Abstract: A control system controls a support structure of a lithographic apparatus. A first measurement system measures the position of a substrate supported by the support structure, in a first coordinate system. A second measurement system measures the position of the support structure in a second coordinate system, the first measurement system having a presumed position in the second coordinate system. A controller controls the position of the support structure based on measurements by the second measurement system, to convert the measured position of the substrate into a converted position of the support structure in the second coordinate system, to position the support structure based on the converted position, to receive a position error signal indicative of a difference between the presumed position and an actual position of the first measurement system in the second coordinate system, and to position the support structure dependent upon the position error signal.

Abstract: A measurement system configured to measure a position dependent signal of an object table, the measurement system including at least one sensor mountable on the object table and a sensor target object mountable on a substantially stationary frame, and a mounting device configured to mount the sensor target object on the substantially stationary frame, wherein the measurement system further includes a compensator configured to compensate movements and/or deformations of the sensor target object with respect to the substantially stationary frame. The compensator may include a passive or an active damper and/or a feedback position controller. In an alternative embodiment, the compensator includes a gripping device which fixes the position of the sensor target object during a high accuracy movement of the movable object.

Abstract: A lithographic apparatus includes a stage to hold an object, the stage being moveable relative to a reference structure in a motion range; a magnet structure to provide a spatially varying magnetic field in at least a part of the motion range, the magnet structure being moveable relative to the reference structure and the stage; a first position measurement system to provide a first measurement signal corresponding to a position of the stage and/or the object in a measurement direction relative to the reference structure; a second position measurement system to provide a second measurement signal corresponding to a position of the stage relative to the magnet structure; and a data processor to correct the first measurement signal with a value dependent on the second measurement signal to provide a corrected first measurement signal representative of the position of the stage and/or the object relative to the reference structure in the measurement direction.

Abstract: A method for calibrating an auxiliary sensor system is provided. The auxiliary sensor system measures a position of a grating relative to a reference, the grating forming part of an encoder measurement system. The encoder measurement system is adapted to measure a position of a substrate table of a lithographic apparatus and further comprises a sensor mounted to the substrate table. The method comprises exciting the grating to make a movement in at least one measurement direction of the auxiliary sensor system, obtaining an auxiliary sensor system output signal from the sensor system during the movement, and adjusting a parameter of the auxiliary sensor system based on the output signal obtained during the movement to thereby calibrate the auxiliary sensor system.

Abstract: A lithographic apparatus includes a position measurement system to determine along a measurement path a position of a first part of the lithographic apparatus with respect to a position of a second part of the lithographic apparatus. The position determination system comprises a plurality of temperature sensors to measure a temperature of a medium along the measurement path. The position measurement system corrects the determined position making use of the temperature as measured by the temperature sensors.

Abstract: A position measurements system to measure a position of a movable object with respect to another object includes two or more one dimensional (1D) encoder heads mounted on one of the movable object and the other object and each capable of emitting a measurement beam along a measurement direction, one or more reference targets mounted on the other of the movable object and the other object, each reference target including a planar surface with a grid or grating to cooperate with the two or more one dimensional (1D) encoder heads, and a processor to calculate a position of the object on the basis of outputs of the two or more 1D encoder heads, wherein the measurement direction of each of the two or more 1D encoder heads is non-perpendicular to the planar surface of the respective reference target.

Abstract: A lithographic apparatus includes an illumination system configured to condition a radiation beam, a support constructed to support a patterning device, the patterning device being capable of imparting the radiation beam with a pattern in its cross-section to form a patterned radiation beam, a substrate support constructed to hold a substrate, and a projection system configured to project the patterned radiation beam onto a target portion of the substrate, wherein the substrate support includes parts that are made of an open cell plastic foam material.

Abstract: In an embodiment, a stage system calibration method includes moving the stage relative to an encoder grid in response to a setpoint signal and measuring a position of the stage by a sensor head cooperating with the encoder grid. The position of the stage is controlled by a stage controller. A signal representative of a difference between the setpoint signal and the position of the stage as measured by the sensor head is registered. The stage system is calibrated from the registered signal representative of the difference.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for calibrating a grating of an encoder measurement system between two adjacent calibrated locations, the method includes moving one of a sensor object including an encoder-type sensor and a grating along the other one of the sensor object and the grating with a speed, wherein the speed is selected such that disturbances in the grating substantially extending over a distance smaller than a distance between the two calibrated locations can not or only partly be followed by the one of the sensor object and the grating, and measuring during the moving the position of the sensor object with respect to the grating at a plurality of locations between the two calibrated locations.

Abstract: A stage system includes a movable stage, at least two encoder heads each constructed to provide an encoder signal representative of a position of the movable stage with respect to an encoder target structure, and a controller to control a position of the stage. The controller is provided with the encoder signals of each of the encoder heads. The controller is arranged to apply a weighting function to the encoder signals and to derive a position of the stage from the weighted encoder signals.

