Developing apparatus, developing method, and storage medium
A developing apparatus including a substrate holder that holds a substrate horizontally; means for atomizing a surface treatment liquid used to improve wettability of the substrate with a developer; a first spray nozzle that sprays the atomized surface treatment liquid onto the substrate; and a developer supply nozzle that supplies a developer onto the substrate to which the substrate treatment liquid has been sprayed. The surface tension of the atomized surface treatment liquid with respect to the substrate is lower than the surface tension of the surface treatment liquid with respect to the substrate. The atomization suppresses the fact that the surface treatment liquid gathers on a certain portion of the surface of the substrate. The surface treatment liquid can be easily supplied onto the entire surface of the substrate, and improve wettability of the substrate with the developer.
1. A developing apparatus comprising:
a substrate holder that holds a substrate, the substrate being prepared by coating a surface of the substrate with a resist and exposing the resist-coated substrate to light, such that the substrate is capable of rotating around a vertical rotational axis and is horizontally oriented;
means for atomizing a surface treatment liquid that includes a tank storing the surface treatment liquid used to improve wettability of the substrate with a developer and an oscillator applying an ultrasonic wave to the surface treatment liquid stored in the tank so as to generate an atomized surface treatment liquid, wherein the diameter of a particle of the atomized surface treatment liquid is 3 μm or less, and the surface treatment liquid atomizing means is connected to a carrier gas supply section which supplies a carrier gas that transfers the atomized surface treatment liquid;
a first spray nozzle that is connected to the surface treatment liquid atomizing means, the first spray nozzle spraying the atomized surface treatment liquid onto the substrate;
a transfer mechanism that moves the first spray nozzle between a position located above a central portion of the substrate and a position located above an edge portion of the substrate held by the substrate holder;
means for atomizing the developer;
a second spray nozzle that is connected to the developer atomizing means, the second spray nozzle spraying the atomized developer for development onto the substrate, wherein the surface treatment liquid includes the developer, and a density of the atomized developer from the second spray nozzle is higher than a density of the developer included in the surface treatment liquid;
a cleaning nozzle that is located above the substrate held by the substrate holder, the cleaning nozzle supplying a cleaning liquid onto the substrate to which the developer has been supplied to clean the substrate; and
a control unit that controls an operation of the second spray nozzle and an operation of the cleaning nozzle, wherein
the control unit controls the second spray nozzle and the cleaning nozzle so that a step of supplying the atomized developer from the second spray nozzle onto the substrate and a step of supplying the cleaning liquid from the cleaning nozzle onto the substrate are alternately repeated.
2. The developing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the surface treatment liquid atomizing means further includes a flow rate controller that controls a flow rate of the carrier gas which is supplied from the carrier gas supply section to an atomizing section;
wherein the control unit outputs a control signal relevant to the flow rate of the carrier gas, to the flow rate controller.