Patent ID: 9304392
Filing Date: 2016-04-05
CPC Classification: G03B,G03F

Claim Text:
1. A liquid immersion exposure apparatus in which a substrate is exposed with exposure light through immersion liquid between an optical element and the substrate, the apparatus comprising: a projection system having the optical element; a stage system having a holder configured to hold the substrate; a supply port via which the immersion liquid is supplied, the supply port being arranged such that an upper surface of the substrate held on the holder faces the supply port; a recovery port via which the immersion liquid is collected, the recovery port being arranged such that the upper surface of the substrate held on the holder faces the recovery port and such that the recovery port surrounds the supply port, the recovery port collecting the immersion liquid from the upper surface of the substrate such that only a portion of the upper surface of the substrate is covered with the immersion liquid; and an alignment system arranged apart from the projection system, the alignment system detecting an alignment mark of the substrate held on the holder not through the immersion liquid, wherein the substrate held on the holder is positioned based on a detection result of the alignment system to align the substrate with the exposure light projected through the immersion liquid by the projection system.