METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING REFLECTIVE MASK AND REFLECTIVE MASK BLANK USED FOR THE MANUFACTURE

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing a reflective mask having a light-shielding region where an absorbing layer is laminated in a periphery of a pattern region, by which a defect can be corrected without leaving a correction mark while preventing decrease in the throughput of the mask manufacture and damages in a normal pattern or a reflection layer, and thereby, a high-quality mask is manufactured, and also to provide a mask blank suitable for the method.SOLUTION: The method has: providing a hard mask on an absorbing layer, which comprises a second absorbing layer laminated on the first absorbing layer; etching the hard mask, the second absorbing layer and the first absorbing layer in a pattern region to form a pattern; inspecting defects in the appearance of the pattern region; correcting a black defect if any black defect is present, while leaving the first absorbing layer below the black defect to such a degree of thickness that does not damage a reflection layer; and removing the first absorbing layer remaining after the correction of the black defect by etching.