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clean environment for plate handling, storage or between exposure and PEB. A solution was discovered for CARs coated blanks life and supply as mentioned above, which had been considered the most serious issue for CAR blanks practical use. Summary
The defect guarantee level of blanks, especially for hard defects such as glass and chrome pinholes, has been behind the requirement until now. This is due to a giant gap in Permitted inspection “speed�; i.e., inspection cost
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for blanks, as mentioned above. However, the advent of new inspection techniques other than the ordinary scattering, transmitting or reflecting light detection, look very promising for blanks manufacturers trying to catch up with requirements for the next few years. There is a movement for the mask manufacturers to furnish inspection tools for sorting blanks to improve reticlemanufacturing yield for defects. The ultimate goal is to supply blanks defect data on each single plate for highend reticle manufacturing with a high yield. By improving quality and functionality, photomask blanks for each lithography and mask-making generation can be supplied to the industry.
KLA-Tencor Trade Show Calendar September 19-21
Diskcon, San Jose, California
September 25-27
AEC/APC, Lake Tahoe, California
October 3-5
ITC, Atlantic City, New Jersey
November 28-30
Fall MRS, Boston, Massachusetts
December 6-8
SEMICON/Japan, Makuhari, Japan
February 27-28, 2001
SPIE-Microlithography, Santa Clara, California