Reticle Pod with Coating Sensing Area

Abstract

A dry coating method is used to create sensing areas on the inner box of a photomask container. The sensing areas are discrete areas with a specific spectral reflectivity. The sensing areas are positioned so that they can be read by a tool to determine the distance of a portion of the box. Using discrete areas and a dry coating method for applying the discrete areas overcomes the problems of inconsistency and difficulty in cleaning or maintaining the reflectance of the inner box of the photomask container compared to an inner box completely plated with material or other wet coating applied materials.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 011,581, filed on April 17, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to reticle pods, and in particular, the formation of a sensing region on a reticle pod, such as an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) reticle pod. Background Art

[0004] Reticle pods are used to contain photolithography masks used during semiconductor processing, such as during extreme ultraviolet (EUV) processing. Reticle pods may include a metal inner box that is handled and manipulated by one or more tools during processing. Some tools may use reflectance to determine the distance of the inner box from one or more sensors within the tool. Reticle pods are typically cleaned using deionized (DI) water, which can lead to oxidation of some materials.

[0005] The inner box of the reticle pod can be wet coated with chrome to improve reflectance and appearance, and to resist reflectance loss due to oxidation caused by DI water cleaning. However, the shape of the reticle pod causes difficulties in wet coating. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present disclosure relates to the formation of a sensing region on a reticle pod, in particular a reticle pod, such as an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) reticle pod.

[0007] By selectively applying a reflective coating to discrete sensing areas on the reticle box using a dry coating process, a reflective material can be provided to interface with a sensor on a process tool without wet coating the entire reticle box. In addition, the reflective coating can be provided so that it has a desired thickness and strength.

[0008] In an embodiment, a box includes a base having a base surface. The base surface includes a base surface material and a reflective material. The reflective material of the base surface is disposed in one or more discrete base sensing areas. The box also includes a cover having a cover surface. The cover surface includes a cover surface material and the reflective material. The reflective material of the cover surface is disposed in one or more cover sensing areas.

[0009] In an embodiment, the pod is an EUV reticle pod.In an embodiment, the pod further comprises an outer pod dome and an outer pod door, the pod dome and the pod door being configured to house the base plate and the cover within the pod dome when the door is attached to the pod dome.

[0010] In an embodiment, the reflective material has a spectral reflectivity of between about 50% and about 70% at a wavelength of 880 nm. In an embodiment, the reflective material comprises chromium. In an embodiment, only the reflective material comprises the chromium.

[0011] In an embodiment, the one or more floor sensing regions and the one or more lid sensing regions are positioned such that the distance between the cassette and the detector can be determined from reading the one or more floor sensing regions and the one or more lid sensing regions.

[0012] In an embodiment, the base plate surface comprises one of aluminum or nickel and the cover surface is one of aluminum or nickel.

[0013] In an embodiment, a method of producing a reticle box includes: applying a reflective material to each of one or more discrete bottom plate sensing areas of a bottom plate of the reticle box using a dry coating process; and applying the reflective material to each of one or more discrete lid sensing areas of a lid of the reticle box using the dry coating process.

[0014] In an embodiment, the reflective material has a spectral reflectivity of between about 50% and about 70% at a wavelength of 880 nm.

[0015] In an embodiment, the dry coating process is selected from the group consisting of: physical vapor deposition, sputtering deposition, chemical vapor deposition, and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition.

[0016] In an embodiment, the one or more floor sensing regions and the one or more lid sensing regions are positioned such that the distance between the cassette and the detector can be determined from reading the one or more floor sensing regions and the one or more lid sensing regions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The present disclosure may be fully understood by considering the following description of various illustrative embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0018] Figure 1A A bottom plan view of a bottom plate of a reticle pod is shown according to an embodiment.

[0019] Figure 1B A bottom plan view of a lid of a reticle pod is shown according to an embodiment.

