JP2007081204A - Exposure device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an exposure device that is prevented from stopping for a long time owing to a blur of an optical component. <P>SOLUTION: A fly eye lens 21 has a lens body 21a which is disposed at a first specified position overlapping with an optical path of light and standby lens bodies 21b to 21d having the same function with the lens body 21a and stand by at positions off the optical path. Further, a first BMU has a first compact mirror which is arranged at a 2nd specified position overlapping with the optical path of light and second and third standby mirrors which have the same function with the first compact mirror and stand by at positions off the optical path. The lens body 21a moves to a position off the optical path and, for example, the lens body 21b moves to the first specified position to replace the lens body 21a with the standby lens body. Further, the first compact mirror moves to a position off the optical path and, for example, the second compact mirror moves to the second specified position to replace the fist compact mirror with the standby mirror. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus, and in particular, can prevent the exposure apparatus from stopping for a long time due to fogging of optical components.

In many cases, an excimer laser that emits ultraviolet rays is used as a light source in an exposure apparatus used in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device. Excimer lasers include a KrF excimer laser that generates ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 248 nm, an ArF excimer laser that generates ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 193 nm, and an F2 excimer laser that generates ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 157 nm. However, the ultraviolet rays emitted from the excimer laser are irradiated to the stage side through a plurality of types of optical components such as BMU, fly-eye lens, relay lens, dichroic mirror, and a mask (reticle). (For example, refer to Patent Documents 1 to 3.)
JP 2001-313250 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-50590 JP-A-10-209016

  By the way, in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, although it is a very small amount, there is a sulfuric acid atmosphere or an ammonia atmosphere. In the exposure process, a photosensitive agent that is weak in an ammonia atmosphere may be used. In particular, an ammonia filter or the like is arranged to reduce the exposure. However, even if such efforts are made, it is practically difficult to completely eliminate the ammonia atmosphere, and although there is a very small amount, there is a reality that the sulfuric acid atmosphere and the ammonia atmosphere enter the inside of the exposure apparatus.

  Here, when light, particularly ultraviolet light (hereinafter also referred to as “beam”) is exposed to a sulfuric acid atmosphere or an ammonia atmosphere, ionization of sulfuric acid and ammonia is promoted, and ammonium sulfate is generated. For this reason, in the exposure apparatus using an excimer laser as a light source, ammonia sulfate is generated along the optical path, and the optical components are gradually clouded by the generated ammonium sulfate.

  When such cloudiness is left, the intensity of the beam irradiated from the excimer laser is weakened on the way by the cloudiness of the optical component (that is, the illuminance is attenuated). In order to compensate for the attenuation of illuminance, the irradiation time of the beam may be increased. However, when such a method is adopted, the throughput of the exposure process is lowered, and further, the excimer laser parts are also deteriorated prematurely. End up. Here, since excimer laser is very expensive, it is particularly desirable to avoid its deterioration.

  Therefore, as an actual countermeasure against the above fogging, there is no choice but to replace the fogged optical component with a new one without fogging when the illuminance has fallen to some extent. In some cases, the exposure apparatus has to be stopped for a long time, even though it is not the timing of the stop (that is, the apparatus stop scheduled in advance for the regular maintenance) (problem).

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a problem to be solved, and an object of the present invention is to provide an exposure apparatus capable of preventing the exposure apparatus from being stopped for a long time due to fogging of optical components.

  In order to achieve the above object, an exposure apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention irradiates a mask with light from a light source via a plurality of types of optical components, and projects an image of a pattern formed on the mask in a stage direction. And at least one of the plurality of types of optical components has one component disposed at a predetermined position overlapping the optical path of the light, and has the same function as the one component, and is out of the optical path. A spare part waiting at a position, the one part is moved to a position off the optical path, and the other part is moved to the predetermined position. It can be replaced with other parts.

Here, “optical component” means a lens-based optical component (such as a fly-eye lens or a relay lens) for improving or adjusting the uniformity of light, or a mirror-based optical component for bending an optical path in a predetermined direction. It is a part (BMU, dichroic mirror, etc.).
The exposure apparatus according to a second aspect is characterized in that in the exposure apparatus according to the first aspect, the replacement of the one component with the other component is performed by a slide movement method or a revolver rotation method.

