Flying capacitor resonant pole inverter applying five voltage levels

Fast-moving high precision stages in lithographic equipment require power amplifiers with high output power and high precision output current generation capabilities. In the past, the increasing demand for more output power has been fulfilled mostly by increasing output current, which increases the thermal load on amplifiers, interconnections and actuators. In order to increase the output power when the available rms current is limited, the operating voltage of the system needs to be increased. This imposes a new set of challenges for the power amplifier, as reliable fast switching devices are not available with high blocking voltages.