JP7702320B2 - Substrate Processing Equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that forms a coating film on the upper surface of a substrate.

Substrate processing equipment is used to perform various processes on substrates such as semiconductor substrates, substrates for FPDs (Flat Panel Displays) such as liquid crystal displays or organic EL (Electro Luminescence) displays, substrates for optical disks, substrates for magnetic disks, substrates for magneto-optical disks, substrates for photomasks, ceramic substrates, or substrates for solar cells.

As an example of a substrate processing apparatus, Patent Document 1 describes a rotary substrate processing apparatus that forms a resist film on a substrate. In this substrate processing apparatus, resist liquid is supplied to the center of a substrate that is held in a horizontal position and rotates. The supplied resist liquid spreads toward the peripheral edge of the substrate, forming a film of resist liquid over the entire upper surface of the substrate. The substrate with the resist liquid film formed thereon is subjected to a predetermined process such as a drying process. As a result, a resist film is formed on the upper surface of the substrate.

As described above, the method of forming a coating film (resist film) on the top surface of a rotating substrate by supplying a coating liquid (resist liquid) to the top surface of the substrate is called spin coating. It is known that resist films formed by spin coating are prone to coating unevenness such as striations. Striations are patterns that occur due to differences in film thickness when a coating film is formed on a substrate, and are formed radially from the center of the substrate to the outer periphery.

JP 2019-046850 A

In addition to the above-mentioned spin coating, there is another method for forming a coating film on a substrate by scanning a coating liquid nozzle having a slit-shaped discharge port over the substrate. This method for forming a coating film is called slit coating. When a coating film is formed by slit coating, striations do not occur in the coating film that is formed. However, the variation in thickness of a coating film formed on a substrate by slit coating is greater than the variation in thickness of a coating film formed on a substrate by spin coating.

The object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus that enables the formation of a coating film on a substrate with improved uniformity of film thickness.

(1) A substrate processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a first plate member on which a substrate having at least a portion of a circular outer periphery is placed, the first plate member being configured to hold the substrate placed on the first plate member in a predetermined fixed position; a liquid supply unit provided at a position above the first substrate holding unit, having a slit-shaped discharge port, and discharging a coating liquid from the discharge port onto an upper surface of the substrate; a relative movement unit configured to relatively move the first plate member and the liquid supply unit so that a film of coating liquid is formed over the entire upper surface of the substrate held by the first substrate holding unit by the coating liquid discharged from the liquid supply unit; and a temperature adjustment unit configured to adjust the temperature of at least one of the coating liquid guided to the discharge port in the liquid supply unit and the coating liquid applied onto the substrate , and when adjusting the temperature of the coating liquid guided to the discharge port in the liquid supply unit, the temperature adjustment unit makes the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to at least a portion of the peripheral portion of the substrate different from the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to the central portion of the substrate .

In the substrate processing apparatus, the first plate member and the liquid supply unit move relative to each other while the substrate is held on the first plate member. At this time, the coating liquid is discharged from the slit-shaped discharge port of the liquid supply unit onto the upper surface of the substrate, forming a film of the coating liquid over the entire upper surface of the substrate. In this way, the method of forming a coating film by scanning the liquid supply unit having a slit-shaped discharge port over the substrate can reduce the occurrence of coating unevenness.

In addition, in the above-mentioned substrate processing apparatus, temperature adjustment is performed on the coating liquid guided to the discharge port in the liquid supply section and the coating liquid applied onto the substrate. In other words, temperature adjustment is performed on at least one of the coating liquid before it is supplied to the substrate and the coating liquid after it is supplied to the substrate. This makes it possible to make the thickness of the coating film formed on the substrate uniform.

(2) A substrate processing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention has a first plate member on which a substrate having at least a partially circular outer periphery is placed, the first plate member holding the substrate placed on the first plate member in a predetermined fixed position, a liquid supply unit provided at a position above the first substrate holding unit, the liquid supply unit having a slit-shaped discharge port and discharging a coating liquid from the discharge port onto an upper surface of the substrate, and a liquid supply unit connecting the first plate member and the liquid supply unit so that a film of the coating liquid is formed over the entire upper surface of the substrate held by the first substrate holding unit by the coating liquid discharged from the liquid supply unit. the liquid supply unit includes a coating liquid flow path that guides the coating liquid supplied from the coating liquid supply system to the discharge port, and the temperature adjustment unit includes a coating liquid adjustment unit that adjusts the temperature of each of the coating liquids guided to the multiple portions of the discharge port through the coating liquid flow path so that the flow rate distribution of the coating liquid discharged from the multiple portions of the discharge port of the liquid supply unit becomes a predetermined flow rate distribution .

The viscosity of the coating liquid is lower as the temperature of the coating liquid is higher, and higher as the temperature of the coating liquid is lower. The amount of coating liquid flowing through the coating liquid flow path per unit time, i.e., the flow rate of the coating liquid, is higher as the viscosity of the coating liquid is lower, and is lower as the viscosity of the coating liquid is higher.

Therefore, according to the above configuration, the temperature of the coating liquid flowing through the multiple parts of the coating liquid flow path is adjusted, and a predetermined amount of coating liquid is supplied to multiple parts of the substrate from the multiple parts of the discharge port. This allows the predetermined flow rate distribution of the coating liquid discharged from the multiple parts of the discharge port to be appropriately determined, thereby improving the uniformity of the film thickness of the coating film formed on the substrate.

(3) The coating liquid adjustment unit may adjust the temperature of the coating liquid guided to each of the multiple portions of the discharge port so that the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate is lower than the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to the center of the substrate.

According to the above configuration, the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate is lowered, and therefore the viscosity of the coating liquid supplied to at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate is increased. This allows the amount of coating liquid supplied to at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate to be smaller than the amount of coating liquid supplied to other portions. As a result, the thickness of the coating film formed on at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate is prevented from being larger than the other portions.

(4) The liquid supply unit is disposed so that the outlet extends in a first direction, and the relative movement unit relatively moves the liquid supply unit and the first substrate holding unit in a second direction intersecting the first direction so that the outlet of the liquid supply unit passes through a space above the substrate while the substrate is held in a fixed position by the first substrate holding unit, and a circular region of a constant width including the outer peripheral end and a central region inside the circular region are defined on the substrate placed on the first plate member, and the coating liquid adjustment unit may adjust the temperature of the coating liquid discharged from the portions of the multiple portions of the outlet of the liquid supply unit that overlap the circular region of the substrate placed on the first plate member in a planar view to a predetermined first temperature during the relative movement between the liquid supply unit and the first substrate holding unit by the relative movement unit, and adjust the temperature of the coating liquid discharged from the portions of the multiple portions of the outlet of the liquid supply unit that do not overlap the circular region of the substrate placed on the first plate member in a planar view to a second temperature higher than the first temperature.

According to the above configuration, the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to the annular region of the substrate is lower than the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to the central region of the substrate. Therefore, the viscosity of the coating liquid supplied to the annular region of the substrate is higher than the viscosity of the coating liquid supplied to the central region of the substrate. This allows the amount of coating liquid supplied to the annular region of the substrate to be smaller than the amount of coating liquid supplied to the central region of the substrate. As a result, the thickness of the coating film formed on the outer periphery of the substrate is prevented from becoming larger than other portions.

(5) A substrate processing apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention includes a first plate member on which a substrate having at least a partially circular outer periphery is placed, and a first substrate holding unit that holds the substrate placed on the first plate member in a predetermined fixed position; a liquid supply unit that is provided at a position above the first substrate holding unit, has a slit-shaped discharge port, and discharges a coating liquid from the discharge port onto an upper surface of the substrate; a relative movement unit that moves the first plate member and the liquid supply unit relatively so that a film of coating liquid is formed over the entire upper surface of the substrate held by the first substrate holding unit by the coating liquid discharged from the liquid supply unit; and a temperature adjustment unit that adjusts the temperature of at least one of the coating liquid guided to the discharge port in the liquid supply unit and the coating liquid applied onto the substrate, wherein the first plate member has a plurality of regions, and the temperature adjustment unit includes a first plate adjustment unit that adjusts the temperature of each of the plurality of regions of the first plate member.

According to the above configuration, the temperature of the multiple regions of the first plate member is appropriately adjusted, so that the viscosity of the coating liquid located in the annular region of the substrate can be prevented from increasing. This can improve the uniformity of the thickness of the coating film formed on the substrate.

(6) The multiple regions of the first plate member include multiple first regions overlapping at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate placed on the first plate member and multiple second regions overlapping a central portion of the substrate placed on the first plate member, and the dimension of each of the multiple first regions in the radial direction of the substrate may be smaller than the dimension of each of the multiple second regions in the radial direction of the substrate.

In this case, the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to the outer periphery of the substrate can be adjusted with greater precision than the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to the center of the substrate.

(7) The first plate adjustment unit may adjust the temperature of each of the multiple regions of the first plate member so that the temperature of a portion overlapping at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate placed on the first plate member is higher than the temperature of a portion overlapping the center of the substrate placed on the first plate member.

According to the above configuration, the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate is increased, and therefore the viscosity of the coating liquid supplied to at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate is decreased. This prevents the thickness of the coating film formed on at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate from becoming larger than other portions due to the increased viscosity of the coating liquid located on at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate.

