Abstract: To provide a method for manufacturing a mask blank capable of manufacturing a high quality mask blank that suppresses generation of defects in a thin film for forming a mask pattern with high yields, a method for manufacturing a transfer mask that manufactures the thin film of the mask blank by patterning, and a sputtering target used for manufacturing the mask blank. By using the sputtering target containing silicon and having a hardness of 900 HV or more in Vickers' hardness, the thin film for forming the mask pattern on a substrate is formed by sputtering, and the high quality mask blank that suppresses generating of defects is manufactured, and further the transfer mask is manufactured by patterning the thin film.

Abstract: There are provided a manufacturing method of a transparent substrate for a mask blank, a mask blank, or an exposure mask adapted to prevent occurrence of a transfer pattern defect or a mask pattern defect, by correcting a recessed defect existing on the surface of the transparent substrate, and a defect correction method of an exposure mask. With respect to an exposure mask having a transparent substrate 1 formed thereon with a mask pattern 2 which becomes a transfer pattern, correction is performed by removing, by the use of a needle-shaped member 4, a peripheral portion of a recessed defect 3 formed on a surface 1a of the substrate, where the mask pattern 2 is not formed, so as to induce a reduction in transmission light quantity which causes a transfer pattern defect, thereby reducing a level difference between the surface of the substrate and the depth of the recessed defect.

Abstract: There are provided a manufacturing method of a transparent substrate for a mask blank, a mask blank, or an exposure mask adapted to prevent occurrence of a transfer pattern defect or a mask pattern defect, by correcting a recessed defect existing on the surface of the transparent substrate, and a defect correction method of an exposure mask. With respect to an exposure mask having a transparent substrate 1 formed thereon with a mask pattern 2 which becomes a transfer pattern, correction is performed by removing, by the use of a needle-shaped member 4, a peripheral portion of a recessed defect 3 formed on a surface 1a of the substrate, where the mask pattern 2 is not formed, so as to induce a reduction in transmission light quantity which causes a transfer pattern defect, thereby reducing a level difference between the surface of the substrate and the depth of the recessed defect.

Abstract: There are provided a manufacturing method of a transparent substrate for a mask blank, a mask blank, or an exposure mask adapted to prevent occurrence of a transfer pattern defect or a mask pattern defect, by correcting a recessed defect existing on the surface of the transparent substrate, and a defect correction method of an exposure mask. With respect to an exposure mask having a transparent substrate 1 formed thereon with a mask pattern 2 which becomes a transfer pattern, correction is performed by removing, by the use of a needle-shaped member 4, a peripheral portion of a recessed defect 3 formed on a surface 1a of the substrate, where the mask pattern 2 is not formed, so as to induce a reduction in transmission light quantity which causes a transfer pattern defect, thereby reducing a level difference between the surface of the substrate and the depth of the recessed defect.

Abstract: A sputtering target for manufacturing a mask blank having a backing plate 5 where a portion for bonding a target member 4 is protruded like the convex with respect to a base portion 5?, and the target member 4 being formed to have a larger surface area than the area of the bonding portion of the backing plate 5 with extending from the bonding portion over a whole periphery with a bonding agent 30 interposed in-between, and further a metal 40 is deposited to a concave portion formed by a combination of the two structures in such a manner that the elution of the bonding agent 30 can be sealed.

Abstract: A short-arc type high pressure discharge lamp in which durability is improved and a lamp apparatus including the same is provided. Glass material portions 52A into which glass material enters respectively are provided on both sides of an electrode axis 5402 between the outer circumferential surface 5406 thereof and a curved portion 58 of a sealed metal foil 56, and a gap S3 being continuous with a sealed space 60 remains among the glass material portion 52A, the outer circumferential portion 5406 of the electrode axis 5402, and the curved portion 58. An angle formed by a surface 52-1 of the glass material portion 52A facing the gap S3 and the curved portion 58 is an obtuse angle ?. In other words, an angle formed by the surface 52-1 of the glass material portion 52A facing the gap S3 and a surface 5602 of the curved portion 58 of the sealed metal foil 56 is the obtuse angle ?.

Abstract: For efficiently manufacturing half-tone phase shifting mask blanks having uniform product qualities, which enables the prevention of optical property variations when the blanks are mass-produced, there is provided a process for manufacturing half-tone phase shifting mask blanks each having a phase shifting film containing at least one half-tone film on a transparent substrate, comprising the step of providing a target containing a metal and silicon, and carrying out reactive sputtering in an atmosphere containing a reactive gas, to form said half-tone film on said transparent substrate, wherein the formation of the half-tone film by said reactive sputtering is carried out using, as said target, a target having a metal/silicon compositional ratio selected so as to give a predetermined optical property of the half-tone film, at a reactive gas flow rate selected from a region where a discharge characteristic is stabilized against a change in the flow rate of the reactive gas.

Abstract: There are provided a manufacturing method of a transparent substrate for a mask blank, a mask blank, or an exposure mask adapted to prevent occurrence of a transfer pattern defect or a mask pattern defect, by correcting a recessed defect existing on the surface of the transparent substrate, and a defect correction method of an exposure mask. With respect to an exposure mask having a transparent substrate 1 formed thereon with a mask pattern 2 which becomes a transfer pattern, correction is performed by removing, by the use of a needle-shaped member 4, a peripheral portion of a recessed defect 3 formed on a surface 1a of the substrate, where the mask pattern 2 is not formed, so as to induce a reduction in transmission light quantity which causes a transfer pattern defect, thereby reducing a level difference between the surface of the substrate and the depth of the recessed defect.

