A lithographic apparatus has: a conduit through which a gas can flow; a gas mover configured to cause the gas to flow in the conduit; a wall in contact with the gas in the conduit and defining a membrane aperture therein; and an acoustic filter including a flexible membrane fixed in the membrane aperture. The acoustic filter reduces transmission of acoustic disturbances without adding any flow resistance.

Support arrangement for supporting a radiation projection system in a substrate processing apparatus, the support arrangement comprising: a support body for supporting the radiation projection system; electrical wiring for supplying voltages to components within the radiation projection system and/or for supplying control data for modulation of radiation to be projected onto a target surface by the radiation projection system; optical fibers, for supplying control data for modulation of radiation to be projected onto a target surface by the radiation projection system, and a cooling arrangement comprising one or more fluid conduits for cooling the radiation projection system; the electrical wiring, the optical fibers, and the cooling arrangement being at least partly accommodated in and/or supported by the support body.

A supporting member on which a wafer table is mounted is substantially kinematically supported, via six rod members placed on a slider. Further, coupling members are placed facing in a non-contact manner via a predetermined gap, thin plate-shaped edges provided at both ends in the Y-axis direction of the supporting member. By this arrangement, vibration-damping is performed by the coupling members (squeeze dampers) facing the edges, on vibration of the supporting member mounted on the wafer table. Further, because the supporting member is kinematically supported via the plurality of rod members, it becomes possible to reduce deformation of the wafer table that accompanies deformation of the slider.

A method localizes assembly errors during the arrangement and/or the assembly of in particular vibration-isolated structural elements, in particular of components of optical arrangements, preferably of microlithographic projection exposure apparatuses.

A method for moving a stage relative to a base includes coupling a magnet assembly to the stage; coupling an array of coils to the base; and directing current to at least one of the coils with a control system that includes a processor to generate a force that levitates the stage relative to the base and moves the stage relative to the base. In one embodiment, the control system generates at least one current command that levitates and moves the stage while inhibiting the excitation of a first targeted flexible mode.

The invention provides a pneumatic support device for a lithographic apparatus and a lithographic apparatus with such support device. The support device comprises a gas spring. The gas spring comprises a suspending part, a suspended part, and a pressure chamber configured for supporting the suspended part relative to the suspending part. The support device further comprises an actuator configured for positioning the suspended part relative to the suspending part, an acceleration sensor configured for generating a first sensor signal representative for the acceleration of the suspending part, a pressure sensor configured for generating a second sensor signal representative for the pressure in the pressure chamber, and a control unit. The control unit is configured to: receive the first sensor signal, receive the second sensor signal, filter the first sensor signal in a low-pass filter, filter the second sensor signal in a high-pass filter, determine, based on the filtered first sensor signal and filtered second sensor signal, a force exerted by the suspending part on the suspended part, and generate, based on said force, a control signal for the actuator.

A filter assembly, for example for a control loop for controlling the position of at least one element, comprises first and second filters. The first filter suppresses an undesired component in a signal to be filtered. The first filter produces a first signal delay in a first frequency range. The second filter produces a second signal delay in the first frequency range. The second signal delay at least partly compensates the first signal delay.

The invention relates to an electronic system for an accelerometer having a piezoelectric element and a first mechanical resonance frequency, comprising: a) a damping circuit configured to: —receive an acceleration signal from the piezoelectric element; —electronically dampen an amplitude of the first mechanical resonance frequency; and—generate a damped acceleration signal, b) an extender configured to: —receive the damped acceleration signal; —extend the frequency response; and—output an extended damped acceleration signal, wherein the extender is configured to have a first electronic anti-resonance frequency matching the damped first mechanical resonance frequency, and to have a frequency response between the first electronic anti-resonance frequency and a higher second frequency that is substantially opposite to a corresponding frequency response of the combination of the accelerometer and the damping circuit.

A method of diagnosing a failure location of a control apparatus including a plurality of actuators each configured to apply a thrust to a target object, a plurality of sensors each configured to detect a state quantity of the target object, and a controller configured to control the plurality of actuators, the method including comparing a first signal output from each of the plurality of sensors in a state in which the plurality of actuators and the plurality of sensors are considered to be normal with a second signal output from each of the plurality of sensors in a state in which the control apparatus is used, and diagnosing, as the failure location, a device including at least one of a failed actuator and a failed sensor based on a comparison result in the comparing.

The invention provides a support with first and second end portions. The second end portion is on the side opposite to the first end portion in a longitudinal direction of the support. A coil spring is arranged between the first and second end portions. The coil spring comprises a first spiral member that extends between the first and second end portions in a circumferential direction of the support, and a second spiral member that extends between the first and second end portions in a circumferential direction of the support. The first and second spiral members extend in the longitudinal direction around a longitudinal axis of the support, wherein the first spiral member of the coil spring and the second spiral member of the coil spring are moveable relative to each other, and wherein the support further comprises a damper device that is attached to the first spiral member.