Patent ID: 8841047

Claim:
An extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) process for patterning a target, comprising: providing an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask having an absorption stack disposed on a reflective multilayer (ML), wherein the absorption stack provides multiple reflective states including a first reflective state and a second reflective state, wherein the first reflective state is provided by an exposed top surface of a first absorption stack layer and the second reflective state is provided by an exposed top surface of a second absorption stack layer; illuminating the EUV mask with an EUV light source providing an incident beam of a nearly on-axis illumination (ONI) with partial coherence σ less than 0.3; reflecting the incident beam from the EUV mask thereby producing diffracted light and non-diffracted light using the multiple reflective states of the EUV mask; removing a portion of the reflected, non-diffracted light; and collecting and directing the reflected, diffracted light and an unremoved portion of non-diffracted light with a projection optics box (POB) to expose the target.