Patent ID: 8692976

Claim:
An exposure apparatus that exposes a substrate via a projection optical system and a liquid, the apparatus comprising: a liquid immersion system that includes a liquid immersion member having a lower surface and a recovery port provided at a lower surface side of the liquid immersion member, the liquid immersion system being configured to supply the liquid via the liquid immersion member to form a liquid immersion region below the projection optical system and to recover the liquid via the recovery port from the liquid immersion region; first and second tables, each of which is configured to mount a substrate thereon, each of the first and second tables being positionable opposite to the lower surface of the liquid immersion member; a drive system that drives the first and second tables; and a controller configured to control the drive system to move the first and second tables below the projection optical system relative to the liquid immersion member to replace one of the first and second tables positioned opposite to the lower surface of the liquid immersion member with the other of the first and second tables such that the liquid immersion region is transferred from the one of the first and second tables to the other of the first and second tables while the liquid immersion region is maintained below and in contact with the projection optical system.