Abstract: A lithographic apparatus includes a displacement measuring system to measure a position of a moveable object with respect to a reference frame of the lithographic apparatus, in at least three coplanar degrees of freedom (x, y, Rz) of an orthogonal x-y-z coordinate system centered in the center of the moveable object. The moveable object includes a support structure configured to support a patterning device or a substrate table configured to support a substrate. The displacement measuring system includes at least three sensor heads, each sensor head being positioned with a measuring direction substantially coplanar with the x-y plane of the coordinate system and each sensor head being furthermore positioned with the measuring direction substantially perpendicular to a connection line connecting the sensor head with the center of the movable object and extending coplanar with the x-y plane.

Abstract: A position measurement system includes a first position measurement unit configured to measure a position of an object in a first and a second direction, the first position measurement unit including a first sensor and a first grating that extends in a first direction, a second position measurement unit configured to measure the position of the object in the first and the second direction, the second position measurement unit including a second sensor and a second grating that extends in the first direction. The position measurement system is configured to initialize the second position measurement unit based on a position measurement of the first position measurement unit.

Abstract: An encoder-type measurement system is configured to measure a position dependent signal of a movable object. The measurement system includes a light source and a sensor. The light source and the sensor are mounted on one of the movable object or a substantially stationary frame. The measurement system also includes a reference object that includes a grating or grid mounted on the other of the movable object or the substantially stationary frame. The light source is configured to emit a light beam towards the reference object. The sensor is configured to detect light of the light source reflected by the reference object. The measurement system also includes an error detector capable of detecting errors in or on the grating or grid of the sensor target object during a continuous production process.

Abstract: A device manufacturing method includes projecting a patterned beam of radiation onto a substrate, wherein the position of a movable object is determined in a number of degrees of freedom using a number of sensors, the number of sensors being larger than the number of degrees of freedom, wherein the position of the movable object in the number of degrees of freedom is determined using signals of each of the sensors, wherein the signals of the sensors are weighed on the basis of the difference between noise levels of each of the sensors. Accuracy of the position measurement of movable object and/or overlay and focus performance are improved in lithographic apparatus.

Abstract: A position measurement system to measure a position of a movable stage includes a reference plate; a plurality of sensors arranged such that, depending on a position of the movable stage relative to the reference plate, at least a subset of the plurality of sensors is configured to cooperate with the reference plate to provide for each of the sensors in the subset respective sensor signals representative of a position of the respective sensor relative to the reference plate; and a processor arranged to determine from the sensor signals a stage position, the processing device configured so as to, when the stage is in a position where an over-determined number of sensor signals is provided by at least the subset of the sensors that are in operational cooperation with the reference plate, (a) determine the stage position from a subset of the over-determined number of sensor signals, and (b) correct a sensor signal of one or more of the sensors from a discrepancy between the determined stage position and a remain

Abstract: A lithographic apparatus including a projection system configured to project a patterned radiation beam onto a target portion of a substrate includes a position measuring system configured to determine the position of a movable object in at least one direction. The measuring system includes at least a first sensor arranged spaced from one side of the object and at least a second sensor arranged spaced from an opposite side of the movable object, and a calculation device configured to calculate the position of the object on the basis of distances measured by the first sensor and the second sensor between the first and the object and the second sensor and the object, respectively. By using the (weighted) difference between measured signals for calculation of the position of the object, the errors in the sensor signals caused by disturbances, such as global and/or local changes of the refractive index and expansion can be substantially reduced.

Abstract: An improved lithographic interferometer system, is presented herein. The lithographic interferometer system comprises a beam generating mechanism, mirrors which reflect those beams, and detection devices for detecting an interference pattern of overlapping reflected beams. The beam generating mechanism comprises a beam-splitter, which splits the beams into reference beams and measuring beams, a reference mirror that provides a plane mirror interferometer, and a reflective surface that emits at least one reference beam used in a differential plane mirror interferometer.

Abstract: A control system controls a support structure of a lithographic apparatus. A first measurement system measures the position of a substrate supported by the support structure, in a first coordinate system. A second measurement system measures the position of the support structure in a second coordinate system, the first measurement system having a presumed position in the second coordinate system. A controller controls the position of the support structure based on measurements by the second measurement system, to convert the measured position of the substrate into a converted position of the support structure in the second coordinate system, to position the support structure based on the converted position, to receive a position error signal indicative of a difference between the presumed position and an actual position of the first measurement system in the second coordinate system, and to position the support structure dependent upon the position error signal.

Abstract: A lithographic apparatus is disclosed that includes an encoder type sensor system configured to measure a position of a substrate table of the lithographic apparatus relative to a reference structure. The encoder type sensor system includes an encoder sensor head and an encoder sensor target and the lithographic apparatus comprises a recess to accommodate the encoder sensor target.

Abstract: A method for calibrating an auxiliary sensor system is provided. The auxiliary sensor system measures a position of a grating relative to a reference, the grating forming part of an encoder measurement system. The encoder measurement system is adapted to measure a position of a substrate table of a lithographic apparatus and further comprises a sensor mounted to the substrate table. The method comprises exciting the grating to make a movement in at least one measurement direction of the auxiliary sensor system, obtaining an auxiliary sensor system output signal from the sensor system during the movement, and adjusting a parameter of the auxiliary sensor system based on the output signal obtained during the movement to thereby calibrate the auxiliary sensor system.