(8) The substrate processing apparatus includes a coating device that coats a substrate with a coating liquid, and a liquid film drying device that dries a film of the coating liquid formed on the substrate by the coating device, the coating device including a first substrate holding unit, a liquid supply unit, and a relative movement unit, the liquid film drying device includes a second plate member on which a substrate on which a film of the coating liquid has been formed by the coating device is placed, a second substrate holding unit that holds the substrate placed on the second substrate member in a predetermined fixed position, a chamber having an internal space that accommodates the second substrate holding unit, and a liquid film drying unit that dries the film of the coating liquid formed on the substrate held by the second substrate holding unit by reducing the pressure in the space inside the chamber while the substrate is held by the second substrate holding unit, the second plate member has multiple regions, and the temperature adjustment unit may include a second plate adjustment unit that adjusts the temperature of each of the multiple regions of the second plate member.

In this case, in the liquid film drying device, the internal space of the chamber is depressurized while the substrate is held on the second plate member in the chamber, thereby drying the film of coating liquid on the substrate. At this time, the temperature of each of the multiple regions of the second plate member is adjusted. Therefore, by appropriately adjusting the temperature of each of the multiple regions of the second plate member, it is possible to prevent the viscosity of the coating liquid located in the annular region of the substrate from increasing. This makes it possible to improve the uniformity of the thickness of the coating film formed on the substrate.

(9) The multiple regions of the second plate member may include multiple third regions overlapping at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate placed on the second plate member and multiple fourth regions overlapping a central portion of the substrate placed on the second plate member, and the dimensions of the multiple third regions in the radial direction of the substrate may be smaller than the dimensions of the multiple fourth regions in the radial direction of the substrate.

In this case, the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to the outer periphery of the substrate can be adjusted with greater precision than the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to the center of the substrate.

(10) The second plate adjustment unit may adjust the temperature of each of the multiple regions of the second plate member so that the temperature of a portion overlapping at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate placed on the second plate member is higher than the temperature of a portion overlapping the center of the substrate placed on the second plate member.

According to the above configuration, the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate is increased, and therefore the viscosity of the coating liquid supplied to at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate is decreased. This prevents the thickness of the coating film formed on at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate from becoming larger than other portions due to the increased viscosity of the coating liquid located on at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate.

According to the present invention, it is possible to form a coating film on a substrate with improved uniformity of film thickness.

1 is a basic configuration diagram of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic external perspective view of the coating apparatus of FIG. 1 . FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the tendency of film thickness variation occurring in normal slit coating. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the nozzle device of FIG. 2 . 3A and 3B are an external perspective view and a longitudinal sectional view of the nozzle device of FIG. 2. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a modified example of the nozzle block. 5A to 5C are diagrams showing a specific example of a coating process for a substrate using the nozzle device of FIG. 4. 5A to 5C are diagrams showing a specific example of a coating process for a substrate using the nozzle device of FIG. 4. 5A to 5C are diagrams showing a specific example of a coating process for a substrate using the nozzle device of FIG. 4. 5A to 5C are diagrams showing a specific example of a coating process for a substrate using the nozzle device of FIG. 4. 5A to 5C are diagrams showing a specific example of a coating process for a substrate using the nozzle device of FIG. 4. 5A to 5C are diagrams showing a specific example of a coating process for a substrate using the nozzle device of FIG. 4. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the stage device of FIG. 2 . FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the stage device of FIG. 2 . 15 is a diagram showing an example of an auxiliary device for temperature adjustment attached to the stage device of FIG. 14. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing another example of the configuration of the stage device. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the coating apparatus. FIG. 2 is a schematic external perspective view of the liquid film drying device of FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system of the liquid film drying device.

A substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the term "substrate" refers to a substrate for an FPD (Flat Panel Display) used in a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display device, a semiconductor substrate, a substrate for an optical disk, a substrate for a magnetic disk, a substrate for a magneto-optical disk, a substrate for a photomask, a ceramic substrate, or a substrate for a solar cell. In addition, the substrate described below has a circular shape in a plan view, excluding the portion where the notch is formed.

[1] Basic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a coating apparatus 100, a liquid film drying apparatus 200, a post-processing apparatus 300, a transport apparatus 400, and a control apparatus 500.

The coating apparatus 100 supplies a predetermined coating liquid to the upper surface of an unprocessed substrate W to form a liquid film of the coating liquid. The coating liquid in this embodiment is a coating liquid for a resist film (resist liquid) or a coating liquid for an anti-reflective film (anti-reflective liquid). The configuration and operation of the coating apparatus 100 will be described in detail below.

The substrate W on which a liquid film of the coating liquid has been formed by the coating device 100 is carried into the liquid film drying device 200. The liquid film drying device 200 performs a drying process on the liquid film formed on the substrate W. As a result, a coating film FF is formed on the substrate W. Details of the liquid film drying device 200 will be described later.

The substrate W on which the coating film FF has been formed by the liquid film drying device 200 is carried into the post-processing device 300. The post-processing device 300 performs a predetermined process on the substrate W on which the coating film FF has been formed. For example, the post-processing device 300 in FIG. 1 includes a spin chuck 310, a cup 320, an edge rinse nozzle 331, and multiple (two in this example) back rinse nozzles 332.

In this case, the spin chuck 310 holds the substrate W in a horizontal position by adsorbing the central portion of the lower surface of the substrate W on which the coating film FF is formed, and rotates the substrate W around a vertical axis.

The edge rinse nozzle 331 ejects a removing liquid that dissolves the coating film FF onto the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the substrate W rotated by the spin chuck 310. This removes a portion of the coating film FF formed from the peripheral portion of the upper surface to the outer periphery of the substrate W. The multiple back rinse nozzles 332 eject a removing liquid onto the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the substrate W rotated by the spin chuck 310. This removes deposits of the coating liquid adhering to the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the substrate W.

The cup 320 is provided to surround the spin chuck 310. The cup 320 receives the liquid that splashes from the substrate W when the removal liquid is supplied from the edge rinse nozzle 331 or the back rinse nozzle 332 toward the substrate W. The received liquid is recovered or discarded.

In addition, in the post-processing device 300, a drying process of the substrate W may be performed using an organic solvent (e.g., thinner). Alternatively, the post-processing device 300 is not limited to the above example, and may be configured to be capable of performing a heat treatment on the substrate W on which the coating film FF is formed, or may be configured to be capable of performing an exposure process on a part or all of the substrate W on which the coating film FF is formed.

The transport device 400 transports the substrate W between the coating device 100, the liquid film drying device 200, and the post-processing device 300. The control device 500 includes, for example, a CPU (central processing unit) and a memory, or a microcomputer, and provides various command signals related to substrate processing to the coating device 100, the liquid film drying device 200, the post-processing device 300, and the transport device 400.

[2] Configuration and Basic Operation of Coating Apparatus 100 Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the exterior of the coating apparatus 100 in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the coating apparatus 100 is mainly composed of a control unit 110, two stage supports 120, a stage device 130, two nozzle supports 140, and a nozzle device 150, and is housed in a housing not shown. In Fig. 2 and certain figures described later, arrows indicating mutually orthogonal X-direction, Y-direction, and Z-direction are attached to clarify the positional relationship. The X-direction and the Y-direction are mutually orthogonal in a horizontal plane, and the Z-direction corresponds to the vertical direction.

The control unit 110 controls the operation of each part of the coating device 100 in response to command signals and the like from the control device 500 in FIG. 1. The control unit 110 will be described in detail later. Each of the two stage supports 120 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in one direction, and is provided on the bottom surface of a housing (not shown) so as to extend along the X direction. A guide rail 121 extending along the longitudinal direction of the stage support 120 is provided on the upper surface of each stage support 120. The two stage supports 120 are also arranged so as to be aligned in the Y direction.

The stage device 130 is located between the two stage supports 120 in the Y direction and is supported by the two stage supports 120. The stage device 130 includes a plate member 131, a plate adjustment unit 132, a plurality of support pins 133, a pin lifting drive unit 134, and a suction drive unit 135.

The plate member 131 is made of stone having a rectangular flat plate shape, and constitutes the upper surface of the stage device 130. The substrate W to be processed is placed on a part of the plate member 131. The part of the plate member 131 on which the substrate W is placed (hereinafter referred to as the substrate placement part) has a number of air intake holes and a number of pin insertion holes (not shown) formed so as to penetrate the plate member 131 in the Z direction.

In the stage device 130, a plate adjustment unit 132, a plurality of support pins 133, a pin lifting drive unit 134, and a suction drive unit 135 are provided below a plate member 131. The plate adjustment unit 132 adjusts the temperature of the portion of the plate member 131 where the substrate is placed. Details of the plate adjustment unit 132 will be described later.

The multiple support pins 133 are supported by the pin lift drive unit 134 so that they extend in the vertical direction and overlap with multiple pin insertion holes provided in the substrate placement portion in a plan view. The pin lift drive unit 134 moves the multiple support pins 133 in the vertical direction based on the control of the control unit 110. As a result, the upper ends of the multiple support pins 133 move between a pin lift position above the plate member 131 and a pin lower position below the plate member 131.

As a result, when the substrate W is loaded into the coating apparatus 100, the unprocessed substrate W held by the transport device 400 in FIG. 1 is transferred onto the support pins 133 with the upper ends of the support pins 133 in the pin-up position. When the substrate W is unloaded from the coating apparatus 100, the processed substrate W supported on the support pins 133 is received by the transport device 400 in FIG. 1 with the upper ends of the support pins 133 in the pin-up position. Furthermore, when the substrate W is coated in the coating apparatus 100, the coating liquid is supplied to the substrate W placed on the substrate placement portion of the plate member 131 with the upper ends of the support pins 133 in the pin-down position.

