Patent ID: 7342640

Claim:
An exposure apparatus, comprising: a projection optical system configured to project light from a reticle onto a substrate, wherein the apparatus is configured to expose the substrate to light with a space between the projection optical system and the substrate filled with liquid; a stage configured to hold the substrate and to move; a supply unit configured to supply the liquid to the space; a recovery unit configured to recover the liquid from the space; a detector configured to detect a droplet of the liquid on at least one of the substrate and the stage; a removing unit configured to remove the droplet on the substrate detected by said detector, the removing unit including a slit-shaped nozzle arranged so as to vertically sandwich the substrate and blowing a gas on the substrate from the nozzle; a calculation unit configured to calculate at least one of a position and size of the droplet detected by said detector; and a controller configured to control a relative velocity between the nozzle of said removing unit and the substrate based on a calculation result of said calculation unit, wherein said detector is configured to detect the liquid conveyed along a conveyance path along which the substrate is conveyed from a position below said projection optical system to a position from which the substrate is conveyed out from said exposure apparatus.