Movable body drive method and movable body drive system, pattern formation method and apparatus, exposure method and apparatus, and device manufacturing method

• US 20080094592A1
• Filed: 08/31/2007
• Published: 04/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Shibazaki, Yuichi
• Application Number:
  US11/896,448
• Publication Number:
  US 20080094592A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 355/53
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70341 Details of immersion lithography aspects, e.g. exposure media or control of immersion liquid supply chemical composition of immersion liquids G03F7/2041
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70725 control
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70775 Position control, e.g. interferometers or encoders for determining the stage position
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/7085 Detection arrangement, e.g. detectors of apparatus alignment possibly mounted on wafers, exposure dose, photo-cleaning flux, stray light, thermal load
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 9/7088 Alignment mark detection, e.g. TTR, TTL, off-axis detection, array detector, video detection

Abstract

During the drive of a stage, positional information in a movement plane of a stage is measured by three encoders that include at least one each of an X encoder and a Y encoder of an encoder system, and a controller switches an encoder used for a measurement of positional information of a stage in the movement plane from an encoder to an encoder so that the position of the stage in the movement plane is maintained before and after the switching. Therefore, although the switching of the encoder used for controlling the position of the stage is performed, the position of the stage in the movement plane is maintained before and after the switching, and a correct linkage becomes possible.

Claims

1. A movable body drive method in which a movable body is driven in a movement plane including a first axis and a second axis orthogonal to each other, the method comprising:

a measuring process in which positional information of the movable body in the movement plane is measured using at least one encoder of an encoder system including a plurality of encoders having a head that irradiates a detection light on a grating and receives the detection light from the grating; and

a switching process in which at least one of an encoder used for position control of the movable body is switched to another encoder so as to maintain a position of the movable body in the movement plane before and after the switching.

2. The movable body drive method according to claim 1 wherein

in the switching process, a measurement value of a newly used encoder is predicted so that a result of position measurement of the movable body is continuously linked before and after the switching, and the predicted value is set as an initial value of the measurement value of the newly used encoder.

3. The movable body drive method according to claim 2 wherein

in order to predict the measurement value of the newly used encoder, a predetermined theoretical formula that includes a rotation angle of the movable body in the movement plane as a parameter and a required number of measurement values of active encoders including an encoder which will be suspended later are used.

4. The movable body drive method according to claim 3 wherein

when predicting the measurement value of the newly used encoder, a value obtained from a measurement result of a measurement unit different from the encoder system is used as the rotation angle of the movable body in the movement plane.

5. The movable body drive method according to claim 1 wherein

in the measuring process, at least two encoders of the encoder system is used to measure the positional information of the movable body in the movement plane, and

in the switching process, the encoder used for position control of the movable body is switched from an encoder of the at least two encoders to another encoder.

6. The movable body drive method according to claim 5 wherein

in the measuring process, three encoders are used to measure positional information of the movable body in the movement plane in directions of three degrees of freedom, and

in the switching process, the encoder used for position control of the movable body is switched from an encoder of the at least two encoders to another encoder so as to maintain a position of the movable body in directions of the three degrees of freedom before and after the switching.

7. The movable body drive method according to claim 1 wherein

on the movable body, at least one each of a first grating having a periodic direction parallel to the first axis and a second grating having a periodic direction parallel to the second axis is placed, and

a head of each encoder is placed external to the movable body.

8. The movable body drive method according to claim 7 wherein

on the movable body, a pair of the first gratings having a direction parallel to the first axis serving as a longitudinal direction is placed in a direction parallel to the second axis serving as a longitudinal direction at a predetermined distance.

9. The movable body drive method according to claim 1 wherein

as each of the encoders, a reflection type optical encoder is used.

10. The movable body drive method according to claim 1 wherein

in the switching process, when the switching is performed, positional information of the movable body in the movement plane is computed according to a computing formula that uses an affine transformation relation based on the measurement values of an at least the two encoders used for position control of the movable body before switching, and an initial value of the measurement value of the another encoder is decided so as to satisfy the computation result.

11. The movable body drive method according to claim 10 wherein

in the switching process, the initial value is decided taking into consideration at least one of correction information of the measurement value of the another encoder corresponding to a relative movement of a head of the another encoder with respect to the corresponding grating and of correction information of the pitch of the corresponding grating.

12. The movable body drive method according to claim 1, the method further comprising:

a scheduling process in which a combination of encoders subject to the switching is made and a switching timing is prepared based on a movement course of the movable body, prior to the switching.

13. The movable body drive method according to claim 1 wherein

in the switching process, an output of each encoder of the encoder system is constantly taken in, and a switching operation of switching from one encoder of the at least two encoders to another encoder is also executed in synchronization with a timing of position control of the movable body.

153. A pattern formation method, comprising:

a mount process in which an object is mounted on a movable body that can move in a movement plane; and

a drive process in which the movable body is driven by the movable body drive method according to claim 1, to form a pattern on the object.

154. A device manufacturing method including a pattern formation process wherein

in the pattern formation process, a pattern is formed on a substrate using the pattern formation method according to claim 153.

155. An exposure method in which a pattern is formed on an object by an irradiation of an energy beam wherein

for relative movement of the energy beam and the object, a movable body on which the object is mounted is driven, using the movable body drive method according to claim 1.

14-152. -152. (canceled)

156. A movable body drive method in which a movable body is driven in a movement plane, the method comprising:

an intake process in which measurement data corresponding to a detection signal of at least one head of an encoder system including a plurality of heads that measure positional information of the movable body within the movement plane is taken in at a predetermined control sampling interval when the movable body is driven in a predetermined direction in the movement plane; and

a drive process in which the movable body is driven so as to correct a measurement error of the head due to a measurement delay that accompanies propagation of the detection signal, based on a plurality of data which include the most recent measurement data that was taken in the latest and previous measurement data including at least data just before the most recent measurement data, and information of a delay time that accompanies propagation of the detection signal through a propagation path.

157. The movable body drive method according to claim 156 wherein

in the intake process, the positional information of the movable body is measured using the plurality of heads of the encoder system, and measurement data corresponding to a detection signal of each head is also taken in at the control sampling interval, and

in the drive process, the movable body is driven so as to correct respective measurement errors of the plurality of heads due to the measurement delay, based on the plurality of data for each of the plurality of heads and the information on the delay time.

158. The movable body drive method according to claim 156 wherein

in the intake process, the positional information of the movable body is measured sequentially using a plurality of heads of the encoder system arranged apart in the predetermined direction, and measurement data corresponding to the detection signal of each head is taken in at the control sampling interval.

159. The movable body drive method according to claim 156 wherein

in the drive process, one of an approximation straight line and an approximate curve that shows the temporal change of the position of the movable body is obtained, using the plurality of data for the head, and based on one of the approximation straight line and the approximate curve, and information of the delay time of the head, the movable body is driven so as to correct the measurement error of the head due to the measurement delay.

160. The movable body drive method according to claim 156 wherein

the positional information of the movable body in the movement plane is measured furthermore by an interferometer system, the method further comprising:

a delay time acquisition process in which a delay time acquisition processing of driving the movable body in a predetermined direction, taking in a detection signal of the head and a detection signal of the interferometer system simultaneously at a predetermined sampling timing for at least one head of the encoder system during the drive, and acquiring information of the delay time of the at least one head based on both detection signals, with the detection signal of the interferometer system serving as a reference are executed.

161. The movable body drive method according to claim 160 wherein

in the delay time acquisition process, the delay time acquisition processing is executed for all heads in the encoder system.

162. The movable body drive method according to claim 160 wherein

in the delay time acquisition process, on the delay time acquisition processing, information of the delay time of the head is computed based on an intensity difference of the detection signal of the head and the detection signal of the interferometer system.

163. A pattern formation method, comprising:

a mount process in which an object is mounted on a movable body that can move in a movement plane; and

a drive process in which the movable body is driven by the movable body drive method according to claim 156, to form a pattern on the object.