The multiple intake holes formed in the plate member 131 are connected to the exhaust equipment of the factory through the suction drive unit 135 and an intake system (not shown). The suction drive unit 135 switches the intake path formed between the multiple intake holes and the intake system between an open state and a blocked state based on the control of the control unit 110. With this configuration, when a substrate W is placed on the substrate placement portion of the plate member 131, the suction drive unit 135 can open the intake path to adsorb and hold the substrate W on the substrate placement portion. Also, when the substrate W is adsorbed and held on the substrate placement portion, the suction drive unit 135 can release the substrate W from the plate member 131 by blocking the intake path.

Two nozzle supports 140 are provided on the upper surfaces of the two stage supports 120, respectively. The two nozzle supports 140 are arranged so as to be aligned in the Y direction. Each of the two nozzle supports 140 is movable in the X direction along the guide rail 121 of the stage support 120 on which the nozzle support 140 is provided.

The nozzle device 150 is located between the two nozzle supports 140 in the Y direction and is supported by the two nozzle supports 140. At least one of the two nozzle supports 140 incorporates an X-direction drive unit 141, a Z-direction drive unit 142, and a liquid supply unit 143.

The nozzle device 150 includes a nozzle block 151 and a nozzle adjustment unit 152. The nozzle block 151 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in one direction, and has a slit-shaped discharge port 14 (FIG. 4) extending in that direction on the lower surface. The nozzle block 151 is connected to a coating liquid supply system (not shown) via a liquid supply unit 143 provided in the nozzle support 140. Inside the nozzle block 151, a coating liquid flow path 13 (FIG. 4) connected to the discharge port 14 is formed. The liquid supply unit 143 of the nozzle support 140 includes, for example, a pump and a valve, and further supplies the coating liquid supplied from the coating liquid supply system to the nozzle block 151 based on the control of the control unit 110. As a result, in the nozzle block 151, the coating liquid supplied from the liquid supply unit 143 is discharged from the discharge port 14 through the coating liquid flow path 13. Alternatively, the liquid supply unit 143 stops the coating liquid supplied from the coating liquid supply system from being supplied to the nozzle block 151 based on the control of the control unit 110.

In this example, the nozzle block 151 is supported by two nozzle supports 140 so that the discharge port 14 of the nozzle block 151 extends in the Y direction. The nozzle adjustment unit 152 is configured to be able to adjust the temperature of the coating liquid flowing through the coating liquid flow path 13 in the nozzle block 151. Details of the nozzle device 150 will be described later.

The X-direction drive unit 141 includes an actuator such as a motor, and moves the nozzle support 140 in the X direction on the guide rail 121 of the stage support 120 based on the control of the control unit 110. The Z-direction drive unit 142 includes an actuator such as a motor, and moves the nozzle device 150 supported by the nozzle support 140 in the Z direction based on the control of the control unit 110. This makes it possible for the coating apparatus 100 to move the nozzle device 150 in the X and Z directions above the substrate W placed on the stage device 130, as shown by the white arrows AX and AY in FIG. 2.

During the coating process of the substrate W, the nozzle device 150 moves in the X direction in the space above the substrate W while the substrate W is held by suction on the plate member 131. At this time, the position (height) of the nozzle device 150 in the Z direction is such that, for example, the outlet 14 of the nozzle device 150 is brought sufficiently close to the top surface of the substrate W so that the coating liquid in the nozzle block 151 is drawn from the outlet 14 into the gap between the nozzle block 151 and the substrate W by capillary action. This method of supplying the coating liquid from the nozzle outlet onto the substrate W by utilizing capillary action is called capillary coating.

[3] Variation in film thickness distribution by slit coating A coating method in which a coating liquid nozzle having a slit-shaped discharge port (a so-called slit nozzle) is scanned over a substrate W is called slit coating. The above-mentioned capillary coating is an example of slit coating. Here, as explained in the problem to be solved by the invention, the coating film FF formed on the substrate W by slit coating is prone to variation in its film thickness.

Figure 3 is a diagram for explaining the tendency of film thickness variation that occurs during normal slit coating. As shown in the upper part of Figure 3, assume that the slit nozzle SN is scanned over the top surface of the substrate W at a constant speed, for example, while the coating liquid is ejected from the slit nozzle SN onto the substrate W. Here, in the example of Figure 3, the direction in which the slit nozzle SN moves relative to the substrate W is called the scan direction D1, and the direction perpendicular to the scan direction D1 is called the scan perpendicular direction D2.

The middle right of Figure 3 shows the film thickness distribution on a line L1 that is parallel to the scanning direction D1 and passes through the center of the substrate W for a coating film FF formed on the upper surface of the substrate W by the method in the upper part of Figure 3. In the graph in the middle right of Figure 3, the vertical axis indicates the film thickness of the coating film FF, and the horizontal axis indicates positions p10, p11, and p12 of the substrate W on the line L1 in the schematic diagram in the middle left of Figure 3. Position p10 is located at the center of the substrate W. Position p11 is located at one end of the substrate W in the scanning direction D1. Position p12 is located at the other end of the substrate W in the scanning direction D1. Furthermore, positions p11, p10, and p12 are arranged in this order in the scanning direction D1.

According to the graph in the middle right of Figure 3, the film thickness on the substrate W is locally large at positions p11 and p12. On the other hand, between positions p11 and p12, the film thickness on the substrate W gradually decreases from upstream to downstream in the scanning direction D1. In this case, for example, by appropriately changing the moving speed of the slit nozzle SN depending on the position on the substrate W, it is possible to uniformize the film thickness on the straight line L1 of the coating film FF.

The lower right of Figure 3 shows the film thickness distribution on a line L2 that is parallel to the scan orthogonal direction D2 and passes through the center of the substrate W for a coating film FF formed on the upper surface of the substrate W by the method in the upper part of Figure 3. In the graph in the lower right of Figure 3, the vertical axis indicates the film thickness of the coating film FF, and the horizontal axis indicates positions p10, p21, and p22 of the substrate W on the line L2 in the schematic diagram in the lower left of Figure 3. Position p10 is located at the center of the substrate W. Position p21 is located at one end of the substrate W in the scan orthogonal direction D2. Position p22 is located at the other end of the substrate W in the scan orthogonal direction D2. Furthermore, positions p21, p10, and p22 are arranged in this order in the scan orthogonal direction D2.

According to the graph on the lower right of Figure 3, the film thickness on the substrate W is locally large at positions p21 and p22 on the outer circumferential edge of the substrate W, and is relatively uniform in the rest of the substrate W except for the outer circumferential edge. The film thickness variation on the line L2 is different from the film thickness variation on the line L1 parallel to the scan direction D1, and cannot be reduced by adjusting the movement speed of the slit nozzle SN.

As described above, the thickness of the coating film FF formed at and near the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W tends to be greater than the thickness of the coating film FF formed in the central portion of the substrate W. This phenomenon is believed to be due to the difference in viscosity between the two coating liquids, which occurs as the liquid film of the coating liquid formed on the outer peripheral portion of the substrate W cools faster than the liquid film of the coating liquid formed in the central portion of the substrate W.

Taking these points into consideration, in the coating apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, the stage device 130 and the nozzle device 150 are designed to make the thickness of the liquid film of the coating liquid formed on the substrate W uniform. The stage device 130 and the nozzle device 150 are described in detail below.

[4] Nozzle device 150
Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the nozzle device 150 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an external perspective view and a longitudinal sectional view of the nozzle device 150 of Fig. 2. In Fig. 5, the upper part shows an external perspective view of the nozzle device 150. Also, the lower part shows a longitudinal sectional view of the nozzle device 150 cut along an imaginary plane VS indicated by a two-dot chain line in the upper part.

As described above, the nozzle block 151 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in one direction (the Y direction in this example) and is formed of a material with high thermal conductivity, such as metal. Inside the nozzle block 151, a liquid introduction path 11, a coating liquid buffer section 12, and a coating liquid flow path 13 are formed. The coating liquid buffer section 12 is located slightly above the center of the nozzle block 151 and is formed to be able to store a certain amount of coating liquid.

The liquid introduction passage 11 is formed so as to extend in the Z direction from the upper surface of the nozzle block 151 to the coating liquid buffer section 12. One end of a pipe 153 for supplying coating liquid to the upper end opening of the liquid introduction passage 11 is connected to the upper surface of the nozzle block 151. The other end of the pipe 153 is connected to the liquid supply section 143 in FIG. 2.

As described above, a slit-shaped discharge port 14 is formed on the lower surface of the nozzle block 151. A coating liquid flow path 13 is formed so as to extend in the Z direction from the discharge port 14 to the coating liquid buffer section 12.

Here, of the multiple side surfaces of the nozzle block 151, one surface perpendicular to the X direction when installed in the coating device 100 is referred to as the nozzle front surface 151s. In addition, in the nozzle block 151, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 5, the discharge port 14 and the coating liquid flow path 13 are located near the nozzle front surface 151s when viewed in the Y direction. The nozzle adjustment unit 152 is attached to a portion of the nozzle front surface 151s that overlaps with the coating liquid flow path 13 when viewed in the X direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, the nozzle adjustment unit 152 includes a plurality of (10 in this example) thermoelectric elements e1 to e10, a plurality of (10 in this example) temperature sensors ts, and a cooling plate 21. Each of the thermoelectric elements e1 to e10 is, for example, a mica heater or a Peltier element. Furthermore, the thermoelectric elements e1, e2, e3, e4, e5, e6, e7, e8, e9, and e10 are attached to the nozzle front surface 151s of the nozzle block 151 so as to overlap the coating liquid flow path 13 when viewed in the X direction and to be aligned in this order in the Y direction, as shown by the outlined arrow A1 in FIG. 4.

