Performance improvement of ALTA4700 for 130nm and below mask productivity

ALTA4700 DUV laser pattern generator employs chemical amplified resist to get better resolution. The capability of ALTA4700 for 130nm technology node mask production is obviously. Further improvement on ALTA4700 was performed to meet the state-of-the-art mask requirement. System optimization eliminates unusual critical dimension (CD) points and then reduces the range of uniformity. Appropriate post-exposure baking (PEB) temperature gets larger mask printing window and better CD linearity. ALTA4700 incorporate NTAR7 blank with particular dry etch recipe, the mask CD uniformity reduced from 25 to 15nm (range). Good Cr layer profile also obtains.