Microelectronic devices consist of features whose sizes are nominally less than 1 &mgr;m. Features of the same size appear also on the x‐ray masks used for processing the devices. For nondestructive testing of various structures it is useful to replicate the mask or circuit using a polymer layer. The replica can then be checked in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) for faults or problems in processing. It was found that PVC replication could faithfully reproduce features as small as 0.25 &mgr;m.