A drive circuit 152c (Fig. 17) is connected to each of the thermoelectric elements e1 to e10 to cause the thermoelectric elements to generate heat. When the drive circuit 152c (Fig. 17) causes each of the thermoelectric elements e1 to e10 to generate heat, the coating liquid present in the coating liquid flow path 13 of the nozzle block 151 is heated. A plurality of temperature sensors ts are attached to each of the thermoelectric elements e1 to e10.

The cooling plate 21 is a long plate member made of a material with excellent thermal conductivity, and is attached to the nozzle front surface 151s of the nozzle block 151 as shown by the white arrow A2 in FIG. 4. As a result, the multiple thermoelectric elements e1 to e10 and the temperature sensor ts on the nozzle front surface 151s are covered by the cooling plate 21 as shown in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 4, a cooling water flow path 22 is formed inside the cooling plate 21. An inlet and an outlet of the cooling water flow path 22 are formed at the end of the cooling plate 21. A cooling water inlet pipe 23 is connected to the inlet portion of the cooling water flow path 22 in the cooling plate 21. A cooling water outlet pipe 24 is connected to the outlet portion of the cooling water flow path 22 in the cooling plate 21.

Cooling water is supplied from the cooling equipment to the cooling water flow path 22 of the cooling plate 21 through the inlet pipe 23. The cooling water flowing through the cooling water flow path 22 is sent to the cooling equipment provided outside the cooling plate 21 through the outlet pipe 24. This makes it possible to suppress excessive temperature rise of the multiple thermoelectric elements e1 to e10 when the multiple thermoelectric elements e1 to e10 generate heat.

In the nozzle device 150 described above, the drive circuit 152c (Figure 17) is controlled based on the temperature detected by the corresponding temperature sensor ts so that the thermoelectric elements e1 to e10 generate heat at a predetermined temperature. This allows the temperature of the coating liquid discharged from the multiple parts of the discharge port 14 to be adjusted to the desired temperature.

In the coating device 100 of FIG. 2, a nozzle block having the following configuration may be provided instead of the nozzle block 151 of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a modified example of the nozzle block 151. The differences between the nozzle block 151 of FIG. 6 and the nozzle block 151 of FIG. 4 will be described.

As shown in the upper part of FIG. 6, in the nozzle block 151 of this example, multiple heat transfer sections 15 are provided within the coating liquid flow path 13. In FIG. 6, the multiple heat transfer sections 15 are hatched to make it easier to understand the shape of the multiple heat transfer sections 15. Like the nozzle block 151, the heat transfer sections 15 are formed from a material with high thermal conductivity such as metal, and are provided so as to extend in the Z direction and be aligned in the Y direction inside the coating liquid flow path 13. Note that the heat transfer sections 15 may be formed from the same material as the nozzle block 151. In this case, the nozzle block 151 and the heat transfer sections 15 may be composed of a single member.

In the nozzle block 151 equipped with the heat transfer section 15, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 6, the coating liquid flows so as to pass between the multiple heat transfer sections 15 inside the coating liquid flow path 13. In this case, the heat generated by the thermoelectric elements e1 to e10 in FIG. 5 is efficiently transferred to the coating liquid flowing through the coating liquid flow path 13 through the nozzle block 151 and the multiple heat transfer sections 15.

Here, the viscosity of the coating liquid is lower as the temperature of the coating liquid is higher, and higher as the temperature of the coating liquid is lower. Furthermore, when the coating liquid flows through a flow path having a constant cross-sectional area, if the viscosity of the coating liquid is high, the flow rate of the coating liquid flowing through the flow path decreases. On the other hand, if the viscosity of the coating liquid is low, the flow rate of the coating liquid flowing through the flow path increases. Therefore, as described above, by adjusting the temperature of the coating liquid discharged from multiple parts of the discharge port 14, the flow rate of the coating liquid discharged from multiple parts of the discharge port 14 can be controlled.

In this embodiment, therefore, the temperature of the coating liquid is adjusted in the nozzle device 150 so that the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to the outer periphery of the substrate W is lower than the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to other portions. In this case, the amount of coating liquid supplied to the outer periphery of the substrate W is less than the amount of coating liquid supplied to other portions (such as the center) of the substrate W. As a result, even when slit coating is employed, it is possible to prevent the film thickness of the coating liquid from being larger on the outer periphery of the substrate W than in other regions.

Figures 7 to 12 are diagrams showing a specific example of coating processing of a substrate W using the nozzle device 150 of Figure 4. In Figures 7 to 12, the operation of the nozzle device 150 on the substrate W during coating processing is shown in plan view in chronological order. In addition, in the substrate W shown in Figures 7 to 12, a region of a certain width including the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W is defined as an annular region RR, and the region inside the annular region RR is defined as a central region IR. Furthermore, in the Y direction, the multiple thermoelectric elements e1, e2, e3, e4, e5, e6, e7, e8, e9, and e10 of the nozzle adjustment unit 152 are arranged at equal intervals so as to cover the range from one end of the substrate W to the other end.

In this example, when the nozzle device 150 scans the substrate W, the temperature of the coating liquid discharged from the portion of the discharge port 14 that overlaps with the annular region RR of the substrate W in a planar view is adjusted to a predetermined first temperature. In addition, the temperature of the coating liquid discharged from the portion of the discharge port 14 that does not overlap with the annular region RR of the substrate W in a planar view is adjusted to a second temperature that is higher than the first temperature.

Therefore, when at least a portion of the discharge port 14 overlaps with the annular region RR of the substrate W, the drive circuit 152c (Figure 17) is controlled so that the temperature of some of the thermoelectric elements corresponding to the portion of the discharge port 14 that overlaps with the annular region RR in a plan view is lower than the temperature of the other thermoelectric elements. In Figures 7 to 12, some of the multiple thermoelectric elements that are set to have a low heat generation amount are indicated by dark hatching.

Specifically, in the state shown in FIG. 7, all parts of the discharge port 14 are outside the annular region RR of the substrate W. In this case, the temperatures of all the thermoelectric elements e1 to e10 are set to, for example, the second temperature.

In the state shown in FIG. 8, the central portion of the discharge port 14 overlaps with the annular region RR. In this case, the temperature of the thermoelectric elements e5 and e6 that correspond to the central portion of the discharge port 14 among the thermoelectric elements e1 to e10 is set to, for example, a first temperature, and the temperatures of the other thermoelectric elements e1 to e4 and e7 to e10 are set to, for example, a second temperature.

In the state shown in FIG. 9, two portions of the discharge port 14 overlap with the annular region RR. In this case, the temperatures of the thermoelectric elements e2 and e9, which correspond to the two portions of the discharge port 14 among the thermoelectric elements e1 to e10, are set to, for example, a first temperature, and the temperatures of the other thermoelectric elements e1, e3 to e8, and e10 are set to, for example, a second temperature.

In addition, in the state shown in FIG. 10, both ends of the discharge port 14 overlap with the annular region RR. In this case, the temperatures of the thermoelectric elements e1 and e10 that correspond to both ends of the discharge port 14 among the thermoelectric elements e1 to e10 are set to, for example, a first temperature, and the temperatures of the other thermoelectric elements e2 to e9 are set to, for example, a second temperature.

In the state shown in FIG. 11, two portions of the discharge port 14 overlap with the annular region RR. In this case, the temperatures of the thermoelectric elements e2 and e9, which correspond to the two portions of the discharge port 14 among the thermoelectric elements e1 to e10, are set to, for example, a first temperature, and the temperatures of the other thermoelectric elements e1, e3 to e8, and e10 are set to, for example, a second temperature.

Furthermore, in the state shown in FIG. 12, the central portion of the discharge port 14 overlaps with the annular region RR. In this case, the temperatures of the thermoelectric elements e5 and e6, which correspond to the central portion of the discharge port 14 among the thermoelectric elements e1 to e10, are set to, for example, a first temperature, and the temperatures of the other thermoelectric elements e1 to e4 and e7 to e10 are set to, for example, a second temperature.

According to the above specific example, the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to the annular region RR of the substrate W is lower than the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to the central region IR of the substrate W. This makes it possible to make the amount of coating liquid supplied to the annular region RR of the substrate W smaller than the amount of coating liquid supplied to the central region IR of the substrate W. As a result, the thickness of the coating film FF formed on the outer periphery of the substrate W is prevented from becoming larger than other portions.

The temperatures of the thermoelectric elements e1 to e10 may be set to be maintained at a constant value determined in advance for each thermoelectric element during the coating process of the substrate W. In this case, the set temperature of each thermoelectric element is determined so that a temperature gradient is provided, for example, in a direction (Y direction) perpendicular to the scanning direction (X direction) of the nozzle device 150. Specifically, the set temperature of each thermoelectric element is determined so that the set temperature decreases from the center of the substrate W to the outside in the Y direction. This makes it possible to control the film thickness of the coating liquid on the substrate W in the Y direction by controlling the temperature using the thermoelectric elements e1 to e10, while controlling the film thickness on the substrate W in the X direction by adjusting the scanning speed of the nozzle device 150.

When the nozzle block 151 is made of metal, it is preferable to coat the parts of the nozzle block 151 that may come into contact with the coating liquid with a material that is corrosion resistant. This makes it possible to use a chemical solution that corrodes metal as the coating liquid.

[5] Stage device 130
Fig. 13 is a plan view of the stage device 130 of Fig. 2. Fig. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the stage device 130 of Fig. 2. In the following description, the configuration of the plate member 131 and the plate adjustment unit 132 of the stage device 130 of Fig. 2 will be mainly described. Therefore, in Figs. 13 and 14, the illustration of the multiple intake holes and multiple pin insertion holes formed in the plate member 131 is omitted. Also, the illustration of the multiple support pins 133, the pin lifting drive unit 134, and the suction drive unit 135 provided on the lower part of the plate member 131 is omitted.