164. A device manufacturing method including a pattern formation process wherein

in the pattern formation process, a pattern is formed on a substrate using the pattern formation method according to claim 163.

165. An exposure method in which a pattern is formed on an object by an irradiation of an energy beam wherein

for relative movement of the energy beam and the object, a movable body on which the object is mounted is driven, using the movable body drive method according to claim 156.

166. An exposure method in which an object on a movable body that moves in a movement plane is sequentially exchanged, and a pattern is formed respectively on each object by sequentially exposing the object after exchange, wherein

each time the exchange of the object is performed on the movable body, position control of the movable body in the movement plane is started once more, using at least three encoders of an encoder system that measures positional information of the movable body in the movement plane within a predetermined effective area including an exposure position.

167. The exposure method according to claim 166 wherein

as each encoder of the encoder system, an encoder is used that measures the positional information of the movable body in the measurement direction by irradiating a detection light on a grating placed on a surface parallel to the movement plane of the movable body and receiving the light from each grating.

168. The exposure method according to claim 166 wherein

even while exchange of the object is performed on the movable body, measurement of the positional information of the movable body in the measurement direction is continued using a specific encoder of the encoder system.

169. The exposure method according to claim 166 wherein

the positional information of the movable body in the movement plane is measured by an interferometer system, whereby

when the movable body moves outside the effective area from inside the effective area, position control of the movable body in the movement plane is switched from the position control using the encoder system to the position control using the interferometer system, and when the movable body moves inside the effective area from outside the effective area, position control of the movable body in the movement plane is switched from the position control using the interferometer system to the position control using the encoder system.

170. The exposure method according to claim 169 wherein

after having moved the movable body once near a position decided beforehand based on a measurement value of the interferometer system, by finely moving the movable body and at a point where an absolute phase of each of the at least three encoders respectively become a value that was decided beforehand, position control of the movable body in the movement plane using the at least three encoders is started once more.

171. The exposure method according to claim 166, wherein

each time the exchange of the object is performed on the movable body, prior to beginning detection of a mark formed on the object using a mark detection system, position control of the movable body in the movement plane using the at least three encoders is started once more.

172. A device manufacturing method including a pattern formation process in which a pattern is sequentially formed on a plurality of objects, using the exposure apparatus according to claim 171.

173. A movable body drive method in which a movable body is driven in a movement plane, the method comprising:

an execution process in which of an encoder system including a plurality of encoders respectively having a head that irradiates a detection light on a grating and receives the detection light from the grating and measures positional information of the movable body in the movable plane, an output of each encoder is constantly taken in, and an operation of switching an encoder used for position control of the movable body from an encoder that has been used for position control of the movable body to another encoder, at a timing in synchronization with the position control of the movable body is executed.

174. A movable body drive method in which a movable body is driven in a movement plane including a first axis and a second axis orthogonal to each other, the method comprising:

a measuring process in which positional information of the movable body in the movement plane is measured using at least one encoder of an encoder system including a plurality of encoders respectively having a head that irradiates a detection light on a grating and receives the detection light from the grating;

a scheduling process in which a combination of encoders subject to a switching where an encoder used for position control of the movable body is switched from an arbitrary encoder to another encoder is made and a switching timing is prepared, based on a movement course of the movable body; and

a switching process in which the arbitrary encoder is switched to the another encoder based on the contents prepared in the scheduling.

175. The movable body drive method according to claim 174 wherein

in the measuring process, three encoders are used to measure positional information of the movable body in the movement plane in directions of three degrees of freedom, and

in the scheduling process, a combination of encoders subject to a switching where an encoder is switched from an arbitrary encoder of the three encoders to another encoder is made and a switching timing is prepared, based on a movement course of the movable body.

176. The movable body drive method according to claim 174 wherein

in the switching process, an output of each encoder of the encoder system is constantly taken in, and a switching operation of switching from the arbitrary encoder to another encoder is also executed in synchronization with a timing of position control of the movable body.

177. A movable body drive system in which a movable body is driven in a movement plane including a first axis and a second axis orthogonal to each other, the system comprising:

an encoder system having a plurality of encoders respectively having a head that irradiates a detection light on a grating and receives the detection light from the grating, including a first encoder used for measuring positional information of the movable body in a direction parallel to the first axis; and

a controller that measures positional information of the movable body in the movement plane using at least one encoder of the encoder system, and also switches at least one of an encoder used for measurement of the positional information of the movable body in the movement plane to another encoder so as to maintain a position of the movable body in the movement plane before and after the switching.

178. The movable body drive system according to claim 177 wherein

the controller predicts a measurement value of a newly used encoder so that a result of position measurement of the movable body is continuously linked before and after the switching, and sets the predicted value as an initial value of the measurement value of the newly used encoder.

179. The movable body drive system according to claim 178 wherein

in order to predict the measurement value of the newly used encoder, the controller uses a predetermined theoretical formula that includes a rotation angle of the movable body in the movement plane as a parameter and a required number of measurement values of active encoders including an encoder which will be suspended later.

180. The movable body drive system according to claim 179, the system further comprising:

a measurement unit that measures positional information of the movable body in a rotation direction in the movement plane, wherein

when predicting the measurement value of the newly used encoder, the controller uses a value obtained from a measurement result of the measurement unit as the rotation angle of the movable body in the movement plane.

181. The movable body drive system according to claim 177 wherein

the encoder system has a total of three encoders or more including at least one each of the first encoder and a second encoder used for measurement of positional information of the movable body in a direction parallel to the second axis, and

the controller measures positional information of the movable body in the movement plane, using at least two encoders which at least include one each of the first encoder and the second encoder, and also switches the encoder used for the measurement of the positional information of the movable body from an encoder of one of the at least two encoders to another encoder.

182. The movable body drive system according to claim 181 wherein

the controller switches from an encoder of one of three encoders that measure positional information of the movable body in directions of three degrees of freedom in the movement plane to another encoder, so as to maintain a position of the movable body in directions of three degrees of freedom in the movement plane before and after the switching.

183. The movable body drive system according to claim 177 wherein

on the movable body, at least one each of a first grating having a periodic direction parallel to the first axis and a second grating having a periodic direction parallel to the second axis is placed, and

the encoder system includes at least one each of a first head unit and a second head unit placed external to the movable body, whereby

the first head unit has a plurality of heads placed in a direction intersecting the first grating at a predetermined interval, and

the second head unit has a plurality of heads placed in a direction intersecting the second grating at a predetermined interval.

184. The movable body drive system according to claim 183 wherein

on the movable body, a pair of the first gratings having a periodic direction parallel to the first axis is placed in a direction of the second axis at a predetermined distance, and

the encoder system includes a pair of the first head units corresponding to each of the pair of first gratings.

185. The movable body drive system according to claim 177 wherein

each of the encoders is a reflection type optical encoder.

186. The movable body drive system according to claim 177 wherein

on the switching, the controller computes the positional information of the movement plane of the movable body by a computing formula using the affine transformation relation based on the measurement value of at least the two encoders used for position control of the movable body before the switching, and decides an initial value of the measurement value of the another encoder so as to satisfy the computation results.

187. The movable body drive system according to claim 186 wherein

the controller determines the initial value, taking into consideration at least one of correction information of the measurement value of the another encoder corresponding to a relative movement of a head of the another encoder in a direction besides the measurement direction with respect to the corresponding grating and of correction information of the pitch of the corresponding grating.

188. The movable body drive system according to claim 177 wherein

the controller makes a combination of encoders subject to the switching and prepares a switching timing based on a movement course of the movable body.

189. The movable body drive system according to claim 177 wherein

the controller constantly takes in measurement values of each encoder of the encoder system, and also executes an operation to switch the encoder used for control of the movable body from an encoder of either of at least the two encoders used for position control of the movable body to another encoder in synchronization with the timing of the position control of the movable body.

