US Patent Issued to Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Sept. 22 for "Reticle exchange device with reticle levitation" (Connecticut, New Hampshire Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 24 -- United States Patent no. 12,745,594, issued on Sept. 22, was assigned to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Mass.).

"Reticle exchange device with reticle levitation" was invented by David L. Trumper (Plaistow, N.H.) and Brij Mohan Bhushan (Norwalk, Conn.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An electrostatic chuck includes electrodes to clamp a workpiece, electrodes to electrostatically levitate and position the workpiece, and sensors to detect position and orientation of the workpiece. Lateral motion of the workpiece relative to the electrostatic chuck can be damped prior to clamping."

The patent was filed on Nov. 12, 2021, under Application No. 18/248,4...