Patent ID: 7972753

Claim:
A method of processing a microlithography mask having a substrate transmissive to a radiation and a mask material on the substrate, the mask material having a plurality of openings arranged in an array corresponding to a desired pattern of features to be formed on a semiconductor wafer, the method comprising: irradiating a photoimageable material on the semiconductor wafer through the substrate and the plurality of openings in the mask material, thereby forming a plurality of feature sites on the semiconductor wafer; identifying a first feature site from the plurality of feature sites at which an intensity of radiation at a focal zone is less than that for a second feature site, the first and second feature sites generally corresponding to first and second openings in the mask material, respectively; and based on the identification, modifying at least one of the first and second openings in the mask material in accordance with a target phase shift between radiation passing through the first and second openings.