Abstract: A positioning system for a lithographic apparatus including a control system to position a moveable object of the lithographic apparatus in at least one direction which is substantially parallel to a frame, the control system including a measurement system to measure a position of the moveable object, an actuator to apply a force to the moveable object, and a controller to provide a drive signal to the actuator based on an output of the measurement system; and an emergency brake system configured to determine a failure of the control system, and if the failure is determined disable the control system and pull the moveable object against the frame.

Abstract: A method of placing a substrate onto a surface of a substrate holder, in which the surface is provided with a plurality of burls. Substrate placement data for allowing placement of the substrate at a certain position with respect to a position of the plurality of burls on the surface of the substrate holder is calculated. The substrate is placed at the certain position in accordance with the substrate placement data. The certain position may be based on the position at which placement would result in a minimized overlay error or may be based on the position at which placement would result in minimized substrate deformation.

Abstract: An overlay error between two successive layers produced by a lithographic process on a substrate is determined by using the lithographic process to form at least one periodic structure of a same pitch on each of the layers. One or more overlaid pairs of the periodic structures are formed in parallel, but offset relative to each other. A spectrum, produced by directing a beam of radiation onto the one or more pairs of periodic structures is measured. One or more portions of the spectrum are determined in which the relationship between the offset between the one or more pairs of periodic structures and the resultant variation in measured intensity of the spectrum at the one or more portions is more linear than the relationship outside the one or more portions. The offset between the one or more pairs of periodic structures on the basis of intensity measurements of the spectrum in the one or more portions of the spectrum is determined and used to determine the overlay error.

Abstract: A multi-core processor includes two or more cores; an external communication facility that is shared by the cores and is capable of communicating with one of the cores at a time; and an internal communication facility capable of communicating simultaneously with each one of the cores; wherein the multi-core processor is configured to: receive a first signal via the external communication facility; relay the first signal to one of the cores; handle the first signal by the one of the cores, thereby generating a second signal; transmit substantially at the same time the second signal to each one of the cores by the internal communication facility; start a task on each one of the cores in response to the receiving of the second signal.

Abstract: A mask can be used to print a pattern. Due to mask pattern surface topography, an image error may occur, such as an intensity imbalance between adjacent bright lines in the projected pattern. To help alleviate or eliminate the problem of intensity imbalance, the projection system may include an optical phase adjuster constructed and arranged to adjust a phase of an electric field of optical beams of radiation beam traversing the adjuster. A reduction of intensity imbalance is achieved by suitably adjusting the phases of the zeroth, plus first and minus first-order diffracted radiation emanating from the mask pattern. By adjusting the phase differently for different portions of the illumination, the method can be applied such that no decrease of depth of focus due, for example, the 0th order is occurring.

Abstract: An immersion lithographic apparatus and method are disclosed in which measures are taken to account for dissolution of resist components, such as photo-acids or photo-acid generators, in immersion liquid. This may involve ensuring that each relevant part of the substrate is covered by liquid the same amount of time and/or by compensating for the differing amounts of time each relevant part of the substrate is covered by liquid by varying exposure intensity or duration based on the amount of time the substrate is covered by liquid.

Abstract: An optical apparatus is disclosed that has a convex mirror and a concave mirror with an aperture, wherein, in use, radiation from a radiation emitter passes through the aperture and is incident upon the convex mirror before being incident upon the concave mirror, the optical apparatus arranged to form the radiation into a radiation beam, wherein the concave mirror is translatable towards and away from the convex mirror or the convex mirror is translatable towards and away from the concave mirror, to adjust divergence of the radiation beam.

Abstract: A CD-pitch dependency for a lithographic pattern printing process is related to the spectral intensity distribution of radiation used for projecting the pattern. A CD-pitch dependency can vary from one system to another. This can result in an iso-dense bias mismatch between systems. The invention addresses this problem by providing a lithographic apparatus including an illumination system for providing a projection beam of radiation, a projection system for projecting a patterned beam onto a target portion of a substrate, and a substrate table for holding the substrate, with a controller to provide an adjustment of the spectral distribution of radiant intensity of the projection beam. The adjustment of the spectral intensity distribution is based on data relating to an iso dense bias, and comprises a broadening of the spectral bandwidth or a change of shape of the spectral intensity distribution.

Abstract: An extreme ultra-violet lithographic apparatus for imaging a pattern onto a substrate includes a radiation system constructed and arranged to provide a beam of an extreme ultra-violet radiation, and an absorber arranged in the beam and constructed and arranged to absorb at least a portion of the radiation beam. The absorber has a volume configured to accommodate a flow of an absorbing gas. The flow is directed in a transverse direction with respect to the beam. The absorber includes a structure having an extreme ultra-violet radiation-transmissive beam entry area and an extreme ultra-violet radiation-transmissive beam exit area. The apparatus also includes a gas inlet actuator array configured to inject the gas into the volume and a gas outlet actuator array arranged to evacuate the gas from the volume.

