Method and apparatus for contactlessly advancing substrates

A method of contactlessly advancing a substrate (140), comprising:

• providing a process tunnel (102), extending in a longitudinal direction and bounded by at least a first (120) and a second (130) wall, said walls being mutually parallel and spaced apart so as to allow a substantially flat substrate (140), oriented parallel to the walls, to be accommodated there between;
• providing a first gas bearing (124) by providing substantially laterally flowing gas alongside the first wall (120), and providing a second gas bearing (134) by providing substantially laterally flowing gas alongside the second wall (130);
• bringing about a first longitudinal division of the process tunnel into a plurality of pressure segments (116), wherein the first and second gas bearings (124, 134) in a pressure segment have an average gas pressure that is different from an average gas pressure of the first and second gas bearings in an adjacent pressure segment;
• providing a substrate (140) in between the first wall (120) and the second wall (130), such that it is floatingly accommodated between the first (124) and second (134) gas bearings;
• and
• allowing differences in average gas pressure between adjacent pressure segments (116) to drive the substrate along the longitudinal direction of the process tunnel.