[0020] Figure 1C exhibit Figure 1B . A side view of the lid of the reticle box shown in FIG.

[0021] Figure 2 A flow chart of a method of producing a reticle pod according to an embodiment is shown.

[0022] Figure 3A reticle pod including an outer box and an inner box according to an embodiment is shown.

[0023] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a reticle pod in an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) tool is shown according to an embodiment.

[0024] Although the present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, it has been shown by way of example in the figures and its details will be described in detail. However, it should be understood that the aspects of the present disclosure are not intended to be limited to the specific illustrative embodiments described. On the contrary, it is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents and substitutions that fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The present disclosure relates to reticle pods, and in particular, the formation of a sensing region on a reticle pod, such as an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) reticle pod.

[0026] Figure 1A A plan view of the bottom of a bottom plate of a reticle box according to an embodiment is shown. The bottom plate 100 forms part of an inner box of the reticle box. The bottom plate 100 includes one or more sensing regions 102.

[0027] The base plate 100 includes a base plate surface material that forms a surface of the base plate 100. The base plate surface material may be a material used to form a base plate, such as aluminum or any other suitable material for the base plate 100 of the reticle box. In particular, the base plate 100 may further include features for manipulating the reticle box or the base plate 100. The base plate surface material may be a coating applied to the base plate 100 to form a surface of the base plate 100, such as a nickel coating.

[0028] In one or more embodiments, at least one sensing region 102 may be disposed on the surface of the backplane 100. The sensing region 102 is a discrete region made of a reflective material. The sensing region 102 is a defined area of ​​reflective material formed on a segment of the surface of the backplane 100. The one or more sensing regions 102 cover an area less than the entire surface of the backplane 100. The sensing region 102 may have any suitable shape for presenting the reflective material to be read by one or more sensors, such as sensors included in a tool that handles a reticle box including the backplane 100. The sensing region 102 may include a sensing region material, which may be a different material than the surrounding backplane material on the surface of the backplane 100. For example, the backplane 100 may be made of aluminum, where the sensing region material is applied to an exposed aluminum material or a nickel coating on the backplane 100 to form the discrete sensing regions 102. In an embodiment, the sensing region material may be disposed and in contact with a coating of surface material applied to the backplane 100 to form the discrete sensing regions 102. In an embodiment, the sensing region 102 may be applied to a coating made of a different material than the sensing region material used in the sensing region 102. In an embodiment, the sensing region 102 may be applied to a coating that includes at least some of the same material as the sensing region 102 but provided by a method other than dry coating. For example, a chrome coating may be applied to a chrome surface material for the base plate 100, where the sensing region 102 is formed by applying additional chrome by a dry coating method to provide a different density, thickness, and uniformity of chrome within the sensing region 102 compared to the base plate surface material being wet coated chrome on nickel.

[0029] The sensing region 102 may be disposed on any portion of the base plate 100 where the sensor may attempt to detect the base plate 100. In an embodiment, the sensing region 102 is disposed on the bottom surface of the base plate 100 and is located when the base plate 100 is in contact with the cover (e.g., Figure 1B When the reticle box is assembled with the cover 150 shown in FIG. 1 and described below, the sensing area 102 is visible from the bottom of the reticle box. In an embodiment, the bottom plate 100 includes one sensing area 102. In an embodiment, the bottom plate includes multiple sensing areas 102. In an embodiment, the sensing area 102 is positioned on the bottom surface of the bottom plate 100 so that when the reticle box including the bottom plate 100 is assembled, the sensing area 102 is not visible, for example Figure 1B and 1C The cover 150 shown in FIG. Figure 1A In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , four sensing regions 102 are disposed on the base plate 100 , wherein the four sensing regions 102 are disposed on the bottom surface of the base plate 100 .

