Embodiments of baking chambers for baking a photomask are provided herein. In some embodiments, a baking chamber includes: a chamber body enclosing a first interior volume and a second interior volume, disposed beneath and fluidly independent from the first interior volume; a radiant heat source disposed in the first interior volume; a photomask support structure configured to support a photomask disposed in the second interior volume; a window disposed between the first interior volume the second interior volume, wherein the window is made of a material that is transparent to thermal radiation; a first gas inlet and a first gas outlet coupled to the first interior volume; and a second gas inlet and a second gas outlet coupled to the second interior volume on opposite ends thereof to facilitate flow of a process gas laterally through the second interior volume and across the photomask support structure.

A field facet for a field facet mirror of a projection exposure apparatus has a reflection surface spanned by two field facet coordinates. An actuator device having at least two independently controllable actuator units serves to deform the reflection surface in at least two independent deformation degrees of freedom. A first of the deformation degrees of freedom brings about a change in a curvature of the reflection surface along a primary curvature coordinate which coincides with one of the field facet coordinates. A second of the deformation degrees of freedom brings about a change in a torsion of the reflection surface about the primary curvature coordinate. This can yield a field facet, the imaging performance of which is optimized, for example adapted to different illumination channel assignments within the projection exposure apparatus.

A support device for an optical apparatus is disclosed. The support device includes first and second support elements. The support device also includes first and second flexure bearings. The first flexure bearing and the second flexure bearing each connect the first support element and the second support element to one another in a thermally conductive manner and hold the first support element in a manner movable in at least one first direction relative to the second support element. Spring forces generated by the first flexure bearing and the second flexure bearing partly or completely cancel one another out in the case of a movement of the first support element relative to the second support element in the first direction.

The present application discloses a component having a movably mounted component element of a projection exposure apparatus and in particular a movement limiting apparatus, and a method for limiting the movement of movable component elements of a component of a projection exposure apparatus.

Disclosed are a buffer unit, in which a plurality of support plates is stacked in a vertical direction and a connection block is provided between the plurality of support plates to prevent vibration generated at the lower end of the support plate from being transmitted from the upper support plate, and a substrate treating apparatus. According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the vibration generated in the buffer unit, so that there is an effect of improving the efficiency of the substrate treating process.

An optical apparatus and a lithographic apparatus including the optical apparatus. The optical apparatus includes a substrate having an aperture for passing light; a transmissive optical element covering the aperture of the substrate; and an optical contact bond between the substrate and transmissive optical element, the optical contact bond being spaced from the aperture a sufficient distance such that stress forces in the transmissive optical element from the optical contact bond to the aperture are below an acceptable stress threshold. The optical contact bond geometry herein, for example, minimizes a contact area and provides a quasi-kinematic (near-exactly constrained) interface between the substrate and the optical element.

A method for controlling a vibrating optical element of a lithographic system the optical element having a predetermined number of degrees of freedom comprises: detecting a number of displacements of the optical element, each displacement corresponding to a degree of freedom, wherein the number of detected displacements is larger than the number of degrees of freedom; for each displacement according to a degree of freedom, generating a sensor signal corresponding to a movement in a degree of freedom; wherein the optical element moves as a function of a rigid body transformation matrix, the optical element movement including a first type of movement and a second type of movement; and modifying the sensor signals as a function of a modified transformation matrix, wherein the modified transformation matrix at least partially reduces at least one eigen mode or resonance of one of the first type of movements or the second type of movements.

An exhaust stream monitoring system for a photolithography track of an IC fabrication process comprises a reaction chamber including a housing, an inflow port and an outflow port, the housing containing a thermal plate for heating a semiconductor process wafer for a predetermined amount of time. An influent pipe coupled to the inflow port supplies a photoresist adhesion promoter in a gaseous form to the reaction chamber. An effluent pipe coupled to the outflow port is operative to remove byproducts from the reaction chamber as an exhaust stream. At least one gas sensor manifold assembly is coupled to the effluent pipe for monitoring the exhaust stream from the reaction chamber to detect presence of one or more byproducts of a reaction between the photoresist adhesion promoter and the semiconductor process wafer.

Disclosed is an actuator unit for positioning an optical element, comprising a first reluctance actuator comprising a first stator part and a first mover part separated by a gap in a first direction. The first mover part is constructed and arranged to be connected to the optical element and for moving the optical element. The first stator part is constructed and arranged to exert a magnetic force on the first mover part along a first line of actuation. The first mover part is movable relative to the first stator part in the first direction. The first stator part and the first mover part are constructed and arranged such that the first line of actuation is, in operational use, moving along with the first mover part in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, for at least a predetermined movement range of the first mover part in the second direction.

An optical imaging apparatus includes an optical element support sub-structure and an auxiliary support sub-structure. The optical element support sub-structure is configured to support an optical element and has a first temporary support interface arrangement. The optical element is configured to form part of a group of optical elements of the optical imaging apparatus configured to transfer, in an exposure process using exposure light, an image of a pattern of a mask onto a substrate. The auxiliary support sub-structure is configured to support an auxiliary component and has a second temporary support interface arrangement. The auxiliary component is configured to execute, during the exposure process, an auxiliary function of the exposure process other than transferring the image of the pattern onto the substrate.