The technology for neutralizing static electricity by soft X-ray radiation has been newly developed. This technology involves ionization of gas molecules in the vicinity of a charged substrate to generate ions and electrons to reduce electrostatic potential. The ULSI device substrate and liquid crystal display substrate tend to get charged instantly to a high potential level when they are handled in the manufacturing process. Soft X-ray radiation is adequate in air or O₂ gas at atmosphereic pressure. This newly developed neutralization method is effective to be superior to the conventional technique, i.e., an ionizer by using corona disaharge ,in every aspect. The new method features excellent neutralization capability and is able to completely reduce electrostatic potential to 0 V within a short time. Moreover, this is a very clean antistatic technology free from particle generation, ozone generation, and electromagnetic noise, which are problems in using the corona discharge ionizer.