Repair of clear defects on X-ray masks by ion-induced metal deposition

To investigate the repair of clear defects on X-ray masks by ion-induced metal deposition, a photomask repair system was modified to allow for the localized deposition of tungsten from a gas jet of W(CO) sub 6 vapor. With this system, dense W layers could be deposited at rates of up to 4 nm/s; the X-ray opacity of layers having a thicknes of down to 200 nm was demonstrated by Y-ray lithographic resist exposures using synchrotron radiation.