190. A pattern formation apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a movable body on which an object is mounted, and is movable in a movement plane holding the object; and

a movable body drive system according to claim 177 that drives the movable body to perform pattern formation with respect to the object.

191. The pattern formation apparatus according to claim 190, the apparatus further comprising:

an interferometer system that measures positional information of the movable body;

a mark detection system that detects a mark located on the movable body holding the object; and

a switching unit that switches a measurement unit used for position control of the movable body prior to a measurement of a plurality of marks on the object by the mark detection system, from the interferometer system to the encoder system.

192. An exposure apparatus that forms a pattern on an object by an irradiation of an energy beam, the apparatus comprising:

a patterning unit that irradiates the energy beam on the object; and

the movable body drive system according to claim 177, wherein

the movable body drive system drives the movable body on which the object is mounted for relative movement of the energy beam and the object.

193. A movable body drive system in which a movable body is driven in a movement plane, the system comprising:

an encoder system including a plurality of heads that measure positional information of the movable body in the movement plane; and

a controller that takes in measurement data corresponding to a detection signal of at least one head of an encoder system at a predetermined control sampling interval when the movable body is driven in a predetermined direction in the movement plane, and drives the movable body so that the measurement error of the head due to a measurement delay that accompanies propagation of the detection signal is corrected, based on a plurality of data that include the most recent measurement data that was taken in the latest and previous measurement data including at least data just before the most recent measurement data, and information of a delay time that accompanies propagation of the detection signal through a propagation path.

194. The movable body drive system according to claim 193 wherein

the controller measures positional information of the movable body, using a plurality of heads of the encoder system, and takes in measurement data corresponding to a detection signal of each head at the control sampling interval, and drives the movable body so as to correct respective measurement errors of the plurality of heads due to the measurement delay, based on the plurality of data for each of the plurality of heads and the information on the delay time.

195. The movable body drive system according to claim 193 wherein

the plurality of heads of the encoder system includes a plurality of heads placed apart in the predetermined direction, and

the controller measures the positional information of the movable body sequentially using a plurality of heads of the encoder system placed apart in the predetermined direction, and takes in measurement data corresponding to the detection signal of each head at the control sampling interval.

196. The movable body drive system according to claim 193 wherein

the controller obtains one of an approximation straight line and an approximate curve that shows the temporal change of the position of the movable body, using the plurality of data for the head, and based on one of the approximation straight line and the approximate curve, and information of the delay time of the head, drives the movable body so as to correct the measurement error of the head due to the measurement delay.

197. The movable body drive system according to claim 193 wherein the system further comprises

an interferometer system that measures positional information of the movable body in the movement plane, and also further comprises

a processing unit that executes a delay time acquisition process in which a delay time acquisition processing of driving the movable body in a predetermined direction, taking in a detection signal of the head and a detection signal of the interferometer system simultaneously at a predetermined sampling timing during this drive for at least one head of the encoder system, and acquiring information of the delay time of the at least one head based on both detection signals, with the detection signal of the interferometer system serving as a reference are executed.

198. The movable body drive system according to claim 197 wherein

the processing unit executes the delay time acquisition processing for all heads in the encoder system.

199. The movable body drive system according to claim 197 wherein

the processing unit computes information of the delay time of the head based on an intensity difference of the detection signal of the head and the detection signal of the interferometer system on the delay time acquisition processing.

200. A pattern formation apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a movable body on which an object is mounted, and is movable in a movement plane holding the object; and

a movable body drive system according to claim 193 that drives the movable body to perform pattern formation with respect to the object.

201. The pattern formation apparatus according to claim 200, the apparatus further comprising:

an interferometer system that measures positional information of the movable body;

a mark detection system that detects a mark located on the movable body holding the object; and

a switching unit that switches a measurement unit used for position control of the movable body prior to a measurement of a plurality of marks on the object by the mark detection system, from the interferometer system to the encoder system.

202. An exposure apparatus that forms a pattern on an object by an irradiation of an energy beam, the apparatus comprising:

a patterning unit that irradiates the energy beam on the object; and

the movable body drive system according to claim 193, wherein

the movable body drive system drives the movable body on which the object is mounted for relative movement of the energy beam and the object.

203. A movable body drive system in which a movable body is driven in a movement plane, the system comprising:

an encoder system including a plurality of heads that measure positional information of the movable body in the movement plane;

an interferometer system that measures positional information of the movable body in the movement plane;

a processing unit that executes a delay time acquisition processing of driving the movable body in a predetermined direction, taking in a detection signal of each head and a detection signal of the interferometer system simultaneously at a predetermined sampling timing for a plurality of heads of the encoder system during the drive, and based on both detection signals, acquiring information of the delay time of the detection signals of the respective plurality of heads that accompanies the propagation through the propagation path, with the detection signal of the interferometer system serving as a reference; and

a controller that drives the movable body, based on measurement data corresponding to the respective detection signals of the plurality of heads of the encoder system and information of a delay time of the plurality of heads, respectively.

204. A pattern formation apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a movable body on which an object is mounted, and is movable in a movement plane holding the object; and

a movable body drive system according to claim 203 that drives the movable body to perform pattern formation with respect to the object.

205. The pattern formation apparatus according to claim 204, the apparatus further comprising:

an interferometer system that measures positional information of the movable body;

a mark detection system that detects a mark located on the movable body holding the object; and

a switching unit that switches a measurement unit used for position control of the movable body prior to a measurement of a plurality of marks on the object by the mark detection system, from the interferometer system to the encoder system.

206. An exposure apparatus that sequentially exchanges an object on a movable body that moves in a movement plane, and forms a pattern respectively on each object by sequentially exposing the object after exchange, the apparatus comprising:

an encoder system including at least three encoders that measure positional information of the movable body in the movement plane in a predetermined effective area including an exposure position; and

a controller that starts position control of the movable body in the movement plane using at least three encoders of the encoder system once more, each time exchange of the object is performed on the movable body.

207. The exposure apparatus according to claim 206 wherein

on a surface parallel to the movement plane of the movable body, a plurality of gratings is placed that include at least one each of a first grating having a longitudinal direction in a first axis direction and a second grating having a longitudinal direction in a second axis direction which intersect with the first axis direction in the surface parallel to the movement plane, and

the encoder system has at least three encoders respectively including a head that irradiates detection light on each of the gratings and receives the light from each grating individually.

208. The exposure apparatus according to claim 206 wherein

the controller continues measurement of the positional information of the movable body in the measurement direction using a specific encoder of the encoder system even while exchange of the object is performed on the movable body.

209. The exposure apparatus according to claim 206, the apparatus further comprising:

an interferometer system that measures positional information of the movable body in the movement plane, wherein

when the movable body moves outside the effective area from inside the effective area, the controller switches position control of the movable body in the movement plane from the position control using the encoder system to the position control using the interferometer system, and when the movable body moves inside the effective area from outside the effective area, the controller switches the position control of the movable body in the movement plane from the position control using the interferometer system to the position control using the encoder system.

210. The exposure apparatus according to claim 209 wherein

after having moved the movable body once near a position determined beforehand based on a measurement value of the interferometer system, the controller finely moves the movable body and at a point where an absolute phase of each of the at least three encoders respectively become a value that was decided beforehand, starts position control of the movable body in the movement plane using the at least three encoders once more.

211. The exposure apparatus according to claim 206, the apparatus further comprising:

a mark detection system that detects a mark formed on the object, wherein

each time the exchange of the object is performed on the movable body, prior to beginning detection of a mark formed on the object using a mark detection system, the controller starts position control of the movable body in the movement plane using the at least three encoders once more.

212. A movable body drive system in which a movable body is driven in a movement plane, the system comprising:

an encoder system including a plurality of encoders respectively having a head that irradiates a detection light on a grating and receives the detection light from the grating and measures positional information of the movable body in the movable plane; and

a controller that constantly takes in an output of each encoder of the encoder system, and also executes an operation to switch the encoder used for control of the movable body from an encoder that has been used for position control of the movable body to another encoder in synchronization with the timing of the position control of the movable body.

