SIMULATION OF ELECTRON-SCATTERING PROPERTIES OF DIAMOND MEMBRANES IN X-RAY MASK FABRICATION

A theoretical investigation of electron-scattering properties of diamo nd substrates is presented. A complete simulation combining Monte Carl o calculation of energy deposition and a resist development model is c arried out for evaluating the suitability of diamond as a membrane for high-resolution X-ray masks, with respect to silicon. Simulation resu lts concerning the single-layer resist process for X-ray mask fabricat ion demonstrate that, in the limits of low and high e-beam energy, the re is no significant difference in using silicon or diamond. In contra st, at intermediate energy, the choice of the membrane may be critical in the prospect of attaining high resolutions.