An EUV mask (10) includes an opening (26) that helps to attenuate and phase shift extreme ultraviolet radiation using a subtractive rather than additive method. An etch stop layer (20) may be provided between a lower multilayer reflective stack (14) and an upper multilayer reflective stack (22) to ensure an appropriate and accurate depth of the opening. An absorber layer (32) may be deposited within the opening to sufficiently reduce the amount of reflection within dark region (30). Optimal thicknesses and locations of the various layers are described.