  According to the exposure apparatuses of the first and second aspects, even if one component arranged at a position overlapping with the optical path is clouded in white, the other spare parts are waiting at a position off the optical path, Will not hit and therefore will not be cloudy white. Therefore, the intensity (illuminance) of the light reaching the stage can be recovered by replacing one component with another spare component. Since it is not necessary to remove or attach the optical component from the exposure apparatus every time the intensity falls below the reference value, it is possible to prevent the exposure apparatus from being stopped for a long time due to fogging of the optical component.

  An exposure apparatus according to a third aspect is the exposure apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the plurality of types of optical components include a lens system optical component and a mirror system optical component, wherein the lens system optical component is an optical path of the light. A first lens disposed at a first predetermined position overlapping with the other lens, and another spare lens having the same function as that of the first lens and standing by at a position off the optical path, while the mirror The system optical component includes one mirror disposed at a second predetermined position that overlaps the optical path of the light, and another spare mirror that has the same function as the one mirror and stands by at a position off the optical path The one lens is moved to a position out of the optical path, and the other lens is moved to the first predetermined position, whereby the one lens and the other lens can be switched. Yes, and the one mirror is in front The one mirror and the other mirror can be switched by moving to a position off the optical path and moving the other mirror to the second predetermined position. It is.

  According to the exposure apparatus of the third aspect of the invention, the intensity of light reaching the stage side is recovered by replacing one lens with another spare lens or replacing one mirror with another spare mirror. Therefore, it is not necessary to remove and attach the lens system optical component and the mirror system optical component from the exposure apparatus each time the intensity falls below the reference value. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the exposure apparatus from being stopped for a long time due to fogging of the optical components.

  An exposure apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the invention is the exposure apparatus according to the third aspect, wherein the exposure means of the third aspect measures the intensity of the light reaching the stage via the lens system optical component and the mirror system optical component, and the measurement means Search means for searching for a combination of the lens and the mirror so that the intensity of the light to be optimized is switched, and the one lens and the other lens are switched at an arbitrary timing, or the one And a component control means for realizing a combination of the lens and the mirror found by the search means by performing at least one of replacement of a mirror and the other mirror. .

Here, the “arbitrary timing” is, for example, when the light intensity measured by the measuring means falls below a reference value.
According to the exposure apparatus of the fourth aspect of the present invention, since it is not necessary for the operator to switch lenses and mirrors one by one, it is convenient and takes less time.
An exposure apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the invention is the exposure apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention, the investigation means for investigating the light attenuation rate in each of the one lens and the other lens, the one mirror and the other mirror, and the investigation means Storage means for storing the investigation results obtained by the above-mentioned, wherein the search means uses a combination of the lens and the mirror that optimizes the intensity of the light measured by the measurement means. The search is performed based on the investigation result stored in.

  According to the exposure apparatus of the fifth aspect, it is possible to efficiently search for a combination of a lens and a mirror that optimizes the light intensity.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an exposure apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The exposure apparatus 100 irradiates a mask with a beam via a plurality of types of optical components, projects an image of a circuit pattern formed on the mask in a stage direction, and applies a circuit pattern to a resist applied on a semiconductor wafer W. Is a device that transfers (that is, performs exposure processing).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the exposure apparatus 100 includes, for example, an exposure apparatus main body 50 (hereinafter also simply referred to as “apparatus main body”), a control unit 60 that controls the operation of the apparatus main body 50, and the apparatus main body 50. And a data storage unit 70 for storing data obtained by the light receiving sensor (see FIG. 2). The control unit 60 includes a CPU (not shown) and a storage device such as a RAM and a ROM, in which a control program for the apparatus main body 50 is stored. The data storage unit 70 is composed of, for example, a hard disk, and stores measurement data to be described later.

  FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration example of the exposure apparatus main body 50. As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus main body 50 includes a light source 1, a first BMU (beam matching unit) 11, a second BMU 12, a third BMU 13, a first fly-eye lens 21, a fourth BMU 14, and a second fly. An eye lens 22, a blind, a first relay lens 31, a second relay lens 32, a dichroic mirror 15, a reduction projection lens 3, a stage 41, and a light receiving sensor 43 provided on the stage 41. It is a configuration that includes.

