Smooth Critical Dimension Compensation Across Photomask Transmittance Discontinuities Enabled by Selective and Direct Laser Patterning Inside Mask.

ABSTRACT: A selective laser patterning technique applied inside photomasks as a practical method to mitigate critical-dimension non-uniformity caused by overexposure in large-area lithography systems with segmented illumination was investigated. The geometric characteristics of laser-induced voids were analyzed depending on various laser patterning conditions, and the resulting critical-dimension behavior was evaluated across regions with various transmittance levels, including sharply discontinuous transmittance boundaries. The results show that the void size and morphology can be tuned by adjusting the laser pulse energy, although excessive pulse energy leads to mask fracture, from which we derived appropriate processing windows. Furthermore, photomask transmittance was controllable over a wide ra

SUBMITTER: Park D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12844384 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature