Actinic detection of sub-100 nm defects on extreme ultraviolet lithography mask blanks

We present recent experimental results from a prototype actinic (operates at the 13 nm extreme ultraviolet wavelength) defect inspection system for extreme ultraviolet lithography mask blanks. The defect sensitivity of the current actinic inspection system is shown to reach 100 nm in experiments with programmed defects. A method to cross register and cross correlate between the actinic inspection system and a commercial visible-light scattering defect inspection system is also demonstrated. Thus, random, native defects identified using the visible-light tool can reliably be found and scanned by our actinic teal. We found that native defects as small as 86 nm (as classified by the visible-light tool) were detectable by the actinic tool. These results demonstrate the capability of this tool for independent defect counting experiments. (C) 1999 American Vacuum Society. [S0734-211X(99)10906-5].