  The light source 1 is, for example, one of a KrF excimer laser that generates ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 248 nm, an ArF excimer laser that generates ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 193 nm, or an F2 excimer laser that generates ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 157 nm. As indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, the beam (ultraviolet light) generated by the light source 1 is first BMU 11 → second BMU 12 → third BMU 13 → first fly eye lens 21 → fourth BMU 14 → second fly eye lens 22 → blind → The process proceeds in the order of the first relay lens 31 → second relay lens 32 → dichroic mirror 15 → reticle (mask) → reduction projection lens 3 → stage 41.

Each of the BMUs 11 to 14 and the dichroic mirror 15 has a function of bending the optical path of the beam by 90 °. More specifically, BMU is an optical path for sending laser light from the laser to the exposure machine, and the dichroic mirror 15 is for bending the optical path by 90 ° in the exposure machine.
The fly-eye lenses 21 and 22 have a function of improving the uniformity of the beam, and the relay lenses 21 and 22 have a function of adjusting the uniformity of the beam. More specifically, the fly-eye lens diffuses laser light to make the light intensity in the light beam uniform, and the relay lens adjusts illumination unevenness.

  The stage 41 is a table for mounting and fixing the wafer. The stage 41 is movable in the horizontal direction (that is, the X direction and the Y direction) within a horizontal plane (that is, the XY plane) perpendicular to the beam extending from the reduction projection lens 3 to the stage 41. The light receiving sensor 43 is attached to, for example, a surface of the stage 41 facing the reduction projection lens 3, and the stage 41 moves in a horizontal plane so that the light reception surface comes directly under the reduction projection lens 3. ing. The intensity and uniformity of the beam passing through the reduction projection lens 3 are measured by being incident on the light receiving surface of the light receiving sensor 43.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration example of the first fly-eye lens 21. As shown in FIG. 3, the first fly-eye lenses 21 are arranged at regular intervals, for example, in a circular rotation holding plate 210 in a plan view, and in a region between the central portion 212 and the outer periphery of the rotation holding plate 210. The first to fourth lens bodies 21a to 21d and rotation means (not shown) for rotating the rotation holding plate 210 about the central portion 212 are included. Each of the lens bodies 21a to 21d is an independent fly-eye lens, and each of the lens bodies 21a to 21d has exactly the same function (that is, a function to improve the uniformity of the beam).

  The first fly-eye lens 21 is disposed at a first predetermined position where only one of the four lens bodies 21a to 21d overlaps the optical path (that is, the beam enters), and the other three fly eye lenses 21a to 21d. The lens body is attached to the apparatus main body 50 so as to be disposed at a position off the optical path. The arrangement of the lens bodies 21a to 21d with respect to the optical path can be switched by rotating the rotation holding plate 210 about the central portion 212 at 90 ° intervals.

  For example, in FIG. 3, when the rotation holding plate 210 is rotated by 90 ° clockwise about the central portion 212 at an arbitrary timing, the first lens body 21a is disposed at a position deviated from the optical path. The two lens bodies 21b are arranged at positions where they overlap the optical path. In FIG. 3, when the rotation holding plate 210 is rotated by 180 °, the first lens body 21a is disposed at a position deviating from the optical path, and the third lens body 21c is disposed at a position overlapping the optical path. When the rotation holding plate 210 is rotated by 270 ° (that is, 90 ° counterclockwise), the first lens body 21a is disposed at a position off the optical path, and the fourth lens body 21d is disposed at a position overlapping the optical path. That is, the four lens bodies 21a to 21d of the first fly-eye lens 21 are switched by the revolver rotation method.

Although not shown, the second fly-eye lens 22 has the same configuration as the first fly-eye lens 21 shown in FIG. 3, and is one of the first to fourth lens bodies by the revolver rotation method. Only the lens body is disposed at a position overlapping with the optical path, and the other three lens bodies are attached to the apparatus main body 50 so as to be disposed at positions deviating from the optical path.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration example of the first BMU 11. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the first BMU 11 includes, for example, a rectangular large mirror 110 in a plan view, and a guide 112 that guides the large mirror 110 in a predetermined direction while maintaining a constant incident angle of the beam with respect to the large mirror 110. The arm 114 for sliding the large mirror 110 along the guide 112 is included. The sliding operation by the arm 114 is performed by, for example, an air cylinder or an electric motor.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the large mirror 110 is divided into, for example, first to third small mirrors (in other words, small mirror regions) 11a to 11c, and each of the small mirrors 11a to 11c has the same beam. Has a reflection function. In the first BMU 11, only one of the three small mirrors 11a to 11c is disposed at a second predetermined position that overlaps the optical path (that is, reflects the beam), and the other two small mirrors are out of the optical path. It is attached to the apparatus main body 50 so that it may be arrange | positioned in the position. The arrangement of the small mirrors 11 a to 11 c with respect to the optical path is switched by sliding the entire small mirrors 11 a to 11 c (that is, the large mirror 110) along the guide 112.

