Abstract: A bearing for use in a vacuum chamber comprises a gas bearing discharging pressurised gas into a gap between two members to maintain a predetermined separation between those members.

Abstract: A long-stroke movement is fed-through into a vacuum chamber by providing a sliding seal over an aperture in the vacuum chamber wall. The object to be moved, which may be a mask or wafer table in a lithographic apparatus, within the vacuum chamber is connected to or mounted on the sliding seal and moved by movement of the sliding seal. The sliding seal may be a plate, a bowl or a labyrinth of interleaved plates.

Abstract: A bearing for use in a vacuum chamber comprises a gas bearing discharging pressurised gas into a gap between two members to maintain a predetermined separation between those members.

Abstract: An object table is supported in a vacuum chamber by an elongate beam or beams extending through elongate slots in opposite walls of the vacuum chamber. Displacement of the beam in two orthogonal directions is achieved by displacing the beam laterally and longitudinally. The elongate slots are sealed by sliding plates supported by a gas bearing. The beam is driven longitudinally by linear motors acting against between a balance mass and the beam. The beam is driven laterally by linear motors acting between a balance mass and the sliding plates. The two balance masses may be separate or combined.

Abstract: A bearing for use in a vacuum chamber comprises a gas bearing discharging pressurised gas into a gap between two members to maintain a predetermined separation between those members. To avoid the gas forming the gas bearing being an unacceptable leak into the vacuum chamber, a vacuum pump is provided between the vacuum chamber and the gas bearing.

Abstract: A lithographic apparatus for step-and-scan operation has a three stage structure for the wafer stage. During step-and-scan operation, the long-stroke stage is moved steadily along the row or column of dies to be exposed sequentially. An intermediate scanning stage moves in a figure-of-eight motion relative to the long-stroke stage so that the net movement of the fine stage, which is carried by the scanning stage, is a meander path.

Abstract: In a lithographic projection apparatus, a slider is provided for motion of the substrate table or mask table. The slider is supported on a gas-bearing and separates a region at atmospheric pressure from a vacuum space region. A differential pressure pump is provided to maintain the pressure difference in the presence of the gas-bearing. A pressure compensation vessel is provided on top of the slider and also contains a vacuum. Over most of the area of the slider, the pressure on its opposed first and second sides is the same and so deformation of the slider is avoided. The sidewalls of the pressure compensation vessel transmit the external gas pressure to the slider such that they are in line with the forces of the gas-bearing.

Abstract: A long-stroke movement is fed-through into a vacuum chamber by providing a sliding seal over an aperture in the vacuum chamber wall. The object to be moved, which may be a mask or wafer table in a lithographic apparatus, within the vacuum chamber is connected to or mounted on the sliding seal and moved by movement of the sliding seal. The sliding seal may be a plate, a bowl or a labyrinth of interleaved plates.

Abstract: An object table is supported in a vacuum chamber by an elongate beam or beams extending though elongate slots in opposite walls of the vacuum chamber. Displacement of the beam in two orthogonal directions is achieved by displacing the beam laterally and longitudinally. The elongate slots are sealed by sliding plates supported by a gas bearing. The beam is driven longitudinally by linear motors acting against between a balance mass and the beam. The beam is driven laterally by linear motors acting between a balance mass and the sliding plates. The two balance masses may be separate or combined.

Abstract: A long-stroke movement is fed-through into a vacuum chamber by providing a sliding seal over an aperture in the vacuum chamber wall. The object to be moved, which may be a mask or wafer table in a lithographic apparatus, within the vacuum chamber is connected to or mounted on the sliding seal and moved by movement of the sliding seal. The sliding seal may be a plate, a bowl or a labyrinth of interleaved plates.

Abstract: An object table is supported in a vacuum chamber by an elongate beam or beams extending though elongate slots in opposite walls of the vacuum chamber. Displacement of the beam in two orthogonal directions is achieved by displacing the beam laterally and longitudinally. The elongate slots are sealed by sliding plates supported by a gas bearing. The beam is driven longitudinally by linear motors acting against between a balance mass and the beam. The beam is driven laterally by linear motors acting between a balance mass and the sliding plates. The two balance masses may be separate or combined.

