Application of pulse plating to form lead absorber patterns for x-ray masks

This paper shows that pulse electroplated lead can be used as well as DC plated gold as absorber material for the production of X-ray masks. This lead fulfills the demands on the absorber concerning resolution, contrast, grain size and surface roughness. Structures down to 0.3 Mym were achieved, and a thickness of the lead layer of approximately 1.8 Mym provides a sufficient contrast even for a 4-fold exposure dose. The mechanical stress of the pulse plated lead is negligible and no mask distorsion due to the absorber stress was found, even after annealing at 100 degree C.