JP2009116081A - Exposure method and exposure apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an exposure method by which a relatively large area can be exposed, and to provide an exposure apparatus that can be made compact and can expose a relatively large area. <P>SOLUTION: The exposure method comprises: making a beam from a light source scan an exposure object via an optical element LG; and exposing a pattern PA1 whose region is enlarged on the exposure object in a direction approximately perpendicular to the scanning direction X, via the optical element on the exposure object. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an exposure method and an exposure apparatus that perform exposure on an object to be exposed by optical scanning.

  Conventionally, a photolithography process is frequently used for forming a circuit pattern in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor integrated circuit or a liquid crystal device. Photolithography uses a photomask on which a predetermined pattern is formed, and the photomask pattern is transferred onto the substrate by exposing it onto a substrate such as silicon coated with a photoresist through the photomask. Then, a pattern is formed on the substrate through a development process, an etching process, and the like.

  A maskless exposure (direct exposure) apparatus that directly forms a desired pattern on a substrate or the like without using a photomask instead of the photolithography process as described above has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1 below). According to such maskless exposure, a photomask is unnecessary, which is advantageous in terms of cost, and high-precision exposure is possible.

The maskless exposure apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes a scanning unit that relatively scans a desired exposure pattern imaged by an imaging optical system of an exposure head and the surface of an object to be exposed. An XY stage is used. As an optical scanning means, an optical scanning optical system using a polygon mirror, a galvanometer mirror and a lens optical system is known. In addition, it has been proposed to use a two-dimensional light modulation element instead of the optical scanning optical system (for example, see Patent Document 2 below).
JP 2006-259882 A JP 2003-15077 A

  In the ordinary laser light exposure by the conventional optical scanning means as described above, the exposure is performed by irradiating the beam spot, so that the efficiency is low for exposing a large area. Although a relatively large area can be exposed by rotating the mirror itself by rotating the mirror itself, a movable mirror such as a galvano mirror is large and it is difficult to rotate the mirror itself.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an exposure method capable of exposing a relatively large area in view of the above-described problems of the prior art. It is another object of the present invention to provide an exposure apparatus that can expose a relatively large area and can be miniaturized.

  In order to achieve the above object, the exposure method according to the present embodiment scans light from a light source through an optical element, and on the object to be exposed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the scanning direction through the optical element. The pattern in which the area is enlarged is exposed on the object to be exposed.

  According to this exposure method, the light from the light source is scanned through the optical element, and the pattern in which the area is enlarged on the object to be exposed in the direction substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction is obtained through the optical element. Since it can be exposed upward, a relatively large area can be exposed.

  In the exposure method, it is preferable to use a line generator lens or a diffraction grating as the optical element.

  The exposure apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a light source, a MEMS optical scanner that repeatedly tilts a mirror, and an exposure optical system that exposes light from the light source onto the object to be exposed via the mirror. Is scanned with a mirror tilted by the MEMS optical scanner through an optical element, and a pattern in which the region is enlarged on the object to be exposed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction is formed on the object to be exposed. To be exposed.

  According to this exposure apparatus, a mirror is repeatedly tilted by a MEMS light scanner, light from a light source is scanned to obtain scanning light, and the object to be exposed can be directly exposed. MEMS (abbreviation) is an abbreviation for micro electro mechanical systems, and is a small device in which mechanical component parts are manufactured in a minimum size. The MEMS optical scanner is a MEMS optical device that scans light by driving a mirror by an actuator, and is configured to be small in size and highly reliable and stable in operation. As described above, by using the MEMS optical scanner for optical scanning, it is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus and realize an exposure apparatus capable of maskless exposure with stable operation.

  Further, the light from the light source is scanned by the mirror driven by the MEMS optical scanner via the optical element, and the pattern in which the region is enlarged on the object to be exposed in the direction substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction is obtained via the optical element. Since exposure can be performed on an object to be exposed, a relatively large area can be exposed.

  In the exposure apparatus, the optical element includes a line generator lens, and a relatively large area can be exposed by scanning the line beam generated by the line generator lens with the mirror.

