Position detecting method and apparatus, exposure method, exposure apparatus and manufacturing method thereof, computer-readable recording medium, and device manufacturing method

A position detecting apparatus for detecting position information of a mark-formed on an object, comprising:

• an observing unit which observes said mark;
• an extracting unit which is electrically connected to the observing unit and extracts a domain, which includes an observation result by said observing unit that reflects said mark and in which a distribution of correlation coefficients obtained by a template matching method for said observation result using a predetermined template has a single peak, from said observation result;
• a search unit which is electrically connected to the extracting unit and obtains a positional relationship, in which said correlation coefficient is maximum in said domain, between said predetermined template and said observation result by using a hill climbing method;
• and
• a position calculating unit which is electrically connected to the search unit and detects position information of said mark based on said positional relationship obtained by said search unit.

A manufacturing method of an exposure apparatus for transferring a predetermined pattern onto a divided area on a substrate, comprising:

• providing a stage unit which moves said substrate along a moving surface;
• and
• providing a position detecting apparatus which detects a position of a mark on said substrate that is mounted onto said stage unit, wherein said position detecting apparatus comprises:
• an observing unit which observes said mark;
• an extracting unit which is electrically connected to the observing unit and extracts a domain, which includes an observation result by said observing unit that reflects said mark from said observation result and in which a distribution of correlation coefficients obtained by a template matching method for said observation result using a predetermined template has a single peak;
• a search unit which is electrically connected to the extracting unit and obtains a positional relationship, in which said correlation coefficient is maximum in said domain, between said observation result and said predetermined template by using a hill climbing method;
• and
• a position calculating unit which is electrically connected to the search unit and calculates said position of said mark based on said positional relationship obtained by said search unit.

A computer-readable recording medium for storing a position detecting control program which is executed by a position detecting apparatus for detecting position information of a mark-formed on an object, wherein

• said position detecting control program comprises:
• allowing said mark to be observed;
• allowing a domain, which reflects said mark and in which a distribution of correlation coefficients obtained by a template matching method for an observation result of said mark using a predetermined template has a single peak, to be extracted from said observation result;
• allowing a positional relationship, in which said correlation coefficient is maximum in said domain, between said predetermined template and said observation result, to be obtained by using a hill climbing method;
• and
• allowing said position information of said mark to be detected based on said obtained positional relationship.