Assembly in an optical system, in particular of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus
OwnerJoachim Hartjes, Toralf Gruner +1inventors
InventorsJoachim Hartjes, Toralf Gruner, Alexander Wolf
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Abstract
An assembly in an optical system, such as a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus, includes an optical element, at least one cooling channel through which can flow a cooling fluid for cooling the optical element during the operation of the optical system, and at least one corrosion detector for detecting an existing or imminent corrosion on the basis of the determination of at least one measurement variable indicating a corrosion-dictated change in state of the cooling fluid.
Claims20
An assembly, comprising:
- an optical element;
- a cooling channel configured to have a cooling fluid flow therethrough to cool the optical element;
- and
- a corrosion detector configured to detect an existing or imminent corrosion on the basis of the determination of at least one measurement variable indicating a corrosion-dictated change in state of the cooling fluid.
A method of operating an optical system comprising an assembly which comprises an optical element and a cooling channel configured to have a cooling fluid flow therethrough to cool the optical element, the method comprising:
- detecting an existing or imminent corrosion on the basis of the determination of at least one measurement variable indicating a corrosion-dictated change in state of the cooling fluid;
- and
- in response to a detected existing or imminent corrosion, performing a countermeasure to avoid corrosion-dictated damage to the optical system by the cooling fluid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.