Coating apparatus, coating method and coating-film forming apparatus

1. A coating method, which uses a coating apparatus including a rotatable tray rotatable about a vertically extending axis, having a recessed portion for accommodating a substrate and rotatable together with the substrate, a nozzle for supplying a coating liquid, and an applicator for spreading the coating liquid,

wherein the recessed portion has a depth which is substantially the same as a thickness of the substrate so that an upper surface of a substrate and an upper surface of the tray will be in the same plane when the substrate is accommodated into the recessed portion and the recessed portion has a similar shape to the substrate, the method comprising the steps of:

placing a substrate into the recessed portion of the tray;

positioning the nozzle over a non-recessed portion of the upper surface of the tray at an upstream side of the substrate with respect to the moving direction of the applicator as a reference;

supplying a coating liquid from the nozzle so as to form a coating liquid pool only on the non-recessed portion of the upper surface of the tray at the upstream side of the substrate with respect to the moving direction of the applicator, the coating liquid pool having an arc shape or linear shape, and having a volume sufficient to form a layer of coating liquid over the entire upper surface of the substrate at a uniform thickness;

after the coating liquid pool is fully formed on the non-recessed portion of the upper surface of the tray, moving the applicator in a horizontal direction in a state of maintaining a certain distance with respect to the upper surface of the substrate accommodated into the recessed portion and spreading the coating liquid of the coating liquid pool over the entire upper surface of the substrate to form the coating liquid layer having the uniform thickness; and

releasing the substrate from the recessed portion of the tray.

2. The coating method according to claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:

cleaning the tray by rotating the tray about the vertically extending axis while a cleaning liquid is supplied to the upper surface of the tray from which the substrate has been released; and

drying the tray by continuing tray rotation about the vertically extending axis after the cleaning liquid is dispersed.

3. The coating method according to claim 1 , wherein the applicator is a squeegee or a roller and is moved linearly in a direction parallel to a surface of the substrate when the substrate is in the recessed portion.

4. The coating method according to claim 1 , wherein the coating apparatus further comprises a spinner chuck which can be lifted and lowered and is provided in the recessed portion of the tray, and said releasing step involves lifting the spinner chuck.

5. The coating method according to claim 1 , wherein the recessed portion of the tray has a size and shape which are substantially the same as those of the substrate such that, when the substrate is placed in the recessed portion, the substrate substantially completely fills the recessed portion when viewed in plan.

6. The coating method according to claim 1 , wherein the nozzle is a tubular member which extends perpendicular to the upper surface of the tray and has a discharge opening at a lower end thereof, and the coating liquid pool is formed by discharging all of the coating liquid from the tubular member while rotating the tray by a predetermined angle and/or moving the tubular member over the non-recessed portion of the upper surface of the tray.

7. The coating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the applicator is a squeegee having an arc shape when viewed in plan.