  Further, the optical element is composed of a diffraction grating, and by scanning the diffraction spot light diffracted by the diffraction grating with the mirror, a pattern composed of lines and spaces can be exposed in a relatively large area.

  In addition, a stage that can be moved by placing an object to be exposed is provided, and a desired pattern is exposed by exposing the pattern on the object to be exposed by light from the light source by controlling the movement of the stage. it can.

  In addition, by controlling the on / off of light from the light source to expose a pattern on the object to be exposed, for example, an intermittent pattern in the scanning direction or an intermittent pattern in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction, etc. A desired pattern can be exposed.

  In addition, the exposure optical system includes an objective lens, and is provided with an autofocus mechanism that automatically focuses the objective lens with respect to the object to be exposed, so that it can be automatically focused during exposure. Therefore, high-precision exposure is possible even if the surface of the object to be exposed has irregularities.

  According to the exposure apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size and perform maskless exposure with a stable operation.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a view showing the schematic arrangement of the entire exposure apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the exposure optical system of FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the relationship between the mirror and the lens of the MEMS optical scanner of the exposure optical system of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the exposure apparatus 10 has an XY stage 11 on which an object to be exposed A is placed and held and can move in the XY direction, a light source 12 composed of a semiconductor laser, and a light source 12 guided by an optical fiber FI. An exposure optical system that exposes the exposure object A with the emitted light, and an objective lens in the lens barrel 31 of the exposure optical system when performing exposure in the vertical direction of the drawing with respect to the exposure object A on the XY stage 11 An autofocus mechanism that drives and automatically focuses, an observation optical system for observing the exposure object A on the XY stage 11, and a control device 13 that controls the XY stage 11, the light source 12, and the like are provided. Yes.

  In the exposure optical system, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, light from the light source 12 is introduced through an optical fiber FI, collimated by a collimator lens C, reflected by a mirror M, a lens L2, a mirror 19, and a lens. The light is condensed and focused on the surface A1 of the object A on the stage 11 by the objective lens J in the lens barrel 31 via the L1, beam splitter 29, and spot irradiation is performed.

  Each optical element from the collimating lens C to the lens L1 in the exposure optical system described above is disposed and accommodated in the housing 20.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the autofocus mechanism is configured such that the light from the autofocus laser light source 22 passes through the beam splitters 27, 28, and 29 and the objective lens J (FIG. 2) in the lens barrel 31 covers the XY stage 11. The light is condensed on the surface A1 of the exposure object A, and the reflected light enters the light receiving element 21 including a photodiode (PD) through the objective lens J, the beam splitters 29, 28, and 27, the tube lens 32, and the beam splitter 26. Based on the incident light signal, the lens barrel 31 is driven in the optical axis direction by an actuator 23 made of a known piezo element, and the objective lens J (FIG. 2) in the lens barrel 31 is moved to focus. ing.

  The above-described beam splitters 26, 27, 28, 29 and the tube lens 32 are disposed and accommodated in the housing 30.

  The observation optical system can observe the object A by introducing illumination light from the light introducing unit 25 and irradiating the object A on the XY stage 11 and imaging the reflected light with the CCD camera 24. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a light receiving element 21, an autofocus laser light source 22, a CCD camera 24, and a light introducing portion 25 are attached to the housing 30, and an actuator 23 is disposed at the lower end of the housing 30. A lens barrel 31 is disposed below the lens.

  The XY stage 11 includes a linear motion mechanism composed of a known ball screw or the like that converts the rotary motions of the stepping motors 15a and 15b and the stepping motors 15a and 15b of FIG. 1 into linear motions in the X and Y directions. Is built-in. The XY stage 11 can be moved at a constant speed in the horizontal direction (X direction) in FIG. 1 and in the vertical direction (Y direction) in FIG. 1 by the constant speed rotations of the stepping motors 15a and 15b.

  The control device 13 controls the stepping motors 15 a and 15 b via the motor driver 16. In addition, the exposure apparatus 10 includes a position detection unit 14 including an encoder that detects each position of the XY stage 11 in the X direction and the Y direction.

