Stage apparatus, exposure apparatus, and exposure method

An exposure apparatus that exposes a substrate through a liquid with a light from a projection optical system, the exposure apparatus comprising:

• a stage which has a substrate holder that holds the substrate and a plate member provided around the substrate holder so as to surround the substrate on the substrate holder and which is movable relative to the projection optical system;
• a liquid supply mechanism which includes a supply port arranged above the stage so as to be face-to-face with the stage at a more outward position than an optical path of the light from the projection optical system with respect to an optical axis of the projection optical system and which supplies the liquid onto the stage from the supply port;
• and
• a liquid recovery mechanism which includes a recovery port arranged above the stage so as to be face-to-face with the stage at a more outward position than the supply port with respect to the optical axis and which recovers, from the recovery port, a liquid supplied from the supply port, wherein
• the liquid supply mechanism and the liquid recovery mechanism form a liquid immersion region so as to include the optical path on part of the stage with a liquid supplied from the supply port, and
• the stage has a passageway provided below the plate member and recovers, by the passageway, the liquid that infiltrates a gap between the plate member and the substrate by moving with respect to the liquid immersion region in a state where the substrate is held by the substrate holder.