Patent ID: 9687886
Date: 2017-06-27
CPC Classifications: B08B,F26B,H01L

Claim:
1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a substrate holder for holding a substrate in a horizontal posture; a substrate rotator connected to said substrate holder for rotating the substrate held by said substrate holder about a vertical axis; a discharge nozzle arranged for discharging a cleaning solution from an outlet thereof to a surface of the substrate that is held by said substrate holder and rotated by said substrate rotator; a cleaning solution supply source connected to said discharge nozzle for feeding the cleaning solution to said discharge nozzle; and a nozzle rotating drive connected to said discharge nozzle for scanning the outlet of said discharge nozzle from a position opposed to a center of the substrate to a position opposed to a circumferential edge of the substrate while the cleaning solution is being discharged onto the surface of the substrate from said outlet; the substrate processing apparatus further comprising: a controller configured to control said nozzle rotating drive such that after the outlet of said discharge nozzle has started to move from a position opposed to a center of the substrate toward a circumferential edge of the substrate, before drying at the center portion of the substrate is started, wherein a center position of the substrate is a center and wherein a distance to a position on the substrate surface opposed to the outlet of said discharge nozzle is a radius, the outlet of said discharge nozzle is once stopped, and after drying has started in a small region the outlet of said discharge nozzle is moved again toward the circumferential edge of the substrate, wherein said controller is further configured to control said nozzle rotating drive such that the movement of the outlet of said discharge nozzle is once stopped after the outlet of said discharge nozzle has started to move from the position opposed to the center of the substrate toward the circumferential edge of the substrate and before drying at the center of the substrate is started, and the outlet of said discharge nozzle is moved again toward the circumferential edge of the substrate after drying has started, by a centrifugal force causing the cleaning solution, which the surface of the substrate is covered with, to flow in a region inside a circumference defined by the center of the substrate as the center and by a distance to a position on the substrate surface opposed to the outlet of said discharge nozzle as a radius.