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.

A lithographic system for projecting an image onto a workpiece using radiation is provided. The lithographic system includes: a support structure for supporting a workpiece; a radiation source for providing radiation to project an image on the workpiece; a reticle positioned between the radiation source and the workpiece; and a mask positioned adjacent the reticle, the mask being configured to block radiation from the radiation source, the mask including a heat removal apparatus.

A method of determining an overlay value of a substrate, the method including: obtaining temperature data that includes data on measured temperature at one or more positions on a substrate table after a substrate has been loaded onto the substrate table; and determining an overlay value of the substrate in dependence on the obtained temperature data. There is further disclosed a method of determining a performance of a clamping by a substrate table using a determined overlay value.

A lithographic apparatus is disclosed that includes a substrate table configured to support a substrate on a substrate supporting area and a heater and/or temperature sensor on a surface adjacent the substrate supporting area.

A semiconductor processing method includes operations. An exposure process is performed on a semiconductor workpiece and includes selecting a target state of a reticle based on given data and regulating the reticle to reach the target state. A development process is performed on the semiconductor workpiece.

The invention provides a cooling system in an exposure machine, which comprises an exposure machine for performing an exposure process of a semiconductor, at least one water storage tank, wherein the water storage tank is filled with cooling water for cooling some components of the exposure machine, a water inlet valve and a water outlet valve, which are connected with the water storage tank, and an automatic controller for controlling the water inlet valve and the water outlet valve to keep the cooling water in the water storage tank at a certain water level.

Provided are a heating unit including an air layer for thermal insulation and a substrate treating apparatus including the heating unit. The substrate treating apparatus includes: a housing providing a space in which a substrate is treated; a heating unit disposed in the housing and heating the substrate; a cooling unit disposed in the housing and cooling the substrate; and a transfer unit for moving the substrate, wherein the heating unit includes: a body including a heater therein; a first air layer provided inside the body for thermal insulation and formed in a first direction as a longitudinal direction thereof; and a second air layer provided inside the body for thermal insulation and formed in a second direction as a longitudinal direction thereof.

A lithographic apparatus includes a clamp (406) configured to receive an object (402). The clamp defines at least one channel (408) configured to pass a fluid at a first fluid temperature. The lithographic apparatus also includes a chuck (404) coupled to the clamp. The chuck (404) defines at least one void (464) configured to thermally insulate the chuck from the clamp.

A lithography system includes an exposure device and a reticle structure disposed in the exposure device. The exposure device includes a reticle having patterned features, a membrane having a boarder section, and a frame disposed and forming an enclosure between the reticle and the membrane to encircle the patterned features. The frame includes a plurality of holes including at least one slit-shaped hole having one side formed by the reticle and three sides formed by the frame.

An apparatus and method for measuring thermo-mechanically induced reticle distortion or other distortion in a lithography device enables detecting distortion at the nanometer level in situ. The techniques described use relatively simple optical detectors and data acquisition electronics that are capable of monitoring the distortion in real time, during operation of the lithography equipment. Time-varying anisotropic distortion of a reticle can be measured by directing slit patterns of light having different orientations to the reticle and detecting reflected, transmitted or diffracted light from the reticle. In one example, corresponding segments of successive time measurements of secondary light signals are compared as the reticle scans a substrate at a reticle stage speed of about 1 m/s to detect temporal offsets and other features that correspond to spatial distortion.