Object table comprising an electrostatic clamp

An object table for holding an object, comprising:

• an electrostatic clamp configured to clamp the object on the object table;
• an ionizer device configured to provide an ionized flow of gas to the electrostatic clamp to at least partially neutralize a residual charge accumulated in the electrostatic clamp;
• and
• a control unit configured to control the ionizer device to adjust the ionized flow of gas to the electrostatic clamp.

A particle beam apparatus, comprising:

• a particle beam generator configured to generate a particle beam toward an object;
• and
• an object table for holding the object, comprising:
• an electrostatic clamp configured to clamp the object on the object table;
• an ionizer device configured to provide an ionized flow of gas to the electrostatic clamp to at least partially neutralize a residual charge accumulated in the electrostatic clamp;
• and
• a control unit configured to control the ionizer device to adjust the ionized flow of gas to the electrostatic clamp.

A method, comprising:

• obtaining, with a measurement unit, a measurement signal representative of a residual charge accumulated in an electrostatic clamp of an object table, wherein the object table is configured to hold an object;
• determining, with a control unit, whether the residual charge exceeds a threshold level;
• enabling an ionizer device to provide an ionized flow of gas to a surface of the electrostatic clamp to at least partially neutralize the residual charge;
• and
• controlling, with the control unit, the ionizer device to adjust the ionized flow of gas based on the measurement signal.