco, East Brunswick, NJ (US);
Christophe Pierrat, Boise, ID (US);
Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray Hill, NJ (US);
Abstract
A phase-shifting optical lithographic mask has a set of phase shifting features and a set of alignment marks, all having a common thickness and being made of a common material, such as chromium oxynitride, that is partially transparent to optical radiation used in an optical lithographic system. Both of these sets are located on a slab of quartz. An alignment shutter layer laterally intervenes between the alignment marks and the phase-shifting features, in order to suppress optical radiation leakage from the phase-shifting features to the alignment areas. A portion of the top surface of the alignment shutter layer and the entire top surface of the reinforced alignment marks are reinforced by an opaque layer, such as chrome. In addition, another similarly reinforced layer, a chip shutter layer, can be laterally located at an extremity of the reinforced alignment marks, in order to suppress optical radiation leakage from one chip area to another in step-and-repeat lithography.