page_title: Phase-shift mask
hierarchical_section_title: Phase-shift mask
caption_attribution_description: Illustration of en:phase-shift masks
context_page_description: Phase-shift masks are photomasks that take advantage of the interference generated by phase differences to improve image resolution in photolithography. There exist alternating and attenuated phase shift masks. A phase-shift mask relies on the fact that light passing through a transparent media will undergo a phase change as a function of its optical thickness.
context_section_description: Phase-shift masks are photomasks that take advantage of the interference generated by phase differences to improve image resolution in photolithography.  There exist alternating and attenuated phase shift masks.  A phase-shift mask relies on the fact that light passing through a transparent media will undergo a phase change as a function of its optical thickness.
caption: Left: the real part of a plane wave traveling to down. Right: the effect of introducing in the path of the wave a transparent mask with a 180° phase-shifting region. (The illustration on the right ignores the effect of diffraction which increases in significance as the wave propagates.)
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