Patent ID: 7839484

Claim:
An exposure method for processing a photosensitive material by irradiating, with a beam of light that has been processed into a pattern shape, the surface of an object to the exposed to light, which object includes said photosensitive material, and then developing the photosensitive material, the exposure method comprising: a first exposure step for exposing and processing said photosensitive material by irradiating said photosensitive material with a position-selective beam of near-ultraviolet light at a wavelength of about 405 nm to form said pattern shape; a second exposure step for suppressing occurrence of a reciprocity law failure during said first exposure step to thereby reduce overall exposure time required during the first exposure step comprising irradiating with a non-position-selective energy ray which is in wavelength range of 350 to 450 nm and having an irradiation area which includes a region irradiated during said first exposure step; wherein said second exposure step is executed one of before said first exposure step, at the same time of as said first exposure step, and after said first exposure step.