  Conventional projection Talbot lithography usually employs opaque (amplitude)
or transparent (phase) masks for creating a periodic array of Fresnel
diffraction fringes in the photosensitive substrate. For particular mask design
the longitudinal periodicity of Talbot carpet can be avoided producing quasi
uniform striped pattern (Talbot stripes). We propose a novel hybrid
amplitude-phase mask which is engineered for obtaining extremely smooth Talbot
stripes and simultaneously high lateral optical contrast and extreme spatial
resolution better than a third of laser wavelength. By means of the numerical
simulations, we demonstrate the robustness of produced striped diffraction
patterns against mask design deviation and light incidence angle variations.
The reproducibility of the Talbot stripes is reported also for 1D and 2D
metal-dielectric projection masks.