  The control device 13 controls the movement amounts of the XY stage 11 in the X direction and the Y direction. At this time, feedback control is performed on the stepping motors 15a and 15b based on the position detection signal input from the position detection unit 14. The XY stage 11 can be controlled with high accuracy.

  In addition, the control device 13 performs on / off control of the light source 12 via the driver 17 to turn on / off light from the light source 12. Note that a known electric shutter may be placed after the light source 12 and the electric shutter may be controlled by the control device 13 to turn on and off the light from the light source 12.

  Further, the control device 13 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and the CPU controls the light source 12 and the XY stage 11 in a predetermined sequence so that exposure of a predetermined pattern is possible.

  The mirror M shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 constitutes a part of the MEMS optical scanner. The MEMS optical scanner will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the basic structure and operation principle of a MEMS optical scanner that can be used in the exposure apparatus of FIGS. FIG. 5 is a top view (a) showing a specific example of a MEMS optical scanner that can be used in the exposure apparatus of FIGS. 1 to 3, a cross-sectional view (b), and a bottom view (c) cut in the bb line direction. .

  In the MEMS optical scanner shown in FIG. 4, a rectangular planar mirror M is formed in a rectangular yoke Y so as to be connected to the yoke Y by a pair of torsion bars T, T, and a drive coil is formed along the outer periphery of the mirror M. D is formed, and a pair of permanent magnets P1 and P2 is disposed so as to face the outside of the yoke Y, and is an electromagnetically driven resonance type in which a mirror is driven by an electromagnetically driven actuator.

  In the MEMS optical scanner, as shown in FIG. 4, when a magnetic field having a magnetic flux density B is generated in a direction perpendicular to the torsion bars T and T by the permanent magnets P1 and P2 and a current i is supplied to the drive coil D, rotation by Lorentz force F occurs. The torsion bars T and T are rotated against the elastic restoring force by torque, and the mirror M is tilted. By making the current i an alternating current, the torsion bars T and T resonate and rotate in the rotation direction r and the opposite direction r ′, so that the mirror M resonates and repeats the inclination. Since F∝i · B, the inclination of the mirror M can be changed by changing the amount of current. Since the mirror M is inclined in the rotational directions r and r 'and changes the direction of light incident on the mirror M and reflected in one direction, the MEMS optical scanner in FIG. 4 is a one-dimensional movable type.

  Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the MEMS optical scanner 1 is provided with a yoke 4 on the reference surface 6 a side of the substrate 6, and with the permanent magnets 2 and 3 facing the inside of the yoke 4. The silicon chip 7 is provided between the permanent magnets 2 and 3, the mirror 5 is disposed so as to be surrounded by the silicon chip 7, a drive coil is formed as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, the mirror 5 resonates in the rotation direction r around the rotation center axis p and in the opposite direction r ′ as shown in FIGS. This is repeated, and is configured as a one-dimensional movable type electromagnetically driven resonance type.

  In the MEMS optical scanner 1 shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, when the incident light n is reflected by the mirror M on the opposite surface 6b side of the reference surface 6a of the substrate 6, the reflected light n ′ is reflected from the reference surface 6a. The angle changes according to the tilt angle of the mirror 5. The MEMS optical scanner 1 is provided with a torsion bar similar to the torsion bar T in FIG. 4 on the rotation center axis p.

  The MEMS optical scanner 1 shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C has minute components, and the overall dimensions thereof are, for example, 30 mm × 22 mm × 5 mm (thickness). Is 4 mm × 4 mm. Such a MEMS optical scanner is sold, for example, by Nippon Signal Co., Ltd. under the trade name “ECO SCAN: ESS115B”.

  The MEMS optical scanner 1 is disposed at the position of the mirror M in FIGS. That is, the MEMS optical scanner 1 has mounting holes 6c at the four corners of the substrate 6, and the mirror 5 exhibits the function of the mirror M at a predetermined position in the housing 20 of the exposure apparatus 10 in FIG. It attaches with the attachment hole 6c so that it may do. Further, the MEMS optical scanner 1 is controlled by a control device 13 as shown in FIG.

