Abstract: After a development liquid on a substrate is washed away with a rinse liquid, the rotational speed of the substrate is reduced, so that a liquid layer of the rinse liquid is formed over a top surface of the substrate. Thereafter, the rotational speed of the substrate is increased. The increase in the rotational speed of the substrate causes a centrifugal force to be slightly greater than tension, thereby causing the liquid layer to be held on the substrate with the thickness thereof in its peripheral portion increased and the thickness thereof at the center thereof decreased. Then, gas is discharged toward the center of the liquid layer from a gas supply nozzle, so that a hole is formed at the center of the liquid layer. This causes tension that is balanced with a centrifugal force exerted on the peripheral portion of the liquid layer to disappear. Furthermore, the rotational speed of the substrate is further increased while the gas is discharged. Thus, the liquid layer moves outward from the substrate.

Abstract: A method and apparatus capable of eliminating occurrence of a development failure when a DI water discharge nozzle 20 is scanned to dry a substrate by spinning. A substrate is held in a horizontal posture by a spin chuck and rotated about a vertical axis by a rotation motor, and when an outlet of the nozzle is scanned from a position opposed to a center of the substrate W to a position opposed to a circumferential edge while a cleaning solution being discharged, immediately after the nozzle has started to move, only one dried core is produced in the vicinity of the center of the substrate, and thus production of not less than two dried cores in the vicinity of the center of the substrate is prevented. The dried region is spread all over the surface of the substrate.

Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus comprises an indexer block, an anti-reflection film processing block, a resist film processing block, a development processing block, a resist cover film processing block, a resist cover film removal block, a cleaning/drying processing block, and an interface block. An exposure device is arranged adjacent to the interface block in the substrate processing apparatus. The exposure device subjects a substrate to exposure processing by means of an immersion method. In the edge cleaning unit in the cleaning/drying processing block, a brush abuts against an end of the rotating substrate, so that the edge of the substrate before the exposure processing is cleaned. At this time, the position where the substrate is cleaned is corrected.

Abstract: A substrate processing method includes forming a first film on the upper surface of the substrate and supplying a first removal liquid to a peripheral edge of said first film to remove a first annular region at the peripheral edge. The method also includes correcting a relative positional relationship between the substrate and a first removal nozzle, forming a second film so as to cover the first film, and supplying a second removal liquid to a peripheral edge of said second film to remove a second annular region at the peripheral edge. The method also includes correcting a relative positional relationship between the substrate and a second removal nozzle so that said second annular region at the peripheral edge of said second film is removed in a predetermined second constant width and carrying the substrate into each of a first and second film formation units by a carry-in device.

Abstract: A method and apparatus capable of eliminating occurrence of a development failure when a DI water discharge nozzle 20 is scanned to dry a substrate by spinning. A substrate is held in a horizontal posture by a spin chuck and rotated about a vertical axis by a rotation motor, and when an outlet of the nozzle is scanned from a position opposed to a center of the substrate W to a position opposed to a circumferential edge while a cleaning solution being discharged, immediately after the nozzle has started to move, only one dried core is produced in the vicinity of the center of the substrate, and thus production of not less than two dried cores in the vicinity of the center of the substrate is prevented. The dried region is spread all over the surface of the substrate.

Abstract: A method capable of eliminating occurrence of a development failure when a DI water discharge nozzle 20 is scanned to dry a substrate by spinning is provided. A substrate W is held in a horizontal posture by a spin chuck 10 and rotated about a vertical axis by a rotation motor 14, and when an outlet of the nozzle 20 is scanned from a position opposed to a center of the substrate W to a position opposed to a circumferential edge while a cleaning solution being discharged, immediately after the nozzle 20 has started to move, only one dried core is produced in the vicinity of the center of the substrate W, and thus production of not less than two dried cores in the vicinity of the center of the substrate W is prevented. The dried region is spread all over the surface of the substrate W.

Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus comprises an indexer block, an anti-reflection film processing block, a resist film processing block, a development processing block, a resist cover film processing block, a resist cover film removal block, a cleaning/drying processing block, and an interface block. An exposure device is arranged adjacent to the interface block in the substrate processing apparatus. The exposure device subjects a substrate to exposure processing by means of an immersion method. In the edge cleaning unit in the cleaning/drying processing block, a brush abuts against an end of the rotating substrate, so that the edge of the substrate before the exposure processing is cleaned. At this time, the position where the substrate is cleaned is corrected.

Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus comprises an indexer block, an anti-reflection film processing block, a resist film processing block, a development processing block, a resist cover film processing block, a resist cover film removal block, a cleaning/drying processing block, and an interface block. An exposure device is arranged adjacent to the interface block in the substrate processing apparatus. The exposure device subjects a substrate to exposure processing by means of an immersion method. In the edge cleaning unit in the cleaning/drying processing block, a brush abuts against an end of the rotating substrate, so that the edge of the substrate before the exposure processing is cleaned. At this time, the position where the substrate is cleaned is corrected.

Abstract: After a substrate is cleaned, a liquid layer of a rinse liquid is formed so as to cover one surface of the substrate. Then, a liquid supply nozzle moves outward from above the center of the substrate. The liquid supply nozzle is stopped once at the time point where it moves by a predetermined distance from above the center of the substrate. In this time period, the liquid layer is divided within a thin layer region by a centrifugal force, so that a drying core is formed at the center of the liquid layer. Thereafter, the liquid supply nozzle moves outward again, so that a drying region where no rinse liquid exists expands on the substrate with the drying core as its starting point.

