A lithographic apparatus with a cover plate formed separately from a substrate table and means for stabilizing a temperature of the substrate table by controlling the temperature of the cover plate is disclosed. A lithographic apparatus with thermal insulation provided between a cover plate and a substrate table so that the cover plate acts as a thermal shield for the substrate table is disclosed. A lithographic apparatus comprising means to determine a substrate table distortion and improve position control of a substrate by reference to the substrate table distortion is disclosed.

An exposure apparatus comprising a holding part for holding an electric discharge lamp, the electric discharge lamp includes an electric discharge tube which covers an electric discharge space in which a pair of electrodes are disposed to face each other, a socket provided on one end of the electric discharge tube, a metal member which guides one of the pair of electrodes into the socket, wherein an opening for ventilation is provided in a bottom of the socket, the holding part includes a ventilation pipe to form a path for ventilation through the opening in the bottom of the socket, and a cooling part for cooling the metal member by supplying a cooling medium to the metal member through the ventilation pipe.

A supporting unit is provided to support a substrate. The supporting unit includes a supporting plate including a pressure reducing fluid passage formed inside the supporting plate, and a flanger provided in a groove formed in a top surface of the supporting plate. A lower area of the flanger is connected to the pressure reducing fluid passage in the groove, and the flanger moves up and down by reduced pressure applied through the pressure reducing fluid passage.

An extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light generating apparatus includes a vessel including a first end and a second end opposite to each other and providing an internal space extending from the first end to the second end, a concave mirror adjacent to the first end of the vessel, a droplet generator supplying a droplet to the internal space of the vessel, a laser light source irradiating a laser beam to cause the droplet to emit EUV light, and a gas jet receiving a flow control gas and spraying the received flow control gas into the internal space of the vessel. The gas jet includes a ring-shaped main body including nozzles spaced apart from one another in a circumferential direction. The nozzles spray the received flow control gas in a downward direction.

A method includes: storing a carrier containing material in a storage; recording environmental data of the storage to a database while the material is in the storage; generating a forecast for the material in the carrier based on the environmental data; receiving a request for the material from a semiconductor fabrication tool; and providing the carrier to the semiconductor fabrication tool based on the forecast.

A flow restriction, a flow restriction assembly and methods for manufacturing the flow restriction and the flow restriction assembly. The flow restriction is for use in a pipe so as to restrict the flow of a fluid and includes a body extending along an axis and that has i) a central portion having an essentially constant cross section, ii) an upstream portion, wherein the cross-sectional area of the upstream portion monotonically increases in a downstream direction along the axis; and iii) a downstream portion, wherein the cross-sectional area of the downstream portion monotonically decreases in the downstream direction. The flow restriction also has a plurality of central portion projections for engaging the inner surface of the pipe, each of which projects from the surface of the central portion in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the central portion by a distance of less than 500 μm.

A lithographic apparatus has: a conduit through which a gas can flow; a gas mover configured to cause the gas to flow in the conduit; a wall in contact with the gas in the conduit and defining a membrane aperture therein; and an acoustic filter including a flexible membrane fixed in the membrane aperture. The acoustic filter reduces transmission of acoustic disturbances without adding any flow resistance.

An exposure apparatus comprising a holding part for holding an electric discharge lamp, the electric discharge lamp includes an electric discharge tube which covers an electric discharge space in which a pair of electrodes are disposed to face each other, a socket provided on one end of the electric discharge tube, a metal member which guides one of the pair of electrodes into the socket, wherein an opening for ventilation is provided in a bottom of the socket, the holding part includes a ventilation pipe to form a path for ventilation through the opening in the bottom of the socket, and a cooling part for cooling the metal member by supplying a cooling medium to the metal member through the ventilation pipe.

A method of operating an illuminator and apparatus thereof are proposed. A method includes: directing a radiation beam to the illuminator comprising slit fingers; sensing a temperature value of each of the slit fingers; determining a shifting value of the respective slit finger based on the temperature value; causing the respective slit finger to move according to the shifting value to form a light slit from the radiation beam; and exposing a workpiece using the light slit.

A measuring apparatus for a vacuum chamber capable of accurately measuring physical properties or quantities in the vacuum chamber in an exposure process in real time, and a measuring system including the measuring apparatus are described herein. The measuring apparatus includes: a body having a shape of an exposure mask used in an exposure process; and a measuring element in an interior of the body or on a first surface of the body. When the measuring apparatus is positioned in a vacuum chamber during the exposure process, the measuring apparatus is configured to measure physical properties in the vacuum chamber using the measuring element. The body or the measuring element is configured to withstand a vacuum in the vacuum chamber including resisting or preventing physical deformation of the body or the measuring element due to the vacuum.