213. A pattern formation apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a movable body on which the object is mounted, and is movable in a movement plane holding the object; and

a movable body drive system according to claim 212 that drives the movable body to perform pattern formation with respect to the object.

214. The pattern formation apparatus according to claim 213, the apparatus further comprising:

an interferometer system that measures positional information of the movable body;

a mark detection system that detects a mark located on the movable body holding the object; and

a switching unit that switches a measurement unit used for position control of the movable body prior to a measurement of a plurality of marks on the object by the mark detection system, from the interferometer system to the encoder system.

215. An exposure apparatus that forms a pattern on an object by an irradiation of an energy beam, the apparatus comprising:

a patterning unit that irradiates the energy beam on the object; and

the movable body drive system according to claim 212 wherein

the movable body drive system drives the movable body on which the object is mounted for relative movement of the energy beam and the object.

216. A movable body drive system in which a movable body is driven in a movement plane including a first axis and a second axis orthogonal to each other, the system comprising:

an encoder system including a plurality of encoders having a head that irradiates a detection light on a grating and receives the detection light from the grating and measures positional information of the movable body in the movable plane; and

a controller that makes a combination of encoders subject to a switching where an encoder used for position control of the movable body is switched from an arbitrary encoder to another encoder and prepares a switching timing, based on a movement course of the movable body.

217. The movable body drive system according to claim 216 wherein

the controller makes a combination of encoders subject to a switching where an encoder is switched from an arbitrary encoder of three encoders of the encoder system that measure positional information of the movable body in directions of three degrees of freedom in the movement plane to another encoder and prepares a switching timing, based on a movement course of the movable body.

218. The movable body drive system according to claim 216 wherein

the controller constantly takes in the output of each encoder of the encoder system and executes an operation of switching an encoder used for position control of the movable body from an arbitrary encoder that has been used for position control of the movable body to another encoder, at a timing in synchronization with the position control of the movable body.

219. A pattern formation apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a movable body on which the object is mounted, and is movable in a movement plane holding the object; and

a movable body drive system according to claim 216 that drives the movable body to perform pattern formation with respect to the object.

220. The pattern formation apparatus according to claim 219, the apparatus further comprising:

an interferometer system that measures positional information of the movable body;

a mark detection system that detects a mark located on the movable body holding the object; and

a switching unit that switches a measurement unit used for position control of the movable body prior to a measurement of a plurality of marks on the object by the mark detection system, from the interferometer system to the encoder system.

221. An exposure apparatus that forms a pattern on an object by an irradiation of an energy beam, the apparatus comprising:

a patterning unit that irradiates the energy beam on the object; and

the movable body drive system according to claim 216, wherein

the movable body drive system drives the movable body on which the object is mounted for relative movement of the energy beam and the object.

222. An exposure apparatus that exposes an object with an energy beam, the apparatus comprising:

a movable body that holds the object and is movable at least in a first and second directions which are orthogonal in a predetermined plane;

an encoder system in which one of a grating section and a head unit is arranged on a surface of the movable body where the object is held and the other is arranged facing the surface of the movable body, and positional information of the movable body in the predetermined plane is measured by a head that faces the grating section of a plurality of heads of the head unit; and

a controller that decides the positional information which should be measured by a head after a switching, during the switching of the head used for the measurement that accompanies the movement of the movable body, based on positional information measured by a head before the switching and positional information of the movable body in a direction different from the first and second directions.

223. The exposure apparatus according to claim 222 wherein

the positional information which should be measured by the head after the switching is decided so that a position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is maintained before and after the switching.

224. The exposure apparatus according to claim 222 wherein

the measurement is continued while switching the head used for the measurement to another head during the movement of the movable body, and the measurement of the positional information of the movable body is performed by the another head using the positional information that has been decided.

225. The exposure apparatus according to claim 222 wherein

positional information measured by the head before the switching is corrected, based on positional information of the movable body in the different direction, and the positional information that has been corrected is set as an initial value of the positional information measured by the head after the switching.

226. The exposure apparatus according to claim 222 wherein

the different direction includes the rotational direction in the predetermined plane.

227. The exposure apparatus according to claim 226 wherein

positional information of the movable body in the different direction is obtained from the measurement information of the encoder system.

228. The exposure apparatus according to claim 222 wherein

the grating section is arranged with the first direction serving as a longitudinal direction, and the head unit has the plurality of heads placed apart in the second direction.

229. The exposure apparatus according to claim 222 wherein

the grating section has a pair of a first grating section whose longitudinal direction is the first direction and is placed apart in the second direction and a pair of a second grating section whose longitudinal direction is the second direction and is placed apart in the first direction, and the head unit has a pair of a first head unit having a plurality of a first head placed apart in the second direction that face the pair of the first grating section on exposure and a pair of a second head unit having a plurality of a second head placed apart in the first direction that face the pair of the second grating section on exposure.

230. The exposure apparatus according to claim 229 wherein

positional information of the movable body in the first and second directions is measured by at least three of the pair of the first head units and the pair of the second head units.

231. The exposure apparatus according to claim 222 wherein

the switching is performed in a state where the head before the switching and the head after the switching both face the grating section.

232. The exposure apparatus according to claim 222 wherein

the grating section is arranged on a surface of the movable body, and the head unit is arranged facing the surface of the movable body.

233. The exposure apparatus according to claim 222 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least one of the head unit and the grating section and the measurement information of the encoder system.

234. The exposure apparatus according to claim 233 wherein

the correction information compensates for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least optical properties of the head unit.

235. The exposure apparatus according to claim 233 wherein

the correction information compensates for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least one of flatness and formation error of the grating section.

236. The exposure apparatus according to claim 233 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

237. The exposure apparatus according to claim 233 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

238. The exposure apparatus according to claim 222 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to displacement of the movable body in the direction that is different from the first and second directions on the measurement and the measurement information of the encoder system.

239. The exposure apparatus according to claim 238 wherein

the different direction includes at least one of a direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane, a rotational direction around an axis orthogonal to the predetermined plane, and a rotational direction around an axis parallel to the predetermined plane.

240. The exposure apparatus according to claim 238 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

241. The exposure apparatus according to claim 238 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

242. The exposure apparatus according to claim 222 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to gradient of the movable body with respect to the predetermined plane and the measurement information of the encoder system.

243. The exposure apparatus according to claim 242 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

244. The exposure apparatus according to claim 242 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

245. The exposure apparatus according to claim 222, the apparatus further comprising:

a measurement system that measures the positional information of the movable body in a third direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane by a sensor which faces the grating section of a plurality of sensors arranged on the same side as the head unit, wherein

the position of the movable body in the third direction is controlled based on measurement information of the measurement system.

246. The exposure apparatus according to claim 245 wherein

the measurement system measures the positional information in the third direction and inclination information of the movable body with a plurality of sensors that face the grating section.

247. The exposure apparatus according to claim 245 wherein

of positional information of the movable body in directions of six degrees of freedom, positional information in directions of three degrees of freedom including the first direction, the second direction and a rotational direction in the predetermined plane is measured by the encoder system, and positional information in the remaining directions of three degrees of freedom is measured by the measurement system.

248. The exposure apparatus according to claim 247 wherein

the position of the movable body in at least the exposure operation is controlled, based on the positional information measured in directions of six degrees of freedom.

249. The exposure apparatus according to claim 245, the apparatus further comprising:

a position measuring unit that measures positional information of the object in the third direction, wherein

in a measurement operation of a surface position information of the object, the encoder system, the measurement system, and the position measuring unit are used.

250. The exposure apparatus according to claim 245, the apparatus further comprising:

a mark detection system that detects a mark on the object, wherein

in a detection operation of the mark, the encoder system and the mark detection system are used.

