After forming a resist film made from a chemically amplified resist material,
pattern exposure is carried out by selectively irradiating the resist film with
exposing light while supplying, onto the resist film, water that includes triphenylsulfonium
nonaflate, that is, an acid generator, and is circulated and temporarily stored
in a solution storage. After the pattern exposure, the resist film is subjected
to post-exposure bake and is then developed with an alkaline developer. Thus, a
resist pattern made of an unexposed portion of the resist film can be formed in
a good shape.