Patent ID: 6686989
Filing Date: 2004-02-03
Classification: G03F

Abstract:
An exposure apparatus for transferring a pattern on a mask to a substrate with exposure light, comprising:an optical system including an optical path of the exposure light; a sealed chamber defined between optical members constituting said optical system, said sealed chamber including a material generating a substance which causes an illuminance of the exposure light to be decreased; a gas exhausting system, connected to said sealed chamber, adapted to exhaust the substance together with the gas which is in said sealed chamber; a gas supplying system, connected to said sealed chamber, adapted to supply a predetermined gas to said sealed chamber after the predetermined gas passes through an impurity-removing filter; a pressure sensor provided in said sealed chamber; and a control system, connected to said gas exhausting system, said gas supplying system and said pressure sensor, adapted to control an operation of each of said gas exhausting system and said gas supplying system so that said gas exhausting system exhausts the substance together with the gas in said sealed chamber therethrough and said gas supplying system supplies the predetermined gas to said sealed chamber therethrough, based on said pressure in the sealed chamber detected by said pressure sensor.