251. The exposure apparatus according to claim 222, the apparatus further comprising:

an interferometer system that measures positional information of the movable body in at least the first and second directions, wherein

to drive the movable body, the measurement information of the encoder system is used in an exposure operation, and the measurement information of the interferometer system is used in an operation that is different from the exposure operation.

252. The exposure apparatus according to claim 251 wherein

in a detection operation of a mark and/or the surface position information of the object, the measurement information of the encoder system is used.

253. The exposure apparatus according to claim 251, wherein

at least a part of the measurement information of the interferometer system is used in the exposure operation.

254. The exposure apparatus according to claim 222 wherein

of a plurality of heads of the encoder system, the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on positional information of the head used for the measurement of the positional information of the movable body in a plane parallel to the predetermined plane, and the measurement information of the encoder system.

255. The exposure apparatus according to claim 222 wherein

the positional information of a plurality of heads of the head unit in a surface parallel to the predetermined plane is measured.

256. An exposure apparatus that exposes an object with an energy beam, the apparatus comprising:

a movable body that holds the object and is movable at least in a first and second directions which are orthogonal in a predetermined plane;

an encoder system in which one of a grating section and a head unit is arranged on a surface of the movable body where the object is held and the other is arranged facing the surface of the movable body, and positional information of the movable body in the predetermined plane is measured by a head that faces the grating section of a plurality of heads of the head unit; and

a controller that continues the measurement while switching the head used for the measurement to another head during the movement of the movable body, and controls a position of the movable body in the predetermined plane, based on measurement information of the encoder system measured by the another head and positional information of the movable body in a direction different from the first and second directions on the switching.

257. The exposure apparatus according to claim 256 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the positional information of the movable body in the different direction.

258. The exposure apparatus according to claim 256 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the positional information of the movable body in the different direction so as to compensate for a measurement error of the encoder system caused by displacement of the movable body in the different direction on the switching, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

259. The exposure apparatus according to claim 256 wherein

positional information measured by the head before the switching is set as an initial value of positional information measured by the another head.

260. The exposure apparatus according to claim 256 wherein

the different direction includes the rotational direction in the predetermined plane.

261. The exposure apparatus according to claim 260 wherein

positional information of the movable body in the different direction is obtained from the measurement information of the encoder system.

262. The exposure apparatus according to claim 256 wherein

the grating section is arranged with the first direction serving as a longitudinal direction, and the head unit has the plurality of heads placed apart in the second direction.

263. The exposure apparatus according to claim 256 wherein

the grating section has a pair of a first grating section whose longitudinal direction is the first direction and is placed apart in the second direction and a pair of a second grating section whose longitudinal direction is the second direction and is placed apart in the first direction, and the head unit has a pair of a first head unit having a plurality of a first head placed apart in the second direction that face the pair of the first grating section on exposure and a pair of a second head unit having a plurality of a second head placed apart in the first direction that face the pair of the second grating section on exposure.

264. The exposure apparatus according to claim 263 wherein

positional information of the movable body in the first and second directions is measured by at least three of the pair of the first head units and the pair of the second head units.

265. The exposure apparatus according to claim 256 wherein

the switching is performed in a state where the head before the switching and the head after the switching both face the grating section.

266. The exposure apparatus according to claim 256 wherein

the grating section is arranged on a surface of the movable body, and the head unit is arranged facing the surface of the movable body.

267. The exposure apparatus according to claim 256 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least one of the head unit and the grating section and the measurement information of the encoder system.

268. The exposure apparatus according to claim 267 wherein

the correction information compensates for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least optical properties of the head unit.

269. The exposure apparatus according to claim 267 wherein

the correction information compensates for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least one of flatness and formation error of the grating section.

270. The exposure apparatus according to claim 267 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

271. The exposure apparatus according to claim 267 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

272. The exposure apparatus according to claim 256 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to displacement of the movable body in the direction that is different from the first and second directions on the measurement and the measurement information of the encoder system.

273. The exposure apparatus according to claim 272 wherein

the different direction includes at least one of a direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane, a rotational direction around an axis orthogonal to the predetermined plane, and a rotational direction around an axis parallel to the predetermined plane.

274. The exposure apparatus according to claim 272 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

275. The exposure apparatus according to claim 272 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

276. The exposure apparatus according to claim 256 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to gradient of the movable body with respect to the predetermined plane and the measurement information of the encoder system.

277. The exposure apparatus according to claim 276 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

278. The exposure apparatus according to claim 276 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

279. The exposure apparatus according to claim 256, the apparatus further comprising:

a measurement system that measures the positional information of the movable body in a third direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane by a sensor which faces the grating section of a plurality of sensors arranged on the same side as the head unit, wherein

the position of the movable body in the third direction is controlled based on measurement information of the measurement system.

280. The exposure apparatus according to claim 279 wherein

the measurement system measures the positional information in the third direction and inclination information of the movable body with a plurality of sensors that face the grating section.

281. The exposure apparatus according to claim 279 wherein

of positional information of the movable body in directions of six degrees of freedom, positional information in directions of three degrees of freedom including the first direction, the second direction and a rotational direction in the predetermined plane is measured by the encoder system, and positional information in the remaining directions of three degrees of freedom is measured by the measurement system.

282. The exposure apparatus according to claim 281 wherein

the position of the movable body in at least the exposure operation is controlled, based on the positional information measured in directions of six degrees of freedom.

283. The exposure apparatus according to claim 279, the apparatus further comprising:

a position measuring unit that measures positional information of the object in the third direction, wherein

in a measurement operation of a surface position information of the object, the encoder system, the measurement system, and the position measuring unit are used.

284. The exposure apparatus according to claim 279, the apparatus further comprising:

a mark detection system that detects a mark on the object, wherein

in a detection operation of the mark, the encoder system and the mark detection system are used.

285. The exposure apparatus according to claim 256, the apparatus further comprising:

an interferometer system that measures positional information of the movable body in at least the first and second directions, wherein

to drive the movable body, the measurement information of the encoder system is used in an exposure operation, and the measurement information of the interferometer system is used in an operation that is different from the exposure operation.

286. The exposure apparatus according to claim 285 wherein

in a detection operation of a mark and/or the surface position information of the object, the measurement information of the encoder system is used.

287. The exposure apparatus according to claim 285, wherein

at least a part of the measurement information of the interferometer system is used in the exposure operation.

288. The exposure apparatus according to claim 256 wherein

of a plurality of heads of the encoder system, the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on positional information of the head used for the measurement of the positional information of the movable body in a plane parallel to the predetermined plane, and the measurement information of the encoder system.

289. The exposure apparatus according to claim 256 wherein

the positional information of a plurality of heads of the head unit in a surface parallel to the predetermined plane is measured.

290. An exposure apparatus that exposes an object with an energy beam, the apparatus comprising:

a movable body that holds the object and is movable at least in a first and second directions which are orthogonal in a predetermined plane;

an encoder system in which one of a grating section and a head unit is arranged on a surface of the movable body where the object is held and the other is arranged facing the surface of the movable body, and positional information of the movable body in the first and second directions, and rotational direction in the predetermined plane is measured by at least three heads that face the grating section of a plurality of heads of the head unit; and

a controller that continues the measurement while switching the three heads used for the measurement to three heads having at least one different head during the movement of the movable body, and during the switching, decides position information that should be measured by at least one head of the three heads after the switching which are different from the three heads before the switching, based on positional information measured by the three heads before the switching.

291. The exposure apparatus according to claim 290 wherein

the positional information which should be measured by the at least one head after the switching is decided so that the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is maintained before and after the switching.

292. The exposure apparatus according to claim 290 wherein

the positional information that has been decided is set as an initial value of the positional information measured by the at least one head after the switching so as to continuously link the positional information of the movable body that is measured before and after the switching.

