Patent ID: 8137868

Claim:
A reflective mask blank having, on a substrate, a multilayer reflective film and an absorber film comprising at least two layers, wherein the absorber film comprises: an absorber layer made of a material mainly containing tantalum nitride and further containing xenon, the absorber layer is formed by sputtering using a sputtering target made of tantalum or a material mainly containing tantalum and using a mixed gas of a xenon gas and a nitrogen-based gas as a sputtering gas; and a surface antireflection layer formed on the absorber layer, the surface antireflection layer being made of a material mainly containing tantalum oxide and further containing argon, the surface antireflection layer is formed by sputtering using a sputtering target made of tantalum or a material mainly containing tantalum and using a mixed gas of an argon gas and an oxygen-based gas as a sputtering gas, wherein the absorber layer has a compressive stress while the surface antireflection layer has a tensile stress, and the compressive stress and the tensile stress are cancelled by each other to reduce an internal stress of the absorber film as a whole.