Patent ID: 8751050

Claim:
An examination and processing machine for lithography applications comprising: a machine frame; an inspection apparatus for examining a work piece wherein the work piece is a wafer; a carriage that is mounted on the machine frame, wherein the carriage can hold the work piece; a handling device for positioning the work piece on the carriage and for removing the work piece from the carriage; a series of oscillation isolators for low-oscillation mounting of the machine frame; and individual control devices, wherein the individual control devices comprise: (i) a first control device for influencing the oscillation isolators, (ii) a second control device for controlling the carriage, and (iii) a third control device for controlling the handling device; and an overall control system for controlling the individual control devices; wherein the individual control devices are individual motion control subsystems for the overall control system; wherein the individual control devices are connected to one another and to the overall control system in real time via a bus device in order to match an operation of the carriage, the handling device, and the oscillating isolators to one another for vibration isolation; and wherein, at a same time that a process which produces oscillations is started by the second control device or the third control device, a feedforward signal is produced by the overall control system for the first control device in order to influence an actuator to counteract, by anticipation, oscillations on the machine frame.