[0030] The reflective material used in the sensing region 102 has a known spectral reflectance selected for use with a detection system of a tool using a box including the base plate 100. In some embodiments, the reflective material may have a reflectance different from the reflectance of the base plate surface material, such as greater than or less than the reflectance of the base plate surface material. The sensing region 102 may provide a spectral reflectance at one or more predetermined wavelengths within a known predetermined range, so that the light reflected by the sensing region 102 is associated with a specific distance of the inner box base plate 100 from a reference of a tool using a mask, such as, for example, an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) tool for processing wafers. As a non-limiting example, the spectral reflectance of each of the sensing regions 102 ranges between about 57% and about 63% for at least one of the one or more predetermined wavelengths. In an embodiment, each of the sensing regions 102 has a spectral reflectance between about 57% and about 63% at a wavelength of 880 nm. The sensing region may include any suitable reflective material having a desired spectral reflectance property and capable of being applied by a dry coating method. The reflective material may be an inert material selected so that it does not react during processing through the tool. As a non-limiting example, the reflective material may include chromium. In an embodiment, only one or more sensing regions 102 and 152 included in the reticle box include chromium.

[0031] The reflective material may be provided in the sensing region 102 by dry coating methods such as physical vapor deposition (PVD), sputter deposition, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD). Compared to wet coating methods such as plating the entire backplane 100, the resulting sensing region 102 may have a more durable and uniform coating within the sensing region 102. Improved durability may in turn improve the appearance of the sensing region 102 and maintenance of appropriate reflectivity.

[0032] Figure 1B A plan view showing a bottom surface of a cover 150 of a reticle box according to an embodiment, and Figure 1C exhibit Figure 1B 1. A side view of a cover 150 of a reticle box is shown in FIG. The cover 150 includes a sensing area 152.

[0033] The cover 150 is configured to be connected to a base plate (eg Figure 1A 100) to form a reticle box configured to accommodate a reticle. The cover 150 can be configured so that the reticle receiving portion 158 is enclosed by the bottom plate 100. In particular, the cover 150 can further include features for manipulating the reticle box or the cover 150. The cover 150 can be made of any suitable material, such as aluminum. The surface of the cover 150 is a cover surface material, which can be a material forming a body of the cover 150, or a coating (such as nickel formed on the material).

[0034] In addition to or in lieu of the sensing regions 102 disposed on the base plate 100, one or more sensing regions 152 may also be disposed on the cover 150. The one or more sensing regions 152 are discrete areas that include a reflective material. The one or more sensing regions 152 cover an area that is less than the entire surface of the cover 150. The reflective material may be applied by a dry coating process. The sensing regions 152 may have any suitable shape for presenting a reflective material to be read by one or more sensors (e.g., sensors included in a tool for handling a reticle box that includes the cover 150). The sensing regions 152 may use the same or different reflective material as the sensing regions on the base plate to be used with the cover 150, for example Figure 1A 100. One or more sensing regions may be disposed on the cover 150 so that when the cover 150 is combined with a bottom plate (e.g., bottom plate 100) to form an inner box of a reticle box, the one or more sensing regions may be read by a tool. In an embodiment, the sensing regions 152 are positioned so that when the reticle box including the bottom plate and the cover 150 is assembled, the sensing regions 152 are not, for example, Figure 1A The bottom plate shielding of the bottom plate 100 shown in FIG. Figure 1B and 1C In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , four sensing regions 152 are provided, two of which are on the bottom surface of the extension 154 from the side 156 of the cover (e.g., in FIG. 1 ). Figure 1B ), and on the outwardly facing side surfaces of the two sensing area covers 150 (as shown in Figure 1C (see ).

