Abstract: Disclosed is a substrate processing apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus includes a first nozzle that ejects droplets of a chemical liquid toward a front surface of a substrate, the droplets being formed by mixing a gas supplied by a gas supply mechanism and a heated chemical liquid supplied by a heated chemical liquid supply mechanism with each other, and a second nozzle that ejects the heated deionized water supplied by the heated deionized water supply mechanism toward the rear surface of the substrate. The first nozzle supplies the droplets to the front surface of the substrate heated from the rear surface thereof by the heated deionized water supplied from the second nozzle.

Abstract: A substrate liquid processing apparatus includes a substrate holding device which holds a substrate in horizontal position and rotate the substrate around vertical axis of the substrate, a liquid discharge device which is positioned underneath central portion of lower surface of the substrate in the horizontal position and discharges processing liquid toward the lower surface of the substrate, and a gas discharge passage structure which has a gas discharge passage formed around the discharge device such that drying gas passes through. The discharge device has a head including a cover which is extending beyond upper end of the passage such that the cover is covering the upper end of the passage, a liquid discharge port which is protruding from the cover toward the substrate in the horizontal position, and a curved portion which is formed between the port and cover such that the curved portion has a surface bending downward.

Abstract: A first holding plate and a second holding plate are provided. The first holding plate has a first flat plate portion facing a bottom surface of a substrate and holds the substrate so as to form a gap between the first flat plate portion and the substrate as a first gap, and the second holding plate has a second flat plate portion facing the bottom surface of the substrate and holds the substrate so as to form a gap between the second flat plate portion and the substrate as a second gap. Depending on a processing to be performed, any one of the first holding plate and the second holding plate is mounted on a rotational shaft of a shaft mechanism that includes a fluid supply unit configured to supply a fluid to the bottom surface of the substrate and the rotational shaft configured to rotate the substrate. The processing is performed on the substrate by supplying the fluid to the bottom surface of the substrate from the fluid supply unit.

Abstract: Disclosed is a substrate processing apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus includes a first nozzle that ejects droplets of a chemical liquid toward a front surface of a substrate, the droplets being formed by mixing a gas supplied by a gas supply mechanism and a heated chemical liquid supplied by a heated chemical liquid supply mechanism with each other, and a second nozzle that ejects the heated deionized water supplied by the heated deionized water supply mechanism toward the rear surface of the substrate. The first nozzle supplies the droplets to the front surface of the substrate heated from the rear surface thereof by the heated deionized water supplied from the second nozzle.

Abstract: A first holding plate and a second holding plate are provided. The first holding plate has a first flat plate portion facing a bottom surface of a substrate and holds the substrate so as to form a gap between the first flat plate portion and the substrate as a first gap, and the second holding plate has a second flat plate portion facing the bottom surface of the substrate and holds the substrate so as to form a gap between the second flat plate portion and the substrate as a second gap. Depending on a processing to be performed, any one of the first holding plate and the second holding plate is mounted on a rotational shaft of a shaft mechanism that includes a fluid supply unit configured to supply a fluid to the bottom surface of the substrate and the rotational shaft configured to rotate the substrate. The processing is performed on the substrate by supplying the fluid to the bottom surface of the substrate from the fluid supply unit.

Abstract: A substrate liquid processing apparatus includes a substrate holding device which holds a substrate in horizontal position and rotate the substrate around vertical axis of the substrate, a liquid discharge device which is positioned underneath central portion of lower surface of the substrate in the horizontal position and discharges processing liquid toward the lower surface of the substrate, and a gas discharge passage structure which has a gas discharge passage formed around the discharge device such that drying gas passes through. The discharge device has a head including a cover which is extending beyond upper end of the passage such that the cover is covering the upper end of the passage, a liquid discharge port which is protruding from the cover toward the substrate in the horizontal position, and a curved portion which is formed between the port and cover such that the curved portion has a surface bending downward.

Abstract: A coating and developing system for forming a resist film on a substrate by coating the substrate with a liquid resist and developing the resist film after the resist film has been processed by immersion exposure that forms a liquid layer on the surface of the substrate is capable of reducing difference in property among resist films formed on substrates. The coating and developing system includes: a cleaning unit; a carrying means; and a controller. A set time interval is determined such that the substrate is subjected to the immersion exposure process after contact angle drop rate at which contact angle between the cleaning liquid and a surface of the substrate drops has dropped from an initial level at the wetting time point when the surface of the substrate is wetted with the cleaning liquid to a level far lower than the initial level.

