Patent ID: 7616383

Claim:
A lithographic apparatus comprising: a support structure configured to hold a patterning device, the patterning device configured to impart a beam of radiation with a pattern in its cross-section to form a patterned beam; a substrate table configured to hold a substrate; a projection system adapted to project the patterned beam onto a target portion of the substrate; a liquid supply system configured to at least partly fill a space between the projection system and an object on the substrate table with a liquid; and an active drying station configured to actively remove the liquid from the object, or the substrate table, or both, by providing a flow of gas over a corresponding surface of the object, or the substrate table, or both, wherein the active drying station comprises a gas inlet that forms a gas knife, the gas knife configured to provide the flow of gas onto the corresponding surface of the object, substrate table, or both, and wherein the substrate table is configured to transport the object to the active drying station.