Patent ID: 8780321

Claim:
A lithographic apparatus comprising: a table configured to support a substrate, a sensor, or both the substrate and the sensor, the table having a surface and a sensor, a target for a sensor on the surface, or both the sensor and the target; a liquid handling structure to provide liquid to a space adjacent the substrate and/or table; a plurality of liquid displacement devices spaced apart from one another, each liquid displacement device comprising: a gas outlet configured to direct a localized gas flow toward the sensor and/or target so as to displace liquid from the sensor and/or target, the gas flow being in the form of an elongate, substantially straight gas knife set at an angle between 0 and 90 degrees in a plane substantially parallel to a top surface of the sensor and/or target and to a scan direction of the table relative to the liquid handling structure, and a two-phase extraction port configured to remove the displaced liquid, the two phase extraction port positioned adjacent to an end of the gas knife; and a controller configured to control relative displacement between the liquid displacement devices and the sensor and/or target so that the localized gas flow of each liquid displacement device simultaneously traverses a path substantially parallel to and adjacent a different side of the table.