Provided is a substrate with a thin film for manufacturing a reflective mask that at least does not adversely affect performance of the reflective mask even when a thin film of a substrate with the thin film such as a reflective mask blank comprises impurities.

A substrate with a thin film comprises: a substrate; and at least one thin film formed on a main surface of the substrate. The thin film comprises a matrix material constituting the thin film and a small-amount material other than the matrix material. When secondary ion intensity emitted from the thin film is measured by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), a ratio (I.sub.2/I.sub.1) of secondary ion intensity (I.sub.2) of at least one of the small-amount material in the thin film to secondary ion intensity (I.sub.1) of the matrix material is more than 0 and 0.300 or less.

A mask, a manufacturing method thereof, and a patterning method employing the mask. In the mask, a plurality of masks can be combined into one mask. The pattern area (01) of the mask is provided with a first pattern section (10) and a second pattern section (20) which are not overlapped with each other; light of a first wavelength can run through the first pattern section (10) but light of a second wavelength cannot run through the first pattern section; the light of the second wavelength can run thorough the second pattern section (20) but the light of the first wavelength cannot run through the second pattern section; and the light of the first wavelength and the light of the second wavelength can run through the non-pattern area, or any of the light of the first wavelength and the light of the second wavelength cannot run through the non-pattern area. The mask is obtained by combining a plurality of masks.

A photomask blank comprising a transparent substrate and a light-shielding film disposed thereon is provided. The light-shielding film is constructed by a single layer or multiple layers including a light-shielding layer containing Si and N, having a N content of 3-50 at % based on the sum of Si and N, being free of a transition metal.

The present invention provides a photomask blank which exhibits high adhesion of a resist film to a film containing chromium, and which is capable of achieving good resolution limit and good CD linearity during the formation of an assist pattern of a line pattern, said assist pattern supplementing the resolution of the main pattern of a photomask. A photomask blank (511) according to the present invention is provided, on a substrate, with: a film (21) to be processed; and, sequentially from the far side from the substrate, a first layer (311) which contains oxygen and nitrogen, while having a chromium content of 40% by atom or less, an oxygen content of 50% by atom or more, a nitrogen content of 10% by atom or less and a thickness of 6 nm or less, a second layer (312) which contains oxygen, nitrogen and carbon, while having a chromium content of 40% by atom or less, an oxygen content of 30% by atom or more, a nitrogen content of 17% by atom or more, a carbon content of 13% by atom or less and a thickness of 46 nm or more, and a third layer (313) which contains oxygen and nitrogen, while having a chromium content of 50% by atom or more, an oxygen content of 20% by atom or less and a nitrogen content of 30% by atom or more.

The present invention provides a photomask blank which exhibits high adhesion of a resist film to a film containing chromium, and which is capable of achieving good resolution limit and good CD linearity during the formation of an assist pattern of a line pattern, said assist pattern supplementing the resolution of the main pattern of a photomask. A photomask blank (511) according to the present invention is provided, on a substrate, with: a film (21) to be processed; and, sequentially from the far side from the substrate, a first layer (311) which contains oxygen and nitrogen, while having a chromium content of 40% by atom or less, an oxygen content of 50% by atom or more, a nitrogen content of 10% by atom or less and a thickness of 6 nm or less, a second layer (312) which contains oxygen, nitrogen and carbon, while having a chromium content of 40% by atom or less, an oxygen content of 30% by atom or more, a nitrogen content of 17% by atom or more, a carbon content of 13% by atom or less and a thickness of 46 nm or more, and a third layer (313) which contains oxygen and nitrogen, while having a chromium content of 50% by atom or more, an oxygen content of 20% by atom or less and a nitrogen content of 30% by atom or more.

Provided is a reflective mask blank for manufacturing a reflective mask capable of suppressing peeling of an absorber pattern while suppressing an increase in the thickness of an absorber film when EUV exposure is conducted in an atmosphere including hydrogen gas. A reflective mask blank (100) comprises a substrate (1), a multilayer reflection film (2) on the substrate, and an absorber film (4) on the multilayer reflection film. The reflective mask blank (100) is characterized in that: the absorber film (4) includes an absorption layer (42) and a reflectance adjustment layer (44); the absorption layer (42) contains tantalum (Ta), nitrogen (N), and at least one added element selected from hydrogen (H) and deuterium (D); the absorption layer (42) includes a lower surface region (46) including a surface on the substrate side, and an upper surface region (48) including a surface on the side opposite to the substrate; and the concentration (at. %) of the added element in the lower surface region (46) and the concentration (at. %) of the added element in the upper surface region (48) are different.

Provided is a reflective mask blank for manufacturing a reflective mask capable of suppressing peeling of an absorber pattern while suppressing an increase in the thickness of an absorber film when EUV exposure is conducted in an atmosphere including hydrogen gas. A reflective mask blank (100) comprises a substrate (1), a multilayer reflection film (2) on the substrate, and an absorber film (4) on the multilayer reflection film. The reflective mask blank (100) is characterized in that: the absorber film (4) includes an absorption layer (42) and a reflectance adjustment layer (44); the absorption layer (42) contains tantalum (Ta), nitrogen (N), and at least one added element selected from hydrogen (H) and deuterium (D); the absorption layer (42) includes a lower surface region (46) including a surface on the substrate side, and an upper surface region (48) including a surface on the side opposite to the substrate; and the concentration (at. %) of the added element in the lower surface region (46) and the concentration (at. %) of the added element in the upper surface region (48) are different.

In a photomask blank including a transparent substrate and a first inorganic film containing either or both of a transition metal and silicon, and optional a second inorganic film containing either or both of a transition metal and silicon, when an intensity of secondary ions is measured in the thickness direction of the transparent substrate and the inorganic films by TOF-SIMS with using a primary ion source of Bi and a sputtering ion source of Cs, an intensity of secondary ions containing carbon detected at the interface of the transparent substrate and the inorganic film or the inorganic films is higher than both intensities of the secondary ions containing carbon detected, respectively, at the sides remote from the interface.

A reticle in an apparatus for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure includes a substrate having an image area and a black border area surrounding the image area, a multi-layer structure on the image area and the black border area of the substrate, the multi-layer structure to reflect EUV light, a capping layer covering the multi-layer structure, first absorber layer patterns on the capping layer in the image area and the black border area, and an absorber structure on the capping layer in the black border area, the absorber structure including one of the first absorber layer patterns, a hard mask pattern, and a second absorber layer pattern sequentially stacked, the absorber structure covering an entire upper surface of the capping layer in the black border area.

A reticle in an apparatus for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure includes a substrate having an image area and a black border area surrounding the image area, a multi-layer structure on the image area and the black border area of the substrate, the multi-layer structure to reflect EUV light, a capping layer covering the multi-layer structure, first absorber layer patterns on the capping layer in the image area and the black border area, and an absorber structure on the capping layer in the black border area, the absorber structure including one of the first absorber layer patterns, a hard mask pattern, and a second absorber layer pattern sequentially stacked, the absorber structure covering an entire upper surface of the capping layer in the black border area.