Exposure apparatus, exposure method, method for producing device, and optical part

Abstract

An exposure apparatus that exposes a substrate with light via liquid includes a stage which holds the substrate and is movable relative to a projection system; and a liquid supply system which supplies liquid onto the substrate held on the stage to form a liquid immersion area on part of the substrate The stage includes a substrate holder arranged in a recess of the stage to hold the substrate inside the recess so that an upper surface of the substrate is substantially flush with an upper surface of the stage around the recess; a flow passage connected to an internal space of the recess to remove liquid from the internal space; and a sensor which receives light from the projection optical system and is arranged so that an upper surface of the sensor is substantially flush with the upper surface of the stage around the recess.

1 . An exposure apparatus which exposes a substrate with light via liquid, the exposure apparatus comprising:
 a projection optical system which projects a pattern image onto a projection region on an image plane of the projection optical system;   a stage which holds the substrate, the stage being movable relative to the projection optical system; and   a liquid supply system which supplies the liquid onto the substrate held on the stage to form a liquid immersion area on a part of the substrate so that the projection region is located in the liquid immersion area,   wherein the stage comprises:   a substrate holder which holds the substrate, the substrate holder being arranged in a recess of the stage to hold the substrate inside the recess so that an upper surface of the substrate is substantially flush with an upper surface of the stage around the recess;   a flow passage connected to an internal space of the recess to remove liquid from the internal space; and   a sensor which receives light from the projection optical system, the sensor being arranged so that an upper surface of the sensor is substantially flush with the upper surface of the stage around the recess.   
     
     
         2 . The exposure apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the liquid supply system includes a supply port to supply the liquid onto the substrate, the supply port being arranged to face the upper surface of the substrate inside the recess via the liquid. 
     
     
         3 . The exposure apparatus according to  claim 2 , further comprising a liquid recovery system having a recovery port to recover the liquid from the liquid immersion region, the recovery port being arranged above the stage so as to face the upper surface of the substrate inside the recess. 
     
     
         4 . The exposure apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein the recovery port is arranged outside the supply port with respect to an optical axis of the projection optical system. 
     
     
         5 . The exposure apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein the supply port is arranged outside the projection region, and the recovery port is arranged to surround the projection region and the supply port. 
     
     
         6 . The exposure apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the flow passage is connected to a space between an inner side surface of the recess and an outer side surface of the substrate holder. 
     
     
         7 . The exposure apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the substrate holder comprises a circumferential wall and a supporting portion disposed in a space surrounded by the circumferential wall, and the substrate holder is configured to hold the substrate on the supporting portion by applying a negative pressure to the space surrounded by the circumferential wall. 
     
     
         8 . The exposure apparatus according to  claim 7 , wherein the substrate holder comprises a plurality of suction ports to apply the negative pressure to the space surrounded by the circumferential wall. 
     
     
         9 . The exposure apparatus according to  claim 8 , wherein a height of an upper surface of the circumferential wall is lower than a height of an upper surface of the supporting portion. 
     
     
         10 . The exposure apparatus according to  claim 9 , wherein the upper surface of the circumferential wall is liquid repellent. 
     
     
         11 . The exposure apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the stage includes a reference member having a reference mark, of which an upper surface is substantially flush with the upper surface of the stage around the recess. 
     
     
         12 . The exposure apparatus according to  claim 11 , wherein at least a part of the upper surface of the reference member is liquid repellent. 
     
     
         13 . The exposure apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the sensor includes a light shielding member arranged on at least a part of the upper surface of the sensor. 
     
     
         14 . The exposure apparatus according to  claim 13 , wherein the light shielding member forms a light transmissive area in a pinhole shape or a slit shape. 
     
     
         15 . The exposure apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein at least a part of an upper surface of the sensor is liquid repellent. 
     
     
         16 . The exposure apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein at least a part of the stage is liquid repellent. 
     
     
         17 . An exposure method which exposes a substrate with light via liquid, the exposure method comprising:
 exposing the substrate by use of the exposure apparatus according to  claim 1 .   
     
     
         18 . The exposure method according to  claim 17 , wherein the method comprises filling an optical path of the light from the projection optical system to the substrate being supported on the stage with the liquid. 
     
     
         19 . A device manufacturing method comprising:
 transferring a pattern image onto a substrate by exposing the substrate with the exposure apparatus according to  claim 1 ; and   assembling a device on the substrate onto which the pattern image has been transferred.