Patent 12085843 was granted and assigned to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company on September, 2024 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
In a method of manufacturing a photo mask, an etching mask layer having circuit patterns is formed over a target layer of the photo mask to be etched. The photo mask includes a backside conductive layer. The target layer is etched by plasma etching, while preventing active species of plasma from attacking the backside conductive layer.