Abstract: A method of processing a substrate in a substrate processing apparatus that is arranged adjacent to an exposure device and includes first, second and third processing units, includes forming a photosensitive film on the substrate by said first processing unit before exposure processing by said exposure device and applying washing processing to the substrate by supplying a washing liquid to the substrate in said second processing unit after the formation of said photosensitive film and before the exposure processing. The method also includes applying drying processing to the substrate in said second processing unit after the washing processing by said second processing unit and before the exposure processing and applying development processing to the substrate by said third processing unit after the exposure processing. Applying the drying processing to the substrate includes the step of supplying an inert gas onto the substrate, to which the washing liquid is supplied.

Abstract: A method of processing a substrate in a substrate processing apparatus that is arranged adjacent to an exposure device and includes first, second and third processing units, includes the steps of: forming a photosensitive film made of a photosensitive material on the substrate by said first processing unit before exposure processing by said exposure device. The method also includes applying washing processing to the substrate by said second processing unit after the formation of said photosensitive film by said first processing unit and before the exposure processing by said exposure device and transporting the substrate after the washing processing to said exposure device. The method further includes transporting the substrate from said exposure device and applying development processing by said third processing unit to the substrate transported after the exposure processing by said exposure device.

Abstract: The transporting process from cleaning and drying processing of a substrate in a cleaning/drying processing unit in a cleaning/drying processing group to post-exposure bake (PEB) of the substrate in a thermal processing group for post-exposure bake in a cleaning/drying processing block is described below. First, after the substrate after exposure processing is subjected to the cleaning and drying processing in the cleaning/drying processing group, a sixth central robot takes out the substrate from the cleaning/drying processing group and carries that substrate into the thermal processing group for post-exposure bake in the cleaning/drying processing block.

Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus comprises an indexer block, an anti-reflection film processing block, a resist film processing block, a development processing block, and an interface block. An exposure device is arranged adjacent to an interface block. The interface block comprises a drying processing group including two drying processing units and an interface transport mechanism. After a substrate is subjected to exposure processing by the exposure device, the substrate is transported to the drying processing units in the drying processing group by the interface transport mechanism, where the substrate is subjected to cleaning and drying processings.

Abstract: A substrate processing method comprises the step of subjecting a substrate to drying processing in at least one of a processing section and an interface, wherein the step of subjecting the substrate to the drying processing comprises the steps of: rotating the substrate at a first rotational speed around an axis perpendicular to the substrate, while holding the substrate horizontally, forming a liquid layer on the substrate in a state where the substrate is rotated at the first rotational speed, gradually and continuously increasing the rotational speed of the substrate to a second rotational speed after the formation of the liquid layer, and starting discharging a gas to the liquid layer on the substrate while the substrate is rotated at the second rotational speed.

Abstract: After a substrate is cleaned, a liquid supply nozzle moves outward from above the center of the substrate while discharging a rinse liquid with the substrate rotated. In this case, a drying region where no rinse liquid exists expands on the substrate. When the liquid supply nozzle moves to above a peripheral portion of the substrate, the rotational speed of the substrate is reduced. The movement speed of the liquid supply nozzle is maintained as it is. Thereafter, the discharge of the rinse liquid is stopped while the liquid supply nozzle moves outward from the substrate. Thus, the drying region spreads over the whole substrate so that the substrate is dried.

Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes an anti-reflection film processing block, a resist film processing block, and a resist cover film processing block. In the processing blocks, an anti-reflection film, a resist film, and a resist cover film are formed on a substrate, respectively. Additionally, a film formed at a peripheral edge of the substrate is removed. The film formed at the peripheral edge of the substrate is removed by supplying a removal liquid capable of dissolving and removing the film to the peripheral edge of the substrate during rotation. When the peripheral edge of the film is removed, the position of the substrate is corrected such that the center of the substrate coincides with the center of a rotation shaft.

Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus comprises an indexer block, an anti-reflection film processing block, a resist film processing block, a development processing block, a processing block for liquid immersion exposure processing, and an interface block. An exposure device is arranged adjacent to the interface block. The processing block for liquid immersion exposure processing comprises a coating processing group for resist cover film and a removal processing group for resist cover film. The resist cover film is formed in the processing block for liquid immersion exposure processing before the exposure processing. The resist cover film is removed in the processing block for liquid immersion exposure processing after the exposure processing.

Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus comprises an interface block. An exposure device is arranged adjacent to the interface block. The interface block includes first and second cleaning/drying processing units. A substrate W is subjected to cleaning and drying processing before exposure processing in the first cleaning/drying processing unit, while being subjected to cleaning and drying processing after the exposure processing in the second cleaning/drying processing unit.

Abstract: The transporting process from cleaning and drying processing of a substrate in a cleaning/drying processing unit in a cleaning/drying processing group to post-exposure bake (PEB) of the substrate in a thermal processing group for post-exposure bake in a cleaning/drying processing block is described below. First, after the substrate after exposure processing is subjected to the cleaning and drying processing in the cleaning/drying processing group, a sixth central robot takes out the substrate from the cleaning/drying processing group and carries that substrate into the thermal processing group for post-exposure bake in the cleaning/drying processing block.

Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus comprises an indexer block, an anti-reflection film processing block, a resist film processing block, a development processing block, and an interface block. An exposure device is arranged adjacent to an interface block. The interface block comprises a drying processing group including two drying processing units and an interface transport mechanism. After a substrate is subjected to exposure processing by the exposure device, the substrate is transported to the drying processing units in the drying processing group by the interface transport mechanism, where the substrate is subjected to cleaning and drying processings.