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.

A lithographic apparatus comprising: a clamping surface for supporting a substrate, wherein a property of the clamping surface is defined by at least one clamping surface parameter, and wherein the property of the clamping surface has been selected to exhibit low wear; a clamping apparatus for actuating a clamping operation between the clamping surface and the substrate, wherein the clamping operation is defined at least in part by at least one interface characteristic between the clamping surface and the substrate; and a processing station, operable to apply an adjustment to a first property of the substrate to optimize at least one interface characteristic of a particular clamping operation in dependence on the clamping surface parameter and at least one substrate surface parameter which defines a second property of the substrate.

A lithographic apparatus comprising: a clamping surface for supporting a substrate, wherein a property of the clamping surface is defined by at least one clamping surface parameter, and wherein the property of the clamping surface has been selected to exhibit low wear; a clamping apparatus for actuating a clamping operation between the clamping surface and the substrate, wherein the clamping operation is defined at least in part by at least one interface characteristic between the clamping surface and the substrate; and a processing station, operable to apply an adjustment to a first property of the substrate to optimize at least one interface characteristic of a particular clamping operation in dependence on the clamping surface parameter and at least one substrate surface parameter which defines a second property of the substrate.

A method of treating a surface of a reticle includes retrieving a reticle from a reticle library and transferring the reticle to a treatment device. The surface of the reticle is treated in the treatment device by irradiating the surface of the reticle UV radiation while ozone fluid is over the surface of the reticle for a predetermined irradiation time. After the treatment, the reticle is transferred to an exposure device for lithography operation to generate a photo resist pattern on a wafer. A surface of the wafer is imaged to generate an image of the photo resist pattern on the wafer. The generated image of the photo resist pattern is analyzed to determine critical dimension uniformity (CDU) of the photo resist pattern. The predetermined irradiation time is increased if the CDU does not satisfy a threshold CDU.

A reflective mask cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment comprises a first supply section configured to supply a first solution containing at least one of an organic solvent and a surfactant to a ruthenium-containing capping layer provided in a reflective mask; and a second supply section configured to supply at least one of a reducing solution and an oxygen-free solution to the capping layer. A reflective mask cleaning apparatus according to an alternative embodiment comprises a third supply section configured to supply a plasma product produced from a reducing gas to a ruthenium-containing capping layer provided in a reflective mask; and a second supply section configured to supply at least one of a reducing solution and an oxygen-free solution to the capping layer.

A reflective mask cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment comprises a first supply section configured to supply a first solution containing at least one of an organic solvent and a surfactant to a ruthenium-containing capping layer provided in a reflective mask; and a second supply section configured to supply at least one of a reducing solution and an oxygen-free solution to the capping layer. A reflective mask cleaning apparatus according to an alternative embodiment comprises a third supply section configured to supply a plasma product produced from a reducing gas to a ruthenium-containing capping layer provided in a reflective mask; and a second supply section configured to supply at least one of a reducing solution and an oxygen-free solution to the capping layer.

Provided is an adhesive removing device for removing an adhesive for adhering a mask and a pellicle from the mask. The adhesive removing device includes: a laser irradiating unit configured to irradiate a laser beam to an adhesive layer formed between the mask and the pellicle; a controller configured to control a wavelength, a waveform, and an energy density of the laser beam, so as to remove the adhesive layer through emission of the laser beam; and an imaging unit configured to monitor a region to which the laser beam is irradiated.

Provided is an adhesive removing device for removing an adhesive for adhering a mask and a pellicle from the mask. The adhesive removing device includes: a laser irradiating unit configured to irradiate a laser beam to an adhesive layer formed between the mask and the pellicle; a controller configured to control a wavelength, a waveform, and an energy density of the laser beam, so as to remove the adhesive layer through emission of the laser beam; and an imaging unit configured to monitor a region to which the laser beam is irradiated.

The present invention is to provide a pellicle frame in a frame shape having an upper end face on which a pellicle film is to be arranged and a lower end face to face a photomask, which is characterized by being provided with a notched part from the outer side face toward inner side face of the lower end face; a pellicle including the pellicle frame as an element; and a method for peeling a pellicle from a photomask onto which the pellicle has been attached, which is characterized by inserting a peeling jig into a notched part from a side face of a pellicle frame, and moving the peeling jig in an upper end face direction of the pellicle frame in this state to peel off the pellicle from the photomask.

The present invention is to provide a pellicle frame in a frame shape having an upper end face on which a pellicle film is to be arranged and a lower end face to face a photomask, which is characterized by being provided with a notched part from the outer side face toward inner side face of the lower end face; a pellicle including the pellicle frame as an element; and a method for peeling a pellicle from a photomask onto which the pellicle has been attached, which is characterized by inserting a peeling jig into a notched part from a side face of a pellicle frame, and moving the peeling jig in an upper end face direction of the pellicle frame in this state to peel off the pellicle from the photomask.