[0035] The reflective material used in the sensing region 152 has a known spectral reflectance selected for use with a detection system of a tool using a box including the cover 150. The reflective material may be an inert material selected so that it does not react during processing by the tool. The sensing region 152 may provide a spectral reflectance at one or more predetermined wavelengths within a known predetermined range, so that the light reflected by the sensing region 152 is associated with a specific distance of the inner box cover 150 from a reference of a tool, such as an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) tool for processing wafers using a mask. As a non-limiting example, for at least one of the one or more predetermined wavelengths, the spectral reflectance of each of the sensing regions 152 ranges between about 57% and about 63%. In an embodiment, each of the sensing regions 152 has a spectral reflectance between about 57% and about 63% at a wavelength of 880nm. The sensing region 152 may include any suitable reflective material having a desired spectral reflectance property and capable of being applied by a dry coating method. The reflective material may be an inert material selected so that it does not react during processing by the tool. As a non-limiting example, the reflective material may include chromium.In an embodiment, only one or more sensing regions 102 and 152 included in the reticle pod include chromium.

[0036] The reflective material may be provided in the sensing region 152 by dry coating methods such as physical vapor deposition (PVD), sputter deposition, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD). Compared to wet coating methods such as plating the entire cover 150, the resulting sensing region 152 may have a more durable and uniform coating within the sensing region 152. In turn, the improved durability may improve the appearance of the sensing region 152 and the maintenance of appropriate reflectivity.

[0037] Cover 150 may include further features for the functionality of the reticle pod it contains therein. For example, cover 150 may include a reticle receiving portion 154 that forms part of an interior space configured to accommodate a reticle, such as a photolithography mask.

[0038] Figure 2 A flow chart showing a method of producing a reticle box according to an embodiment. Method 200 includes: providing a base plate 202; optionally coating the base plate 204; applying a reflective material to one or more sensing regions on the base plate 206 using a dry coating method; providing a cover 208; optionally coating the cover 210; and applying a reflective material to one or more sensing regions on the cover 212 using a dry coating method. Some embodiments of the method may also include a polishing step, wherein the one or more sensing regions are polished to achieve a desired spectral reflectivity.

[0039] At 202, a base plate may be provided. The base plate is a molded base plate for use in a reticle pod. The base plate may be any suitable material for a reticle pod base plate, such as aluminum as a non-limiting example. The base plate provided at 202 may include all features of a finished base plate, such as walls defining a reticle receiving portion, reticle supports, features for engaging with a cover, features for engaging with automation within a tool that uses or manipulates the reticle, and the like when the base plate is provided at 202.

[0040] At 204, the bottom plate may optionally be coated. The coating may be any suitable coating to be applied to the bottom plate, such as a coating for improving appearance, providing wear resistance, providing an inert surface compatible with use in a processing tool, or any other desired function of such a coating. The coating applied at 204 may be by a wet coating process, such as plating or any other coating method, including immersing the bottom plate in a liquid. At 204, one or more such coatings may be applied to the bottom plate. One of the coatings applied to the bottom plate at 204 may be nickel.

[0041] In some embodiments, at 206, a reflective material may be applied to one or more discrete locations on the base plate using a dry coating method to form sensing regions. The dry coating method may be any method that does not include applying a liquid to the base plate during coating. As non-limiting examples, the dry coating method may be physical vapor deposition (PVD), sputtering deposition, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD). The one or more sensing regions to which the reflective material is applied at 206 are discrete regions, and these discrete regions constitute less than the entire surface of the base plate. The one or more sensing regions may be defined by, for example, a mask applied by a dry coating method during deposition, wherein the mask allows deposition only on the one or more sensing regions.

[0042] The reflective material applied to the bottom plate at 206 has a known spectral reflectance selected for use with a detection system of a tool using a cassette containing the bottom plate. The reflective material may be an inert material selected so that it does not react during use of the reticle cassette within the tool. As a non-limiting example, the reflective material may include chromium. The reflective material may be applied to the sensing region such that the sensing region provides a spectral reflectance at one or more predetermined wavelengths within a known predetermined range such that light reflected by the sensing region is associated with a specific distance of the inner cassette bottom plate from a reference of a tool, such as an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) tool for processing using a reticle. As a non-limiting example, the spectral reflectance of each of the sensing regions ranges between about 50% and about 70% for at least one of the one or more predetermined wavelengths. In an embodiment, each of the sensing regions has a spectral reflectance between about 50% and about 70% at a wavelength of 880 nm.