  For example, in FIG. 4, when the large mirror 110 slides in the A direction along the guide 112 at an arbitrary timing, the first small mirror 11a is disposed at a position off the optical path, and in exchange, the small mirror 11b is aligned with the optical path. It is arranged at the overlapping position. In FIG. 4, when the large mirror 110 slides along the guide 112 in the B direction opposite to the A direction, the small mirror 11a is disposed at a position off the optical path, and the small mirror 11c is disposed at a position overlapping the optical path. Is done. That is, the three small mirrors 11 a to 11 c are switched by a slide movement method along the guide 112. As shown in FIG. 4, since the large mirror 110 slides along the guide 112 so as not to move against the optical path, even when any of the three small mirrors 11a to 11c is arranged at a position overlapping the optical path. The optical path is bent by 90 ° with respect to the incident direction.

  Although not shown, the second BMU 12, the third BMU 13, the fourth BMU 14, and the dichroic mirror 15 have the same configuration as the first BMU 11 shown in FIG. Is disposed at a position overlapping with the optical path, and the other two small mirrors are attached to the apparatus main body 50 so as to be disposed at positions deviating from the optical path.

  Further, although not shown, the first and second relay lenses include first to third lens bodies, a holding frame that holds these lens bodies, and a guide that guides the holding frame in a predetermined direction. The apparatus is arranged so that only one of the third lens bodies is disposed at a position overlapping the optical path (that is, a position where the beam is incident), and the other two lens bodies are disposed at positions deviating from the optical path. It is attached to the main body 50. And each arrangement | positioning with respect to the optical path of a 1st-3rd lens body is switched by the slide movement system (namely, moving a holding frame along a guide) as shown in FIG.

Next, switching operation of each optical component in the exposure apparatus 100 will be described.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the switching operation of each optical component according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a list of a plurality of lens bodies or small mirrors constituting each optical component. As shown in FIG. 6, in this switching operation, a plurality of lens bodies constituting each optical component (first BMU to fourth BMU, first and second fly-eye lenses, first and second relay lenses, dichroic mirror) Alternatively, it is assumed that one of the small mirrors is used as a reference for optical performance evaluation. “Switching target 1” shown in FIG. 6 is a reference.

  For example, in the first fly-eye lens 21 shown in FIG. 3, the lens body 21d is not used for product processing, but is used as a reference when evaluating the optical characteristics of the other lens bodies 21a to 21c. In the first BMU 11 shown in FIG. 4, the small mirror 11c is not used for product processing, but is used as a reference when evaluating the optical characteristics of the other small mirrors 11a and 11b.

  In step S <b> 1 of FIG. 5, first, the stage 41 is moved under the control of the control unit 60, and the light receiving sensor 43 is disposed immediately below the reduction projection lens 3. Next, each optical component is rotated or slid by revolver, and “switching object 2” shown in FIG. 6 is arranged at a position overlapping the optical path. Then, as in the product processing, a beam is emitted from the light source 1 toward the stage 41 via the “switching target 2”, the reduction projection lens 3, and the like, and the beam is incident on the light receiving sensor 43. The light receiving sensor 43 photoelectrically converts the incident beam and sends the intensity of the beam to the control unit 60 in the form of an electric signal.

  Next, in step S2 of FIG. 5, the control unit 60 analyzes the measurement data (that is, the beam intensity) sent from the light receiving sensor 43, and the control unit 60 determines whether or not the value is equal to or greater than a reference value. To do. If it is equal to or greater than the reference value, the process proceeds to step S3 to start product processing. If it is below the reference value, the process proceeds to step S4. In step S4, the attenuation factor of the beam is measured for “switching object 2” of each optical component.

