An apparatus and a method for effectively exhausting evaporated material are provided. In an embodiment the apparatus includes a hot plate and an exhaust hood assembly suspended over the hot plate. The exhaust hood assembly includes a trench plate, a cover plate over the trench plate and a single exhaust pipe header over and attached to a single exhaust opening of the cover plate. During operation, the exhaust hood assembly reduces the amount of condensation and also collects any remaining condensation in order to help prevent condensation from impacting further manufacturing steps.

A method includes generating extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light. The EUV light is gathered onto a first region of a first optical reflector by using a collector. A second region of the first optical reflector is free from incidence of the EUV light when the EUV light is reflected onto the first region. The EUV light is reflected to a reticle by using the first optical reflector, so as to impart the EUV light with a pattern. The first optical reflector is rotated such that the EUV light is reflected onto the second region in a first time period and the EUV light is reflected onto the first region in a second period. The first region is free from incidence of the EUV light in the first time period, and the second region is free from incidence of the EUV light in the second time period.

A difficulty of contamination interfering with a grid plate positional measurement system is addressed. In one embodiment contamination is prevented from coming into contact with the grating or the sensor. In an embodiment, surface acoustic waves are used to detach contamination from a surface of the grating or sensor.

A method of controlling a feedback system with a data matching module of an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation source is disclosed. The method includes obtaining a slit integrated energy (SLIE) sensor data and diffractive optical elements (DOE) data. The method performs a data match, by the data matching module, of a time difference of the SLIE sensor data and the DOE data to identify a mismatched set of the SLIE sensor data and the DOE data. The method also determines whether the time difference of the SLIE sensor data and the DOE data of the mismatched set is within an acceptable range. Based on the determination, the method automatically validates a configurable data of the mismatched set such that the SLIE sensor data of the mismatched set is valid for a reflectivity calculation.

Embodiments described herein relate to a dynamically controlled lens used in lithography tools. Multiple regions of the dynamic lens can be used to transmit a radiation beam for lithography process. By allowing multiple regions to transmit the radiation beam, the dynamically controlled lens can have an extended life cycle compared to conventional fixed lens. The dynamically controlled lens can be replaced or exchanged at a lower frequency, thus, improving efficiency of the lithography tools and reducing production cost.

An object stage bearing system can include an object stage, a hollow shaft coupled to the object stage, and an in-vacuum gas bearing assembly coupled to the hollow shaft and the object stage. The in-vacuum gas bearing assembly can include a gas bearing, a scavenging groove, and a vacuum groove. The gas bearing is disposed along an inner wall of the in-vacuum gas bearing assembly and along an external wall of the hollow shaft. The scavenging groove is disposed along the inner wall such that the scavenging groove is isolated from the gas bearing. The vacuum groove is disposed along the inner wall such that the vacuum groove is isolated from the scavenging groove and the gas bearing.

A method is provided. The method includes steps as follows. EUV light is generated. A collector is used to gather the EUV light onto a first optical reflector. The first optical reflector is used to reflect the EUV light to a reticle, so as to impart the EUV light with a pattern. A second optical reflector is used to reflect the EUV light with the pattern onto a wafer. The first optical reflector is rotated.

An extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure apparatus includes a chamber, an EUV source in the chamber and configured to generate an EUV beam, an optical system above the EUV source and configured to provide the EUV beam to a substrate, a substrate stage in the chamber and configured to receive the substrate, a reticle stage in the chamber and configured to hold a reticle that is configured to project the EUV beam onto the substrate, and a plasma source configured to provide plasma to the reticle to electrically neutralize the reticle charged by the EUV beam.

A method of controlling a feedback system with a data matching module of an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation source is disclosed. The method includes obtaining a slit integrated energy (SLIE) sensor data and diffractive optical elements (DOE) data. The method performs a data match, by the data matching module, of a time difference of the SLIE sensor data and the DOE data to identify a mismatched set of the SLIE sensor data and the DOE data. The method also determines whether the time difference of the SLIE sensor data and the DOE data of the mismatched set is within an acceptable range. Based on the determination, the method automatically validates a configurable data of the mismatched set such that the SLIE sensor data of the mismatched set is valid for a reflectivity calculation.

The present disclosure provides an apparatus for fabricating a semiconductor device, including a first chamber for accommodating a mask, and a first ionizer in the first chamber, wherein the first ionizer is adjacent to the mask.