Abstract: The present invention relates to a system for the manufacture of semiconductor devices by lithography, and in particular to an assembly of mask containers for use in such a system. The system comprises: a plurality of mask containers adapted to engage with one another such that two or more containers can be carried together as a stack; a plurality of lithography bays; a transport rail system for carrying the containers between different lithography bays. Each lithography bay has a transmitter/receiver unit for communicating lithography data with a tracking device located in each container, allowing for more efficient mask management. The transportation of the containers in stacks results in an improvement in efficiency.

Abstract: A machining apparatus (10) comprises a material removing tool (12) movably mounted for removing material from a workpiece (14); means for illuminating (42, 54) a sample area upon a tool surface (34) with excitation radiation; means for receiving (42, 54) sample light emitted from the sample area; a spectral analyzer (54) for performing a spectral analysis of the sample light received; and means for determining (60) the condition of the tool at the sample area from the spectral analysis of the sample light. The wear of the tool (12) is determined as such a condition. Operation parameters of the machining apparatus (10) are adjusted according to the determined wear. An example application is a wafer dicing tool.