  Next, exposure by the exposure apparatus 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 will be described. First, light from the light source 12 is converted into parallel light m by the collimator lens C and enters the mirror M as shown in FIGS. The mirror M corresponds to the mirror 5 of the MEMS optical scanner 1 shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C. By passing an alternating current through the MEMS optical scanner 1 like the drive coil D shown in FIG. 4, the twist shown in FIG. The rotation about the rod T is repeated, and the inclination is repeated with respect to the optical axis b in FIGS. That is, the mirror M is tilted at the tilt angle α2 in the X direction around the optical axis b as shown in FIGS.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, with respect to the light m ′ reflected by the mirror M inclined in the X direction, the following expression is established between the mirror M and the lens L2.
tan (α2) = x2 / f2

  Next, the light m ′ reflected by the mirror M is converted into an objective lens having a focal length f0 through a lens L2 having a focal length f2, a mirror 19 (FIG. 1), a lens L1 having a focal length f1, and a beam splitter 29 (FIG. 1). The light is condensed by J on the surface A1 of the object A to be exposed in FIG.

The mirror M scans the parallel light m from the light source 12 in the X direction in FIG. 3 by the MEMS optical scanner 1, and the scanning length x0 of the scanning light in the X direction from the optical axis c on the surface A1 in FIG. It can represent with following Formula (1).
x0 = f0 · (f2 / f1) · tan (α2) (1)
Where α2: tilt angle (runout angle) in the X direction with respect to the optical axis b of the mirror M

  As described above, the light from the light source 12 is scanned by the mirror M in the X direction with the scanning length x0 on the surface A1 of the exposure object A placed and held on the XY stage 11 of FIG. Line exposure can be performed.

  Next, the optical system placed in front of the mirror M of the exposure apparatus 10 in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 6A is a diagram schematically showing an optical system placed in front of the mirror M of the exposure apparatus 10 in FIGS. 1 to 3, and FIG. 6B is a diagram schematically showing the shape of a light beam emitted from the optical system. FIG. 4C schematically shows an exposure pattern on the surface of the object to be exposed.

  In the exposure apparatus 10 of FIG. 1, an optical system as shown in FIG. That is, a line generator lens LG that generates line light, a collimator lens CC, and an aperture AP are arranged, and light from the light source 12 introduced through the optical fiber FI is collimated by the collimator lens C to be a line generator. The light beam enters the lens LG, and a linear light beam LB as shown in FIG.

  In the optical system of FIG. 6A, the light before entering the mirror M is branched by the line generator lens LG, and the aperture is adjusted by the aperture AP to obtain a line-shaped light beam LB having an arbitrarily flat line width. be able to. The line-shaped light beam LB is scanned by the mirror M in a direction substantially orthogonal to the line direction.

  Next, a method for exposing a predetermined pattern by the exposure apparatus 10 shown in FIGS. The exposure light A is placed on and held on the XY stage 11, the MEMS optical scanner 1 is driven, and the mirror M is vibrated, so that the scanning light is scanned on the surface A1 of the exposure object A as described above. X is scanned. At this time, since the light incident on the mirror M is a line-shaped light beam LB elongated in a direction substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction X as shown in FIG. 6B, the line-shaped light beam LB is converted into the scanning direction X. In this way, a relatively large substantially rectangular pattern PA1 as shown in FIG. 6A can be exposed on the surface A1 of the object A to be exposed.

  When the autofocus mechanism shown in FIG. 1 is activated during the exposure, the light from the laser light source 22 is condensed on the surface A1 of the exposure object A via the objective lens J (FIG. 2), and the reflected light thereof. Enters the light receiving element 21, and the actuator 23 drives the objective lens J in the lens barrel 31 in the direction of the optical axis based on the incident light signal to automatically focus. By continuously operating the autofocus mechanism during exposure, exposure can be performed with high accuracy even if the surface A1 of the object A to be exposed has irregularities. Further, the surface A1 of the exposure object A is observed with the CCD camera 24 as necessary.

