ALIGNER AND EXPOSURE METHOD

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely prevent a cumulative exposure from changing suddenly at joints between adjacent shot regions (including four corners), irrespective of the position of a shot region on a substrate, without using a density wedge glass. SOLUTION: In a control device 19, when a transfer image is formed on four shot regions arranged adjacent to each other in a matrix composed of two rows and two columns on a substrate P for exposure, so as to make the pattern transfer image of the adjacent regions overlapping partially with each other, a visual field stop device 7 is controlled so as to enable the edges of movable blinds corresponding to the adjacent sides at least in the direction of the row or column of a matrix to be displaced continuously in the same direction corresponding in this direction. As a result, the overlap parts of all the adjacent four shot regions are prevented from changing suddenly in a cumulative light exposure, that is, a pattern can be prevented from suddenly changing in line width.