Patent ID: 7307696

Claim:
A lithographic apparatus comprising: an illumination system for conditioning a beam of radiation; an article support for supporting a substantially flat article to be placed in a beam path of said beam of radiation, said article support comprising a plurality of supporting protrusions that define a support zone, the protrusions providing article support portions lying in a plane; and a backfill gas feed for providing an improved thermal conduction between said article and said article support, said backfill gas feed comprising a first backfill gas discharge zone substantially enclosing said support zone and a second backfill gas discharge zone provided in a region near the center of said support zone, said first and second backfill gas discharge zones being constructed and arranged to feed backfill gas to a backside of said article when supported by said article support, wherein said first backfill gas discharge zone and said second backfill gas discharge zone are connected through at least one elongated gas flow channel, the gas flow channel communicating at one end with the first backfill gas discharge zone and at an opposite end with the second backfill gas discharge zone so as to provide a gas feeding communication between the first backfill gas discharge zone and the second backfill gas discharge zone, and wherein said gas flow channel is buried in the support or is an open trough in a surface of the support.