Abstract:
A stage system includes a movable stage, and an encoder for measuring a position of the stage, wherein the encoder includes an emitter for emitting an encoder beam, a grating for interacting with the encoder beam, and a detector for detecting the encoder beam having interacted with the grating, the encoder beam in use propagating along an optical path; a purging cap at least partly enclosing the optical path; and a purging medium supply device for supplying a purging medium into the purging cap.
Abstract:
A stage system includes a movable stage, and an encoder for measuring a position of the stage, wherein the encoder includes an emitter for emitting an encoder beam, a grating for interacting with the encoder beam, and a detector for detecting the encoder beam having interacted with the grating, the encoder beam in use propagating along an optical path; a purging cap at least partly enclosing the optical path; and a purging medium supply device for supplying a purging medium into the purging cap.
Abstract:
A conditioning system for a lithographic apparatus having a plurality of modules. The conditioning system includes a plurality of conditioning branches conveying a common conditioning medium for the plurality of modules, one conditioning branch for each module (or a subset of modules); a plurality of thermal actuators, each thermal actuator operable to locally alter the temperature of the common conditioning medium at one of the conditioning branches; and a plurality of sensors, each sensor operable to sense the temperature of the common conditioning medium at one of the conditioning branches.
Abstract:
An apparatus has a first component with a first surface and a second component with a second surface, wherein the first and second components can undergo relative movement. The first surface and the second surface face each other. The first surface accommodates a barrier system to provide a barrier to reduce or prevent an inflow of ambient gas into a protected volume of gas between the first and second surfaces. The barrier system includes a curtain opening adapted for a flow of curtain gas therefrom for establishing a gas curtain enclosing part of the protected volume, and an inner entrainment opening, located inward of the curtain opening with respect to the protected volume, adapted for a flow of inner entrainment gas therefrom for being entrained into the flow of curtain gas. The apparatus is configured such that the inner entrainment gas flow is less turbulent than the curtain gas flow.