With a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation, Actinix of Soquel, Calif., will design and construct a high-resolution, high-precision metrology tool for 90- through 45-nm node phase-shift photomasks. The system will consist of an Actinix 5-kHz, solid-state, 193-nm laser, a stable phase-shifting interferometer and a high-resolution laser microscope that incorporates phase-shifting interferometry signal-processing algorithms. It will enable manufacturers to characterize, predict and control mask-loading effects and other processes that are important in reliable mask fabrication.