[0043] At 208, a cover is provided. The cover is a molded cover for the reticle pod. The cover can be any suitable material for a reticle pod cover, such as aluminum as a non-limiting example. The cover provided at 208 can include all features of a finished cover, such as walls defining a reticle receiving portion, features for engaging with a base plate, features for engaging with automation within a tool using the reticle, and the like when the cover is provided at 208.

[0044] Optionally, the cover is coated at 210. The coating may be any suitable coating to be applied to the cover, such as a coating for improving appearance, providing wear resistance, providing an inert surface compatible with use for processing using a photomask, or any other desired function of such a coating. The coating applied at 210 may be by a wet coating process, such as plating or any other coating method, including immersing the cover in a liquid. At 210, one or more such coatings may be applied. The one or more coatings applied to the cover at 210 may be the same coating as the coating applied to the base plate at 204. The one or more coatings applied to the cover at 210 may include one or more coatings different from the one or more coatings applied to the base plate at 204. One of the coatings applied at 210 may be nickel.

[0045] In some embodiments, at 212, a reflective material may be applied to one or more discrete locations on the cover using a dry coating method to form sensing regions. The dry coating method may be any method that does not include applying a liquid to the cover during coating. As non-limiting examples, the dry coating method may be physical vapor deposition (PVD), sputter deposition, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD). The one or more sensing regions to which the reflective material is applied at 212 are discrete regions, and these discrete regions constitute less than the entire surface of the cover. The one or more sensing regions may be defined by, for example, a mask applied by a dry coating method during deposition, wherein the mask allows deposition only on the one or more sensing regions.

[0046] The reflective material applied to the cover at 212 has a known spectral reflectance selected for use with a detection system of a tool using a box including the cover. The reflective material may be an inert material selected so that it does not react when the reticle is being used. As a non-limiting example, the reflective material may include chromium. The reflective material may be applied to the sensing region so that the sensing region provides a spectral reflectance at one or more predetermined wavelengths within a known predetermined range to allow light reflected by the sensing region to be associated with a specific distance of the inner box bottom plate from a reference of a tool (e.g., an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) tool for processing using the reticle). As a non-limiting example, for at least one of the one or more predetermined wavelengths, the spectral reflectance of each of the sensing regions ranges between about 50% and about 70%. In an embodiment, each of the sensing regions has a spectral reflectance between about 50% and about 70% at a wavelength of 880 nm. In some cases, the sensing region may be polished to achieve the desired spectral reflectivity.

[0047] The base plate and lid processed during method 200 may be used as an inner pod of a reticle pod for housing a reticle, such as to house a photolithography mask to be used in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) processing of a wafer.

[0048] Figure 3A reticle pod including an outer box and an inner box is shown according to an embodiment. Reticle pod 300 includes inner box 302 including lid 304 and bottom plate 306. Reticle pod 300 further includes outer box 308 including outer box dome 310 and outer box door 312. Reticle pod 300 may be used to enclose reticle 316. Reticle 316 may be any suitable reticle, such as a photolithography mask used when processing wafers using extreme ultraviolet light (EUV), as a non-limiting example.