  As described above, the MEMS optical scanner is a MEMS optical device that scans light by resonating a mirror by an electromagnetically driven actuator, and is configured in a small size and has high reliability and stable operation. By using the scanner for optical scanning of the exposure apparatus 10, it is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus and realize an exposure apparatus capable of maskless exposure with stable operation.

  According to the conventional optical scanning optical scanning optical system using a polygon mirror or galvano mirror and a lens optical system, the overall configuration of the apparatus is large, expensive, and responsive. By using the MEMS optical scanner as in the above embodiment, it is possible to reduce the size and size of the exposure apparatus 10, and to perform optical scanning of the exposure apparatus 10 with good response, and further save power compared to the conventional configuration. In addition, the conventional two-dimensional light modulation element, which is another optical scanning means, has a problem of shortening the lifetime and occurrence of malfunction, but by using a MEMS optical scanner, reliable and stable exposure is possible. It becomes.

  Further, when the light from the light source 12 is scanned by the mirror M that is vibrated by the MEMS optical scanner via the line generator lens LG, the exposure is performed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction X via the line generator lens LG. Since a relatively large pattern PA1 enlarged on the object A can be exposed on the object A, a relatively large area can be exposed even when the scanning speed is low.

  Next, another optical system placed in front of the mirror M of the exposure apparatus 10 in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7A is a diagram schematically illustrating another optical system placed in front of the mirror M of the exposure apparatus 10 in FIGS. 1 to 3, and a diagram schematically illustrating the shape of a light beam emitted from the optical system. It is the figure (c) which shows typically the exposure pattern in the surface of b) and to-be-exposed object.

  In the exposure apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, an optical system as shown in FIG. That is, the diffraction grating DL and the collimator lens CC are arranged, and the light from the light source 12 introduced through the optical fiber FI is collimated by the collimating lens C and incident on the diffraction grating DL. The + 1st order light and the −1st order light are emitted as a plurality of spot lights SS as shown in FIG. In this way, by diffracting the light from the light source 12 with the optical element (diffraction grating DL), a pseudo multi-beam can be formed without controlling the light in the diffraction direction. The plurality of spot lights SS are scanned by the mirror M in a direction substantially perpendicular to the dotted direction.

  As described above, when the mirror M is vibrated by the MEMS optical scanner 1, the scanning light is scanned in the scanning direction X on the surface A1 of the exposure object A. At this time, the light incident on the mirror M is illustrated in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7A, scanning the spot light SS in the scanning direction X because the spot light SS is scattered in a direction substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction X as shown in FIG. A pattern PA2 having a relatively large overall shape composed of a plurality of lines LL and a plurality of spaces SS can be exposed on the surface A1 of the exposure object A at high speed.

  In the present embodiment, in addition to the exposure patterns as shown in FIGS. 6C and 7C, the movement of the XY stage 11 and the on / off of light from the light source 12 are controlled in combination to control the light source. An arbitrary pattern can be exposed on the surface A <b> 1 of the exposure object A by the light from 12. For example, the control device 13 causes the CPU to read a program for exposure with a desired pattern from a storage device such as an internal or external hard disk storage device, and controls the light source 12 and the XY stage 11 according to the program to thereby perform exposure. The apparatus 10 can perform automatic exposure with a desired pattern.

  As described above, the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to these, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. For example, the scanning length x0 in the X direction of the scanning light on the surface A1 of the exposure object A can be changed within a predetermined range by changing the mirror tilt angle by changing the driving current of the mirror M to the MEMS optical scanner 1. Can be adjusted. Thereby, for example, the length in the scanning direction X of the patterns PA1 and PA2 in FIGS. 6C and 7C can be adjusted. Even if the mirror tilt angle is not changed, the scanning length x0 can be changed by synchronizing the light source on / off timing with the mirror tilt.

  Further, the exposure method using the optical system as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 can be executed by scanning light from a light source using a galvano mirror or AOD in addition to the MEMS optical scanner of the present embodiment. . Further, the line generator lens and the diffraction grating in the optical system of FIGS. 6 and 7 are not limited to this, and other optical elements may be used as long as the light extends or is divided in a predetermined direction. Good.

