| 摘要 |
<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an application method for assuring sufficient flatness for a coating film such as a resist film on a substrate such as a wafer, and to provide an application apparatus therefor. <P>SOLUTION: During a resist liquid application process, a high-concentration solvent gas in a circulation circuit 83 is supplied into a casing 17a, and an atmosphere inside the casing 17a is exhausted through an exhaust port 64 positioned at the lower part of a cup 62. Resist liquid is applied to a wafer W with a solvent gas atmosphere maintained in the casing 17a, and the wafer W is rotated for the formation of a resist film on the wafer W. When the application process is finished, the solvent gas in the casing 17a is exhausted through an upper exhaust port 81 but the supply of the high-concentration solvent gas into the casing 17a continues. In this way, the wafer W after the application process is held in the solvent gas for a specified time period. During the specified time period, because the viscosity of the resist film on the wafer W is kept low without solvent evaporation from the resist film, the resist film can flow on the wafer W and is flattened. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI |
