Mitigation of TaB-coated reticle sticking

摘要

In a lithographic process, a reticle is used to create a patterned beam tor irradiating a substrate such as a wafer. In an Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithographic apparatus, the reticle contains reflective parts that reflect the radiation of an incident EUV beam, and absorbing parts that absorb and do not reflect the radiation of the incident EUV beam. During use of the lithographic apparatus, the reticle is electrostatically clamped onto a reticle clamp. To this end, the side of the reticle, which is facing the electrostatic clamp in operational use (also referred to as: backside of the reticle), is coated with an electrically conductive layer to enable electrostatic clamping.