Here's a reference for a 50-mm-diameter (yow!) silicon nitride membrane: Silicon nitride single-layer X-ray mask Sekimoto, M. a; Yoshihara, H.; Ohkubo, T. a Musashino Electrical Communication Lab., Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Public Corp., Tokyo, Japan Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology Volume 21, Issue 4, 1982, Pages 1017-1021 Abstract: In a LP-CVD process, the preparation of a silicon nitride film with a small tensile stress and low refractive index was investigated as a function of deposition temperature and reactant gas ratio (SiH2Cl2/NH3). A small stress film with low refractive index can be prepared easily by high temperature deposition. Applying the film to an X-ray membrane, a new silicon nitride single-layer X-ray mask with a large area window (such as 50 mm in diameter) and high transparency to visible light is realized. Using this mask, a submicron resist pattern (0.5 m line and space) can be replicated easily by a Si-K X-ray exposure system. --Kirt Williams Agilent Technologies