In accordance with improvement of FPD technology, masks such as phase shift mask (PSM) and multi-tone mask
(MTM) for a particular purpose also have been developed. Above all, the MTM consisted of more than tri-tone
transmittance has a substantial advantage which enables to reduce the number of mask demand in FPD fabrication
process contrast to normal mask of two-tone transmittance.[1,2] A chromium (Cr)-based MTM (Typically top type) is
being widely employed because of convenience of etch process caused by its only Cr-based structure consisted of Cr
absorber layer and Cr half-tone layer. However, the top type of Cr-based MTM demands two Cr sputtering processes
after each layer etching process and writing process. For this reason, a different material from the Cr-based MTM is
required for reduction of mask fabrication time and cost.
In this study, we evaluate a MTM which has a structure combined Cr with molybdenum silicide (MoSi) to resolve the
issues mentioned above. The MoSi which is demonstrated by integrated circuit (IC) process is a suitable material for
MTM evaluation. This structure could realize multi-transmittance in common with the Cr-based MTM. Moreover, it
enables to reduce the number of sputtering process. We investigate a optimized structure upon consideration of
productivity along with performance such as critical dimension (CD) variation and transmittance range of each
structure. The transmittance is targeted at h-line wavelength (405 nm) in the evaluation. Compared with Cr-based MTM,
the performances of all Cr-/MoSi-based MTMs are considered.
We evaluated and compared the i-line 5.2 % Cr based EAPSM and i-line 5.2 % MoSi based EAPSM to find more
appropriate material of shifter for FPD. The evaluation items were their CD linearity, phase shift, and optical properties
such as transmittance, reflectance, and absorbance under the wavelength range 200-800 nm. Finally, from the results, we
performed simulations. The CD linearity and the phase shift were seen as the performances of the same level within all
their specifications. The optical properties indicated that the transmittance was higher in the i-line 5.2 % Cr based
EAPSM than in i-line 5.2 % MoSi based EAPSM from about 350 nm wavelength, and the reflectance was lower in the iline
5.2 % Cr based EAPSM than in i-line 5.2 % MoSi based EAPSM under the entire wavelength region. From these
results, NILS and contrast were simulated between them in 5.0 μm pitch LS pattern and it was found that they did not
have a significant difference. Side-lobe effect appeared in both EAPSMs when clear features were closely adjacent under
2.0 μm contact pattern. However, the side-lobe could be removed effectively by adopting Rim type EAPSM. The i-line
5.2 % MoSi based EAPSM may be more suitable for the Rim type EAPSM than the i-line 5.2 % Cr based EAPSM
considering their structure and production process of the Rim type EAPSM. It may be appropriate that we use the i-line
5.2 % Cr based EAPSM in LS pattern and the i-line 5.2 % MoSi based EAPSM in contact pattern, because they were
almost same level in that performance perspective.
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