Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method
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.
1. A substrate processing method for processing a substrate in a substrate processing apparatus that is arranged adjacent to an exposure device and includes a processing section and an interface, the substrate processing method comprising the steps of:
subjecting the substrate to processing before exposure processing by the processing section;
transferring and receiving the substrate processed by the processing section from the processing section to the exposure device by said interface;
transferring and receiving the substrate after the exposure processing by the exposure device from the exposure device to the processing section by the interface;
subjecting the substrate to processing after the exposure processing by the processing section; and
subjecting the substrate to drying processing in at least one of the processing section or the interface, wherein the step of subjecting the substrate to the drying processing includes the steps of:
rotating the substrate around an axis perpendicular to the substrate while holding the substrate substantially horizontally,
supplying a rinse liquid to a center of the rotated substrate by a rinse liquid supplier, to form a liquid layer of the rinse liquid on the substrate, and
moving the rinse liquid supplier, to continuously supply the rinse liquid from the center of the rotated substrate to its peripheral portion, and
the step of rotating the substrate includes a step of adjusting a rotation speed of the substrate such that by a centrifugal force, a thin layer region of the liquid layer of the rinse liquid whose thickness is smaller than a thickness of the remaining region of the liquid layer is formed at the center of the substrate, and the thin layer region gradually expands, by moving the rinse liquid supplier; and
the step of supplying the rinse liquid includes the steps of:
moving the rinse liquid supplier such that the rinse liquid is continuously supplied from the center of the substrate to a predetermined position between the center and the peripheral portion of the substrate;
temporarily stopping the movement of the rinse liquid supplier for a predetermined time period with the rinse liquid supplied to the predetermined position of the substrate, such that the enlargement of the thin layer region is stopped; and
restarting the movement of the rinse liquid supplier such that the rinse liquid is continuously supplied from the predetermined position to the peripheral portion of the substrate, wherein the predetermined position and the predetermined time period are previously set such that only one drying core is formed at the center of the substrate only by a centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the substrate at the step of temporarily stopping the movement of the rinse liquid supplier.
2. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein said step of rotating the substrate includes the step of gradually or continuously changing the rotational speed of the substrate such that the substrate is rotated at a first rotational speed with the rinse liquid supplied to the center of the substrate, and rotated at a second rotational speed lower than said first rotational speed with the rinse liquid supplied to the peripheral portion of the substrate.
3. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein said step of supplying the rinse liquid further includes the step of gradually or continuously changing the flow rate of the rinse liquid such that the rinse liquid is supplied to the center of the substrate at a first flow rate, and supplied to the peripheral portion of the substrate at a second flow rate lower than said first flow rate.
4. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein said step of supplying the rinse liquid includes the step of gradually or continuously changing the supply pressure of the rinse liquid such that the rinse liquid is supplied to the center of the substrate at a first supply pressure and supplied to the peripheral portion of the substrate at a second supply pressure lower than said first supply pressure.
5. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein said step of subjecting the substrate to drying processing further includes the step of discharging gas to the center of the substrate with the rinse liquid supplied to a position spaced apart from the center of the substrate.
6. The substrate processing method according to claim 5 , wherein said step of subjecting the substrate to drying processing further includes the step of moving the position where the gas is supplied on the substrate such that the position moves from the center of the substrate to the peripheral portion of the substrate at a position closer to the center of the substrate than the position where the rinse liquid is supplied.
7. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein:
said step of subjecting the substrate to processing before exposure processing includes the step of forming a photosensitive film composed of a photosensitive material on the substrate;
said step of subjecting the substrate to processing after the exposure processing includes the step of subjecting the substrate to development processing, and
said step of subjecting the substrate to the drying processing includes the step of subjecting the substrate to the drying processing after the exposure processing and before the development processing.
8. A substrate processing method for processing a substrate in a substrate processing apparatus that is arranged adjacent to an exposure device and includes a processing section and an interface, the substrate processing method comprising the steps of:
subjecting the substrate to processing before exposure processing by the processing section;
transferring and receiving the substrate processed by the processing section from the processing section to the exposure device by said interface;
transferring and receiving the substrate after the exposure processing by the exposure device from the exposure device to the processing section by the interface;
subjecting the substrate to processing after the exposure processing by the processing section; and
subjecting the substrate to drying processing in at least one of the processing section and the interface, wherein the step of subjecting the substrate to the drying processing includes the steps of:
rotating the substrate around an axis perpendicular to the substrate while holding the substrate substantially horizontally,
supplying a rinse liquid to a center of the rotated substrate by a rinse liquid supplier, to form a liquid layer of the rinse liquid on the substrate, and
moving the rinse liquid supplier, to continuously supply the rinse liquid from the center of the rotated substrate to its peripheral portion, and
the step of rotating the substrate includes a step of adjusting a rotation speed of the substrate such that by a centrifugal force, a thin layer region of the liquid layer of the rinse liquid whose thickness is smaller than a thickness of the remaining region of the liquid layer is formed at the center of the substrate, and the thin layer region gradually expands, by moving the rinse liquid supplier; and
the step of supplying the rinse liquid includes the steps of:
moving the rinse liquid supplier by a predetermined distance such that the rinse liquid is continuously supplied from the center of the substrate to a predetermined position between the center and the peripheral portion of the substrate;
temporarily stopping the movement of the rinse liquid supplier for a predetermined time period with the rinse liquid supplied to the predetermined position of the substrate, such that the enlargement of the thin layer region is stopped, and only one drying core is formed at the center of the substrate only by a centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the substrate; and
restarting the movement of the rinse liquid supplier such that the rinse liquid is continuously supplied from the predetermined position to the peripheral portion of the substrate, wherein
the step of adjusting the rotational speed of the substrate includes a step of increasing the rotational speed of the substrate during a period in which the rinse liquid supplier is moved by the predetermined distance.