293. The exposure apparatus according to claim 290 wherein

the grating section has a pair of a first grating section whose longitudinal direction is the first direction and is placed apart in the second direction and a pair of a second grating section whose longitudinal direction is the second direction and is placed apart in the first direction, and

the head unit has a pair of a first head unit having a plurality of a first head placed apart in the second direction that face the pair of the first grating section on exposure and a pair of a second head unit having a plurality of a second head placed apart in the first direction that face the pair of the second grating section on exposure, whereby

positional information of the movable body is measured by at least three of the pair of the first head units and the pair of the second head units.

294. The exposure apparatus according to claim 290 wherein

the switching is performed in a state where the head before the switching and the head after the switching both face the grating section.

295. The exposure apparatus according to claim 290 wherein

the grating section is arranged on a surface of the movable body, and the head unit is arranged facing the surface of the movable body.

296. The exposure apparatus according to claim 290 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least one of the head unit and the grating section and the measurement information of the encoder system.

297. The exposure apparatus according to claim 296 wherein

the correction information compensates for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least optical properties of the head unit.

298. The exposure apparatus according to claim 296 wherein

the correction information compensates for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least one of flatness and formation error of the grating section.

299. The exposure apparatus according to claim 296 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

300. The exposure apparatus according to claim 296 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

301. The exposure apparatus according to claim 290 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to displacement of the movable body in the direction that is different from the first and second directions on the measurement and the measurement information of the encoder system.

302. The exposure apparatus according to claim 301 wherein

the different direction includes at least one of a direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane, a rotational direction around an axis orthogonal to the predetermined plane, and a rotational direction around an axis parallel to the predetermined plane.

303. The exposure apparatus according to claim 301 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

304. The exposure apparatus according to claim 301 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

305. The exposure apparatus according to claim 290 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to gradient of the movable body with respect to the predetermined plane and the measurement information of the encoder system.

306. The exposure apparatus according to claim 305 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

307. The exposure apparatus according to claim 305 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

308. The exposure apparatus according to claim 290, the apparatus further comprising:

a measurement system that measures the positional information of the movable body in a third direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane by a sensor which faces the grating section of a plurality of sensors arranged on the same side as the head unit, wherein

the position of the movable body in the third direction is controlled based on measurement information of the measurement system.

309. The exposure apparatus according to claim 308 wherein

the measurement system measures the positional information in the third direction and inclination information of the movable body with a plurality of sensors that face the grating section.

310. The exposure apparatus according to claim 308 wherein

of positional information of the movable body in directions of six degrees of freedom, positional information in directions of three degrees of freedom including the first direction, the second direction and a rotational direction in the predetermined plane is measured by the encoder system, and positional information in the remaining directions of three degrees of freedom is measured by the measurement system.

311. The exposure apparatus according to claim 310 wherein

the position of the movable body in at least the exposure operation is controlled, based on the positional information measured in directions of six degrees of freedom.

312. The exposure apparatus according to claim 308, the apparatus further comprising:

a position measuring unit that measures positional information of the object in the third direction, wherein

in a measurement operation of a surface position information of the object, the encoder system, the measurement system, and the position measuring unit are used.

313. The exposure apparatus according to claim 308, the apparatus further comprising:

a mark detection system that detects a mark on the object, wherein

in a detection operation of the mark, the encoder system and the mark detection system are used.

314. The exposure apparatus according to claim 290, the apparatus further comprising:

an interferometer system that measures positional information of the movable body in at least the first and second directions, wherein

to drive the movable body, the measurement information of the encoder system is used in an exposure operation, and the measurement information of the interferometer system is used in an operation that is different from the exposure operation.

315. The exposure apparatus according to claim 314 wherein

in a detection operation of a mark and/or the surface position information of the object, the measurement information of the encoder system is used.

316. The exposure apparatus according to claim 314, wherein

at least a part of the measurement information of the interferometer system is used in the exposure operation.

317. The exposure apparatus according to claim 290 wherein

of a plurality of heads of the encoder system, the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on positional information of the head used for the measurement of the positional information of the movable body in a plane parallel to the predetermined plane, and the measurement information of the encoder system.

318. The exposure apparatus according to claim 290 wherein

the positional information of a plurality of heads of the head unit in a surface parallel to the predetermined plane is measured.

319. An exposure apparatus that exposes an object with an energy beam, the apparatus comprising:

a movable body that holds the object and is movable at least in a first and second directions which are orthogonal in a predetermined plane;

an encoder system in which one of a grating section and a head unit is arranged on a surface of the movable body where the object is held and the other is arranged facing the surface of the movable body, and positional information of the movable body in the predetermined plane is measured by a head that faces the grating section of a plurality of heads of the head unit; and

a controller that controls a position of the movable body in the predetermined plane, based on positional information of the head used for measuring the positional information in a surface parallel to the predetermined plane and measurement information of the encoder system.

320. An exposure apparatus that exposes an object with an energy beam, the apparatus comprising:

a movable body that holds the object and is movable at least in a first and second directions which are orthogonal in a predetermined plane;

an encoder system in which one of a grating section and a head unit is arranged on a surface of the movable body where the object is held and the other is arranged facing the surface of the movable body, and positional information of the movable body in the predetermined plane is measured by a head that faces the grating section of a plurality of heads of the head unit; and

a controller that measures positional information of the plurality of heads of the head unit in a surface parallel to the predetermined plane and controls a position of the movable body in the predetermined plane, based on positional information that has been measured and measurement information of the encoder system.

321. An exposure method of exposing an object with an energy beam wherein

the object is mounted on a movable body that can move in at least a first and second direction which are orthogonal in a predetermined plane, whereby

positional information of the movable body is measured using an encoder system in which one of a grating section and a head unit is arranged on a surface of the movable body where the object is mounted and the other is arranged facing the surface of the movable body, and positional information of the movable body in the predetermined plane is measured by a head that faces the grating section of a plurality of heads of the head unit, and

the positional information which should be measured by a head after a switching during the switching of the head used for the measurement that accompanies the movement of the movable body is decided, based on positional information measured by a head before the switching and positional information of the movable body in a direction different from the first and second directions.

322. The exposure method according to claim 321 wherein

the positional information which should be measured by the head after the switching is decided so that a position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is maintained before and after the switching.

323. The exposure method according to claim 321 wherein

the measurement is continued while switching the head used for the measurement to another head during the movement of the movable body, and the measurement of the positional information of the movable body is performed by the another head using the positional information that has been decided.

324. The exposure method according to claim 321 wherein

positional information measured by the head before the switching is corrected, based on positional information of the movable body in the different direction, and the positional information that has been corrected is set as an initial value of the positional information measured by the head after the switching.

325. The exposure method according to claim 321 wherein

the different direction includes the rotational direction in the predetermined plane.

326. The exposure method according to claim 325 wherein

positional information of the movable body in the different direction is obtained from the measurement information of the encoder system.

327. The exposure method according to claim 321 wherein

the grating section is arranged with the first direction serving as a longitudinal direction, and the head unit has the plurality of heads placed apart in the second direction.

328. The exposure method according to claim 321 wherein

the grating section has a pair of a first grating section whose longitudinal direction is the first direction and is placed apart in the second direction and a pair of a second grating section whose longitudinal direction is the second direction and is placed apart in the first direction, and

the head unit has a pair of a first head unit having a plurality of a first head placed apart in the second direction that face the pair of the first grating section on exposure and a pair of a second head unit having a plurality of a second head placed apart in the first direction that face the pair of the second grating section on exposure.

329. The exposure method according to claim 328 wherein

positional information of the movable body in the first and second directions is measured by at least three of the pair of the first head units and the pair of the second head units.

330. The exposure method according to claim 321 wherein

the switching is performed in a state where the head before the switching and the head after the switching both face the grating section.

331. The exposure method according to claim 321 wherein

the grating section is arranged on a surface of the movable body, and the head unit is arranged facing the surface of the movable body.

