JPH03132663A - Pellicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify renewing work and to reduce the flaw of a mask by deforming a sticking means elastically with an external force, and providing an elongated groove in the longitudinal direction of the flat surface of the sticking abutting with the mask. CONSTITUTION:The pellicle is comprised of a frame 12 formed in frame structure, a light transmission film 13 fixed on the surface 12a of the frame and stretching the aperture part 12c of the frame, and the sticking means 14 of frame structure fixed on the back plane 12b of the frame and sticking to the mask 10. The sticking means 14 can be deformed elastically with the external force, and also, the elongated groove 14b is provided in the longitudinal direction of the flat surface 14a of the sticking means 14 abutting with the mask 10. Therefore, when the sticking means 14 is released by abutting with and pressing the mask 10, pressure reduction between the elongated groove 14b and the mask 10 occurs, then, the pellicle 11 is fixed on the mask 10, and peeling can be easily performed by introducing the air. Thereby, it is possible to easily perform the exchange of the pellicle 11 loaded on the mask 10, and to reduce the flaw of an expensive mask 10 while performing work.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [(Already required)] A pellicle that is attached to a mask to protect the mask, and which simplifies the work of replacing the pellicle and reduces damage to the mask due to the work of replacing the pellicle. A pellicle frame (hereinafter referred to as frame) is formed into a frame-like structure, a translucent film is fixed to the surface of the frame and covers the opening of the frame, and a transparent film is fixed to the back of the frame to cover the mask. In a pellicle consisting of a close contact means having a frame-like structure, the close contact means is elastically deformed by an external force, and
A long groove is provided in the longitudinal direction of the flat surface of the contact means that contacts the mask.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a pellicle that is attached to a mask to protect the mask, and particularly to a pellicle that simplifies the work of replacing the pellicle and reduces damage to the mask due to the work of replacing the pellicle.

The pattern width of recent large-scale, highly integrated semiconductor devices is 4M DRAM (DRAM; Dynamic
It is in the sub-micron range, as typified by Random Access Memory (anytime write/read memory that requires a memory retention operation).

Therefore, in handling the mask, it is essential to prevent foreign matter such as dust and oil mist from attaching to the mask, which may cause pattern defects, and to avoid scratches on the mask.

For this reason, a method of attaching pellicles to both sides of the mask and protecting the mask with the pellicle has been widely adopted.

[Conventional technology]

Next, a conventional pellicle will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional pellicle, in which (a) is a side cross-sectional view of the pellicle, (b) is a back view of the belter, and (c) is a mask with beritels attached on both sides. FIG.

The conventional pellicle 21 was composed of a frame 22, a transparent film 23, and an adhesive 24.

The frame 22 is a square or rectangular flat plate made of aluminum alloy or the like that is smaller than the outer shape of the mask 20.
It is formed by providing a square or rectangular opening 22c.

Adhesive 2 is applied to the surface 22a of the frame 22 having such structural dimensions.
The conventional pellicle 21 is constructed by fixing the light-transmitting film 23 through the pellicle 5 and applying the film to the entire surface of the opening 22c, and applying the adhesive 24 to the back surface 22b (see FIG. 5(a) and FIG. figure(
b)).

The pellicle 21 is coated with adhesive 2 on both sides of the mask 20.
It is attached via 4.

In this way, both sides of the mask 20 are isolated from the outside by the pellicle 21, and are protected from adhesion of foreign matter and mechanical damage, i.e., scratches, etc. that cause pattern defects when forming patterns on semiconductor wafers, etc. will be protected (
(See figure (c)).

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, during the exposure work, the transparent film 23 of the pellicle 21
It is extremely difficult to avoid damage such as adhesion of foreign matter or scratches.

If the foreign object or scratch is minute, please use the mask 20
The pattern is a resist of a semiconductor wafer, etc. (not shown)
Since the exposure is focused on the resist, shadows of foreign objects and scratches are not transferred to the resist.

However, the mask 20 with two pellicles attached,
Since it is frequently used and is usually attached to and removed from an exposure device (not shown) many times, the transparent film 23 may have large foreign matter attached to it that is transferred to the resist, or may have large scratches. The reality is that this is unavoidable.

Further, when the transparent film 23 is repeatedly irradiated with ultraviolet rays generated by an exposure device, it is inevitable that the film gradually changes in quality with the number of irradiations, becoming white and cloudy, and the transmittance of the ultraviolet rays decreases.

Therefore, it becomes necessary to replace the pellicle 21.

However, since the adhesive 24 adheres to the mask 20 with strong adhesive force, the task of replacing the pellicle 21 is very troublesome and requires a lot of man-hours.

Moreover, this re-adhesion work often causes scratches on the surface of the mask 200, making it impossible to reuse the expensive mask 20.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and its purpose is to provide a pellicle that can simplify the reattachment work and reduce damage to the mask caused by the reattachment work. It is in.

