Asml Netherlands B.v.

Carl Zeiss Smt Gmbh

Mona Nagel

Johannes Hubertus Josephina Moors

Dirk Heinrich Ehm

Luigi Scaccabarozzi

Jacques Cor Johan Van Der Donck

Almut Czap

Arnoldus Jan Storm

Matthias Roos

Jetske Karina Stortelder

Marijn Sandtke

Maria Isabel Catalina Caballero

An optical assembly is mounted in a projection exposure apparatus () for EUV microlithography and includes at least one vacuum chamber (), at least one optical element () arranged in the vacuum chamber (), the optical element () having an optical surface () arranged to be impinged upon by a useful beam bundle () of the projection exposure apparatus (), and a cleaning device () configured to clean the optical surface (). The cleaning device () is configured to perform particle cleaning of the optical surface () at a gas pressure within the vacuum chamber () which is higher than a vacuum pressure (p) for performing an exposure operation with the projection exposure apparatus (). As a result, optical elements having respective optical surfaces arranged to be impinged upon by a useful beam bundle can be cleaned reliably of foreign particles.

Particle cleaning of optical elements for microlithography

Growing community of inventors

Aalen, Germany

Mona Nagel