Apparatus for and method of processing substrate subjected to exposure process

Abstract

A substrate subjected to an exposure process by an exposure unit is transported into a cleaning processing unit in a substrate processing apparatus. An adjustment is made to the presence time (more specifically, the waiting time or the cleaning time) of the exposed substrate in the cleaning processing unit to adjust the instant of the end of a cleaning process so as to provide a constant time interval between the instant of the completion of the exposure process and the instant of the end of the cleaning process. Such adjustments provide a constant time interval between the instant of the completion of the exposure process and the instant of the start of a post-exposure bake process, and also provide a constant time interval between the, instant of the completion of the cleaning process and the instant of the start of the post-exposure bake process. This achieves further improvements in the line width uniformity of a pattern formed when a chemically amplified resist is used.

1 . A substrate processing apparatus disposed adjacent to an exposure apparatus, said substrate processing apparatus comprising: 
 a cleaning processing part for performing at least a cleaning process on a substrate subjected to an exposure process by said exposure apparatus;    a heating processing part for performing a heating process on a substrate subjected to said cleaning process;    a transport mechanism for receiving a substrate from said exposure apparatus to transport the substrate through said cleaning processing part to said heating processing part; and    a controller for providing an approximately constant first interprocess time interval between the instant at which said exposure apparatus completes the exposure process of a substrate and the instant at which said heating processing part starts the heating process of the substrate, and for providing an approximately constant second interprocess time interval between the instant at which said cleaning processing part completes the cleaning process of the substrate and the instant at which said heating processing part starts the heating process of the substrate.    
   
   
       2 . The substrate processing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein 
 said controller adjusts the instant at which said cleaning processing part completes the cleaning process to thereby provide the approximately constant first interprocess time interval and the approximately constant second interprocess time interval.    
   
   
       3 . The substrate processing apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein 
 said controller adjusts a presence time for which the substrate subjected to the exposure process is present in the cleaning processing part to thereby adjust said instant at which said cleaning processing part completes the cleaning process.    
   
   
       4 . The substrate processing apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein 
 said controller adjusts a waiting time for which the substrate subjected to the exposure process and transported to said cleaning processing part waits until said cleaning process to thereby adjust said presence time.    
   
   
       5 . The substrate processing apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein 
 said controller adjusts a cleaning processing time for which the substrate subjected to the exposure process is subjected to the cleaning process by said cleaning processing part to thereby adjust said presence time.    
   
   
       6 . The substrate processing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein 
 said exposure apparatus performs an immersion exposure process on a substrate.    
   
   
       7 . A method of processing a substrate subjected to an exposure process, said method comprising the steps of: 
 transporting a substrate subjected to the exposure process to a cleaning processing part;    performing a cleaning process in said cleaning processing part on said substrate subjected to the exposure process;    transporting said substrate subjected to the cleaning process from said cleaning processing part to a heating processing part; and    performing a heating process in said heating processing part on said substrate subjected to the cleaning process,    wherein a first interprocess time interval between the instant at which the exposure process of a substrate is completed and the instant at which the heating process of the substrate is started is made approximately constant, and a second interprocess time interval between the instant at which the cleaning process of the substrate is completed and the instant at which the heating process of the substrate is started is made approximately constant.    
   
   
       8 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein 
 said first interprocess time interval and said second interprocess time interval are made approximately constant by adjusting the instant at which said cleaning processing part completes the cleaning process.    
   
   
       9 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein 
 said instant at which said cleaning processing part completes the cleaning process is adjusted by adjusting a presence time for which the substrate subjected to the exposure process is present in said cleaning processing part.    
   
   
       10 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein 
 said presence time is adjusted by adjusting a waiting time for which the substrate subjected to the exposure process and transported to said cleaning processing part waits until said cleaning process.    
   
   
       11 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein 
 said presence time is adjusted by adjusting a cleaning processing time for which the substrate subjected to the exposure process is subjected to the cleaning process by said cleaning processing part.    
   
   
       12 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein 
 said exposure process is an immersion exposure process.