An exposure apparatus includes a projection system having a final element that projects exposure light to an upper surface of a substrate through liquid between the final element and the substrate. A liquid confinement member has a recovery outlet, via which the liquid is removed along with gas, arranged such that the upper surface of the substrate faces the recovery outlet, and the recovery outlet surrounds a path of the exposure light. The liquid confinement member confines the liquid to an area smaller than an area of the upper surface of the substrate by removing the liquid via the recovery outlet from a gap between the liquid confinement member and the upper surface of the substrate. An anti-vibration system is disposed such that transmission of vibrations between the liquid confinement member and the projection system is limited.

A system for cleaning or suppressing contamination or oxidation in a EUV optical setting includes an illumination source, a detector, a first set of optical elements to direct light from the illumination source to a specimen and a second set of optical elements to receive illumination from the specimen and direct the illumination to the detector. The system also includes one or more vacuum chambers for containing the first and second set of optical elements and containing a selected purge gas ionizable by the light emitted by the illumination source. The first or second set of optical elements includes an electrically biased optical element having at least one electrically biased surface. The electrically biased optical element has a bias configuration suitable to attract one or more ionic species of the selected purge gas to the electrically biased surface in order to clean contaminants from the electrically biased surface.

A positioning apparatus includes a first object and a second object; a positioning system configured to position the first and the second objects with respect to each other; and a flexible transportation line that is connected to the first and the second objects, the flexible transportation line having a stiffness that varies along the flexible transportation line such that the flexible transportation line can be represented by a dynamic transfer function, the dynamic transfer function being adapted to a closed-loop transfer function of the positioning system.

In accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure, a method of patterning can include dividing an image into a set of frame sections; determining a tip pattern for a respective portion of an image to be patterned by each tip of the tip array in each frame section of the set of frame sections; disposing the tip array in a patterning position in a first location of the substrate corresponding to a location of the substrate in which the first frame section in the set of frame sections is to be patterned; projecting a first pattern of radiation onto the tip array to selectively irradiate one or more tips of the tip array and pattern the substrate, wherein the first pattern of radiation corresponds to a tip pattern for the first frame section; disposing the tip array in a patterning position in a second location of the substrate corresponding to a location of the substrate in which the second frame section in the set of frame sections is to be patterned; projecting a second pattern of radiation onto the tip array to selectively irradiate tips of the tip array and pattern the substrate, wherein the second pattern of radiation corresponds to a tip pattern for the second frame section; and repeating the disposing and projecting for each frame section in the set of frame sections to pattern the image.

In one embodiment, a liquid treatment method includes (A) imaging a discharging port part of the liquid nozzle each time the discharging process is performed to one substrate, and acquiring, from images thus obtained, size data on foreign matter possibly present at the discharging port part; and (B) based on a history of the size data arranged in chronological order, judging whether an abnormality in substrate-processing has occurred. In the item (B), if the number of continuous acquisition, indicating how many times the size data not smaller than a first threshold value has been acquired continuously, exceeds a predetermined value, then judging that an abnormality in substrate-processing has occurred.

A scanner routing method for particle removal is disclosed. A dummy wafer coated with a viscosity builder is provided. The dummy wafer is moved, shot by shot, with an immersion scanner. The moving includes moving edge shots in a direction from the outside of the dummy wafer toward the inside of the same. The scanner routing method of the invention is beneficial to remove unnecessary particles or chemicals in the immersion liquid and therefore improve the performance of the product wafer which is subsequently run after the dummy wafer.

Ultrasound devices and methods are described, including a repeatable ultrasound transducer probe having ultrasonic transducers and corresponding circuitry. The repeatable ultrasound transducer probe may be used individually or coupled with other instances of the repeatable ultrasound transducer probe to create a desired ultrasound device. The ultrasound devices may optionally be connected to various types of external devices to provide additional processing and image rendering functionality.

Ultrasound devices and methods are described, including a repeatable ultrasound transducer probe having ultrasonic transducers and corresponding circuitry. The repeatable ultrasound transducer probe may be used individually or coupled with other instances of the repeatable ultrasound transducer probe to create a desired ultrasound device. The ultrasound devices may optionally be connected to various types of external devices to provide additional processing and image rendering functionality.

An exposure apparatus that performs a job process of exposing each of a plurality of substrates while exchanging the substrate is provided. The apparatus comprises a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate, and a controller configured to control the job process. The controller corrects, based on a relationship between an elapsed time of the job process and a substrate deformation amount, an overlay error generated due to deformation of the substrate, and exposes the substrate. In the relationship, the substrate conveyed to the substrate holder upon a substrate exchange is given an initial deformation amount corresponding to residual heat of the substrate holder at the time of the substrate exchange.

The lens unit includes a first lens array including a plurality of first lens elements each of which has a first optical axis and which are arranged in an arrangement direction perpendicular to the first optical axis. A second lens array includes a plurality of second lens elements each of which has a second optical axis and which are arranged in the arrangement direction while facing the first lens elements. The second lens array is in a positional relationship relative to the first lens array such that the second lens array is rotated about a virtual line perpendicular to both the first optical axis and the arrangement direction as the rotational axis by 180 degrees. The optical axes of the lens elements located at the substantially centers of the lens arrays in the arrangement direction are arranged to substantially coincide with each other.