Patent ID: 6934006

Claim:
An exposure apparatus for exposing selected portions of a photoresist film formed on a semiconductor substrate, said apparatus comprising: a light source that generates light of a wavelength that will react with the photoresist film when the photoresist is exposed to the light; a substrate stage configured to support the substrate; a reticle stage system interposed between said light source and said substrate stage with respect to an optical axis of the apparatus extending from said light source to said substrate stage, said reticle stage system including a plurality of discrete reticle stages each configured to support a respective reticle thereon, each of said reticle stages being selectively positionable in the path of said optical axis while the others of said reticle stages are disposed out of the path of said optical axis such that reticles supported on said reticle stages can be irradiated in sequence with light from said light source, whereby respective regions of the photoresist film can be successively exposed to light from said light source passed through the reticles supported by said reticle stages, respectively, without removing either of the reticles from the reticle stage on which it is supported; a first reticle supported on one of said reticle stages and bearing a main shot pattern designed for exposing the photoresist film at an inner region of the substrate; a second reticle supported on another of said reticle stages and bearing a partial shot pattern that includes only part of the main shot pattern and designed for exposing a portion of the photoresist film adjacent an outer peripheral edge of the substrate; and a reduction-projection lens interposed between said reticle stage system and said substrate stage with respect to said optical axis of the apparatus so as to project an image formed by incident light thereon onto the photoresist film on a reduced scale.