Asml Netherlands B.v.

Andrej Makarovic

Lambertus Gerardus Maria Kessels

Willem Jurrianus Venema

Stoyan Nihtianov

Martinus Cornelis Reijnen

Petrus Wilhelmus Josephus Maria Kemper

Marcel Bontekoe

Kamen Hristov Chilov

A lithographic apparatus comprises an array of individually controllable elements and a data processing pipeline. The array of individually controllable elements modulates a beam of radiation. The data processing pipeline converts a first representation of a requested dose pattern to a sequence of control data suitable for controlling the array of individually controllable elements in order substantially to form the requested dose pattern on a substrate. The data processing pipeline comprises an offline pre-processing device and an online rasterizer. The offline pre-processing device converts the first representation of the requested dose pattern to an intermediate representation, which can be rasterized in a fewer number of operations than the first representation. The storage device stores the intermediate representation. The online rasterizer accesses the stored intermediate representation and produces therefrom a stream of bitmap data to be used to generate the sequence of control data substantially in real time.

Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method utilizing 2D run length encoding for image data compression

The present invention comprises a lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method method that uses a patterning device that increase a number of individually controllable elements that are programmed simultaneously to increase an update rate of an array of individually controllable elements. A number of required high speed analog inputs to the array is reduced. The complexity of the array is reduced and the maximum update speed of the array is increased. Furthermore, the number of elements within an array can be readily expanded. The patterning device can be divided into a plurality of groups of cells and the lithographic apparatus can comprise a plurality of supply channels. Each supply channel can be arranged to provide a voltage signal to each cell in a respective group of cells. This can reduce the number of required inputs to the patterning device for individually addressing each cell.

Lithographic apparatus, device manufacturing method, device manufactured thereby, and controllable patterning device utilizing a spatial light modulator with distributed digital to analog conversion

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Veldhoven, Netherlands

Andrej Makarovic