| 摘要 |
An air bearing is usable in a vacuum, by restricting the air escaping from the air bearing to the immediate vicinity of the air bearing. This is accomplished by one or more pump-out slots concentrically surrounding the air bearing orifice, and by concentrically surrounding the outer pump-out slot with a sealing sheet which confines air escaping from outside the pump-out slots to within the perimeter of the sealing sheet. The sealing sheet is a compliant mechanical "wall", making only marginal contact with the bearing support surface, and is not a high friction seal. Hence free movement of the air bearing structure on the supporting surface is allowed, thus making this air bearing compatible with for instance an XY stage used in a vacuum chamber.
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