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US 9,004,459 B2Granted
Humidifying apparatus, lithographic apparatus and humidifying method
AssigneeASML Netherlands B.V.
InventorAntonius Johannus Van Der Net
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A humidifying apparatus is disclosed in which gas is provided to a first side of a membrane and liquid to a second side of the same membrane. The membrane is non-porous to the liquid but porous to vapor of the liquid and is liquidphilic to said liquid.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- controlling the temperature of a liquid and providing that liquid to one side of a membrane;
- pre-humidifying gas, by other than the membrane, prior to being provided to the other side of the membrane;
- providing the pre-humidified gas to be humidified to the other side of the membrane, the pre-humidified gas provided to the other side of the membrane having a relative humidity greater than or equal to about 40%;
- and
- humidifying the pre-humidified gas using the liquid via the membrane,
- wherein the temperature of gas on the other side of the membrane is controlled by the temperature of liquid on the one side of the membrane, and wherein the controlling the temperature of the liquid comprises controlling the temperature of the liquid on the basis of gas temperature entering or leaving the other side of the membrane during the humidifying.
3 more elements
An apparatus comprising:
- a membrane;
- a liquid temperature conditioner to condition the temperature of a liquid;
- a first conduit to guide the liquid from the liquid temperature conditioner to one side of the membrane;
- a pre-humidifier, other than the membrane, to pre-humidify gas upstream of the membrane;
- a second conduit to guide the pre-humidified gas, to be humidified via the membrane, to contact the membrane at the other side of the membrane, wherein the pre-humidified gas that contacts the membrane has a relative humidity greater than or equal to about 40%;
- and
- a controller to control the temperature of the gas by controlling the liquid temperature conditioner to control the temperature of the liquid, wherein the controller is configured to control the temperature of the liquid on the basis of gas temperature entering or leaving the other side of the membrane during the humidification of the gas.
4 more elements
An apparatus comprising:
- a liquid temperature conditioner to condition the temperature of a liquid;
- a membrane having a surface which is liquidphilic to the liquid;
- a first conduit to guide the liquid from the liquid temperature conditioner to one side of the membrane;
- a pre-humidifier, other than the membrane, to pre-humidify gas upstream of the membrane;
- a second conduit to guide the pre-humidified gas, to be humidified via the membrane, to contact the membrane at the other side of the membrane, wherein the pre-humidified gas that contacts the membrane has a relative humidity greater than or equal to about 40%;
- and
- a controller to control the temperature of the gas by controlling the liquid temperature conditioner to control the temperature of the liquid, wherein the controller is configured to control the temperature of the liquid on the basis of gas temperature entering or leaving the one side of the membrane during the humidification of the gas.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.