A contamination evaluation system for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography projection optics was developed in the NewSUBARU SR facility, in which in situ surface analysis and elemental concentration mapping were carried out with the use of the x-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) method. For concentration mapping, the linearity between the x-ray absorption intensity and contamination thickness was confirmed by examining standard samples. The problem of quantitativity, which was caused by the antagonistic reaction of carbon deposition and surface oxidation on the mirror surface, was successfully solved by taking the ratio of intensities of the upper and lower sides of the absorption edge. Very useful information for protecting the surface of EUV lithography optics was obtained when the in situ XANES analysis was applied to the experiment of EUV irradiation with the introduction of ethanol gas to the vacuum atmosphere. (c) 2007 American Vacuum Society.