  Moreover, although the MEMS optical scanner was comprised from the resonance type displaced by an alternating current, the MEMS optical scanner displaced by a direct current may be sufficient.

  An exposure apparatus according to the present invention includes a light source, a MEMS optical scanner that repeatedly tilts a mirror, and an exposure optical system that exposes light from the light source onto an object to be exposed via the mirror, the light source Then, the object to be exposed can be exposed by irradiating the object to be exposed with the MEMS optical scanner by scanning with a mirror inclined by the MEMS optical scanner. According to this exposure apparatus, it is possible to directly expose the object to be exposed by scanning the light from the light source by repeatedly tilting the mirror within a predetermined range with a MEMS light scanner to obtain the scanning light. By using the MEMS optical scanner for optical scanning, it is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus and realize an exposure apparatus capable of maskless exposure with stable operation.

It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the whole exposure apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the exposure optical system of FIG. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the relationship between the mirror and lens of the MEMS optical scanner of the exposure optical system of FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the basic structure and operation principle of a MEMS optical scanner that can be used in the exposure apparatus of FIGS. FIG. 4 is a top view (a) showing a specific example of a MEMS optical scanner that can be used in the exposure apparatus of FIGS. 1 to 3, a cross-sectional view (b), and a bottom view (c) taken along line bb. 1A schematically shows an optical system placed in front of the mirror M of the exposure apparatus 10 of FIGS. 1 to 3, FIG. 1B schematically shows the shape of a light beam emitted from the optical system, and an object to be exposed. It is a figure (c) which shows typically an exposure pattern in the surface of. 1A schematically shows another optical system placed in front of the mirror M of the exposure apparatus 10 of FIGS. 1 to 3, FIG. 2B schematically shows the shape of a light beam emitted from the optical system, and It is a figure (c) which shows an exposure pattern in the surface of an exposure thing typically.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 MEMS optical scanner 5 Mirror 10 Exposure apparatus 11 XY stage 12 Light source 13 Control apparatus 14 Position detection part 15a, 15b Stepping motor 21 Light receiving element 22 Autofocus laser light source 23 Actuator 24 CCD camera 25 Light introduction part 26-29 Beam splitter 20 , 30 Housing 31 Lens barrel 32 Tube lens A Object to be exposed A1 Surface B Magnetic flux density C Collimating lens D Drive coil F Lorentz force FI Optical fiber J Objective lens L1, L2 Lens M Mirror P1, P2 Permanent magnet PA1, PA2 Exposure pattern T Twist bar Y Yoke b Optical axis c Optical axis i Current m Parallel light m 'Reflected light p Rotation center axis r Rotation direction r' Reverse direction of rotation r LG Line generator lens DL Diffraction grating X Scanning direction

Claims (7)

  An exposure method in which light from a light source is scanned through an optical element, and a pattern having an area enlarged on the object to be exposed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction through the optical element is exposed on the object to be exposed. .   The exposure method according to claim 1, wherein a line generator lens or a diffraction grating is used as the optical element. A light source, a MEMS optical scanner that repeatedly tilts a mirror, and an exposure optical system that exposes light from the light source onto an object to be exposed via the mirror,
By scanning the light from the light source with a mirror tilted by the MEMS optical scanner through an optical element, a pattern in which the region is enlarged on the object to be exposed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction is obtained. An exposure device that exposes the top.   The exposure apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the optical element includes a line generator lens, and the line beam generated by the line generator lens is scanned by the mirror.   The exposure apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the optical element includes a diffraction grating, and the diffraction spot light diffracted by the diffraction grating is scanned by the mirror. It is equipped with a stage on which an object to be exposed can be moved,
The exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein a pattern is exposed on the object to be exposed by light from the light source by controlling movement of the stage. The exposure optical system includes an objective lens;
The exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 6, further comprising an autofocus mechanism that drives the objective lens to the object to be exposed and automatically focuses the object.

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