Patent ID: 7910270
Filing Date: 2011-03-22
Classification: G03F

Abstract:
1. An intermediate construction for fabrication of a reticle, comprising: a relatively transparent base; a relatively opaque material over the base; a main-field region where windows utilized for patterning circuit elements of semiconductor constructions are to be formed, the main-field region having a lateral periphery, some of the relatively opaque material being within the main-field region; a boundary region where windows utilized for patterning circuit elements of semiconductor constructions will not be formed, the boundary region surrounding an entirety of the lateral periphery of the main-field region, some of the relatively opaque material being within the boundary region; patterned photoresist over the relatively opaque material, the patterned photoresist being over the relatively opaque material within the main-field region and being over the relatively opaque material within the boundary region; wherein all of the relatively opaque material within the main-field region has a reduced thickness relative to all of the relatively opaque material within the boundary region; and wherein the patterned photoresist has a thickness less than the thickness of the relatively opaque material that is within the boundary region and comparable to the thickness of the relatively opaque material that is within the main-field region.