In the stage device 130 according to this embodiment, a plurality of regions ar are set on the substrate placement portion of the plate member 131. In the example of FIG. 13, the plurality of regions ar are set so as to be radially arranged with the center of the substrate W as a reference and to be arranged at equal angular intervals in the circumferential direction of the substrate W. In the radial direction of the substrate W placed on the plate member 131, the dimensions of each of the plurality of regions ar overlapping the outer periphery of the substrate W are smaller than the dimensions of each of the plurality of regions ar overlapping the center of the substrate W.

In addition, in this embodiment, the outer edges of the multiple regions ar located on the outermost periphery of the multiple regions ar overlap or surround the outer periphery of the substrate W placed on the plate member 131 in a plan view. In the radial direction of the substrate W placed on the plate member 131, the distance dd (FIG. 13) between the inner edge of the multiple regions ar located on the outermost periphery of the multiple regions ar and the outer periphery of the substrate W placed on the plate member 131 is preferably, for example, 20 mm or less.

As shown in FIG. 14, a plate adjustment unit 132 is provided on the lower part of the plate member 131. The plate adjustment unit 132 includes a plurality of temperature sensors ts, a plurality of thermoelectric elements te, and a cooling plate 136. The plurality of temperature sensors ts correspond to the plurality of regions ar of the plate member 131, respectively, and are attached to the lower surface of the plate member 131. The plurality of thermoelectric elements te are provided below the plate member 131 so as to overlap the plurality of regions ar set on the plate member 131 in a plan view. Each of the plurality of thermoelectric elements te is composed of, for example, a mica heater or a Peltier element.

A drive circuit 132c (FIG. 17) is connected to each of the thermoelectric elements te for causing the thermoelectric element to generate heat. When the drive circuit 132c (FIG. 17) causes each of the thermoelectric elements te to generate heat, the area ar of the plate member 131 located directly above each thermoelectric element te is heated. As a result, multiple portions of the substrate W located on the multiple areas ar of the plate member 131 are heated according to the heat generation state of each of the multiple thermoelectric elements te. Therefore, when a liquid film of the coating liquid is formed on the substrate W, the liquid film of the coating liquid located on the multiple areas ar of the plate member 131 is further heated according to the heat generation state of each of the multiple thermoelectric elements te.

The cooling plate 136 is a circular plate member made of a material with excellent thermal conductivity, and supports the thermoelectric elements te from below so that the thermoelectric elements te are sandwiched between the plate member 131 and the cooling plate 136. A cooling water flow path 136a is provided inside the cooling plate 136.

Cooling water is supplied from the cooling equipment to the cooling water flow path 136a of the cooling plate 136. In addition, the cooling water that flows through the cooling water flow path 136a of the cooling plate 136 is sent to the cooling equipment provided outside the cooling plate 21. This makes it possible to suppress excessive temperature rise of the multiple thermoelectric elements te when the multiple thermoelectric elements te generate heat.

In the above-mentioned stage device 130, the drive circuits 132c (FIG. 17) of the multiple thermoelectric elements te are controlled based on the temperatures detected by the corresponding temperature sensors ts so that the multiple thermoelectric elements te generate heat at a predetermined temperature. As a result, when the coating liquid is supplied onto the substrate W held by suction on the plate member 131, the temperature of the coating liquid on the substrate W can be adjusted to a desired temperature.

Specifically, in this example, the drive circuit 132c (Figure 17) of the multiple thermoelectric elements te is controlled so that the temperature of the coating liquid located on the outer periphery of the substrate W is not significantly lower than the temperature of the coating liquid located in the center of the substrate W. Alternatively, the drive circuit 132c (Figure 17) of the multiple thermoelectric elements te is controlled so that the temperature of the coating liquid located on the outer periphery of the substrate W is the same as or higher than the temperature of the coating liquid located in the center of the substrate W.

In this case, the viscosity of the coating liquid located on the outer periphery of the substrate W is prevented from becoming significantly lower than the viscosity of the coating liquid located on the center of the substrate W. This prevents the thickness of the coating film FF formed on the outer periphery of the substrate W from becoming greater than the thickness of the coating film FF formed on the center of the substrate W.

The temperature of the cooling water supplied to the cooling plate 136 must be set lower than the lower limit of the temperature range in which temperature adjustment is to be performed in the stage device 130.

In the above-mentioned stage device 130, in addition to the plate adjustment unit 132 of FIG. 14, an auxiliary device may be provided to more greatly adjust the temperature of the coating liquid on the outer periphery of the substrate W that is adsorbed and held on the plate member 131.

Figure 15 is a diagram showing an example of an auxiliary device for temperature adjustment attached to the stage device 130 of Figure 14. As shown in Figure 15, the auxiliary device 137 of this example is provided, for example, below the plate member 131, further below the plate adjustment unit 132. Alternatively, the auxiliary device 137 is provided, for example, below the plate member 131, so as to surround the plate adjustment unit 132.

Here, the auxiliary device 137 includes, for example, a heater wire or a cooling water pipe. When a heater wire is used as the auxiliary device 137, the coating liquid on the outer periphery of the substrate W placed on the plate member 131 can be heated with a larger output. On the other hand, when a cooling water pipe is used as the auxiliary device 137, the coating liquid on the outer periphery of the substrate W placed on the plate member 131 can be cooled with a larger output.

16 is a plan view showing another example of the configuration of the stage device 130. In this example, a plurality of rectangular regions ar aligned in the Y direction are set on a plate member 131. Each of the rectangular regions ar extends in the X direction. The length of each region ar in the X direction is longer than the diameter of the substrate W.

A plate adjustment unit 132 is provided below the plate member 131. In this example, the plate adjustment unit 132 includes a temperature adjustment member 138 corresponding to each area ar, a temperature sensor ts corresponding to each area ar, and a cooling plate (not shown). The temperature adjustment member 138 is, for example, a heater wire.

In this example, multiple temperature adjustment members 138 are driven based on the temperature detected by a temperature sensor ts provided in each area ar. At this time, the set temperature of each temperature adjustment member 138 is determined so that a temperature gradient is provided in a direction (Y direction) perpendicular to the scanning direction (X direction) of the nozzle device 150. This makes it possible to control the film thickness of the coating liquid on the substrate W in the Y direction.

[7] Control System of Coating Apparatus 100 Fig. 17 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of coating apparatus 100. The control unit 110 includes a CPU, a RAM (random access memory), a ROM (read only memory), and a storage device. The RAM is used as a working area for the CPU. The CPU executes a coating process program stored in the storage device on the RAM to control the operation of each part of coating apparatus 100.

The control unit 110 controls the pin lift drive unit 134, the suction drive unit 135, the X-direction drive unit 141, the Z-direction drive unit 142, and the liquid supply unit 143. As a result, the pin lift drive unit 134 moves the multiple support pins 133 up and down, for example, when the substrate W is loaded and unloaded from the coating apparatus 100. The suction drive unit 135 suctions and holds the substrate W on the plate member 131.

The X-direction drive unit 141 moves the nozzle device 150 in the X-direction. The Z-direction drive unit 142 moves the nozzle device 150 in the Z-direction. The liquid supply unit 143 supplies the coating liquid to the nozzle block 151 of the nozzle device 150.

In the control unit 110, information indicating the temperature (first temperature) of the coating liquid to be discharged onto the annular region RR of the substrate W and the temperature (second temperature) of the coating liquid to be discharged onto the central region IR of the substrate W is stored in advance as nozzle temperature information. The control unit 110 controls the drive circuit 152c based on the nozzle temperature information and the temperatures detected by the multiple temperature sensors ts of the nozzle adjustment unit 152. As a result, during the coating process of the substrate W, each of the thermoelectric elements e1 to e10 generates heat at a temperature corresponding to either the first or second temperature.

Information including the target temperature to be adjusted for each of the multiple regions ar of the plate member 131 is stored in advance as plate temperature information in the control unit 110. The control unit 110 controls the drive circuit 132c based on the plate temperature information and the temperatures detected by the multiple temperature sensors ts of the plate adjustment unit 132. As a result, during the coating process of the substrate W, each of the multiple thermoelectric elements te generates heat at the target temperature of the region ar corresponding to that thermoelectric element te.

[8] Configuration and basic operation of the liquid film drying device 200 Fig. 18 is a schematic external perspective view of the liquid film drying device 200 in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 18, the liquid film drying device 200 is mainly composed of a control unit 210, a base member 220, a stage device 230, a lid member 240, and a lid lifting device 250, and is housed in a housing (not shown).

The control unit 210 controls the operation of each part of the liquid film drying apparatus 200 in response to command signals and the like from the control device 500 in FIG. 1. The control unit 210 will be described in detail later. The base member 220 is provided on the bottom surface of a housing (not shown). The stage device 230 is provided on the base member 220. The substrate W to be carried into the liquid film drying apparatus 200 is placed on the stage device 230. The stage device 230 will be described in detail later.

The lid member 240 is supported by the lid lifting device 250 at a position above the base member 220 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The lid member 240 has an internal space IS that can accommodate the stage device 230 and is open downward. The base member 220 and the lid member 240 also have abutment surfaces 220s, 240s that face each other in the vertical direction. The abutment surfaces 220s, 240s are formed so as to surround the stage device 230 in a plan view. At least one of the abutment surfaces 220s, 240s is provided with a sealing member (not shown), such as an O-ring.

