Patent ID: 7532309

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a stage which supports a substrate having an imaging surface; a projection optical system having a last optical element, which projects an image onto the imaging surface of the substrate through an immersion liquid filled in a gap between the imaging surface of the substrate and the last optical element; and a fluid confinement plate positioned adjacent to the imaging surface of the substrate so that the imaging surface is submerged in the immersion liquid, the fluid confinement plate is sufficiently large to cover an area larger than an area of the imaging surface of the substrate so as to completely submerge the imaging surface of the substrate, substantially preventing an atmosphere-liquid meniscus from forming on the imaging surface of the substrate, the fluid confinement plate having a first surface opposing the imaging surface of the substrate, the first surface including a droplet control element to control the formation of droplets forming on the first surface.