An adhesive for an EUV mask includes an epoxy resin composition in an amount of 50 wt % to 80 wt % based on a total weight of the adhesive, the epoxy resin composition including an epoxy resin, a hardener, a toughening agent, a filler, and a curing accelerator, and an inorganic filler in an amount of 20 wt % to 50 wt % based on the total weight of the adhesive, the inorganic filler including one or more of aluminum hydroxide or calcium carbonate.

An adhesive for an EUV mask includes an epoxy resin composition in an amount of 50 wt % to 80 wt % based on a total weight of the adhesive, the epoxy resin composition including an epoxy resin, a hardener, a toughening agent, a filler, and a curing accelerator, and an inorganic filler in an amount of 20 wt % to 50 wt % based on the total weight of the adhesive, the inorganic filler including one or more of aluminum hydroxide or calcium carbonate.

A method is provided. The method includes detaching an upper shell of a reticle pod from a base. The method further includes while the upper shell is detached from the base, blocking an inlet flow of gas from entering an interior of the reticle pod between the upper shell and the base with a use of a fluid regulating module which is in a sealed state. In the sealed state of the fluid regulating module, an opening of the fluid regulating module is covered with a sealing film. The method also includes removing a reticle positioned on the base to a process tool. In addition, the method includes performing a lithography operation in the process tool with the use of the reticle.

In a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, in an EUV scanner, an EUV lithography operation using an EUV mask is performed on a photo resist layer formed over a semiconductor substrate. After the EUV lithography operation, the EUV mask is unloaded from a mask stage of the EUV scanner. The EUV mask is placed under a reduced pressure below an atmospheric pressure. The EUV mask is heated under the reduced pressure at a first temperature in a range from 100° C. to 350 C°. After the heating, the EUV mask is stored in a mask stocker.

The invention relates to a method for removing particles from a mask system for a projection exposure apparatus, comprising the following method steps: detecting the particle in the mask system, providing laser radiation, removing the particle by irradiating the particle with laser radiation.

According to the invention, the wavelength of the laser radiation corresponds to that of used radiation used by the projection exposure apparatus.

A method for cleaning a substrate is provided. The method includes following operations. A substrate is received. The substrate has a plurality of conductive nanoparticles disposed over a surface of the substrate. A first mixture is applied to remove the conductive nanoparticles. The first mixture includes an SC1 solution, DI water and O.sub.3. A second mixture is applied to the photomask substrate. The second mixture includes DI wafer and H.sub.2. A temperature of the second mixture is between approximately 20° C. and 40° C. The applying of the second mixture further includes a mega sonic agitation, and a frequency of the mega sonic agitation is greater than 3 MHz. A flow rate of the first mixture is between approximately 1000 ml/min and approximately 5000 ml/min. A flow rate of the second mixture is between 1000 ml/min and approximately 3000 ml/min.

A method for cleaning a substrate is provided. The method includes following operations. A substrate is received. The substrate has a plurality of conductive nanoparticles disposed over a surface of the substrate. A first mixture is applied to remove the conductive nanoparticles. The first mixture includes an SC1 solution, DI water and O.sub.3. A second mixture is applied to the photomask substrate. The second mixture includes DI wafer and H.sub.2. A temperature of the second mixture is between approximately 20° C. and 40° C. The applying of the second mixture further includes a mega sonic agitation, and a frequency of the mega sonic agitation is greater than 3 MHz. A flow rate of the first mixture is between approximately 1000 ml/min and approximately 5000 ml/min. A flow rate of the second mixture is between 1000 ml/min and approximately 3000 ml/min.

A cleaning apparatus for cleaning a surface of a photomask includes a housing defining a chamber, a photomask holder disposed within the chamber, and a gas dispenser disposed within the chamber to direct gas toward the photomask holder. The gas dispenser has two or more gas dispensing outlets. A driver is coupled to at least one of the photomask holder or the gas dispenser to establish relative movement between the photomask holder and the gas dispenser.

Apparatus for processing substrates can include a gas distribution plate that includes an upper plate and a lower plate and a solid disk between the upper plate and the lower plate. Each of the upper plate and the lower plate has a central region and an outer region surrounding the central region, the central region being solid and the outer region having a plurality of through holes. The upper plate and the lower plate are coaxially aligned along a central axis extending through a center of the central region of the upper plate and a center of the central region of the lower plate. The solid disk is coaxially aligned with the upper plate and the lower plate. The solid disk is configured to block transmission of ultraviolet radiation through the solid disk.

In a method of inspecting an outer surface of a mask pod, a stream of air is directed at a first location of a plurality of locations on the outer surface. One or more particles are removed by the directed stream of air from the first location on the outer surface. Scattered air from the first location of the outer surface is extracted and a number of particles in the extracted scattered air is determined as a sampled number of particles at the first location. The mask pod is moved and the stream of air is directed at other locations of the plurality of locations to determine the sampled number of particles in extracted scattered air at the other locations. A map of the particles on the outer surface of the mask pod is generated based on the sampled number of particles at the plurality of locations.