Developing a viable multilayer coating process for extreme ultraviolet lithography reticles

Paul B. Mirkarimi; Eberhard Adolf Spiller; Sherry L. Baker; Victor R. Sperry; Daniel Gorman Stearns; Eric M. Gullikson

doi:10.1117/1.1631006

1 January 2004 Developing a viable multilayer coating process for extreme ultraviolet lithography reticles

Paul B. Mirkarimi, Eberhard Adolf Spiller, Sherry L. Baker, Victor R. Sperry, Daniel Gorman Stearns, Eric M. Gullikson

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS, Vol. 3, Issue 1, (January 2004). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1631006

Abstract

Reticle blanks for extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) are fabricated by depositing reflective Mo/Si multilayer films on superpolished substrates. To obtain a reasonable cost of ownership for EUVL, the multilayer films must be nearly defect free, have excellent reflectance/thickness uniformity, and have a high EUV reflectance. Small particle contaminants on the substrate that can nucleate printable Mo/Si phase defects are a serious concern. We develop an ion-beam thin film planarization process for mitigating the effect of small substrate contaminants that relies on enhancing the smoothing capability of Mo/Si multilayer films; we observe that etching of the Si layers in between deposition steps can yield a significant improvement in smoothing. Using this process substrate particles as large as ~50 nm in diameter are smoothed to ~1 nm in height, rendering them harmless. We further develop this process so that it retains these particle-smoothing capabilities while also achieving a high EUV reflectance and excellent uniformity.

©(2004) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

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Paul B. Mirkarimi, Eberhard Adolf Spiller, Sherry L. Baker, Victor R. Sperry, Daniel Gorman Stearns, and Eric M. Gullikson "Developing a viable multilayer coating process for extreme ultraviolet lithography reticles," Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS 3(1), (1 January 2004). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1631006

Published: 1 January 2004

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