<title>Focused ion beam phase-shift mask repair (fib or fact?)</title>

Abstract

Phase shifting masks (PSMs) have been shown to increase resolution in optical lithography as low as 0.25 micrometers . However, the production of defect-free PSMs remains a challenge. The increase in resolution decreases not only the maximum allowable chromium defect size, but also introduces phase defects that print at even smaller sizes than regular absorber defects. In addition to repairing smaller defects, PSM repair also has to deal with different new materials, and develop new approaches to defect metrology for transmission and shifter defects. A new focused ion beam (FIB) repair tool has been developed over the last year: the Micrion 8000PSMR. This paper describes the progress during this development with respect to imaging, absorber deposition, absorber removal, and quartz removal. Comparison to currently available laser repair tools is included where appropriate.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.