Exposure apparatus with foreign particle detector

An exposure apparatus comprising:

• a magazine for storing a plurality of substrate assemblied each including a substrate such a a recticle or photomask used for exposure and frames, mounted to the opposite surfaces of said substrate, to which foreign particle deposition preventive films are applied;
• transport means for taking a substrate assembly out of said magazine, transporting the taken out substrate from said magazine to a mask table disposed at an exposure position and setting that substrate assembly at said mask table;
• foreign particle detection means, provided near said transport means, for optically detecting foreign particles present on said foreign particle deposition preventive films of said surface assembly;
• means for aligning said substrate assembly set at said mask table and a wafer;
• and
• means for irradiating a light beam on said substrate assembly aligned relative to said wafer and projecting a circuit pattern formed on said substrate upon said wafer through a projection optical system to expose said wafer to the light beam through said circuit pattern;
• wherein said foreign particle detection means comprises light beam irradiation means for obliquely irradiating a collimated light beam on said foreign particle deposition preventive film in a direction vertical to a transport direction of said transport means to linearly scan the collimated light beam on said film, means for foreign particle deposition preventive film in the transport direction by moving said transport means, and imaging means, comprised of an image forming lens and photoelectric conversion means, for detecting a refection beam generated by scanning said foreign particle deposition preventive film with said collimated light beam. and photoelectric onversion means, for detecting a