Patent ID: 8362441

Claim:
Projection lens assembly for directing a multitude of charged particle beamlets onto an image plane, said projection lens assembly comprising a first electrode and a second electrode for focusing one or more charged particle beamlets of the multitude of charged particle beamlets, a housing comprising a through-opening for allowing the multitude of charged particle beamlets to pass through, said first and second electrodes each comprising a lens hole-array aligned with the through-opening for allowing one or more charged particle beamlets of the multitude of charged particle beamlets to pass through, characterized in that said housing comprises a circumferential wall and has an upstream and a downstream distal edge, and the projection lens assembly further comprises: at least one support element comprising a through-opening for allowing the multitude of charged particle beamlets to pass through, wherein said at least one support element is attached to the housing, and wherein the first electrode and second electrode are supported by the at least one support element, wherein the first and second electrode are arranged in or near a plane defined by the downstream distal edge of the housing.