The lid lifting device 250 includes an actuator such as a motor or an air cylinder, and moves the lid member 240 up and down based on the control of the control unit 210. As a result, when the lid member 240 descends and the abutment surfaces 220s, 240s of the base member 220 and the lid member 240 come into contact, the internal space IS of the lid member 240 becomes airtight with the stage device 230 housed in the internal space IS. On the other hand, when the lid member 240 rises and the abutment surfaces 220s, 240s of the base member 220 and the lid member 240 move away from each other, the internal space IS of the lid member 240 becomes open, and the stage device 230 becomes accessible from the outside. In this way, in the liquid film drying device 200, one chamber CH is formed by the base member 220 and the lid member 240.

The stage device 230 includes a plate member 231, a plate adjustment unit 232, a plurality of support pins 233, a pin lifting and lowering drive unit 234, and a pressure reducing device 235. The plate member 231 has basically the same configuration as the plate member 131 of the coating device 100. The plate member 231 differs from the plate member 131 in that the plate member 231 does not have a plurality of intake holes formed therein, and that the upper surface of the plate member 231 is provided with a plurality of support pieces (not shown) for supporting the substrate W. The plurality of support pieces are, for example, hemispherical proximity balls made of ceramic. In addition, the plate member 231 does not need to be made of stone, and may be made of metal, resin, or the like.

In the stage device 230, a plate adjustment unit 232, a plurality of support pins 233, a pin lifting drive unit 234, and a pressure reduction device 235 are provided below the plate member 231.

The multiple support pins 233 are supported by the pin lift drive unit 234 so that they extend in the vertical direction and overlap with multiple pin insertion holes provided in the substrate placement portion in a plan view. The pin lift drive unit 234 moves the multiple support pins 233 in the vertical direction based on the control of the control unit 210. As a result, the upper ends of the multiple support pins 233 move between a pin lift position above the plate member 231 and a pin lower position below the plate member 231.

As a result, when the substrate W is loaded into the liquid film drying apparatus 200, the substrate W is transferred by the transport device 400 in FIG. 1 onto the support pins 233 with the upper ends of the support pins 233 in the pin-up position. When the substrate W is unloaded from the liquid film drying apparatus 200, the substrate W supported on the support pins 233 is received by the transport device 400 in FIG. 1 with the upper ends of the support pins 233 in the pin-up position. Furthermore, when the substrate W is dried in the liquid film drying apparatus 200, the substrate W is supported on the substrate placement portion of the plate member 231 with the upper ends of the support pins 233 in the pin-down position.

The plate member 231 of the liquid film drying device 200 has a plurality of areas ar set in the substrate placement portion, similar to the plate member 131 of the coating device 100. In FIG. 18, the plurality of areas ar set in the plate member 231 are shown in a balloon. The plate adjustment unit 232 of the liquid film drying device 200 has the same configuration as the plate adjustment unit 132 of the coating device 100, and adjusts the temperature of the plurality of areas ar of the plate member 231 based on the control of the control unit 210, similar to the plate adjustment unit 132.

Specifically, the drive circuit 132c of the multiple thermoelectric elements te provided in the plate adjustment unit 232 is controlled so that the temperature of the coating liquid located on the outer periphery of the substrate W is not significantly lower than the temperature of the coating liquid located in the center of the substrate W. Alternatively, the drive circuit 132c of the multiple thermoelectric elements te provided in the plate adjustment unit 232 is controlled so that the temperature of the coating liquid located on the outer periphery of the substrate W is the same as or higher than the temperature of the coating liquid located in the center of the substrate W.

In this case, the viscosity of the coating liquid located on the outer periphery of the substrate W is prevented from becoming significantly lower than the viscosity of the coating liquid located on the center of the substrate W. This prevents the thickness of the coating film FF formed on the outer periphery of the substrate W from becoming greater than the thickness of the coating film FF formed on the center of the substrate W.

The pressure reducing device 235 includes a vacuum pump, a valve, and multiple pipes, and is configured to be able to adjust the pressure of the internal space IS when the cover member 240 is in contact with the base member 220, i.e., when the chamber CH is closed. The pressure reducing device 235 may be provided on the base member 220 separately from the stage device 230.

Specifically, when the substrate W on which the coating liquid film has been formed is placed on the plate member 231 and the chamber CH is closed, the pressure reducing device 235 sucks the atmosphere in the internal space IS and reduces the absolute pressure in the internal space IS to less than 100 Pa. This promotes the evaporation of the coating liquid on the substrate W, dries the liquid film on the substrate W, and forms a coating film FF.

In addition, at the end of the drying process of the substrate W, the pressure reducing device 235 introduces an inert gas supplied from an inert gas supply unit (not shown) into the internal space IS in order to return the reduced pressure internal space IS to atmospheric pressure. This causes the chamber CH to be opened, and the substrate W on which the coating film FF has been formed is transported out of the liquid film drying device 200.

[9] Control system of the liquid film drying device 200 Fig. 19 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the liquid film drying device 200. The control unit 210 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and a storage device. The RAM is used as a working area for the CPU. The CPU executes the drying processing program stored in the storage device on the RAM to control the operation of each part of the liquid film drying device 200.

The control unit 210 controls the pin lifting drive unit 234, the pressure reducing device 235, the lid lifting device 250, and the plate adjustment unit 232. As a result, the pin lifting drive unit 234 moves the multiple support pins 233 up and down, for example, when the substrate W is loaded and unloaded in the liquid film drying apparatus 200. The pressure reducing device 235 reduces the pressure in the internal space IS of the lid member 240 from atmospheric pressure when the chamber CH is closed. Alternatively, the pressure reducing device 235 returns the pressure in the internal space IS of the lid member 240 from the reduced pressure state to atmospheric pressure when the chamber CH is closed.

The control unit 210 stores information including the target temperature to be adjusted for each of the multiple regions ar of the plate member 231 in advance as plate temperature information. The control unit 210 controls the drive circuit 132c based on the plate temperature information and the temperatures detected by the multiple temperature sensors ts of the plate adjustment unit 232. As a result, during the coating process of the substrate W, each of the multiple thermoelectric elements te generates heat at the target temperature of the region ar corresponding to that thermoelectric element te.

[10] Effects (1) In the coating apparatus 100 described above, the nozzle device 150 moves over the plate member 131 with the substrate W held on the plate member 131. At this time, the coating liquid is discharged from the slit-shaped discharge port 14 of the nozzle device 150 onto the upper surface of the substrate W. As a result, a film of the coating liquid is formed over the entire upper surface of the substrate W. According to this method of forming a film of the coating liquid (slit coating), the occurrence of coating unevenness can be suppressed.

In addition, in the above-mentioned substrate processing apparatus 1, the temperature of the coating liquid before being supplied to the substrate W or the coating liquid after being supplied to the substrate W is adjusted according to the position on the substrate W. Specifically, in the nozzle device 150 of the coating apparatus 100, the temperature of the coating liquid guided to multiple portions of the discharge port 14 is adjusted according to the position on the substrate W when the nozzle device 150 moves. This makes it possible to supply appropriate amounts of coating liquid to multiple portions on the substrate W in order to uniformize the coating film FF.

In addition, in the stage device 130 of the coating apparatus 100, with the substrate W placed on the plate member 131, the temperatures of the multiple regions ar of the plate member 131 are adjusted to appropriate temperatures to uniformize the coating film FF. Furthermore, in the stage device 230 of the liquid film drying apparatus 200, with the substrate W placed on the plate member 231, the temperatures of the multiple regions ar of the plate member 231 are adjusted to appropriate temperatures to uniformize the coating film FF. As a result, the thickness of the coating film FF formed on the substrate W is made uniform.

(2) As described above, in the radial direction of the substrate W placed on the plate members 131, 231, the dimensions of each of the multiple regions ar overlapping the outer periphery of the substrate W are smaller than the dimensions of each of the multiple regions ar overlapping the central portion of the substrate W. In this case, the temperature of the coating liquid located on the outer periphery of the substrate W can be adjusted with higher accuracy than the temperature of the coating liquid located on the central portion of the substrate W.

[11] Other embodiments (1) In the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment, the nozzle adjustment unit 152 may not be provided in the nozzle device 150 of the coating apparatus 100. Furthermore, the substrate processing apparatus 1 may not be provided with the liquid film drying device 200. Even in such a case, in the coating apparatus 100, the plate adjustment unit 132 adjusts the temperature of the coating liquid on the substrate W, thereby reducing unevenness in the thickness of the liquid film of the coating liquid on the substrate W. Therefore, the thickness of the coating film FF is made uniform.

(2) In the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment, the stage device 130 of the coating apparatus 100 does not need to be provided with a plate adjustment unit 132. Furthermore, the substrate processing apparatus 1 does not need to be provided with a liquid film drying device 200. Even in such a case, in the coating apparatus 100, the nozzle adjustment unit 152 adjusts the temperature of the coating liquid, thereby reducing unevenness in the thickness of the liquid film of the coating liquid on the substrate W. Therefore, the thickness of the coating film FF is made uniform.

(3) In the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment, the nozzle device 150 of the coating apparatus 100 does not have to be provided with a nozzle adjustment unit 152. In addition, the stage device 130 of the coating apparatus 100 does not have to be provided with a plate adjustment unit 132. Even in such a case, in the liquid film drying apparatus 200, the plate adjustment unit 232 adjusts the temperature of the coating liquid on the substrate W, thereby reducing unevenness in the thickness of the liquid film of the coating liquid on the substrate W. Therefore, the thickness of the coating film FF is made uniform.

(4) In the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment, the coating device 100 does not need to be provided. Even in such a case, in the liquid film drying apparatus 200, the plate adjustment unit 232 adjusts the temperature of the coating liquid on the substrate W, thereby reducing unevenness in the thickness of the liquid film of the coating liquid on the substrate W. Therefore, the thickness of the coating film FF is made uniform.

