We have dramatically increased the sensitivity of a technique for the rapid inspection of EUV multilayer-coated mask blanks. In this technique an EUV sensitive resist is applied directly to a mask blank which is then flood exposed with EUV light and partially developed. Reflectivity defects in the mask blank results in mounds in a partially developed positive resists that appear as high contrast objects in a standard Nomarski microscope. The use of a higher contrast resist is shown experimentally to result in the creation of dramatically taller mounds. A simple model for the exposure and development of the resists has been developed and the predictions of the model compare well with the experimental results.

Date Published: 25 June 1999
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 3676, Emerging Lithographic Technologies III, (25 June 1999); doi: 10.1117/12.351134

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3676:
Emerging Lithographic Technologies III
Yuli Vladimirsky, Editor(s)