Method and system for thermally conditioning an optical element

• Main Authors: VAN DER GRAAF FREDERIK, POTTS CHARLES WILLIAM BARRAS, SCHMITZ ROGER WILHELMUS ANTONIUS HENRICUS, NIEUWKOOP EVERT, LEMMEN MARTINUS HENRICUS JOHANNES, JANSSEN FRANCISCUS JOHANNES JOSEPH, VAN HELDEN WILLEM ARIE, LEXMOND AXEL SEBASTIAAN, VELTHUIS JOHANNES FRANSISCUS MARIA, VERSLUIS RICHARD, SCHAAREMAN PAULUS BARTHOLOMEUS JOHANNES, VAN EMPEL TJARKO ADRIAAN RUDOLF, CHENG LUN, MUITJENS MARCEL JOHANNUS ELISABETH HUBERTUS, DE KROON MATHILDE GERTRUDIS MARIA
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 03.11.2015
• Subjects: ACCESSORIES THEREFOR; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USINGWAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FORPROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ELECTROGRAPHY; GAMMA RAY OR X-RAY MICROSCOPES; HOLOGRAPHY; IRRADIATION DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING; NUCLEAR PHYSICS; OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS, OR APPARATUS; OPTICS; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; PHOTOGRAPHY; PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES,e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTORDEVICES; PHYSICS; TECHNIQUES FOR HANDLING PARTICLES OR IONISING RADIATION NOTOTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

A method for thermally conditioning an optical element includes irradiating the optical element with radiation, not-irradiating the optical element with the radiation, allowing heat flow between the optical element and a conditioning fluid that is held in a conditioning fluid reservoir, and providing a fluid flow of the conditioning fluid, to supply thermally conditioned fluid to the reservoir. A flow rate of the fluid during the irradiating of the optical element is lower than a flow rate of the fluid when the optical element is not-irradiated.