The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 16, 2004
Filed:
May. 06, 2002
Raymond Laurentius Johannes Schrijver, Eindhoven, NL;
Tjarko Adriaan Rudolf Van Empel, Eindhoven, NL;
Marcel Koenraad Marie Baggen, Nuenen, NL;
ASML Netherlands B.V., Veldhoven, NL;
Abstract
A lithographic apparatus has an inner purge compartment surrounding and moving with a moveable component such as a mask table or a substrate table and an outer purge compartment surrounding the inner purge compartment. Purge gas is supplied to the inner compartment and exhausted from the outer compartment so that the inner purge compartment is at an average pressure higher than ambient and the outer compartment is at a pressure lower than ambient. Even when acceleration of the moveable object and compartments cause local pressure variations, the inner compartment is at a higher pressure than the outer compartment so that any gas flow is outward and contamination is prevented from reaching the inner compartment.