Abstract: In obtaining a photomask blank 1 by disposing a sputtering target in a vacuum chamber and forming thin films 3, 4, and 5 with a three-layer construction of CrN/CrC/CrON over a transparent substrate 2 by reactive sputtering, the thin films are formed in a mixed gas atmosphere containing helium, and the helium gas flux in the mixed gas is controlled such that the crystal grain diameter of the CrC thin film, which is the thickest film, will be 3 to 7 nm. This yields a photomask blank having thin films with low film stress, having good film quality, and which can be produced at a high yield in mass production.

Abstract: There is provided a manufacturing apparatus and method able to manufacture a phase shift mask blank in which a total number of particles and pinholes having a diameter larger than about a half of an exposure wavelength in a light semi-transmission film is 0.1 or less per square centimeter. In a DC magnetron sputtering apparatus for manufacturing a halftone phase shift mask blank, for example, a target plane is disposed downwards with respect to a gravity direction, a whole-surface erosion cathode is used, a corner portion 5a of an end of a target and a corner portion of an earth shield are chamfered (R processed), a target end 5b, an exposed backing plate surface 4b and the surface of an earth shield 12 are roughened, and the earth shield 12 is disposed above a target plane d (on a backing plate side).

Abstract: For efficiently manufacturing half-tone phase shifting mask blanks having uniform product qualities, which enables the prevention of optical property variations when the blanks are mass-produced, there is provided a process for manufacturing half-tone phase shifting mask blanks each having a phase shifting film containing at least one half-tone film on a transparent substrate, comprising the step of providing a target containing a metal and silicon, and carrying out reactive sputtering in an atmosphere containing a reactive gas, to form said half-tone film on said transparent substrate, wherein the formation of the half-tone film by said reactive sputtering is carried out using, as said target, a target having a metal/silicon compositional ratio selected so as to give a predetermined optical property of the half-tone film, at a reactive gas flow rate selected from a region where a discharge characteristic is stabilized against a change in the flow rate of the reactive gas.

Abstract: A short-arc type high pressure discharge lamp in which durability is improved and a lamp apparatus including the same is provided. Glass material portions 52A into which glass material enters respectively are provided on both sides of an electrode axis 5402 between the outer circumferential surface 5406 thereof and a curved portion 58 of a sealed metal foil 56, and a gap S3 being continuous with a sealed space 60 remains among the glass material portion 52A, the outer circumferential portion 5406 of the electrode axis 5402, and the curved portion 58. An angle formed by a surface 52-1 of the glass material portion 52A facing the gap S3 and the curved portion 58 is an obtuse angle ?. In other words, an angle formed by the surface 52-1 of the glass material portion 52A facing the gap S3 and a surface 5602 of the curved portion 58 of the sealed metal foil 56 is the obtuse angle ?.

Abstract: For efficiently manufacturing half-tone phase shifting mask blanks having uniform product qualities, which enables the prevention of optical property variations when the blanks are mass-produced, there is provided a process for manufacturing half-tone phase shifting mask blanks each having a phase shifting film containing at least one half-tone film on a transparent substrate, comprising the step of providing a target containing a metal and silicon, and carrying out reactive sputtering in an atmosphere containing a reactive gas, to form said half-tone film on said transparent substrate, wherein the formation of the half-tone film by said reactive sputtering is carried out using, as said target, a target having a metal/silicon compositional ratio selected so as to give a predetermined optical property of the half-tone film, at a reactive gas flow rate selected from a region where a discharge characteristic is stabilized against a change in the flow rate of the reactive gas.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a photomask blank having at least a film for forming a mask pattern on a transparent substrate comprises the steps of causing a sputtering atmosphere to contain at least a helium gas to form a film for forming the mask pattern by sputtering, and heating the transparent substrate during or after the film forming step.

Abstract: To provide a method for manufacturing a mask blank capable of manufacturing a high quality mask blank that suppresses generation of defects in a thin film for forming a mask pattern with high yields, a method for manufacturing a transfer mask that manufactures the thin film of the mask blank by patterning, and a sputtering target used for manufacturing the mask blank. By using the sputtering target containing silicon and having a hardness of 900 HV or more in Vickers' hardness, the thin film for forming the mask pattern on a substrate is formed by sputtering, and the high quality mask blank that suppresses generating of defects is manufactured, and further the transfer mask is manufactured by patterning the thin film.

Abstract: A sputtering target for manufacturing a mask blank having a backing plate 5 where a portion for bonding a target member 4 is protruded like the convex with respect to a base portion 5?, and the target member 4 being formed to have a larger surface area than the area of the bonding portion of the backing plate 5 with extending from the bonding portion over a whole periphery with a bonding agent 30 interposed in-between, and further a metal 40 is deposited to a concave portion formed by a combination of the two structures in such a manner that the elution of the bonding agent 30 can be sealed.

Abstract: In obtaining a photomask blank 1 by disposing a sputtering target in a vacuum chamber and forming thin films 3, 4, and 5 with a three-layer construction of CrN/CrC/CrON over a transparent substrate 2 by reactive sputtering, the thin films are formed in a mixed gas atmosphere containing helium, and the helium gas flux in the mixed gas is controlled such that the crystal grain diameter of the CrC thin film, which is the thickest film, will be 3 to 7 nm. This yields a photomask blank having thin films with low film stress, having good film quality, and which can be produced at a high yield in mass production.