Abstract: A transmission mechanism for converting a rotary movement into a translatory movement includes an internal and an external coupling member which have cooperating double thread systems made of a magnetizable material. The external coupling member includes a series of permanent magnets which are polarized in an axial direction and are provided at regular intervals between the individual threads of the thread system so that the individual threads each form a common pole shoe for the permanent magnets providing a maximum magnetic flux density along the portion of the thread system containing the permanent magnets. The presence of a non-magnetizable material between the threads provides that the mutually facing walls of the coupling members are smooth, and a static gas bearing can be applied between these walls.

Abstract: A positioning device includes a table (5, 69), which is displaceable in two coordinate directions (X, Y) by means of Lorentz forces of electric linear motors over a base (3) and is guided over the base (3) by means of a static gas bearing, which has an air gap thickness independent of the coil systems and magnet systems (15-21, 37-43) in the motors. The positioning device is particularly suitable for the manufacture of masks with patterns for integrated circuits.

Abstract: A support device comprises a first and a second bearing unit for guiding the support device along a base surface and a straight guide extending parallel to the base surface, respectively. The support device has an object table which is coupled to a rigidification member and which is displaceable relative to the two bearing units in a z-direction transverse to the base surface and is tiltable about at least one axis of rotation directed parallel to the base surface by three force actuators. The rigidification member is coupled to the second bearing unit by a coupling member which is elastically deformable in the z-direction, and coupled to the first bearing unit via the force actuators, whereby a statically determined coupling of the rigidification member and the object table to the two bearing units is obtained. The support device is particularly suitable for displacements of an object in the sub-micron range, such as, for example, in an optical lithographic device.

Abstract: A positioning device includes a table (101, 213) guided by a carriage (15, 199), the carriage (15, 199) being displaceable in two coordinate directions (X, Y) with respect to the base (3) and the table (101, 213) being displaceable with respect to the carriage (15, 199) in the same coordinate directions (X, Y) solely by Lorentz forces, while in a third coordinate direction (Z) the position of the table (101, 213) is determined by a static gas bearing. The two-step positioning device is particularly suitable for use in opto-lithographic devices.

Abstract: An opto-lithographic device comprising a lens system (13) arranged between a mask support (25) and a substrate table (33) and telecentric on one side, the lens system (13) and the mask support (25) being secured to a first holder (21) and a second holder (23), respectively, which can be displaced both simultaneously and relatively by means of a first actuator (183, 187, 189) and a second actuator (197, 199) for adjustment of focusing and enlargement. The invention provides the possibility of a simple correction of focusing and enlargement when this focusing and this enlargement are varied inter alia due to pressure or temperature variations.

Abstract: A positioning device comprising a first and a second support (9, 11) which are interconnected by a parallelogram mechanism of elastically deformable rods (17), the first and the second support (9, 11) together being displaceable in horizontal planes with a maintained position of the first support (9) in vertical direction, while with a maintained position of the first support (9) in a horizontal plane that support (9) is displaceable in vertical direction by means of a substantially frictionless relative displacement in horizontal direction of the second support (11) with respect to the first support (9).The positioning device is particularly suitable for displacements of an object in the submicron range, such as, for example, in optical lithographic devices.

Abstract: A displacement device, particularly useful in an apparatus for the photolithographic treatment of a substrate, is provided with a holder placed on a carriage mechanism being acted upon by driving members for imparting translational and rotary movements to the holder. The carriage is constituted by a lower carriage part and an upper carriage part, each of which has a flat surface facing each other. Three linear driving members, each having a housing and a driving element projecting from both ends of the housing, and axially moving with respect to the housing, act upon the carriage. The housing of the first driving member is connected to an upper carriage part, while the driving elements of the second and third driving members are coupled to the lower carriage part with the second and third driving members respectively being connected to the first driving member in an arrangement in the shape of an H.

Abstract: A device for photolithographically treating a thin substrate comprises pre-alignment station, a substrate-supporting table and a transport arm which is provided with a vacuum connection for holding the substrate by suction at its lower side during transport of the substrate from the pre-alignment station to the substrate table. The substrate table is provided with supporting means for the substrate which are adjustable in the direction of height and which have a supporting surface which is adjustable to a distance above the substrate table exceeding the thickness of the transport arm and is adjustable in a downward direction at least through a distance such that the supporting surface is level with the upper surface of the substrate table, the supporting means leaving a space free for the movement of the transport arm above a part of the substrate table.