332. The exposure method according to claim 321 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least one of the head unit and the grating section and the measurement information of the encoder system.

333. The exposure method according to claim 332 wherein

the correction information compensates for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least optical properties of the head unit.

334. The exposure method according to claim 332 wherein

the correction information compensates for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least one of flatness and formation error of the grating section.

335. The exposure method according to claim 332 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

336. The exposure method according to claim 332 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

337. The exposure method according to claim 321 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to displacement of the movable body in the direction that is different from the first and second directions on the measurement and the measurement information of the encoder system.

338. The exposure method according to claim 337 wherein

the different direction includes at least one of a direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane, a rotational direction around an axis orthogonal to the predetermined plane, and a rotational direction around an axis parallel to the predetermined plane.

339. The exposure method according to claim 337 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

340. The exposure method according to claim 337 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

341. The exposure method according to claim 321 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to gradient of the movable body with respect to the predetermined plane and the measurement information of the encoder system.

342. The exposure method according to claim 341 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

343. The exposure method according to claim 341 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

344. The exposure method according to claim 321 wherein

a measurement system is further used to measure the positional information of the movable body in a third direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane by a sensor which faces the grating of a plurality of sensors arranged on the same side as the head unit, and

the position of the movable body in the third direction is controlled based on measurement information of the measurement system.

345. The exposure method according to claim 344 wherein

the measurement system measures the positional information in the third direction and inclination information of the movable body with a plurality of sensors that face the grating section.

346. The exposure method according to claim 344 wherein

of positional information of the movable body in directions of six degrees of freedom, positional information in directions of three degrees of freedom including the first direction, the second direction and a rotational direction in the predetermined plane is measured by the encoder system, and positional information in the remaining directions of three degrees of freedom is measured by the measurement system.

347. The exposure method according to claim 346 wherein

the position of the movable body in at least the exposure operation is controlled, based on the positional information measured in directions of six degrees of freedom.

348. The exposure method according to claim 344 wherein

in a measurement operation of a surface position information of the object, in addition to the encoder system and the measurement system, a position measuring unit is further used to measure the positional information of the object in the third direction.

349. The exposure method according to claim 344 wherein

in a detection operation of the mark, the encoder system and the mark detection system are used.

350. The exposure method according to claim 321 wherein

to drive the movable body, the measurement information of the encoder system is used in an exposure operation, and the measurement information of the interferometer system that measures the positional information of the movable body in at least the first and second directions is used in an operation that is different from the exposure operation.

351. The exposure method according to claim 350 wherein

in a detection operation of a mark and/or the surface position information of the object, the measurement information of the encoder system is used.

352. The exposure method according to claim 350 wherein

at least a part of the measurement information of the interferometer system is used in the exposure operation.

353. The exposure method according to claim 321 wherein

a position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on positional information of the head used for measuring the positional information of the movable body in a surface parallel to the predetermined plane of the plurality of heads in the encoder system and measurement information of the encoder system.

354. The exposure method according to claim 321 wherein

positional information of the plurality of heads of the head unit in a surface parallel to the predetermined plane is measured.

355. A device manufacturing method including a lithography process wherein

in the lithography process, an exposure method according to claim 321 is used to expose a sensitive object mounted on the movable body, and to form a pattern on the sensitive object.

356. An exposure method of exposing an object with an energy beam wherein

the object is mounted on a movable body that can move in at least a first and second direction which are orthogonal in a predetermined plane, whereby

positional information of the movable body is measured using an encoder system in which one of a grating section and a head unit is arranged on a surface of the movable body where the object is mounted and the other is arranged facing the surface of the movable body, and positional information of the movable body in the predetermined plane is measured by a head that faces the grating section of a plurality of heads of the head unit, and

the measurement is continued while switching the head used for the measurement to another head during the movement of the movable body, and a position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled based on measurement information of the encoder system measured by the another head and positional information of the movable body in a direction different from the first and second directions on the switching.

357. The exposure method according to claim 356 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the positional information of the movable body in the different direction.

358. The exposure method according to claim 356 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the positional information of the movable body in the different direction so as to compensate for a measurement error of the encoder system caused by displacement of the movable body in the different direction on the switching, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

359. The exposure method according to claim 356 wherein

positional information measured by the head before the switching is set as an initial value of positional information measured by the another head.

360. The exposure method according to claim 356 wherein

the different direction includes the rotational direction in the predetermined plane.

361. The exposure method according to claim 360 wherein

positional information of the movable body in the different direction is obtained from the measurement information of the encoder system.

362. The exposure method according to claim 356 wherein

the grating section is arranged with the first direction serving as a longitudinal direction, and the head unit has the plurality of heads placed apart in the second direction.

363. The exposure method according to claim 356 wherein

the grating section has a pair of a first grating section whose longitudinal direction is the first direction and is placed apart in the second direction and a pair of a second grating section whose longitudinal direction is the second direction and is placed apart in the first direction, and

the head unit has a pair of a first head unit having a plurality of a first head placed apart in the second direction that face the pair of the first grating section on exposure and a pair of a second head unit having a plurality of a second head placed apart in the first direction that face the pair of the second grating section on exposure.

364. The exposure method according to claim 363 wherein

positional information of the movable body in the first and second directions is measured by at least three of the pair of the first head units and the pair of the second head units.

365. The exposure method according to claim 356 wherein

the switching is performed in a state where the head before the switching and the head after the switching both face the grating section.

366. The exposure method according to claim 356 wherein

the grating section is arranged on a surface of the movable body, and the head unit is arranged facing the surface of the movable body.

367. The exposure method according to claim 356 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least one of the head unit and the grating section and the measurement information of the encoder system.

368. The exposure method according to claim 367 wherein

the correction information compensates for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least optical properties of the head unit.

369. The exposure method according to claim 367 wherein

the correction information compensates for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least one of flatness and formation error of the grating section.

370. The exposure method according to claim 367 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

371. The exposure method according to claim 367 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

372. The exposure method according to claim 356 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to displacement of the movable body in the direction that is different from the first and second directions on the measurement and the measurement information of the encoder system.

373. The exposure method according to claim 372 wherein

the different direction includes at least one of a direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane, a rotational direction around an axis orthogonal to the predetermined plane, and a rotational direction around an axis parallel to the predetermined plane.

374. The exposure method according to claim 372 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

375. The exposure method according to claim 372 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

376. The exposure method according to claim 356 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to gradient of the movable body with respect to the predetermined plane and the measurement information of the encoder system.

377. The exposure method according to claim 376 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

378. The exposure method according to claim 376 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

379. The exposure method according to claim 356 wherein

a measurement system is further used to measure the positional information of the movable body in a third direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane by a sensor which faces the grating of a plurality of sensors arranged on the same side as the head unit, and

the position of the movable body in the third direction is controlled based on measurement information of the measurement system.

380. The exposure method according to claim 379 wherein

the measurement system measures the positional information in the third direction and inclination information of the movable body with a plurality of sensors that face the grating section.

381. The exposure method according to claim 379 wherein

of positional information of the movable body in directions of six degrees of freedom, positional information in directions of three degrees of freedom including the first direction, the second direction and a rotational direction in the predetermined plane is measured by the encoder system, and positional information in the remaining directions of three degrees of freedom is measured by the measurement system.

382. The exposure method according to claim 381 wherein

the position of the movable body in at least the exposure operation is controlled, based on the positional information measured in directions of six degrees of freedom.

383. The exposure method according to claim 379 wherein

in a measurement operation of a surface position information of the object, in addition to the encoder system and the measurement system, a position measuring unit is further used to measure the positional information of the object in the third direction.

384. The exposure method according to claim 379 wherein

in a detection operation of the mark, the encoder system and the mark detection system are used.

385. The exposure method according to claim 356 wherein

to drive the movable body, the measurement information of the encoder system is used in an exposure operation, and the measurement information of the interferometer system that measures the positional information of the movable body in at least the first and second directions is used in an operation that is different from the exposure operation.