[0049] The inner box 302 includes a cover 304 and a base plate 306. The cover 304 and the base plate 306 are configured to be joined together. The cover 304 and the base plate 306 together define an interior space that is sized and shaped to accommodate a photomask, such as a photolithography mask to be used in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) processing of a wafer. In some embodiments, at least one of the cover 304 and the base plate 306 may each include one or more sensing regions 314, which are discrete regions that include reflective material. In some embodiments, both the cover 304 and the base plate 306 each include one or more of the sensing regions 314. The sensing regions 314 may be the sensing regions 102 and 152 described above. In Figure 3 In the view shown in Figure 3 When viewed from a viewing angle, the sensing area 314 along the side surface of the cover 304 is visible, while other sensing areas are hidden by other components. Other sensing areas 304 may be arranged, for example, at Figure 3 on the side or bottom surfaces that are not visible in the perspective view, e.g. Figure 1A and 1B 304 and the sensing regions 102 and 152 shown in FIG. 306. The reflective material may be applied to the sensing regions of the cover 304 and the base plate 306 by a dry coating process. The cover 304 may be, for example, a Figure 1B The cover 150 shown in FIG. The bottom plate 306 may be, for example, as described above and in Figure 1A The base plate 100 is shown in FIG.

[0050] The outer box 308 is configured to contain the inner box 302 within an interior space defined by the outer box dome 310 and the outer box door 312. For example, during transportation and handling of the reticle box 300, the outer box dome can be fastened to the outer box door 312 to enclose the interior space and contain the inner box 302. The outer box dome 310 and the outer box door 312 can each include or be made entirely of one or more polymer materials.

[0051] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a reticle box in an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) tool according to an embodiment is shown. Figure 4 In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , the inner box 400 is placed into the tool 402 .

[0052] The inner box 400 can be any suitable inner box of a reticle box, such as the inner box 302, or an inner box including the base plate 100 and the cover 150. The inner box 400 includes a plurality of sensing areas 404.

[0053] Tool 402 may be any suitable tool for handling or operating inner box 400. As a non-limiting example, tool 402 may be an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) tool that uses a reticle, such as a photolithography mask. Tool 402 may be in a vacuum chamber, where inner box 400 is removed from an outer box (not shown) and placed into tool 402 within the vacuum chamber. During use of the reticle in tool 402, a cover may be removed from a bottom plate of inner box 400 to reveal the reticle housed within inner box 400. Tool 402 includes a light source 406 and a detector 408. Light source 406 and detector 408 are positioned so that light provided by light source 406 can be reflected by sensing region 404 toward detector 408, and light detected at detector 408 can determine a distance from inner box 400. The light source may provide light of one or more predetermined wavelengths, including 880 nm as a non-limiting example. The sensing regions 404 of the inner box 400 may provide spectral reflectance at one or more predetermined wavelengths within a known predetermined range to allow the light detected at the detector 408 to be associated with a specific distance of the inner box 400. As a non-limiting example, the spectral reflectance of each of the sensing regions 404 ranges between about 50% and about 70% for at least one of the one or more predetermined wavelengths. In an embodiment, each of the sensing regions 404 has a spectral reflectance between about 50% and about 70% at 880 nm.

[0054] aspect:

[0055] It should be understood that any of aspects 1 to 9 may be combined with any of aspects 10 to 16.

[0056] Aspect 1. A box comprising:

[0057] a base having a base surface, the base surface comprising a base surface material;

[0058] a cover having a cover surface comprising a cover surface material; and

[0059] One or more discrete sensing regions, each of the sensing regions comprising a reflective material, the one or more discrete sensing regions being disposed on one or both of the base plate surface and the cover surface.

[0060] Aspect 2. The pod of aspect 1, wherein the pod is an EUV reticle pod.

[0061] Aspect 3. The box according to aspect 2, further comprising an outer box dome and an outer box door, the box dome and the box door being configured to accommodate the bottom plate and the cover within the box dome when the door is attached to the box dome.

[0062] Aspect 4. The cartridge according to any one of aspects 1 to 3, wherein the reflective material has a spectral reflectivity of between about 50% and about 70% at a wavelength of 880 nm.

[0063] Aspect 5. The box according to any one of aspects 1 to 4, wherein the reflective material has a reflectivity different from the reflectivity of the bottom plate surface material.

[0064] Aspect 6. The box according to any one of aspects 1 to 5, wherein the reflective material comprises chromium.

[0065] Aspect 7. The box according to aspect 6, wherein only the reflective material includes the chrome.

