Pattern forming apparatus and pattern forming method, movable body drive system and movable body drive method, exposure apparatus and exposure method, and device manufacturing method

An exposure method of exposing a substrate with an illumination light via a projection optical system and a liquid, the method comprising:

• holding the substrate with a stage disposed below a nozzle member provided to surround a lens, that is disposed closest to an image plane side, of a plurality of optical elements of the projection optical system, the nozzle member having a lower surface to which the substrate is placed facing, and locally forming a liquid immersion area with the liquid under the lens, the substrate being held in a recessed portion of an upper surface of the stage, and a holder to hold the substrate being disposed in the recessed portion;
• moving the stage so that a mark of the substrate and a fiducial mark disposed on the upper surface of the stage are detected, not via the liquid, with an alignment system disposed spaced from the projection optical system;
• moving the stage so that an aerial image is detected with an aerial image measurement device via a slit pattern disposed on the upper surface of the stage, the aerial image being projected via the projection optical system and the liquid of the liquid immersion area;
• in an encoder system having a plurality of heads that irradiate a plurality of scale members, respectively, with a measurement beam, measuring positional information of the stage in a first direction and a second direction that are orthogonal to each other within a predetermined plane and in a rotational direction around an axis orthogonal to the predetermined plane, with at least three heads, of the plurality of heads, that face at least three of the plurality of scale members, each of the plurality of scale member having a reflective grating disposed substantially parallel to the predetermined plane which is orthogonal to an optical axis of the projection optical system;
• and
• controlling movement of the stage based on correction information and measurement information of the encoder system, the correction information compensating a measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to the plurality of scale members,
• wherein in an exposure operation of the substrate, a detection operation of the mark of the substrate and the fiducial mark, and a detection operation of the aerial image, the positional information of the stage is measured with the encoder system, and
• wherein in the exposure operation, the substrate is placed facing the lower surface of the nozzle member by the stage, and alignment between a pattern image and the substrate is performed based on detection information of the alignment system and the aerial image measurement device, the pattern image being projected via the projection optical system and the liquid of the liquid immersion area.

A making method of an exposure apparatus that exposes a substrate with an illumination light via a projection optical system and a liquid, the method comprising:

• providing a nozzle member to surround a lens, that is disposed closest to an image plane side, of a plurality of optical elements of the projection optical system, the nozzle member having a lower surface to which the substrate is placed facing and locally forming a liquid immersion area with the liquid under the lens;
• providing a stage disposed below the nozzle member and having a holder to hold the substrate, the holder being disposed in a recessed portion of an upper surface of the stage and holding the substrate in the recessed portion, and the stage having a fiducial mark and a slit pattern disposed on the upper surface the stage and being capable of maintaining, with the upper surface, at least apart of the liquid immersion area that moves off from the substrate held in the recessed portion;
• providing a drive system having a motor to drive the stage;
• providing an alignment system disposed spaced from the projection optical system, that detects a mark of the substrate and the fiducial mark not via the liquid;
• providing an aerial image measurement device that detects an aerial image via the slit pattern, the aerial image being projected via the projection optical system and the liquid of the liquid immersion area;
• providing an encoder system having a plurality of heads that irradiate a plurality of scale members, respectively, with a measurement beam, each of the plurality of scale members having a reflective grating disposed substantially parallel to a predetermined plane orthogonal to an optical axis of the projection optical system, the encoder system measuring positional information of the stage in a first direction and a second direction that are orthogonal to each other within the predetermined plane and in a rotational direction around an axis orthogonal to the predetermined plane, with at least three heads, of the plurality of heads, that face at least three of the plurality of scale members;
• and
• providing a controller coupled to the alignment system, the aerial image measurement device and the encoder system, the controller controlling the drive system based on correction information and measurement information of the encoder system, and the correction information compensating a measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to the plurality of scale members,
• wherein in an exposure operation of the substrate, a detection operation of the mark of the substrate and the fiducial mark, and a detection operation of the aerial image, the positional information of the stage is measured with the encoder system, and
• wherein in the exposure operation, the substrate is placed facing the lower surface of the nozzle member by the stage, and alignment between a pattern image and the substrate is performed based on detection information of the alignment system and the aerial image measurement device, the pattern image being projected via the projection optical system and the liquid of the liquid immersion area.