(Means for Solving the Problem) The object is to provide a frame 12 formed into a frame-like structure as shown in FIG. In the pellicle 11, which is composed of a frame-shaped contact means 14 fixed to the back surface 12b of the frame 12 and in close contact with the mask 10, the contact means 14 is elastically deformed by an external force, and the contact means 14 in contact with the mask 10 is elastically deformed by an external force. flat surface 14
This can be achieved by a pellicle characterized in that a long groove 14b is provided in the longitudinal direction of a.

[For production]

When the surface 14a of the contact means 14 is brought into contact with the mask 10 and pressed, the contact means 14 is elastically deformed and the long groove 14b becomes flat.

Therefore, when the pressure is released, the deformation of the contact means I4 is restored to near its original state, and a depressurized space is formed between the long groove 14b and the mask 10.

As a result, the contact means 14 is pressed in the direction of the mask 10 by atmospheric pressure and comes into close contact, and the pellicle 11 is securely fixed to the mask 10.

The pellicle 11 can be easily separated from the mask 10 by introducing atmospheric air into the reduced pressure space.

In this way, the work of reattaching the pellicle 11 becomes extremely simple, and accidents such as damage to an expensive mask due to the reattachment work that make it impossible to reuse can be reduced.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a pellicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the attached pellicle.

A pellicle 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is formed by providing a square opening 12c inside a square aluminum alloy plate.

The opening 12c is formed so that its sides are parallel to the sides of the aluminum alloy plate and its center coincides with the center of the aluminum alloy plate.

The adhesion means 14 is made of low molecular weight polyethylene that is elastically deformed by external force and is molded into a frame-like structure.

A long groove 14b is provided in the longitudinal direction of the flat surface 14a of the contact means 14 that contacts the mask 10.

In this way, the pellicle 11 according to one embodiment of the present invention has a transparent film 13 (
For example, a nitrocellulose membrane) is fixed to the opening 12c.
The entire surface of the substrate is covered with a film, and the adhesion means 14 is fixed to the back surface 12b via an adhesive 16 to complete the process (see FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b)).

Next, a method for attaching the pellicle 11 configured as described above to the mask 10 will be explained with reference to FIG.

First, the surface 14a of the contact means 14 is brought into uniform contact with the surface of the mask 10 and pressed.

Then, the contact means 14 is elastically deformed, and the inner space 1 formed by the long groove 14b of the contact means 14 and the surface of the mask 10 is
7 disappears, and the air in the internal space 17 is forced out of the internal space 17.

Thereafter, when the pressure of the pellicle 11 on the mask IO is released, the deformation of the contact means 14 is restored to some extent, and the internal space 17 also has the same volume.

At this time, since the inside of the internal space 17 is airtightly isolated from the outside (for example, the atmosphere), the inside of the internal space 17 is depressurized and 1
It becomes below atmospheric pressure.

In this way, the contact means 14 is pressed against the mask 10 by atmospheric pressure, and the pellicle 11 is attached to the mask 10.

Furthermore, by allowing four people to enter the interior space 17, the pellicle 11 can be easily separated from the mask 10.

Therefore, as described above, the work of replacing the pellicle 11 is extremely simple compared to the work of replacing the conventional pellicle 21, and as a result of the easy repositioning, damage to the mask 10 due to the replacement work is reduced. It becomes possible to do so.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, it is not only extremely easy to replace the pellicle attached to a mask compared to conventional pellicles, but also prevents damage to the expensive mask during replacement of the pellicle. It becomes possible to eliminate defects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a pellicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional pellicle. In the figure, 10 is a mask, 11 is a perital, 12 is a pellicle frame, 13 is a transparent film, 14 is an adhesion means, 14a is a surface of the adhesion means 14, 14b is a long groove formed on the surface of the adhesion means 14, 15, 1
6 indicates an adhesive, and 17 indicates an internal space. (b) Perigle (l shime []) (C) Mask's plow illusion iLJ Zaha gamma Tepe / Nokuru's 1 wise J temporary map 4th is Yo month -〃 1 ← da IJ no Pe') Kuru's Humo mouth piece diagram a-, 1 diagram

Claims (1)

[Claims] A pellicle frame (12) formed into a frame-like structure, and a transparent film fixed to the surface (12a) of the pellicle frame (12) and covering the opening (12c) of the pellicle frame (12). (13), and a frame-shaped adhering means (14) fixed to the back surface (12b) of the pellicle frame (12) and adhering to the mask (10).
In the pellicle (11), the contact means (14) is elastically deformed by an external force, and
A pellicle characterized in that a long groove (14b) is provided in the longitudinal direction of a flat surface (14a) of a contact means (14) that contacts a mask (10).