  For example, when measuring the beam attenuation rate in the lens body 21a of the first fly-eye lens 21 shown in FIG. 3, the lens bodies and small mirrors of all optical components except the first fly-eye lens 21 are shown. “Switching target 1” shown in FIG. In this state, the beam is passed through the lens body 21 a and the beam intensity is measured by the light receiving sensor 43 to obtain measurement data 1. Next, the lens bodies and small mirrors of all the optical components including the first fly-eye lens 21 are set to “switching target 1” shown in FIG. 6, and the beam intensity at that time is measured by the light receiving sensor 43 to obtain the measurement data 2. obtain. Thereafter, the beam attenuation rate in the lens body 21a is calculated from the measurement data 1 and 2. This calculation is performed by the control unit 60.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of data (beam attenuation rate) stored in the data storage unit 70. “1.0” in the figure means that the beam attenuation rate is the same as that of the reference, and “cloudiness” due to ultraviolet irradiation has not occurred. This numerical value is a beam retention rate (= 1 / “beam attenuation rate”), which is a value obtained by dividing the measurement data 2 by the measurement data 1. The smaller the numerical value shown in FIG. 7, the higher the beam attenuation rate.

  In step S4 of FIG. 5, similarly, for other optical components (first BMU, second BMU, third BMU, fourth BMU, second fly-eye lens, first relay lens, second relay lens, dichroic mirror) The beam attenuation rate in the switching target 2 is calculated by performing the above operation. Thus, in step S4, “switching target 1” is used as a reference, and when “switching target 2” is selected for each optical component for a combination of only references, how much power (beam intensity) is secured. Measure each of them. Then, in step S5 in FIG. 5, the data obtained in step S4 is stored in the data storage unit 70. The “switching target 1”, the unused lens body (that is, the beam that has never been irradiated) and the small mirror are all “1.0”. In step S5, for example, each numerical value of “switching object 2” is overwritten and saved under the control of the control unit 60.

Next, in step S6, a combination of a lens body and a small mirror that makes the beam intensity obtained by the light receiving sensor 43 optimal (for example, maximum) is searched. This search process is performed by the control unit 60 based on the data (beam attenuation rate) stored in the data storage unit 70.
As shown in FIG. 7, in this example, a lens body or a small mirror having the smallest beam attenuation rate (that is, closest to 1.0) is selected from each optical component. For example, in the first BMU 11, “switching target 2” is smaller than “switching target 3”, so “switching target 2” is selected. In the first fly-eye lens 21, “switching target 3” is selected because “switching target 3” has a smaller beam attenuation rate than “switching target 2” and “switching target 4”. In this example, in principle, the switching target 1 (reference) is not selected.

Next, in step S7, the lens body or small mirror of each optical component is selectively switched by the revolver rotation method or the slide movement method, and the combination of each optical component in the apparatus main body 50 is selected in step S7 ( That is, a combination surrounded by an ellipse in FIG.
Next, in step S8, the beam intensity is measured by the same method as in step S1. In step S9, the control unit 60 analyzes the measurement data (that is, the beam intensity) sent from the light receiving sensor 43, and the control unit 60 determines whether the value is equal to or greater than a reference value. If it is equal to or greater than the reference value, the process proceeds to step S3 to start product processing. If it is below the reference value, the process proceeds to step S10. In step S10, the control unit 60 issues an alarm notifying the operator that the exposure process cannot be continued, and the flowchart of FIG. 5 is terminated.

  As described above, according to the exposure apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, even when the lens body or the small mirror arranged at the position overlapping the optical path of the beam is clouded in white, the spare lens body or the small lens body is used. Since the mirror is waiting at a position off the optical path, it will not hit the beam and therefore will not be clouded white. Therefore, the intensity (illuminance) of the beam reaching the stage 41 can be recovered by replacing the lens body or the small mirror that has become white and cloudy with the spare one. Since it is not necessary to remove or attach the optical component from the exposure apparatus every time the beam intensity falls below the reference value, it is possible to prevent the exposure apparatus from being stopped for a long time due to fogging of the optical component.

