A method of manufacturing a pressure sensor comprises: above a film portion formed on one surface of a substrate, depositing a first magnetic layer, a second magnetic layer and an intermediate layer between the first and second magnetic layers on one surface of a substrate; removing the deposited layers leaving a part thereof; and removing a part of the substrate from another surface of the substrate. By removing the deposited layers leaving a part thereof, a strain detecting element is formed in a part of a first region, the strain detecting element comprising the first magnetic layer, the second magnetic layer and the intermediate layer. By removing a part of the substrate, a part of the first region of the substrate is removed. In addition, the deposition of the first magnetic layer is performed with the substrate being bended.

An apparatus for generating at least one particle shield. The at least one particle shield includes a first component and a second component. The first component and the second component are usable to form a first particle shield of the at least one particle shield for blocking particles from contacting a proximate surface of an object, the first particle shield is substantially parallel to and physically separated from the proximate surface of the object, and the first particle shield includes an energy gradient force or a velocity gradient force.

A carrier, an apparatus for manufacturing a display apparatus and including the carrier, and a method of manufacturing a display apparatus are provided. The carrier includes a body portion; an electro permanent magnetic chuck arranged on a boundary portion of the body portion and configured to selectively fix a mask assembly; and a substrate fixing unit arranged in the body portion to selectively fix a display substrate.

An exposure apparatus exposes a substrate with illumination light via an optical system. A stage disposed below the optical system has a holder to hold the substrate. A carrier system disposed above the stage has a first support member that supports the substrate in a noncontact manner from a surface side of the substrate, which is irradiated with the illumination light. A second support member different from the first support member supports the substrate in a contact manner from a rear surface side. A drive system coupled to the first and the second support members moves at least the second support member so that relative movement between the first and the second support members and relative movement between the second support member and the holder are performed at least in a vertical direction. The second support member carries the substrate from the first support member to the holder.

A support table to support a surface of a substrate, wherein the support table includes: a base surface substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate, a plurality of burls protruding above the base surface, each of the burls having a respective distal end and a first height above the base surface, the burls arranged such that, when the substrate is supported by the support table, the substrate is supported by the respective distal ends, and a plurality of elongate raised protrusions separated by gaps, each of the elongate raised protrusions having a second height above the base surface, wherein the elongate raised protrusions protrude above the base surface between the burls, and the second height is less than the first height; wherein the protrusions are arranged such that a plurality of the gaps are aligned to form a straight gas flow path towards an edge of the base surface.

A direct-deposition system capable of forming a high-resolution pattern of material on a substrate is disclosed. Vaporized atoms from an evaporation source pass through a pattern of through-holes in a shadow mask to deposit on the substrate in the desired pattern. The shadow mask is held in a mask chuck that enables the shadow mask and substrate to be separated by a distance that can be less than ten microns. As a result, the vaporized atoms that pass through the shadow mask exhibit little or no lateral spread (i.e., feathering) after passing through its apertures and the material deposits on the substrate in a pattern that has very high fidelity with the aperture pattern of the shadow mask.

A direct-deposition system forming a high-resolution pattern of material on a substrate is disclosed. Vaporized atoms from an evaporation source pass through a pattern of through-holes in a shadow mask to deposit on the substrate in the desired pattern. The shadow mask is held in a mask chuck that enables the shadow mask and substrate to be separated by a distance that can be less than ten microns. Prior to reaching the shadow mask, vaporized atoms pass through a collimator that operates as a spatial filter that blocks any atoms not travelling along directions that are nearly normal to the substrate surface. Vaporized atoms that pass through the shadow mask exhibit little or no lateral spread after passing through through-holes and the material deposits on the substrate in a pattern that has very high fidelity with the through-hole pattern of the shadow mask.

A substrate holder for a lithographic apparatus has a planarization layer provided on a surface thereof. The planarization layer provides a smooth surface for the formation of a thin film stack forming an electronic component. The planarization layer is of substantially uniform thickness and/or its outer surface has a peak to valley distance of less than 10 μm. The planarization layer may be formed by applying two solutions of different concentration. A surface treatment may be applied to the burls to repel a solution of the planarization layer material.

An imprint lithography system includes: a first chuck configured to support a first substrate; a first bushing surrounding the first chuck and configured to pneumatically suspend the first chuck laterally within the first bushing; one or more supportive mechanisms disposed beneath the first chuck and configured to support the first chuck vertically within the first bushing, wherein the first chuck is configured to be forced in a downward direction against first vertical resistive forces provided by the one or more supportive mechanisms, while the first chuck is suspended laterally within the first bushing and while the first chuck is maintained in the first fixed rotational orientation.

Disclosed are an optical system, in particular for microlithography, and a method for operating an optical system. According to one disclosed aspect, the optical system includes at least one mirror (100, 500, 600) having an optical effective surface (101, 501, 601) and a mirror substrate (110, 510, 610), wherein at least one cooling channel (115, 515, 615) in which a cooling fluid is configured to flow is arranged in the mirror substrate, for dissipating heat that is generated in the mirror substrate due to absorption of electromagnetic radiation incident from a light source on the optical effective surface, and a unit (135, 535, 635) to adjust the temperature and/or the flow rate of the cooling fluid either dependent on a measured quantity that characterizes the thermal load in the mirror substrate or dependent on an estimated/expected thermal load in the mirror substrate for a given power of the light source.