Abstract: A vibration isolation system isolates a body from its surroundings with respect to vibrations. The vibration isolation system includes active isolator devices that isolate and damp the body in unstable directions. However, such active isolators may exert damping forces not only in the unstable direction, but simultaneously in other stable directions due to mechanical coupling of the stable and unstable directions. As a result the damping and isolation in the other stable directions may be deteriorated due to the active isolation and damping. Employing modal decoupling, i.e. decomposing any vibration into independent directions, and isolating and damping in the independent directions, enables compensation of any vibration in an unstable direction without influencing the isolation and damping performance in any other, possibly stable, direction.

Abstract: A lithographic apparatus is disclosed that includes a utility substrate storage configured to hold a utility substrate, and a utility substrate scheduling unit configured to schedule the loading of a utility substrate in a flow of substrates in the lithographic apparatus.

Abstract: A method of obtaining improved feedforward data for a feedforward control system to move a component through a setpoint profile is presented. The setpoint profile includes a plurality of target states of the component each to be substantially attained at one of a corresponding sequence of target times. The method includes moving the component with the feedforward control system according to the setpoint profile using a first set of feedforward data; measuring a state of the component at a plurality of times during the movement; comparing the measured states with corresponding target states defined by the setpoint profile to obtain a set of errors; filtering the set of errors with a non-linear filter; generating improved feedforward data based on the filtered errors, the improved feedforward data being usable by the feedforward control system to move the component more accurately through the setpoint profile.

Abstract: A cooling arrangement is described and includes a heat sink having a first thermal contact surface, an object having a second thermal contact surface and a resilient wall. The first thermal contact surface and the second thermal contact surface face each other and define a gap. The resilient wall is part of an enclosure that surrounds a space at least comprising the gap, and the cooling arrangement includes a facility to maintain a pressure difference between the space and an environment of the cooling arrangement. Additionally, a lithographic apparatus comprising such a cooling arrangement is described.

Abstract: A fluid handling system for an immersion lithographic apparatus that has a fluid removal device to remove immersion liquid from an immersion space, and a droplet removal device to remove a droplet of immersion liquid, wherein: the droplet removal device is located further from an optical axis than the fluid removal device, and the droplet removal device comprises a porous member which faces, e.g., the substrate being exposed and/or the substrate table.

Abstract: A contaminant trap apparatus arranged in a path of a radiation beam to trap contaminants emanating from a radiation source configured to produce the radiation beam is disclosed. The contaminant trap apparatus includes a rotor having a plurality of channel forming elements defining channels which are arranged substantially parallel to the direction of propagation of the radiation beam, the rotor including electrically chargeable material and arranged to be electrically charged as a result of the operation of the radiation source; and a bearing configured to rotatably hold the rotor with respect to a rotor carrying structure, wherein the apparatus is configured to (i) control or redirect an electrical discharge of the rotor, or (ii) suppress an electrical discharge of the rotor, or (iii) both (i) and (ii).

Abstract: A single exposure method and a double exposure method for reducing mask error factor and for enhancing lithographic printing-process resolution is presented. The invention comprises decomposing a desired pattern of dense lines and spaces in two sub patterns of semi-dense spaces that are printed in interlaced position with respect to each other, using positive tone resist. Each of the exposures is executed after applying a relative space-width widening to the spaces of two corresponding patterning device patterns of semi-dense spaces. A factor representative for the space-width widening has a value between 1 and 3, thereby reducing mask error factor and line edge roughness.

Abstract: An immersion lithographic apparatus is disclosed which includes a liquid supply system having an inlet configured to supply a liquid to a space between a projection system of the lithographic apparatus and a substrate and an outlet configured to remove at least part of the liquid, the liquid supply system configured to rotate the inlet, the outlet, or both, about an axis substantially perpendicular to an exposure plane of the substrate.

Abstract: A cleaning arrangement is configured to clean an EUV optic of an EUV lithographic apparatus. The partial radical pressure ranges between 0.1-10 Pa. The cleaning arrangement can be configured inside a cleaning cocoon of the lithographic apparatus for offline cleaning. It can also be configured at particular positions inside the apparatus to clean nearby optics during production. In the pressure range of 0.1-10 Pa the penetration of atomic hydrogen into the optical devices is high, while the recombination to molecular hydrogen and hydrogen consumption is limited.

Abstract: A method and device for programming an array of individually controllable elements configured to impart a beam with a pattern. For example, the method can be suitable for use in a lithographic apparatus. The method includes generating first data representing a first pattern, generating second data representing a second pattern, writing the first data to a first buffer, and reading the first data from the first buffer to program the array of individually controllable elements to display the first pattern, while writing the second data to a second buffer in parallel.

Abstract: An imprint template configured to imprint an imprintable medium by an imprint lithography process is disclosed, the imprint template having a pattern with a pattern density corresponding to a volume of imprintable medium used to substantially fill pattern features per unit area of a contact face of the imprint template, wherein adjacent regions of the pattern on the imprint template contact face, each of which will provide different functionality once imprinted onto a substrate, have substantially the same pattern density, have differences in pattern density which are minimized, or differences in pattern density which are maintained below a maximum.