A mask blank including a light shielding film pattern having high ArF light fastness. The light shielding film is on a transparent substrate. In the mask blank, the light shielding film is a single layer film formed of a material containing silicon and nitrogen, and the light shielding film has an optical density to an ArF excimer laser exposure light of 2.5 or more, a surface reflectance to the exposure light of 40% or less, a back-surface reflectance to the exposure light of 40% or less, a transmittance to a light having a wavelength of 900 nm of 50% or less, an extinction coefficient to a light having a wavelength of 900 nm of 0.04 or more, and a thickness of 60 nm or less.

A mask blank including a light shielding film pattern having high ArF light fastness. The light shielding film is on a transparent substrate. In the mask blank, the light shielding film is a single layer film formed of a material containing silicon and nitrogen, and the light shielding film has an optical density to an ArF excimer laser exposure light of 2.5 or more, a surface reflectance to the exposure light of 40% or less, a back-surface reflectance to the exposure light of 40% or less, a transmittance to a light having a wavelength of 900 nm of 50% or less, an extinction coefficient to a light having a wavelength of 900 nm of 0.04 or more, and a thickness of 60 nm or less.

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; an absorber layer on the capping layer, the absorber layer comprising a tantalum-containing material; and a hard mask layer on the absorber layer, the hard mask layer comprising a hard mask material selected from the group consisting of CrO, CrON, TaNi, TaRu and TaCu.

There are provided a reflective mask having a coating film uniformly formed along the outermost surface and the side surfaces of a transfer pattern, having high EUV transmittance, and having high cleaning resistance and a production method therefor. To achieve the object, for example, a reflective mask (100) includes: a substrate (1); a multilayer reflective film (2) formed on the substrate (1) and reflecting an incident EUV light; an absorption layer (4) formed on at least a part of the multilayer reflective film (2) and absorbing the incident EUV light; and a coating film (5) formed on the multilayer reflective film (2) and on the absorption layer (4) and transmitting the incident EUV light, in which the coating film (5) has an extinction coefficient k of 0.04 or less to the EUV light, is resistant to cleaning with a cleaning chemical solution, and is formed with a uniform film thickness on the surface and the side surfaces of the absorption layer (4).

There are provided a reflective mask having a coating film uniformly formed along the outermost surface and the side surfaces of a transfer pattern, having high EUV transmittance, and having high cleaning resistance and a production method therefor. To achieve the object, for example, a reflective mask (100) includes: a substrate (1); a multilayer reflective film (2) formed on the substrate (1) and reflecting an incident EUV light; an absorption layer (4) formed on at least a part of the multilayer reflective film (2) and absorbing the incident EUV light; and a coating film (5) formed on the multilayer reflective film (2) and on the absorption layer (4) and transmitting the incident EUV light, in which the coating film (5) has an extinction coefficient k of 0.04 or less to the EUV light, is resistant to cleaning with a cleaning chemical solution, and is formed with a uniform film thickness on the surface and the side surfaces of the absorption layer (4).

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask blanks, production systems therefor, and methods of reducing roughness are disclosed. The EUV mask blanks comprise a multilayer reflective stack on a substrate comprising a plurality of pairs of alternating layers comprising a first layer and a second layer, the first layer including a first element selected from the group consisting of Si, B, Al, Mg, Zr, Ba, Nb, Ti, Gd, Y, and Ca; and the second layer including a second element selected from the group consisting of Ru, Mo, Ta, Sb, Tc, Nb, Ir, Pt, and Pd. Some EUV mask blanks described herein include interface layer between the first layer and the second layer, the interface layer including an interface element selected from the group consisting of Si, B, C, Al, Mo, and Ru.

Some embodiments relate to photomask for mask patterning. The photomask includes a transparent layer comprising quartz, and a molybdenum silicide (MoSi) layer overlying the transparent layer. A first shielding layer overlies the MoSi layer and has a first thickness and a first optical density. A second shielding layer overlies the first shielding layer and has a second thickness and a second optical density. The second thickness is less than one third of the first thickness, and the second optical density is less than one fourth of the first optical density. An overall optical density of the first and second shielding layers is at least 1.8.

Some embodiments relate to photomask for mask patterning. The photomask includes a transparent layer comprising quartz, and a molybdenum silicide (MoSi) layer overlying the transparent layer. A first shielding layer overlies the MoSi layer and has a first thickness and a first optical density. A second shielding layer overlies the first shielding layer and has a second thickness and a second optical density. The second thickness is less than one third of the first thickness, and the second optical density is less than one fourth of the first optical density. An overall optical density of the first and second shielding layers is at least 1.8.

A reflective mask blank includes a substrate, a reflective multilayer (RML) disposed on the substrate, a capping layer disposed on the reflective multilayer, and an absorber layer disposed on the capping layer. The absorber layer has length or width dimensions smaller than the capping layer, and part of the capping layer is exposed by the absorber layer. The dimension of the absorber layer and the hard mask layer ranges between 146 cm to 148 cm. The dimensions of the substrate, the RML, and the capping layer range between 150 cm to 152 cm.

A reflective mask blank includes a substrate, a reflective multilayer (RML) disposed on the substrate, a capping layer disposed on the reflective multilayer, and an absorber layer disposed on the capping layer. The absorber layer has length or width dimensions smaller than the capping layer, and part of the capping layer is exposed by the absorber layer. The dimension of the absorber layer and the hard mask layer ranges between 146 cm to 148 cm. The dimensions of the substrate, the RML, and the capping layer range between 150 cm to 152 cm.