Patent ID: 7078133

Claim:
A photolithographic mask for use in irradiating radiation-sensitive resist layers on semiconductor substrates for fabricating integrated semiconductor products, the photolithographic mask comprising: at least one radiation-transmissive substrate; and at least one layer disposed on said radiation-transmissive substrate and selected from the group consisting of radiation-opaque layers and half-tone layers, said layer having: at least one region with a multiplicity of main structures, said main structures formed such that a pattern formed by said main structures is transferred to a resist layer in an event of irradiation and first structures produced by said main structures fulfill a predetermined purpose on a semiconductor substrate of a completed semiconductor product; dummy structures disposed at least at an edge of said region, said dummy structures formed such that a pattern formed by said dummy structures is transferred to said resist layer in the event of the irradiation and second structures produced by said dummy structures do not fulfill a predetermined purpose on the semiconductor substrate of the completed semiconductor product; and at least one auxiliary structure disposed at least at said edge of said region, said auxiliary structure formed such that a pattern formed by said auxiliary structure cannot be transferred to the resist layer in the event of the irradiation.