X-RAY MASK FABRICATION USING DIAMOND MEMBRANES AND METALLIC DIAMONDLIKE NANOCOMPOSITE ABSORBERS

ONE OF THE MAJOR LIMITING FACTORS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF X-RAY LITHOGRAPHY IS THE LACK OF AN OPTIMUM MASK MATERIAL. THE COMBINED REQUIREMENTS OF X-RAY AND OPTICAL TRANSPARENCY,TOUGHNESS, HIGH YIELD STRENGTH AND SUFFICIENT INTERNAL STRESS TO MAINTAIN FLATNESS, LIMIT THE LIST OF CANDIDATE MATERIALS FOR MEMBRANES. OF THE VARIOUS MATERIALS STUDIED OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS DIAMOND IS AN EXTREMELY GOOD CANDIDATE FOR AN X-RAY MEMBRANE. THE X-RAY MASK STRUCTURE REQUIRES THE FORMATION OF AN EXTREMELY ADHERENT, HIGH ATOMICNUMBER ABSORBER ON THE MEMBRANE. AT THE SAME TIME THE ABSORBER LAYER SHOULD NOT DEVELOP INTERNAL STRESSES DURING DEPOSITION AS THIS WILL LEAD TO PATTERN DISTORTIONS FOLLOWING SUBSEQUENT ETCHING AND PROCESSING STEPS. METALLICDIAMONDLIKE NANOCOMPOSITES CAN BE SYNTHESIZED VIRTUALLY STRESS-FREE AND EXHIBIT EXTREMELY GOOD ADHESION TO VIRTUALLYANY SUBSTRATE. THE PHASE I PROPOSAL SEEKS TO OPTIMIZE THE SYNTHESIS OF X-RAY MASK STRUCTURES CONSISTING OF A DIAMOND MEMBRANE AND A W-DIAMONDLIKE NANOCOMPOSITE ABSORBER.