Patent ID: 7961291

Claim:
A lithographic apparatus comprising: a patterning device support configured to support a patterning device in a projection plane, the patterning device configured to impart a radiation beam with a pattern in its cross-section to form a patterned radiation beam; a substrate table configured to hold a substrate; a projection system configured to project the patterned radiation beam onto a target portion of the substrate, and an exchange device configured to exchange an exchangeable object with an exchangeable object support, the exchangeable object support configured to hold said exchangeable object during projection of the patterned radiation beam, said exchange device comprising a moveable load unit and a moveable unload unit, each of said load unit and said unload unit having a holding device to hold an exchangeable object, the holding device of said load unit and the holding device of said unload unit being configured to hold an exchangeable object in a plane substantially parallel to the plane in which the exchangeable object is held in the exchangeable object support during the projection of the patterned radiation beam, and a moveable carrier configured to hold an exchangeable object and to cooperate with both the holding device of the load unit and the holding device of the unload unit to transfer an exchangeable object from the moveable carrier to the holding device of the load unit and to transfer an exchangeable object from the holding device of the unload unit to the moveable carrier, wherein said exchangeable object support is configured to exchange an exchangeable object with each of said holding devices, wherein the exchangeable object support is configured to: (a) move to a position proximate the holding device of the load unit such that the exchangeable object is transferred from the holding device of the load unit to the exchangeable object support, and (b) move to another position that is proximate the holding device of the unload unit such that the exchangeable object is transferred from the exchangeable object support to the holding device of the unload unit, and wherein during transfer of the exchangeable object from the holding device of the load unit to the exchangeable object support and from the exchangeable object support to the holding device of the unload unit and during transfer of the exchangeable object from the moveable carrier to the holding device of the load unit and from the holding device of the unload unit to the moveable carrier, the holding device of the load unit and the holding device of the unload unit substantially border each other and the load unit and the unload unit substantially border each other in substantially a same plane.