Patent ID: 7053980

Claim:
A lithographic apparatus comprising: an illumination system configured to provide a beam of radiation; a support structure constructed to support a patterning device, said patterning device configured to impart said beam of radiation with a desired pattern in its cross-section; a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate; a projection system configured to project said patterned beam onto a target portion of said substrate; a conditioned chamber; an actuator configured to introduce at least one of said patterning device and said substrate into said conditioned chamber; a carrier structure, coupled to said actuator, configured to support said at least one of said patterning device and said substrate during the introduction into said conditioned chamber; and an alignment system, disposed outside said conditioned chamber, configured to position said at least one of said patterning device and said substrate in alignment with said projected patterned beam of radiation by determining position and orientation of said at least one of said patterning device and said substrate relative to a reference point on said carrier structure and adjusting said position and orientation of said at least one of said patterning device and said substrate in accordance with said reference point.