Patent ID: 6388731
Filing Date: 2002-05-14
Classification: G03F

Abstract:
An exposure method, comprising the steps of:adjusting pressures in first and second spaces in a cylindrical member, separated while being kept in an air-tight state by an optical member held in said cylindrical member, to cause force having substantially the same magnitude as gravity working on said optical member to work on said optical member in an opposite direction to said gravity; and irradiating a mask on which a pattern is formed with an energy ray and projecting an image of said pattern onto a photosensitive material through said first and second spaces and said optical member while the pressure in said first and second spaces are adjusted; wherein the pressures in said first and second spaces are adjusted so that a product of a pressure difference between said first and second spaces and an area of said optical member for passing the energy ray is substantially the same as the gravity working on said optical member.