1. A charged particle lithography system comprising a preparation unit, the preparation unit comprising:
a housing having a first load port for loading andor unloading a substrate into or out of the housing;
a substrate transfer unit for locating the substrate onto a substrate support structure within the housing; and
a second load port for loading andor unloading the substrate support structure supporting the substrate.
2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a lithography apparatus for performing a lithographic process on the substrate in a substrate processing compartment, the preparation unit further comprising an energy discharge system for removing energy accumulated in the substrate support structure as a result of the lithographic process, after removal of the substrate support structure from the substrate processing compartment.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein said preparation unit is provided with connections for discharge and supply of an energy transport medium for the energy discharge system.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein said energy discharge system comprises an electrically driven thermoelectric cooling element.
5-8. (canceled)
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the preparation unit is further configured to clamp the substrate on a surface of the substrate support structure by means of a capillary liquid layer.
10. The system of claim 3, wherein said energy transport medium comprises a liquid and is used at least partly for a capillary liquid layer for clamping the substrate on a surface of the substrate support structure.
11. The system of claim 9, wherein an energy transport medium is provided for said capillary liquid layer in excess of the amount of liquid required for clamping the substrate.
12. The system of claim 9, wherein said preparation unit further comprises a liquid dispenser for dispensing liquid on a surface of the substrate support structure to form the capillary liquid layer.
13. The system of claim 9, wherein the pressure within the housing can be lowered to a pressure substantially equal to the vapor pressure of the liquid in the capillary layer.
14. The system of claim 1, wherein said substrate transfer unit comprises support pins for lowering the substrate onto the substrate support structure.
15. The system of claim 1, wherein the preparation unit further comprises one or more gas connectors connectable to the substrate support structure for providing gas to andor removing gas from the surface of the substrate support structure.
16. The system of claim 1, wherein the preparation unit further comprises one or more liquid connectors connectable to the substrate support structure for providing liquid to andor removing liquid from the surface of the substrate support structure.
17. The system of claim 1, the preparation unit further comprising:
a liquid dispenser for dispensing liquid on a surface of a substrate support structure;
one or more gas connectors for providing gas to andor removing gas from the surface of the substrate support structure; and
one or more liquid connectors for providing liquid to andor removing liquid from the surface of the substrate support structure;
wherein the substrate support structure is connectable and disconnectable from the one or more gas connectors, and the one or more liquid connectors.
18. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of lithographic apparatus, each lithographic apparatus comprising a radiation system to provide a patterned beam of radiation, a substrate support structure to support a substrate, and an optical system to project the patterned beam of radiation onto a target portion of the substrate, and wherein the preparation unit is configured to provide a substrate clamped to a substrate support structure for each of the plurality of lithographic apparatus.
19. A method for preparing a substrate for lithographic processing, the method comprising:
providing a controlled pressure environment in a housing;
loading the substrate into the housing;
providing the substrate support structure in the housing;
clamping the substrate on a surface of the substrate support structure by means of a capillary layer.
20. The method of claim 19, further comprising dispensing a liquid on a surface of a substrate support structure to form the capillary layer and lowering the substrate onto the dispensed liquid.
21. (canceled)
22. The method of claim 19, further comprising connecting one or more gas connectors to the substrate support structure and providing gas to andor removing gas from the surface of the substrate support structure.
23. The method of claim 19, further comprising connecting one or more liquid connectors to the substrate support structure and providing liquid to andor removing liquid from the surface of the substrate support structure.
24. The method of claim 19, further comprising lowering the pressure within the housing to a pressure substantially equal to the vapor pressure of the liquid in the capillary layer.
25. The method of claim 19, further comprising:
dispensing a liquid on a surface of a substrate support structure;
connecting one or more gas connectors to the substrate support structure and providing gas to andor removing gas from the surface of the substrate support structure; and
connecting one or more liquid connectors to the substrate support structure and providing liquid to andor removing liquid from the surface of the substrate support structure; and
disconnecting the one or more gas connectors and the one or more liquid connectors from the substrate support structure.
26. (canceled)
27. The method of claim 19, further comprising conditioning the substrate support structure before clamping the substrate on a surface of the substrate support structure by actively removing energy accumulated in the substrate support structure as a result of a previous lithographic process.
28. (canceled)
29. The method of claim 27, wherein conditioning the substrate support structure comprises exposing the substrate support structure to an energy transport medium for removing the stored energy.
30. The method of claim 27, wherein conditioning the substrate support structure comprises placing the substrate support structure in thermal contact with an electrically driven thermoelectric cooling element.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A tile comprising:
a base comprising a downward-facing surface that is to oppose an underlying surface on which the tile is to rest, the base being formed from a material comprising a combination of crumb rubber and rice hull material;
a plurality of feet extending in a downwardly direction from the downward-facing surface to contact the underlying surface on which the tile is to rest and separate the downward-facing surface from the underlying surface; and
a cap coupled to a surface of the base opposite the downward-facing surface comprising the feet.
2. The tile of claim 1, wherein the feet are integrally formed as part of a monolithic unit with the base.
3. The tile of claim 1, wherein the feet define channels extending along the downward-facing surface through which a liquid can flow between the downward-facing surface and the underlying surface.
4. The tile of claim 3 further comprising a connection member that is compatible to cooperate with the feet to couple the tile adjacent to a neighboring tile.
5. The tile of claim 1, wherein the cap comprises an overhanging portion and the base comprises a protruding portion.