  Further, according to the exposure apparatus 100, under the control of the control unit 60, for example, the switching object 1 is used as a reference, and the switching objects 2 to 4 are selectively switched with respect to each optical component. For each, measure how much power can be secured. The optimum combination is automatically selected based on the measurement result, and the lens body and the small mirror are automatically switched.

Therefore, a combination of a lens body and a small mirror that maximizes the laser intensity can be efficiently searched. In addition, since it is not necessary for the operator to switch the lens body and the small mirror each time, it is convenient and time-consuming.
In this embodiment, any one of the first and second fly-eye lenses 21 and 22 and the first and second relay lenses 31 and 32 corresponds to the “lens system optical component” of the present invention. Any one of the 4BMU 11 to 14 and the dichroic mirror 15 corresponds to the “mirror optical component” of the present invention. Further, for example, the lens body 21a shown in FIG. 3 corresponds to “one lens” of the present invention, and the lens bodies 21b to 21d correspond to “other spare lenses” of the present invention. Further, for example, the small mirror 11a shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to "one mirror" of the present invention, and the small mirrors 11b and 11c correspond to "other spare mirrors" of the present invention. The light receiving sensor 43 corresponds to the “measuring means” of the present invention, the light receiving sensor 43 and the control unit 60 correspond to the “survey means” and the “search means” of the present invention, and the control unit 60 corresponds to the “parts” of the present invention. Corresponds to "control means". Further, the data storage unit 70 corresponds to the “storage unit” of the present invention.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an exposure apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a view showing a configuration example of an exposure apparatus body 50. The figure which shows the structural example of the 1st fly eye lens. The figure which shows the structural example of 1st BMU11. The flowchart which shows switching operation of each optical component which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the list of the some lens body which comprises each optical component, or a small mirror. The figure which shows an example of the data (beam attenuation factor) stored in the data storage part.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Light source, 3 Reduction projection lens, 11 1st BMU (beam matching unit), 11a-11c Small mirror, 12 2nd BMU, 13 3rd BMU, 14 4th BMU, 15 Dichroic mirror, 21 1st fly eye lens, 21a-21d Lens body, 22 Second fly-eye lens, 31 First relay lens, 32 Second relay lens, 41 Stage, 43 Light receiving sensor, 50 Exposure apparatus body, 60 Control section, 70 Data storage section, 100 Exposure apparatus, 110 Large mirror , 112 guides, 114 arms

Claims (5)

An exposure apparatus that irradiates a mask with light from a light source via a plurality of types of optical components and projects an image of a pattern formed on the mask in a stage direction,
At least one of the plurality of types of optical components is:
One component arranged at a predetermined position overlapping the optical path of the light;
Having the same function as the one part, and having other spare parts for standby at a position off the optical path,
The one part is moved to a position off the optical path, and the other part is moved to the predetermined position, whereby the one part can be replaced with the other part. An exposure apparatus.   2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the replacement of the one component with the other component is performed by a slide movement method or a revolver rotation method. The plurality of types of optical components include lens optical components and mirror optical components,
The lens system optical component is:
One lens disposed at a first predetermined position overlapping the optical path of the light;
Having the same function as the one lens, and having another lens for standby waiting at a position off the optical path,
The mirror optical component is
A mirror disposed at a second predetermined position overlapping the optical path of the light;
Having the same function as the one mirror, and having another spare mirror that stands by at a position off the optical path,
The one lens is moved to a position off the optical path, and the other lens is moved to the first predetermined position, whereby the one lens and the other lens can be interchanged, and
The one mirror is moved to a position off the optical path, and the other mirror is moved to the second predetermined position, whereby the one mirror and the other mirror can be switched. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein Measuring means for measuring the intensity of the light reaching the stage via the lens system optical component and the mirror system optical component;
Search means for searching for a combination of the lens and the mirror so that the intensity of the light measured by the measurement means is optimal;
At any time, the one lens and the other lens are replaced or at least one of the one mirror and the other mirror is replaced, and the lens found by the searching means and the lens The exposure apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a component control unit that realizes a combination with a mirror. Investigation means for investigating light attenuation rates in each of the one lens and the other lens, the one mirror, and the other mirror;
Storage means for storing the investigation result obtained by the investigation means,
The search means includes
The combination of the lens and the mirror that optimizes the light intensity measured by the measuring unit is searched based on the investigation result stored in the storage unit. 4. The exposure apparatus according to 4.

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