[12] Correspondence between each component of the claims and each element of the embodiment The following describes examples of the correspondence between each component of the claims and each element of the embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples. Various other elements having the configuration or function described in the claims can also be used as each component of the claims.

In the above embodiment, the plate member 131 is an example of a first plate member, the stage device 130 is an example of a first substrate holding unit, the discharge port 14 is an example of a discharge port, the nozzle device 150 is an example of a liquid supply unit, the nozzle support 140, the X-direction drive unit 141 and the Z-direction drive unit 142 are examples of relative movement units, the nozzle adjustment unit 152 and the plate adjustment unit 132 are examples of a temperature adjustment unit, and the substrate processing device 1 is an example of a substrate processing device.

In addition, the coating liquid flow path 13 is an example of a coating liquid flow path, the nozzle adjustment unit 152 is an example of a coating liquid adjustment unit, the Y direction is an example of a first direction, the X direction is an example of a second direction, the annular region RR is an example of a annular region, the central region IR is an example of a central region, the multiple regions ar are an example of multiple regions, and the plate adjustment unit 132 is an example of a first plate adjustment unit.

In addition, the coating apparatus 100 is an example of a coating apparatus, the liquid film drying apparatus 200 is an example of a liquid film drying apparatus, the plate member 231 is an example of a second plate member and a plate member, the stage device 230 is an example of a second substrate holding unit and a substrate holding unit, the chamber CH is an example of a chamber, the pressure reducing device 235 is an example of a liquid film drying unit, and the plate adjustment unit 232 is an example of a second plate adjustment unit and a temperature adjustment unit.
[13] Reference form
(1) A substrate processing apparatus according to a first reference embodiment includes a first plate member on which a substrate having at least a partially circular outer periphery is placed, and a first substrate holding unit that holds the substrate placed on the first plate member in a predetermined fixed position; a liquid supply unit that is provided at a position above the first substrate holding unit, has a slit-shaped discharge port, and discharges a coating liquid from the discharge port onto an upper surface of the substrate; a relative movement unit that moves the first plate member and the liquid supply unit relatively so that a film of coating liquid is formed over the entire upper surface of the substrate held by the first substrate holding unit by the coating liquid discharged from the liquid supply unit; and a temperature adjustment unit that adjusts the temperature of at least one of the coating liquid guided to the discharge port in the liquid supply unit and the coating liquid applied onto the substrate.
In the substrate processing apparatus, the first plate member and the liquid supply unit move relative to each other while the substrate is held on the first plate member. At this time, the coating liquid is discharged onto the upper surface of the substrate from the slit-shaped discharge port of the liquid supply unit, thereby forming a film of the coating liquid over the entire upper surface of the substrate. In this way, the method of forming a coating film by scanning the liquid supply unit having a slit-shaped discharge port over the substrate can reduce the occurrence of coating unevenness.
In addition, in the above-mentioned substrate processing apparatus, the temperature of the coating liquid introduced to the discharge port in the liquid supply unit and the temperature of the coating liquid applied onto the substrate are adjusted. In other words, the temperature of at least one of the coating liquid before being supplied to the substrate and the coating liquid after being supplied to the substrate is adjusted. This makes it possible to make the thickness of the coating film formed on the substrate uniform.
(2) The liquid supply unit may include a coating liquid flow path that guides the coating liquid supplied from the coating liquid supply system to the discharge port, and the temperature adjustment unit may include a coating liquid adjustment unit that adjusts the temperature of the coating liquid guided to the multiple portions of the discharge port through the coating liquid flow path so that the flow rate distribution of the coating liquid discharged from the multiple portions of the discharge port of the liquid supply unit becomes a predetermined flow rate distribution.
The viscosity of the coating liquid decreases as the temperature of the coating liquid increases, and increases as the temperature of the coating liquid decreases. The amount of the coating liquid flowing through the coating liquid flow path per unit time, i.e., the flow rate of the coating liquid, increases as the viscosity of the coating liquid decreases, and decreases as the viscosity of the coating liquid increases.
Therefore, according to the above configuration, the temperature of the coating liquid flowing through the multiple parts of the coating liquid flow path is adjusted, so that a predetermined amount of coating liquid is supplied to multiple parts of the substrate from the multiple parts of the discharge port, and the predetermined flow rate distribution of the coating liquid discharged from the multiple parts of the discharge port is appropriately determined, thereby improving the uniformity of the thickness of the coating film formed on the substrate.
(3) The coating liquid adjustment unit may adjust the temperature of the coating liquid guided to each of the multiple portions of the outlet so that the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate is lower than the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to the center of the substrate.
According to the above configuration, the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate is lowered, and therefore the viscosity of the coating liquid supplied to at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate is increased. This makes it possible to make the amount of coating liquid supplied to at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate smaller than the amount of coating liquid supplied to other portions. As a result, the thickness of the coating film formed on at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate is prevented from being larger than that of other portions.
(4) The liquid supply unit is arranged so that the outlet extends in a first direction, and the relative movement unit relatively moves the liquid supply unit and the first substrate holding unit in a second direction intersecting the first direction so that the outlet of the liquid supply unit passes through a space above the substrate while the substrate is held in a fixed position by the first substrate holding unit, and a circular annular region of a constant width including an outer peripheral end portion and a central region inside the circular annular region are defined on the substrate placed on the first plate member, and the coating liquid adjustment unit may adjust a temperature of the coating liquid discharged from a portion of the multiple portions of the outlet of the liquid supply unit that overlaps with the circular annular region of the substrate placed on the first plate member in a planar view to a predetermined first temperature during the relative movement between the liquid supply unit and the first substrate holding unit by the relative movement unit.
According to the above configuration, the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to the annular region of the substrate is lower than the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to the central region of the substrate. Therefore, the viscosity of the coating liquid supplied to the annular region of the substrate is higher than the viscosity of the coating liquid supplied to the central region of the substrate. This makes it possible to make the amount of coating liquid supplied to the annular region of the substrate smaller than the amount of coating liquid supplied to the central region of the substrate. As a result, the thickness of the coating film formed on the outer periphery of the substrate is prevented from becoming larger than other portions.
(5) The first plate member may have a plurality of regions, and the temperature adjustment unit may include a first plate adjustment unit that adjusts the temperatures of the plurality of regions of the first plate member, respectively.
According to the above-mentioned configuration, the temperature of the multiple regions of the first plate member is appropriately adjusted, so that the viscosity of the coating liquid located in the annular region of the substrate can be prevented from increasing, thereby improving the uniformity of the thickness of the coating film formed on the substrate.
(6) The multiple regions of the first plate member may include multiple first regions overlapping at least a portion of an outer periphery of a substrate placed on the first plate member and multiple second regions overlapping a central portion of the substrate placed on the first plate member, and a dimension of each of the multiple first regions in the radial direction of the substrate may be smaller than a dimension of each of the multiple second regions in the radial direction of the substrate.
In this case, the temperature of the coating liquid supplied onto the outer periphery of the substrate can be adjusted with higher accuracy than the temperature of the coating liquid supplied onto the center of the substrate.
(7) The first plate adjustment unit may adjust the temperatures of multiple regions of the first plate member respectively so that the temperature of a portion overlapping at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate placed on the first plate member is higher than the temperature of a portion overlapping a central portion of the substrate placed on the first plate member.
According to the above configuration, the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to at least a part of the outer periphery of the substrate is increased, and therefore the viscosity of the coating liquid supplied to at least a part of the outer periphery of the substrate is decreased. This prevents the thickness of the coating film formed on at least a part of the outer periphery of the substrate from becoming thicker than other parts due to the increased viscosity of the coating liquid located on at least a part of the outer periphery of the substrate.
(8) A substrate processing apparatus includes a coating device that applies a coating liquid to a substrate, and a liquid film drying device that dries a film of the coating liquid formed on the substrate by the coating device, the coating device including a first substrate holding unit, a liquid supply unit, and a relative movement unit, the liquid film drying device has a second plate member on which a substrate on which a film of the coating liquid has been formed by the coating device is placed, and includes a second substrate holding unit that holds the substrate placed on the second substrate member in a predetermined fixed position, a chamber having an internal space to accommodate the second substrate holding unit, and a liquid film drying unit that dries the film of the coating liquid formed on the substrate held by the second substrate holding unit by reducing the pressure inside the chamber while the substrate is held by the second substrate holding unit, the second plate member having a plurality of regions, and the temperature adjustment unit may include a second plate adjustment unit that adjusts the temperatures of the plurality of regions of the second plate member, respectively.
In this case, in the liquid film drying device, the internal space of the chamber is decompressed while the substrate is held on the second plate member in the chamber, thereby drying the coating liquid film on the substrate. At this time, the temperature of each of the multiple regions of the second plate member is adjusted. Therefore, by appropriately adjusting the temperature of each of the multiple regions of the second plate member, it is possible to prevent the viscosity of the coating liquid located in the annular region of the substrate from increasing. This makes it possible to improve the uniformity of the thickness of the coating film formed on the substrate.
(9) The multiple regions of the second plate member may include multiple third regions overlapping at least a portion of the outer periphery of a substrate placed on the second plate member and multiple fourth regions overlapping a central portion of a substrate placed on the second plate member, and the dimensions of the multiple third regions in the radial direction of the substrate may be smaller than the dimensions of the multiple fourth regions in the radial direction of the substrate.
In this case, the temperature of the coating liquid supplied onto the outer periphery of the substrate can be adjusted with higher accuracy than the temperature of the coating liquid supplied onto the center of the substrate.
(10) The second plate adjustment unit may adjust the temperatures of multiple regions of the second plate member respectively so that the temperature of a portion overlapping at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate placed on the second plate member is higher than the temperature of a portion overlapping a central portion of the substrate placed on the second plate member.
According to the above configuration, the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to at least a part of the outer periphery of the substrate is increased, and therefore the viscosity of the coating liquid supplied to at least a part of the outer periphery of the substrate is decreased. This prevents the thickness of the coating film formed on at least a part of the outer periphery of the substrate from becoming thicker than other parts due to the increased viscosity of the coating liquid located on at least a part of the outer periphery of the substrate.
(11) A substrate processing apparatus according to a second reference embodiment has a plate member having at least a partially circular outer periphery and on which a substrate having a film of coating liquid formed thereon is placed, and is equipped with a substrate holding section that holds the substrate placed on the plate member in a fixed position, a chamber having an internal space to accommodate the substrate holding section, a liquid film drying section that dries the film of coating liquid formed on the substrate held by the substrate holding section by reducing the pressure inside the chamber while the substrate is held by the substrate holding section, and a temperature adjustment section that adjusts the temperature of the coating liquid applied to the substrate, wherein the plate member has multiple regions, and the temperature adjustment section adjusts the temperatures of each of the multiple regions of the plate member.
In the substrate processing apparatus, a substrate having at least a partially circular outer periphery and having a film of coating liquid formed thereon is held on a plate member in a chamber. In this state, the internal space of the chamber is depressurized to dry the film of coating liquid on the substrate. At this time, the temperature of each of the multiple regions of the plate member is adjusted. Therefore, by appropriately adjusting the temperature of each of the multiple regions of the plate member, it is possible to prevent the viscosity of the coating liquid located on the outer periphery of the substrate from becoming high. This prevents the thickness of the coating film formed on the outer periphery of the substrate from becoming thicker than other portions.
In the above-mentioned substrate processing apparatus, the temperature of the coating liquid is adjusted after it is supplied to the substrate, thereby making it possible to make the thickness of the coating film formed on the substrate uniform.

