Patent ID: 7817242

Claim:
An exposure method in which an exposure processing of a specific process is performed to each of photosensitive objects in a plurality of lots, the method comprising: with respect to a first lot in the specific process, calculating an estimate value of positional information of each of a plurality of divided areas on the photosensitive object, which is used to align each of the plurality of divided areas with a predetermined point, by a statistical computation using actual measurement values of positional information of a plurality of specific divided areas selected from the plurality of divided areas on the photosensitive object, creating correction information used to correct a non-linear component of positional deviation amount of each of the plurality of divided areas from an individual fiducial position based on the actual measurement values of positional information of the plurality of specific divided areas and on the corresponding estimate value, and performing exposure while controlling a position of the photosensitive object based on the estimate value of the positional information of each of the plurality of divided areas and on the correction information; and with respect to every (K−1) lot of second and subsequent lots in the specific process, for a plurality of measurement divided areas on the photosensitive object that includes at least the plurality of specific divided areas, calculating a non-linear component of positional deviation amount of each of the measurement divided areas from the individual fiducial position based on an actual measurement value of positional information of each of the measurement divided areas and on the corresponding estimate value, updating the correction information as needed in accordance with a magnitude of one of the calculated non-linear component of positional deviation amount of each of the measurement divided areas and a variation amount of the non-linear component within a threshold, but not updating the correction information with respect to the remaining lots, and performing exposure while controlling the position of the photosensitive object based on the estimate value of positional information of each of the plurality of divided areas and on the correction information that is latest, wherein the K is an integer not less than 2.