The impact of carbon contamination on extreme ultraviolet (EUV) masks is significant due to throughput loss and potential effects on imaging performance. Current carbon contamination research primarily focuses on the lifetime of the multilayer surfaces, determined by reflectivity loss and reduced throughput in EUV exposure tools. However, contamination on patterned EUV masks can cause additional effects on absorbing features and the printed images, as well as impacting the efficiency of cleaning process. In this work, several different techniques were used to determine possible contamination topography. Lithographic simulations were also performed and the results compared with the experimental data.

Date Published: 20 March 2010
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 7636, Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Lithography, 76360G (20 March 2010); doi: 10.1117/12.846996

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7636:
Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Lithography
Bruno M. La Fontaine, Editor(s)