386. The exposure method according to claim 385 wherein

in a detection operation of a mark and/or the surface position information of the object, the measurement information of the encoder system is used.

387. The exposure method according to claim 385 wherein

at least a part of the measurement information of the interferometer system is used in the exposure operation.

388. The exposure method according to claim 356 wherein

a position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on positional information of the head used for measuring the positional information of the movable body in a surface parallel to the predetermined plane of the plurality of heads in the encoder system and measurement information of the encoder system.

389. The exposure method according to claim 356 wherein

positional information of the plurality of heads of the head unit in a surface parallel to the predetermined plane is measured.

390. A device manufacturing method including a lithography process wherein

in the lithography process, an exposure method according to claim 356 is used to expose a sensitive object mounted on the movable body, and to form a pattern on the sensitive object.

391. An exposure method of exposing an object with an energy beam wherein

the object is mounted on a movable body that can move in at least a first and second direction which are orthogonal in a predetermined plane, whereby

positional information of the movement body is measured using an encoder system in which one of a grating section and a head unit is arranged on a surface of the movable body where the object is held and the other is arranged facing the surface of the movable body and which also measures positional information of the movable body in the first direction, the second direction, and rotational direction in the predetermined plane with at least three heads that face the grating section of a plurality of heads of the head unit, and

the measurement is continued while switching the three heads used for the measurement to three heads having at least one different head during the movement of the movable body, and during the switching, position information that should be measured by at least one head of the three heads after the switching which are different from the three heads before the switching is decided, based on positional information measured by the three heads before the switching.

392. The exposure method according to claim 391 wherein

the positional information which should be measured by the at least one head after the switching is decided so that the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is maintained before and after the switching.

393. The exposure method according to claim 391 wherein

the positional information that has been decided is set as an initial value of the positional information measured by the at least one head after the switching so as to continuously link the positional information of the movable body that is measured before and after the switching.

394. The exposure method according to claim 391 wherein

the grating section has a pair of a first grating section whose longitudinal direction is the first direction and is placed apart in the second direction and a pair of a second grating section whose longitudinal direction is the second direction and is placed apart in the first direction, and

the head unit has a pair of a first head unit having a plurality of a first head placed apart in the second direction that face the pair of the first grating section on exposure and a pair of a second head unit having a plurality of a second head placed apart in the first direction that face the pair of the second grating section on exposure, whereby positional information of the movable body is measured by at least three of the pair of the first head units and the pair of the second head units.

395. The exposure method according to claim 391 wherein

the switching is performed in a state where the head before the switching and the head after the switching both face the grating section.

396. The exposure method according to claim 391 wherein

the grating section is arranged on a surface of the movable body, and the head unit is arranged facing the surface of the movable body.

397. The exposure method according to claim 391 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least one of the head unit and the grating section and the measurement information of the encoder system.

398. The exposure method according to claim 397 wherein

the correction information compensates for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least optical properties of the head unit.

399. The exposure method according to claim 397 wherein

the correction information compensates for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to at least one of flatness and formation error of the grating section.

400. The exposure method according to claim 397 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

401. The exposure method according to claim 397 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

402. The exposure method according to claim 391 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to displacement of the movable body in the direction that is different from the first and second directions on the measurement and the measurement information of the encoder system.

403. The exposure method according to claim 402 wherein

the different direction includes at least one of a direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane, a rotational direction around an axis orthogonal to the predetermined plane, and a rotational direction around an axis parallel to the predetermined plane.

404. The exposure method according to claim 402 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

405. The exposure method according to claim 402 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

406. The exposure method according to claim 391 wherein

the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on correction information to compensate for the measurement error of the encoder system that occurs due to gradient of the movable body with respect to the predetermined plane and the measurement information of the encoder system.

407. The exposure method according to claim 406 wherein

one of the measurement information of the encoder system and a target position where the movable body is positioned is corrected, based on the correction information.

408. The exposure method according to claim 406 wherein

the object is exposed by the energy beam via a mask, and at the time of the exposure, a position of the mask is controlled based on the correction information so as to compensate for the measurement error, while the movable body is driven based on the measurement information of the encoder system.

409. The exposure method according to claim 391 wherein

a measurement system is further used to measure the positional information of the movable body in a third direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane by a sensor which faces the grating of a plurality of sensors arranged on the same side as the head unit, and

the position of the movable body in the third direction is controlled based on measurement information of the measurement system.

410. The exposure method according to claim 409 wherein

the measurement system measures the positional information in the third direction and inclination information of the movable body with a plurality of sensors that face the grating section.

411. The exposure method according to claim 409 wherein

of positional information of the movable body in directions of six degrees of freedom, positional information in directions of three degrees of freedom including the first direction, the second direction and a rotational direction in the predetermined plane is measured by the encoder system, and positional information in the remaining directions of three degrees of freedom is measured by the measurement system.

412. The exposure method according to claim 411 wherein

the position of the movable body in at least the exposure operation is controlled, based on the positional information measured in directions of six degrees of freedom.

413. The exposure method according to claim 409 wherein

in a measurement operation of a surface position information of the object, in addition to the encoder system and the measurement system, a position measuring unit is further used to measure the positional information of the object in the third direction.

414. The exposure method according to claim 409 wherein

in a detection operation of the mark, the encoder system and the mark detection system are used.

415. The exposure method according to claim 391 wherein

to drive the movable body, the measurement information of the encoder system is used in an exposure operation, and the measurement information of the interferometer system that measures the positional information of the movable body in at least the first and second directions is used in an operation that is different from the exposure operation.

416. The exposure method according to claim 415 wherein

in a detection operation of a mark and/or the surface position information of the object, the measurement information of the encoder system is used.

417. The exposure method according to claim 415 wherein

at least a part of the measurement information of the interferometer system is used in the exposure operation.

418. The exposure method according to claim 391 wherein

a position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on positional information of the head used for measuring the positional information of the movable body in a surface parallel to the predetermined plane of the plurality of heads in the encoder system and measurement information of the encoder system.

419. The exposure method according to claim 391 wherein

positional information of the plurality of heads of the head unit in a surface parallel to the predetermined plane is measured.

420. A device manufacturing method including a lithography process wherein

in the lithography process, an exposure method according to claim 391 is used to expose a sensitive object mounted on the movable body, and to form a pattern on the sensitive object.

421. An exposure method of exposing an object with an energy beam wherein

the object is mounted on a movable body that can move in at least a first and second direction which are orthogonal in a predetermined plane, whereby

one of a grating section and a head unit is arranged on a surface of the movable body where the object is held and the other is arranged facing the surface of the movable body, and the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled, based on measurement information of an encoder system that measures positional information of the movable body in the predetermined plane by a head that faces the grating section of a plurality of heads of the head unit, and positional information of the head used to measure the positional information in a surface parallel to the predetermined plane.

422. A device manufacturing method including a lithography process wherein

in the lithography process, an exposure method according to claim 421 is used to expose a sensitive object mounted on the movable body, and to form a pattern on the sensitive object.

423. An exposure method of exposing an object with an energy beam wherein

the object is mounted on a movable body that can move in at least a first and second direction which are orthogonal in a predetermined plane, whereby

of an encoder system in which one of a grating section and a head unit is arranged on a surface of the movable body where the object is held and the other is arranged facing the surface of the movable body, and positional information of the movable body in the predetermined plane is measured by a head that faces the grating section of a plurality of heads of the head unit, the positional information of a plurality of heads of the head unit in a surface parallel to the predetermined plane is measured, and

based on measured positional information and the measurement information of the encoder system, the position of the movable body in the predetermined plane is controlled.

424. A device manufacturing method including a lithography process wherein

in the lithography process, an exposure method according to claim 423 is used to expose a sensitive object mounted on the movable body, and to form a pattern on the sensitive object.