Patent ID: 7852458

Claim:
An exposure apparatus which includes a projection optical system for projecting light from a reticle onto a substrate, and exposes a shot region of the substrate to radiant energy via the reticle and the projection optical system, the apparatus comprising: a substrate stage configured to hold the substrate and to be moved; a measuring device configured to measure a position of a surface of the shot region in a direction parallel to an optical axis of the projection optical system with respect to a measurement point on the surface; a console configured to set a valid area with respect to each shot region, the valid area being set such that the valid area is narrower than a corresponding shot region, and that the measurement point in the valid area is a valid measurement point; and a controller configured to control a position of the substrate stage in the direction based on the position of the surface measured by the measuring device with respect to the valid measurement point, the controller being configured to determine the valid measurement point based on a position of the shot region relative to the measuring device and the valid area set by the console with respect to the shot region.