Is phase-shift mask technology production-worthy?

The feasibility and potential of Phase-Shift Mask (PSM) for sub- 0.5 urn fabrication have been clearly demonstrated. In the '91 SPIE Microlithography Syrnposium, a total of 18 papers on PSM were presented. Many new, innovative designs have been proposed. However, there is still a myriad of technical and logistic problems, which must be resolved for production implementation. We organized the workshop and panel discussion in the hope that the participants would collectively make an assessment of the maturity of the technology and reach a common understanding of the key issues.