Reticle blanks for extreme ultraviolet lithography: Ion beam sputter deposition of low defect density Mo/Si multilayers

We report on growth of low defect density Mo/Si multilayer (ML) coatings. The coatings were grown in a deposition system designed for EUVL reticle blank fabrication. Complete, 81 layer, high reflectance Mo/Si ML coatings were deposited on 150 mm dia (100) oriented Si wafer substrates using ion beam sputter deposition. Added defects, measured by optical scattering, correspond to defect densities of 2x10{sup -2}/cm{sup 2}. This represents a reduction in defect density of Mo/Si ML coatings by a factor of 10{sup 5}.