Exposure method and apparatus

There is provided an exposure method that includes the steps of forming a phase shift mask having a desired pattern and a cyclic dummy pattern overlaid onto the desired pattern, a part of the desired pattern to be resolved by effects of the dummy pattern being thicker than the dummy pattern's line width, illuminating the phase shift mask by using illumination light having a peak near or on an optical axis in an intensity distribution to transfer the desired pattern onto the exposure plane by projecting light having passed through the phase shift mask onto the exposure plane.