Patent ID: 8797508
Filing Date: 2014-08-05
Classification: G03F

Abstract:
1. An exposure apparatus that exposes an object with an energy beam via an optical system and a liquid, the apparatus comprising: a first movable body on which the object can be mounted, and which can move substantially parallel to a predetermined plane within an area of a predetermined range that includes a first area including a liquid immersion area directly under the optical system where the liquid is supplied and a second area located on one side of the first area in a first direction where positional information of the object is acquired; a second movable body on which the object can be mounted, and which can move independently from the first movable body, substantially parallel to the predetermined plane within an area including the first area and the second area; and a movable body drive system that drives the first and the second movable bodies substantially parallel to the predetermined plane, and during transition from a first state where one of the movable bodies is located in the first area to a second state where the other of the movable bodies is located in the first area, drives the first and the second movable bodies in the first direction in a proximity or contact state where the first movable body and the second movable body are shifted with respect to each other in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction within the predetermined plane and the first and the second movable bodies are in proximity to or in contact with each other in the first direction, wherein during the transition between the first state and the second state, the movable body drive system maintains the proximity or contact state of the first movable body and the second movable body via a delivery section that is arranged protruding on at least one side in the first direction of at least one of the first and the second movable bodies, in a state where an upper surface of the delivery section is roughly flush with upper surfaces of the first and the second movable bodies, a width in the second direction of the delivery section being wider than that of the liquid immersion area and narrower than that of the upper surface of each of the first and the second movable bodies.