Patent ID: 7167234

Claim:
A lithographic apparatus configured to transfer a pattern from a patterning device onto a substrate, comprising: an actuator assembly configured to position the patterning device or the substrate, said actuator assembly comprising: a first actuator part comprising a plurality of magnets configured to generate a magnetic field; and a second actuator part comprising an electrical conductor positionable in said magnetic field and configured to conduct an electrical current in a second direction through said magnetic field, said first actuator part being moveably positionable with respect to said second actuator part, wherein said magnetic field is shaped to be, at least at a location of said electrical conductor, in a first direction substantially perpendicular to said second direction of said electrical current so as to generate a force on said electrical conductor in a first degree of freedom substantially perpendicular to a plane defined by said first and second directions, and wherein the first actuator part, including all magnets thereof, and the second actuator part are moveable away from each other in said first direction.