Abstract: Disclosed is a substrate processing apparatus which can achieve an improvement in throughput and suppress the reduction in the operation rate of the entire apparatus even when a problem occurs. In the disclosed apparatus, at the rear end of a substrate loading block including a loading/unloading arm for transferring a wafer to a carrier, a first, a second, and a third processing blocks are disposed in that order. In the substrate loading block, transfer stages are provide for transferring a wafer from the loading/unloading arm to the first processing block, for transferring a wafer to the second processing block, and for transferring a wafer to the third processing block so that the wafer on the transfer stage is directly carried to the second processing block by a first direct carrying mechanism, and to the third processing block by a second direct carrying mechanism.

Abstract: There are disposed two second substrate transferring apparatuses 60a and 60b, which are configured to transfer substrates W between substrate processing units 40 and a substrate accommodating part 30, in the up and down direction so as to correspond to the respective groups to which the plurality of substrate processing units 40 are divided. In addition, there is disposed a substrate displacing apparatus 35 that is configured to displace a substrate W, which has been transferred by a first substrate transferring apparatus 50 to the substrate accommodating part 30 and is not yet processed by the wafer processing unit 40, to another position in the up and down direction in the substrate accommodating part 30, as well as displace a substrate W, which has been processed by the wafer processing unit 40a and transferred by the second substrate transferring apparatus 60a to the substrate accommodating part 30, to another position in the up and down direction in the substrate accommodating part 30.

Abstract: A coating and developing system for forming a resist film on a substrate by coating the substrate with a liquid resist and developing the resist film after the resist film has been processed by immersion exposure that forms a liquid layer on the surface of the substrate is capable of reducing difference in property among resist films formed on substrates. The coating and developing system includes: a cleaning unit; a carrying means; and a controller. A set time interval is determined such that the substrate is subjected to the immersion exposure process after contact angle drop rate at which contact angle between the cleaning liquid and a surface of the substrate drops has dropped from an initial level at the wetting time point when the surface of the substrate is wetted with the cleaning liquid to a level far lower than the initial level.

Abstract: A coating and developing system for forming a resist film on a substrate by coating the substrate with a liquid resist and developing the resist film after the resist film has been processed by immersion exposure that forms a liquid layer on the surface of the substrate is capable of reducing difference in property among resist films formed on substrates. The coating and developing system includes: a cleaning unit for cleaning a surface of a substrate coated with a resist film; a carrying means for taking out the substrate from the cleaning unit and carrying the substrate to an exposure system that carries out an immersion exposure process; and a controller for controlling the carrying means such that a time interval between a wetting time point when the surface of the substrate is wetted with the cleaning liquid by the cleaning unit and a delivery time point when the substrate is delivered to the exposure system is equal to a predetermined set time interval.

Abstract: Leakage of an atmosphere of a solvent vapor used by a smoothing process for smoothing the surface of a resist pattern outside from a smoothing unit is prevented to facilitate incorporating the smoothing unit into a coating and developing system. A substrate processing system has a coating and developing block 20, a smoothing block 50, an airflow producing unit 60 for producing down airflow that flows down from above the coating and developing block 20 and the smoothing block 50, and a main controller 100 for controlling the airflow producing unit 60.

Abstract: Disclosed is a substrate processing apparatus which can achieve an improvement in throughput and suppress the reduction in the operation rate of the entire apparatus even when a problem occurs. In the disclosed apparatus, at the rear end of a substrate loading block including a loading/unloading arm for transferring a wafer to a carrier, a first, a second, and a third processing blocks are disposed in that order. In the substrate loading block, transfer stages are provide for transferring a wafer from the loading/unloading arm to the first processing block, for transferring a wafer to the second processing block, and for transferring a wafer to the third processing block so that the wafer on the transfer stage is directly carried to the second processing block by a first direct carrying mechanism, and to the third processing block by a second direct carrying mechanism.

Abstract: A coating and developing apparatus comprises a washing section for washing the surface of a substrate after it has been subjected to a dipping exposure process in an exposing apparatus, and a first substrate carrying means adapted to transfer the substrate carried out from the exposing apparatus after the dipping exposure process to the washing section. The first substrate carrying means is controlled by a control means. Namely, the control means controls the first substrate carrying means such that the substrate can be washed in the washing section in a period of time prior to a time zone in which the size of liquid drops remaining on the substrate due to the dipping exposure process becomes smaller quite rapidly, based on a carrying-out ready signal for the substrate from the exposing apparatus, by using a relationship between the time elapsed from the end of the dipping exposure process and the size of liquid drops remaining on the substrate due to the dipping exposure process.

