Patent ID: 7312849
Filing Date: 2007-12-25
Classification: G01B,G03F,H01L

Abstract:
1. An exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate to light via a pattern of a reticle, said apparatus comprising: a reticle stage configured to hold the reticle and to be moved; a substrate stage configured to hold the substrate and to be moved; an alignment unit configured to align the reticle with reference to an outer shape of the reticle; a detection unit configured to detect a position of a mark on the reticle aligned with reference to the outer shape using said alignment unit; and a controller configured: (i) to determine whether a shift amount between a position of the mark detected by said detection unit and a reference position is not greater than a threshold; (ii) to perform alignment between the mark and the reference position by controlling the relative position between the reticle and said reticle stage by the shift amount in a case in which the shift amount is not greater than the threshold; and (iii) to control the relative position between the reticle and said reticle stage by an amount not greater than the threshold, and to perform alignment between the reticle and the substrate by moving said substrate stage by a shift amount between a position of the mark and the reference position changed due to the control of the relative position, in a case in which the shift amount is larger than the threshold.