18110838. METHOD OF MANUFACTURING PHOTO MASKS simplified abstract (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.)
Contents
METHOD OF MANUFACTURING PHOTO MASKS
Organization Name
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
Inventor(s)
Chien-Cheng Chen of Hsinchu (TW)
Ping-Hsun Lin of New Taipei City (TW)
Ta-Cheng Lien of Hsinchu County (TW)
Hsin-Chang Lee of Hsinchu County (TW)
METHOD OF MANUFACTURING PHOTO MASKS - A simplified explanation of the abstract
This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18110838 titled 'METHOD OF MANUFACTURING PHOTO MASKS
Simplified Explanation
The method of manufacturing an attenuated phase shift mask involves forming a photo resist pattern over a mask blank, which includes multiple layers such as a transparent substrate, an etch stop layer, a phase shift material layer, a hard mask layer, and an intermediate layer.
- The intermediate layer is patterned using the photo resist pattern as an etching mask.
- The hard mask layer is patterned using the patterned intermediate layer as an etching mask.
- The phase shift material layer is patterned using the patterned hard mask layer as an etching mask.
- The intermediate layer contains a transition metal, a transition metal alloy, or a silicon containing material.
- The hard mask layer is made of a different material than the intermediate layer.
Potential applications of this technology:
- Semiconductor manufacturing
- Photolithography processes
- Optical mask fabrication
Problems solved by this technology:
- Improving resolution and accuracy in patterning processes
- Enhancing the performance of phase shift masks
- Increasing efficiency in mask manufacturing
Benefits of this technology:
- Higher quality and precision in semiconductor device production
- Cost-effective manufacturing of phase shift masks
- Enhanced performance and reliability in optical mask fabrication.
Original Abstract Submitted
In a method of manufacturing an attenuated phase shift mask, a photo resist pattern is formed over a mask blank. The mask blank includes a transparent substrate, an etch stop layer on the transparent substrate, a phase shift material layer on the etch stop layer, a hard mask layer on the phase shift material layer and an intermediate layer on the hard mask layer. The intermediate layer is patterned by using the photo resist pattern as an etching mask, the hard mask layer is patterned by using the patterned intermediate layer as an etching mask, and the phase shift material layer is patterned by using the patterned hard mask layer as an etching mask. The intermediate layer includes at least one of a transition metal, a transition metal alloy, or a silicon containing material, and the hard mask layer is made of a different material than the intermediate layer.
