Workpiece holding mechanism, exposure apparatus, and workpiece holding method

An exposure apparatus, comprising:

• a workpiece holding mechanism including
• a stage on which a plate-like workpiece is placed,
• a pressing mechanism that includes a plurality of protrusions provided independently from the stage and disposed to come into contact with a circumferential edge portion of the workpiece from a front side of the workpiece, the front side being opposite to the stage, and presses the circumferential edge portion of the workpiece against the stage by the plurality of protrusions, and
• a clamp mechanism that includes a clamp portion provided to the stage and configured to come into contact with the circumferential edge portion of the workpiece from the front side of the workpiece at a location between the protrusions without interfering with the plurality of protrusions, and presses the circumferential edge portion of the workpiece against the stage by the clamp portion;
• and
• an exposure section that exposes a pattern onto the workpiece held by the stage.