Abstract: A dry etching apparatus may include a dry etching chamber and a door chamber. The apparatus may further include a load lock chamber configured to connect the dry etching chamber and the door chamber in a vacuum state. A gas injector and an ionizer may be configured inside the door chamber or the load lock chamber. A gas supplying source may be disposed out of the chambers to supply a determined gas to the gas injector and the ionizer. A method of fabricating a phase shift mask using the dry etching apparatus may include removing particles attached to the surface of a mask in the door chamber or the load lock chamber during an etch process by the gas injector and the ionizer configured inside the door chamber or the load lock chamber of the etching apparatus.

Abstract: A photo-mask has a main mask pattern in a main region, a density correcting pattern in a peripheral region, and an exposure blocking pattern interposed between the main mask pattern and density correcting pattern. The exposure blocking pattern is configured to prevent the density correcting pattern from being transcribed to a wafer. The photo-mask is made by providing mask substrate on which a mask layer and a photoresist layer are disposed, providing design data that specifies at least the main mask pattern, and using the design data to derive exposure data that controls the exposure of the photoresist layer. The exposure data includes information that specifies the exposure blocking pattern, the portion of the peripheral region to be occupied by the density correcting pattern, and the pattern density of that portion of the peripheral region to be occupied by the density correcting pattern.

Abstract: A method of repairing a phase shift mask includes exposing upper and side surfaces of the phase shift pattern of the mask, selectively forming a passivation layer on the surfaces of the exposed phase shift patterns, and then cleaning the phase shift mask on which the passivation layers are formed. The repairing of the phase shift mask is carried out in the midst of a series of photolithographic exposure processes in which the phase shift mask is used to transfer an image to a photoresist layer or layers. After the photomask is cleaned, a determination is made as to whether the transmittance of the phase shift pattern is above a threshold value.

Abstract: A photomask blank includes a hard mask having an excellent etch selectivity with respect to an opaque layer. The photomask blank includes a light-transmissive substrate, an opaque chromium layer disposed on the light-transmissive substrate, and a hard mask layer disposed on the opaque chromium layer. The hard mask layer is of a conductive material having an etch selectivity of at least 3:1 with respect to the opaque chromium layer against an etch gas mixture including chlorine gas and oxygen gas. Also, a resist layer is disposed on the hard mask layer. Alternatively, a phase shift layer can be interposed between the light-transmissive substrate and the opaque chromium layer. Preferably, the hard mask layer is formed of Mo or MoSi. First, the resist layer is patterned, and the hard mask is etched using the patterned resist as an etch mask. Then the chromium layer is etched using the patterned hard mask as an etch mask.