摘要 |
A method of repairing opaque defects on a phase shifting template such as a mask or reticle that includes the steps of directing a focused ion beam (FIB) to scan a small region including an opaque defect. By monitoring a change in the intensity of a secondary signal, the end of the etching process is detected, and the template is exposed to a strongly basic solution to remove ion stains and repair residue produced by the FIB sputtering process. Suitable bases include sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, ammonium hydroxide, tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide, and the like. According to this method, an opaque defect is removed with high accuracy of edge placement and high quality of geometry reconstruction, and the phase shifting amount and the transmission of the opaque defect area are adjusted to their proper levels with high precision.
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