Extreme ultraviolet mask absorber materials

Abstract

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask blanks, methods for their manufacture and production systems therefor are disclosed. The EUV mask blanks comprise a substrate; a multilayer stack of reflective layers on the substrate; a capping layer on the multilayer stack of reflecting layers; and an absorber layer on the capping layer, the absorber layer comprising an alloy selected from an alloy of tantalum, iridium and antimony; an alloy of iridium and antimony; and an alloy of tantalum, ruthenium and antimony.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of manufacturing an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask blank comprising:
 forming on a substrate a multilayer stack which reflects EUV radiation, the multilayer stack comprising a plurality of reflective layer pairs;   forming a capping layer on the multilayer stack; and   forming an absorber layer on the capping layer, the absorber layer selected from an alloy of tantalum, iridium and antimony; and an alloy of iridium and antimony.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the absorber layer comprises an alloy of tantalum, iridium and antimony, and the alloy comprises from about 4.8 wt. % to about 58.4 wt. % tantalum, from about 6.2 wt. % to about 92 wt. % iridium and from about 3.2 wt. % to about 85.5 wt. % antimony. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the absorber layer comprises an alloy of iridium and antimony, and the alloy comprises from about 7.6 wt. % to about 96.8 wt. % iridium and from about 3.2 wt. % to about 92.4 wt. % antimony. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the alloy is amorphous. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the alloy is formed by co-sputtering separate tantalum, iridium and antimony targets with a gas selected from one or more of argon (Ar), oxygen (O 2 ), or nitrogen (N 2 ) to form the absorber layer. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the alloy is formed by co-sputtering separate of iridium and antimony targets with a gas selected from one or more of argon (Ar), oxygen (O 2 ), or nitrogen (N 2 ) to form the absorber layer. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the alloy is deposited layer by layer as a laminate of alternate layers selected from tantalum and iridium layers using a gas selected from one or more of argon (Ar), oxygen (O 2 ), or nitrogen (N 2 ) to form the absorber layer. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the alloy is deposited using a bulk target having a same composition as the alloy and is sputtered using a gas selected from one or more of argon (Ar), oxygen (O 2 ), or nitrogen (N 2 ) to form the absorber layer. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the alloy is doped with one of more of nitrogen or oxygen in a range of from 0.1 wt. % to 5 wt. %. 
     
     
         10 . An extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask blank comprising:
 a substrate;   a multilayer stack which reflects EUV radiation, the multilayer stack comprising a plurality of reflective layer pairs;   a capping layer on the multilayer stack of reflecting layers; and   an absorber layer selected from an alloy of tantalum, iridium and antimony; and an alloy of iridium and antimony.   
     
     
         11 . The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask blank of  claim 10 , wherein the absorber layer comprises an alloy of tantalum, iridium and antimony, and the alloy comprises from about 4.8 wt. % to about 58.4 wt. % tantalum, from about 6.2 wt. % to about 92 wt. % iridium and from about 3.2 wt. % to about 85.5 wt. % antimony. 
     
     
         12 . The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask blank of  claim 10 , wherein the absorber layer comprises an alloy of iridium and antimony, and the alloy comprises from about 7.6 wt. % to about 96.8 wt. % iridium and from about 3.2 wt. % to about 92.4 wt. % antimony. 
     
     
         13 . The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask blank of  claim 10 , wherein the alloy is amorphous. 
     
     
         14 . The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask blank of  claim 10 , wherein the absorber layer has a thickness of less than 60 nm. 
     
     
         15 . The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask blank of  claim 10 , wherein the absorber layer further comprises a range of from about 0.1 wt. % to about 5 wt. % of a dopant selected from one or more of nitrogen or oxygen. 
     
     
         16 . The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask blank of  claim 15 , wherein the absorber layer has a thickness of less than 60 nm. 
     
     
         17 . An extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask blank comprising:
 a substrate;   a multilayer stack which reflects EUV radiation, the multilayer stack comprising a plurality of reflective layer pairs including molybdenum (Mo) and silicon (Si);   a capping layer on the multilayer stack of reflecting layers; and   an absorber layer selected from an alloy of tantalum, iridium and antimony; and an alloy of iridium and antimony.   
     
     
         18 . The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask blank of  claim 17 , wherein the alloy is amorphous. 
     
     
         19 . The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask blank of  claim 17 , wherein the absorber layer further comprises a range of from about 0.1 wt. % to about 5 wt. % of a dopant selected from one or more of nitrogen or oxygen. 
     
     
         20 . The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask blank of  claim 17 , wherein the absorber layer has a thickness of less than 60 nm.