US Patent 7306881 Method and system of lithography using masks having gray-tone features

A method forms patterns on a substrate by exposing the substrate a first time and exposing the substrate a second time using a mask containing gray-tone features. The gray-tone features locally adjust an exposure dose in regions corresponding to features defined in the primary exposure. Moreover, the gray-tone features enable the forming of features having different critical dimensions on a substrate. The gray-tone features may be sub-resolution features and formed by pixellation. The trim mask containing gray-tone features may have regions with different transmissivities.