Patent ID: 7106417

Claim:
A modulator arrangement configured for maskless lithography or printing applications, the modular arrangement comprising: at least two array tiles of modulators, each array tile having a substantially equal modulator pitch and being configured to form a plurality of rows, each row extending in a first direction, and a plurality of columns, each column extending in a second direction, wherein the first direction and the second direction are substantially perpendicular to each other, wherein two adjacent array tiles are separated by a first displacement in the first direction and a second displacement in the second direction, wherein each of the plurality of rows in each array tile includes a first number of modulators distributed in the first direction, each of the plurality of columns in each array tile includes a second number of modulators distributed in the second direction, the at least two array tiles are configured to move along a scan direction at an angle between the first direction and the second direction, and the scan direction is chosen to form a continuous lithographic swath having a swath width in the second direction, and wherein the second displacement is equal to the first displacement divided by a product of a total number of array tiles and the first number of modulators.