Patent ID: 6800407
Filing Date: 2004-10-05
Classification: G03F

Abstract:
A method for determining imaging errors of photomasks for lithographic structuring of semiconductors, the method which comprises:(a) placing a photomask to be tested in an object plane of an optical exposure device, the photomask defining a mask image to be reproduced; (b) placing a photoactivatable layer in the image plane of the optical exposure device, the photoactivatable layer containing a photoactivatable component and a compound permitting linkage of an amplification agent; (c) exposing the photoactivatable layer, the mask image to be reproduced being reproduced in the photoactivatable layer and a chemical or physical change to the photoactivatable layer being effected in the photoactivatable layer in dependence on an incident light dose, for producing a latent image of the mask image; (d) applying an amplification agent to the exposed photoactivatable layer to react the amplification agent with the compound in the photoreactive layer, a reaction between the compound and the amplification agent being dependent on a local exposure dose incident on the photoactivatable layer, to increase a layer thickness of the photoactivatable layer in dependence on the incident light dose; (e) removing excess amplification agent; (f) determining a local distribution of the increase in layer thickness of the photoactivatable layer; (g) comparing the distribution of the increase in layer thickness with the mask image to be reproduced and determining local increases in layer thickness outside the mask image to be reproduced; and (h) assigning the local increases in layer thickness outside the mask image to be reproduced to imaging errors of the photomask.