ASML

A method of exposing a substrate to a patterned radiation beam, the method comprising: providing a patterning device for a multi-field exposure, the patterning device having at least two identical patterns arranged thereon in a scanning direction; determining at least one process control parameter; determining an exposure layout for the substrate based on the at least one process control parameter; and exposing the substrate according to the exposure layout.

The invention provides a substrate support assembly configured to support a substrate, the substrate support assembly comprising: a support table configured to support the substrate in a support plane, the support table having a top surface facing the substrate and a bottom surface opposite to the top surface, the support plane being parallel to the top surface of the support table, the support table comprising a plurality of bottom burls at the bottom surface, a support configured to clamp the substrate to the support table, wherein the support table is held within a recess provided in the support, the plurality of bottom burls facing a base of the recess, an actuator assembly comprising one or more actuators arranged in the recess and configured to move the support table relative to the support in a transverse direction with respect to the support plane.

A fluid handling structure configured to confine immersion liquid to an immersion space and comprising: a liquid supply opening to supply immersion liquid to the immersion space; a extraction opening outwards of the liquid supply opening to extract fluid from the immersion space; a gas supply opening outwards of the fluid extraction opening to supply a soluble gas to the vicinity of the immersion space; and a gas extraction opening outwards of the gas supply opening to extract gas from the vicinity of the immersion space; wherein the bottom surface has: an outer portion outward of the gas extraction opening, the outer portion facing the substrate in use and separated from the substrate by a first distance; and a barrier projecting toward the substrate by a second distance, the second distance being in the range of from 40% to 99% of the first distance.

A method of forming a feature on a substrate. The method comprises performing an exposure process comprising projecting an image of the feature in the vicinity of the substrate. The method comprises adjusting a focal position of the image relative to a top surface of the substrate during the exposure process. The method comprises adjusting an intensity of the image during the exposure process.

A linkage for an actuator is discloses, which comprises: a first portion; a second portion; and a hinge, wherein the first portion is connected to the second portion via the hinge. The hinge comprises at least one hinge portion. The or each hinge portion comprises a plurality of blade flexures extending from a first rigid body portion to a second rigid body portion. The plurality of blade flexures are generally mutually parallel. At least two of the plurality of blade flexures have different lengths in a direction extending between the first rigid body portion and the second rigid body portion. An actuator comprising such a linkage is also disclosed. The actuator may comprise a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS).

The invention provides a flexible supply structure configured to transfer supplies between a first object and a second object, wherein the first object is movable with respect to the second object,wherein a first supply structure end of the flexible supply structure is connected to the first object and a second supply structure end of the flexible supply structure is connected to the second object,wherein the flexible supply structure is configured to bend about a bending axis,wherein the flexible supply structure comprises:a cable slab having one or more supply hoses and/or supply cables, the cable slab having a cable slab width and a cable slab thickness,at least one flexible shield element arranged along the cable slab to shield one or more sides of the cable slab, the shield element having a shield element thickness, wherein the shield element thickness is smaller than the cable slab thickness.

A position measurement system is disclosed, comprising an interferometer system, a multimode optical fiber, and a processing unit. The interferometer system is configured to measure a position along an optical path, to output a position measurement signal representative of the position into the multimode optical fiber, which produces at its output a spatial intensity profile. One or more detectors detect the spatial intensity profile, each detector comprising a plurality of pixels, each pixel corresponding to a distinct spatial region of the spatial intensity profile. The processing unit analyses each distinct spatial region and performs a mathematical analysis between a plurality of distinct spatial regions to determine one or more properties related to mode dispersion of the position measurement signal. Based on the determined properties, the processing unit identifies disturbances and/or errors in the position measurement signal.

The present disclosure provides a stage system for supporting a substrate having a thickness exceeding a nominal range, comprising: a base surface; a first module movably arranged on the base surface; a second module for supporting the substrate and movably arranged on the first module; a plane of interest extending planar to a top surface of the second module at a position on or above said top surface; height adjustment means for adjusting vertical positions of the first module and the second module; and a controller configured to control relative distances between the base surface, the first module, the second module, and the plane of interest, while keeping a summation of the relative distances constant.

A substrate exposure method comprising performing, using an exposure apparatus, at least two processes simultaneously. Each process involves an activation of a respective actuator of the exposure apparatus, the method comprises in a first phase: determining, for each process, if the process is time critical or non-time critical, determining an acceleration parameter for each actuator, comprising: reducing the acceleration parameter to a value lower than a respective maximum if the process is non-time critical. In a second phase an acceleration time profile for each actuator is adjusted using the determined acceleration parameter for the respective actuator; In a third phase the at least two processes are performed by the exposure apparatus, using the adjusted acceleration time profile for each actuator.

A method of determining values for a plurality of lithographic apparatus settings for a lithographic apparatus to perform a lithographic process over a plurality of exposure fields on a substrate is described. The method comprises, for each of a plurality of subsets of the plurality of exposure fields: optimizing the values for the plurality of lithographic apparatus settings over a set number of simulation runs, wherein each of the simulation runs after a first simulation run comprises performing a simulation of the lithographic process based on values for the lithographic apparatus settings determined in an immediately preceding simulation run of the number of simulation runs, the first simulation run comprising performing the simulation of the lithographic process based on initial values for the lithographic apparatus settings.