Patent ID: 8704997

Claim:
A cleaning method for an immersion type projection apparatus, the apparatus comprising i) a substrate stage having a substrate holder and a stage upper surface configured to surround a substrate held by the substrate holder and ii) an immersion space that is at least partially filled with an immersion liquid using a member when the apparatus projects a beam of radiation from an optical element of a projection system through the immersion liquid covering a portion of an upper surface of the substrate onto the substrate held by the substrate holder through an opening of the member that has a liquid supply inlet and a liquid recovery outlet and that is arranged to surround the optical element, the method comprising: at least partially filling the immersion space with a rinsing liquid using the member; rinsing at least part of the apparatus using the immersion space that is at least partially filled with the rinsing liquid, while holding a dummy substrate by the substrate holder of the substrate stage during the rinsing; and varying the location of the immersion space with respect to the substrate holder by moving the substrate stage such that at least part of the stage upper surface comes into contact with the rinsing liquid during the rinsing to clean different parts and/or areas of the apparatus, other than the dummy substrate that are moved by moving the substrate stage and that come into contact with the rinsing liquid by moving the substrate stage, wherein the member is not in contact with the substrate holder, and the substrate stage is moved below and relative to the member during the rinsing.