System and method for electrostatic clamping of workpieces

A method for clamping a workpiece to an electrostatic clamp, the method comprising:

• applying a clamping voltage to the electrostatic clamp based on a first desired clamping condition, wherein the clamping voltage has a clamping frequency associated therewith, therein clamping a workpiece to the electrostatic clamp with a first clamping force;
• and
• modifying the clamping voltage and clamping frequency, based, at least in part, on a second desired clamping condition associated with a second clamping force between the workpiece and the electrostatic clamp, wherein the second clamping force is non-zero and is associated with a removal of the workpiece from the electrostatic clamp, wherein the first clamping force is approximately an order of magnitude greater than the second clamping force.

A method for clamping a workpiece to an electrostatic clamp, the method comprising:

• applying a clamping voltage to the electrostatic clamp based on a first desired clamping condition, wherein the clamping voltage has a clamping frequency associated therewith, therein clamping a workpiece to the electrostatic clamp with a first clamping force, wherein applying the clamping voltage to the electrostatic clamp comprises applying a first AC voltage at a first frequency to the electrostatic clamp;
• and
• modifying the clamping voltage and clamping frequency, based, at least in part, on a second desired clamping condition associated with a second clamping force between the workpiece and the electrostatic clamp, wherein the second clamping force is non-zero and is associated with a removal of the workpiece from the electrostatic clamp, and wherein modifying the clamping voltage and clamping frequency comprises applying a second AC voltage at a second frequency to the electrostatic clamp, wherein the first AC voltage is approximately an order of magnitude greater than the second AC voltage, and wherein the first frequency is approximately an order of magnitude less than the second frequency.