Abstract: There are disposed two second substrate transferring apparatuses 60a and 60b, which are configured to transfer substrates W between substrate processing units 40 and a substrate accommodating part 30, in the up and down direction so as to correspond to the respective groups to which the plurality of substrate processing units 40 are divided. In addition, there is disposed a substrate displacing apparatus 35 that is configured to displace a substrate W, which has been transferred by a first substrate transferring apparatus 50 to the substrate accommodating part 30 and is not yet processed by the wafer processing unit 40, to another position in the up and down direction in the substrate accommodating part 30, as well as displace a substrate W, which has been processed by the wafer processing unit 40a and transferred by the second substrate transferring apparatus 60a to the substrate accommodating part 30, to another position in the up and down direction in the substrate accommodating part 30.

Abstract: Disclosed are a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate cleaning method to satisfactorily clean the entire circumferential periphery of a substrate, including an upper surface circumferential periphery, an end, and a lower surface circumferential periphery of the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate supporter to support the substrate, a first cleaner to clean the upper surface circumferential periphery of the substrate with a pressurized cleaning liquid, and a second cleaner to clean the end and the lower surface circumferential periphery of the substrate while contacting the end and the lower surface circumferential periphery of the substrate with a cleaning member. The first cleaner cleans the upper surface circumferential periphery of the substrate, and the second cleaner cleans the end and the lower surface circumferential periphery of the substrate.

Abstract: A substrate carrying apparatus includes an arm body; supporting portion provided in the arm body and adapted to support a region inside the periphery of the rear face of the substrate; a one-side restricting portion and an other-side restricting portion provided at opposite positions across the periphery of the substrate to restrict the peripheral positions of the substrate; and liquid receivers provided between each supporting portion and each restricting portion. A liquid drop attached to the rear peripheral portion of the substrate flows down on the bottom face of each liquid receiver. Even though repeated substrate carrying operations are performed and thus the liquid drop is accumulated in each liquid receiver, there is no risk that the liquid drop in each liquid receiver would be scattered in the air by the action of the periphery of the substrate and hence the scattered liquid would be attached again onto the surface of the substrate.

Abstract: Leakage of an atmosphere of a solvent vapor used by a smoothing process for smoothing the surface of a resist pattern outside from a smoothing unit is prevented to facilitate incorporating the smoothing unit into a coating and developing system. A substrate processing system has a coating and developing block 20, a smoothing block 50, an airflow producing unit 60 for producing down airflow that flows down from above the coating and developing block 20 and the smoothing block 50, and a main controller 100 for controlling the airflow producing unit 60.

Abstract: A centrifugal fan device includes a centrifugal fan having a hub portion having a cylindrical outer peripheral surface and a plurality of blade portions extended in a centrifugal direction from the outer peripheral surface of the hub portion, and a fan casing which rotatably accommodates the centrifugal fan therein and includes a pair of inlets having an equal diameter and disposed opposite to each other with the centrifugal fan interposed therebetween, a convex portion is provided on a positive pressure face of the blade portion for receiving a wind when the blade portion is rotated, and one of ends of the convex portion is disposed on an inside of a projection region of the blade portion surrounded by an outer periphery of the inlet projected onto the blade portion and the other end of the convex portion is disposed on an outside of the projection region and an inside separated from a tip of the blade portion by a first predetermined distance.

Abstract: A coating and developing system is capable of preventing the contamination of a substrate with particles while the same coats a surface of a substrate with a resist film and develops the resist film after the substrate has been processed by immersion exposure. The coating and developing system includes: a processing block including coating units for forming a resist film on a surface of a substrate and developing units for processing the resist film formed on the substrate with a developer, and an interface block connected to the processing block and an exposure system for carrying out an immersion exposure process. The interface block includes: substrate cleaning units for cleaning the substrate processed by the immersion exposure process, a first carrying mechanism and a second carrying mechanism. The first carrying mechanism carries a substrate processed by immersion exposure to the substrate cleaning unit. The second carrying mechanism carries the substrate cleaned by the substrate cleaning unit.