RADIATION-TOLERANT MEMBRANES FOR X-RAY LITHOGRAPHY MASKS

X-RAY LITHOGRAPHY (XRL) REQUIRES A MASK MEMBRANE MATERIAL WHICH IS STRONG, STABLE, RADIATION RESISTANT, AND EASY TO USE IN XRL SYSTEMS. IN EUROPEAN AND JAPANESE PROGRAMS, SILICON CARBIDE MEMBRANES AND COMPLETE MASKS HAVE BEEN PREPARED, TESTED, AND SHOWN TO CONFIRM THE PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS MATERIAL. NO U.S. COMPANY HAS A CAPABILITY TO MANUFACTURE SIC XRL MASKS; THE U.S. CLEARLY LAGS BEHIND EUROPE AND JAPAN IN THIS TECHNOLOGY. IN EUROPE AND JAPAN, ORDINARY CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION AT HIGH AND LOW PRESSURES (CVD AND LPCVD) HAS BEEN USED BUT THESE PROCESSES ARE NEITHER AS CONVENIENT NOR AS FLEXIBLE AS SOME OTHERS WHICH MAY ALSO BE SUITABLE. THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL PRODUCE SIC MEMBRANES BY THREE DIFFERENT METHODS: RF SPUTTERING; PLASMA ACTIVATED CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION (PACVD); AND ION BEAM ASSISTED DEPOSITION (IBAD). THICKNESS, STRESS, STRENGTH, AND PRELIMINARY RADIATION STABILITY MEASUREMENTS WILL BE MADE DURING PHASE I. DATA OBTAINED THROUGH PHASE I EFFORTS WILL BE USED IN SELECTING THE PROCESSES AND METHODS TO BE DEVELOPED DURING PHASE II.