[0066] Aspect 8. The cartridge according to any one of aspects 1 to 7, wherein the one or more sensing regions are positioned such that the distance between the cartridge and the detector can be determined from reading the one or more sensing regions.

[0067] Aspect 9. The box according to any one of aspects 1 to 8, wherein the base plate surface comprises one of aluminum or nickel and the cover surface is one of aluminum or nickel.

[0068] Aspect 10. The cartridge of any one of aspects 1 to 9, wherein each of the floor surface and the lid surface includes one or more of the discrete sensing regions.

[0069] Aspect 11. A method for producing a reticle box, comprising:

[0070] A reflective material is applied to each of the one or more discrete sensing regions on one of a floor of the reticle pod or a lid of the reticle pod using a dry coating process.

[0071] Aspect 12. The method according to aspect 11, wherein the reflective material has a spectral reflectivity that is different from the spectral reflectivity of the base plate and the spectral reflectivity of the cover.

[0072] Aspect 13. The method according to any one of aspects 11 to 12, wherein the reflective material has a spectral reflectivity between about 50% and about 70% at a wavelength of 880 nm.

[0073] Aspect 14. The box according to any one of aspects 11 to 13, wherein the one of the base plate or the cover includes a surface material, and the reflective material has a reflectivity different from the reflectivity of the surface material.

[0074] Aspect 15. The method of any one of aspects 11 to 14, further comprising applying a coating to said one of the base plate and the cover.

[0075] Aspect 16. The method according to any one of aspects 11 to 15, wherein the dry coating process is selected from the group consisting of: physical vapor deposition, sputtering deposition, chemical vapor deposition, and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition.

[0076] Aspect 17. The method according to any one of aspects 11 to 16, wherein one or more floor sensing regions and one or more lid sensing regions are positioned so that the distance between the box and the detector can be determined from reading the one or more floor sensing regions and the one or more lid sensing regions.

[0077] Aspect 18. The method of any one of aspects 11 to 17, further comprising applying the reflective material to each of one or more discrete sensing regions on the bottom plate of the reticle pod or the lid of the reticle pod using the dry coating process.

[0078] The examples disclosed in this application are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the disclosure is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description; and all changes within the meaning and range of equivalents of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

1. A box comprising: a base having a base surface, the base surface comprising a base surface material; a cover having a cover surface, the cover surface comprising a cover surface material; as well as A plurality of sensing areas, each of the sensing areas comprising a reflective material, wherein the reflective material is applied to the sensing areas using a dry coating process, the plurality of sensing areas are disposed on one or both of the base plate surface and the cover surface, wherein at least one of the plurality of sensing areas is located on a side surface of the cover, at least one of the plurality of sensing areas is located on a bottom surface of the cover, and wherein the reflective material has a spectral reflectivity between 50% and 70% at a wavelength of 880 nm.

2. A box according to claim 1, wherein the reflective material has a reflectivity different from the reflectivity of the bottom plate surface material.

3. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the reflective material comprises chromium.

4. A box according to claim 3, wherein only the reflective material comprises the chrome.

5. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein one or more floor sensing regions are positioned such that the distance between the cartridge and a detector can be determined from reading the one or more sensing regions.

6. A method for producing a reticle box, comprising: A reflective material is applied to each of a plurality of sensing areas on one of a bottom plate of the reticle box or a cover of the reticle box using a dry coating process, wherein at least one of the plurality of sensing areas is located on a side surface of the cover, at least one of the plurality of sensing areas is located on a bottom surface of the cover, and wherein the reflective material has a spectral reflectivity of between 50% and 70% at a wavelength of 880 nm.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the reflective material has a spectral reflectivity that is different from a spectral reflectivity of the base plate and a spectral reflectivity of the cover.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more sensing regions are positioned so that the distance between the cassette and a detector can be determined from reading one or more floor sensing regions and one or more lid sensing regions.

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