Patent ID: 8501058

Claim:
A method of cleaning a template comprising: holding a quartz template having: a concavo-convex pattern face having contamination at a contamination area; and a back face; supplying a cleaning agent in the form of vapor or mist to the contamination area while maintaining the back face free of the cleaning agent; controlling the humidity so as to assist with formations of dew drops of the cleaning agent on the pattern face and on the surface of the contamination area; optically exciting the cleaning agent by applying emitted light having a wavelength of 250 nm or less to the contamination area from a light irradiation unit in direct contact with the back face so as to reduce absorption of the emitted light, such that: the optical excitation of the cleaning agent produces a radical at an interface between the contamination and the template; the contamination is made hydrophilic by reaction of the contamination with the radical; and peeling the contamination from the template.