1...substrate processing apparatus, 11...liquid introduction path, 12...coating liquid buffer section, 13...coating liquid flow path, 14...discharge port, 15...heat transfer section, 21...cooling plate, 22...cooling water flow path, 23...introduction pipe, 24...outlet pipe, 100...coating apparatus, 110, 210...control section, 120...stage support, 121...guide rail, 130, 230...stage apparatus, 131, 231...plate member, 132, 232...plate adjustment section, 132c, 152c...drive circuit, 133, 233...support pin, 134, 234...pin lifting drive section, 135...suction drive section, 136...cooling plate, 136a...cooling water flow path, 137...auxiliary device, 138...temperature adjustment member, 140...nozzle support, 141...X-direction drive section, 142...Z-direction Directional drive unit, 143...liquid supply unit, 150...nozzle device, 151...nozzle block, 151s...nozzle front surface, 152...nozzle adjustment unit, 153...piping, 200...liquid film drying device, 220...base member, 220s, 240s...contact surface, 235...pressure reducing device, 240...lid member, 250...lid lifting device, 300...post-treatment device, 310...spin chuck, 320...cup, 331...edge rinse nozzle, 332...back rinse nozzle, 400...transport device, 500...control device, CH...chamber, FF...coating film, IR...center region, IS...internal space, RR...annular region, SN...slit nozzle, VS...virtual surface, W...substrate, ar...region, dd...distance, e1-e10, te...thermoelectric element, ts...temperature sensor

Claims (10)

a first substrate holder having a first plate member on which a substrate having at least a partially circular outer periphery is placed, the first plate member holding the substrate in a predetermined fixed position;
a liquid supply unit that is provided at a position above the first substrate holding unit, has a slit-shaped discharge port, and discharges a coating liquid from the discharge port onto an upper surface of the substrate;
a relative movement unit that moves the first plate member and the liquid supply unit relatively so that a film of the coating liquid discharged from the liquid supply unit is formed on the entire upper surface of the substrate held by the first substrate holding unit; and
a temperature adjusting unit that adjusts the temperature of at least one of the coating liquid guided to the discharge port in the liquid supply unit and the coating liquid applied onto the substrate ,
The temperature adjustment unit, when adjusting the temperature of the coating liquid guided to the discharge port in the liquid supply unit, makes the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to at least a portion of the peripheral portion of the substrate different from the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to the central portion of the substrate . a first substrate holder having a first plate member on which a substrate having at least a partially circular outer periphery is placed, the first plate member holding the substrate in a predetermined fixed position;
a liquid supply unit that is provided at a position above the first substrate holding unit, has a slit-shaped discharge port, and discharges a coating liquid from the discharge port onto an upper surface of the substrate;
a relative movement unit that moves the first plate member and the liquid supply unit relatively so that a film of the coating liquid discharged from the liquid supply unit is formed on the entire upper surface of the substrate held by the first substrate holding unit; and
a temperature adjusting unit that adjusts the temperature of at least one of the coating liquid guided to the discharge port in the liquid supply unit and the coating liquid applied onto the substrate,
the liquid supply unit includes a coating liquid flow path that guides the coating liquid supplied from a coating liquid supply system to the discharge port;
The temperature adjustment unit of the substrate processing apparatus includes a coating liquid adjustment unit that adjusts the temperature of the coating liquid guided to the multiple portions of the discharge port through the coating liquid flow path so that the flow rate distribution of the coating liquid discharged from the multiple portions of the discharge port of the liquid supply unit becomes a predetermined flow rate distribution. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the coating liquid adjustment unit adjusts the temperature of the coating liquid guided to each of the multiple portions of the discharge port so that the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate is lower than the temperature of the coating liquid supplied to the center of the substrate. The liquid supply unit is disposed such that the discharge port extends in a first direction,
the relative movement unit relatively moves the liquid supply unit and the first substrate holding unit in a second direction intersecting the first direction such that the discharge port of the liquid supply unit passes through a space above the substrate while the substrate is held by the first substrate holding unit in the fixed attitude;
A substrate placed on the first plate member is defined to have a circular annular region of a certain width including an outer peripheral edge and a central region inside the circular annular region;
The coating liquid adjusting unit includes:
3. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 2, wherein during relative movement between the liquid supply unit and the first substrate holding unit by the relative movement unit, a temperature of the coating liquid ejected from a portion of the multiple portions of the discharge port of the liquid supply unit that overlaps with the annular region of the substrate placed on the first plate member in a planar view is adjusted to a predetermined first temperature, and a temperature of the coating liquid ejected from a portion of the multiple portions of the discharge port of the liquid supply unit that does not overlap with the annular region of the substrate placed on the first plate member in a planar view is adjusted to a second temperature higher than the first temperature. a first substrate holder having a first plate member on which a substrate having at least a partially circular outer periphery is placed, the first plate member holding the substrate in a predetermined fixed position;
a liquid supply unit that is provided at a position above the first substrate holding unit, has a slit-shaped discharge port, and discharges a coating liquid from the discharge port onto an upper surface of the substrate;
a relative movement unit that moves the first plate member and the liquid supply unit relatively so that a film of the coating liquid discharged from the liquid supply unit is formed on the entire upper surface of the substrate held by the first substrate holding unit; and
a temperature adjusting unit that adjusts the temperature of at least one of the coating liquid guided to the discharge port in the liquid supply unit and the coating liquid applied onto the substrate,
the first plate member having a plurality of regions;
The temperature adjustment unit includes a first plate adjustment unit that adjusts temperatures of the plurality of regions of the first plate member, respectively. The plurality of regions of the first plate member include:
a plurality of first regions overlapping at least a portion of an outer periphery of a substrate placed on the first plate member;
a plurality of second regions overlapping a central portion of a substrate placed on the first plate member;
The substrate processing apparatus of claim 5 , wherein a dimension of each of the plurality of first regions in a radial direction of the substrate is smaller than a dimension of each of the plurality of second regions in the radial direction of the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the first plate adjustment unit adjusts the temperature of each of the multiple regions of the first plate member so that the temperature of a portion overlapping at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate placed on the first plate member is higher than the temperature of a portion overlapping the center of the substrate placed on the first plate member. A coating device that applies a coating liquid to a substrate;
a liquid film drying device that dries a film of the coating liquid formed on the substrate by the coating device,
the coating apparatus includes the first substrate holding unit, the liquid supply unit, and the relative movement unit;
The liquid film drying device is
a second substrate holding section having a second plate member on which a substrate on which a film of the coating liquid has been formed by the coating device is placed, the second plate member holding the substrate placed on the second plate member in a predetermined fixed position;
a chamber having an internal space for accommodating the second substrate holder;
a liquid film drying unit that dries a film of the coating liquid formed on the substrate held by the second substrate holding unit by reducing the pressure in the space inside the chamber while the substrate is held by the second substrate holding unit,
the second plate member having a plurality of regions;
8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature adjustment section includes a second plate adjustment section that adjusts temperatures of the plurality of regions of the second plate member, respectively. The plurality of regions of the second plate member include:
a plurality of third regions overlapping at least a portion of an outer periphery of a substrate placed on the second plate member;
a plurality of fourth regions overlapping a central portion of a substrate placed on the second plate member;
The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein a dimension of the plurality of third regions in a radial direction of the substrate is smaller than a dimension of the plurality of fourth regions in the radial direction of the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the second plate adjustment unit adjusts the temperature of each of the multiple regions of the second plate member so that the temperature of a portion overlapping at least a portion of the outer periphery of the substrate placed on the second plate member is higher than the temperature of a portion overlapping the center of the substrate placed on the second plate member.

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