Patent 7261980 was granted and assigned to Hoya Corporation on August, 2007 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An x-ray mask blank and an x-ray mask wherein, assuming that Ramax and Ramin are defined as a maximum value of Ra and a minimum value of Ra of a surface roughness (Ra: center-line average roughness) on a plurality of points within a predetermined area on an x-ray membrane 12, respectively, the surface of the x-ray membrane 12 has a surface condition so that it may satisfy an expression: (Ramax−Ramin)/(Ramax+Ramin)≦0.15.