Patent ID: 7379159

Claim:
A lithographic projection apparatus comprising: an illuminator configured to provide a beam of radiation; a support structure configured to hold a patterning device, the patterning device configured to impart the beam with a pattern in its cross-section; a substrate table configured to hold a substrate; a projection system configured to project the patterned beam along an optical axis onto a first exposure area of a first target portion on the substrate; a sensor configured to measure, during exposure of the first target portion, the height of a second exposure area of a second target portion located on a different area of the same substrate than the first target portion; a memory configured to store information about the height of the second target portion measured by the sensor; and a controller configured to control, based on information about the height of the second target portion on the substrate relative to a reference position on the substrate or the substrate table derived or obtained from the stored information in the memory, positioning of the substrate such that after measuring by the sensor, the second target portion is moved under the optical axis substantially a pre-determined distance from the projection system.