PURPOSE: To contrive to improve the flatness of a wafer at the time of chucking by a method wherein a cleaning station is anew provided and annular chucks for the wafer are respectively arranged on stations that follow the cleaning station.

CONSTITUTION: A wafer 1 is held by an annular chuck 20 on a cleaning station 5 transferred from a wafer carrier 4 and while the rear of the wafer 1 is brushed, a foreign substance is sucked and is removed. Then, the wafer 1 is transferred to a pre-alignment station 3 provided with a wafer chuck 20, is placed on the wafer chuck 20 and after the orientation flat line of the wafer 1 is roughly aligned to a position, the wafer 1 is further transferred and is placed on a wafer chuck 20 of an alignment station 2. The wafer 1 is chucked by the chuck 20 on the station 2, which is an exposure position, is finely aligned in directions (of rotation) x, y and θ and thereafter, an exposure is performed. Thereby, even if a foreign substance is left or a foreign substance is anew adhered, the flatness of the wafer on the chucks 20 is not reduced.