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US 2004/0105080 A1Published application
Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method
AssigneeASML Netherlands B.V.
InventorsFranciscus Johannes Herman Maria Teunissen, Antonius Johannes Van der Net, Willem Lock
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Abstract
In a purge gas system for a lithographic apparatus, a rate of flow of purge gas to the system is reduced substantially once a contamination level has fallen below a threshold level. The control may be on the basis of a detected level of contamination or on the basis of a timetable.
Claims15
A lithographic projection apparatus comprising:
- an illumination system to provide a projection beam of radiation;
- a support structure to support patterning structure, the patterning structure serving to pattern the projection beam according to a desired pattern;
- a substrate table to hold a substrate;
- a projection system to project the patterned beam onto a target portion of the substrate;
- a compartment surrounding a part of a path of the projection beam;
- and
- a purge gas system to supply said compartment with a purge gas, said purge gas system comprising a controllable flow restrictor constructed operatively associated with an inlet of said compartment and a controller constructed and arranged to control said flow restrictor to restrict a flow of purge gas when contamination in said compartment is below a threshold level.
4 more elements
A device manufacturing method comprising:
- projecting a patterned beam of radiation onto a target portion of a layer of radiation-sensitive material on a substrate in a lithographic projection apparatus, and
- purging a compartment of the apparatus with a purge gas, a flow of the purge gas to the compartment being restricted using a controllable flow restrictor when contamination in the compartment has fallen below a threshold level.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.