Patent ID: 7681521

Claim:
An insulating film-forming apparatus, comprising: a substrate process section for forming an insulating film on the substrate; a substrate transfer section for transferring the substrate from the outside into the substrate process section; and a substrate transfer mechanism for transferring the substrate between the substrate process section and the substrate transfer section, the substrate process section includes a process tower comprising plural process units stacked one above the other for performing a series of processes for forming an insulating film on the substrate, said plurality of process units including a coating unit for coating the substrate with a chemical liquid containing a material of the insulating film so as to form a coating film, a temperature control unit for controlling the substrate before coating with the chemical liquid at a prescribed temperature and a heating unit for heating the substrate having the coating film formed thereon, the process tower is detachable from the substrate process section, each of the plural process units is housed in a casing, the process tower includes a housing which has a plurality of levels for detachably accommodating the casings of the process units, the casing of the temperature control unit is isolated and sealed from the passage of air therethrough and is set in the housing at a level below the casing of the heating unit which also is isolated and sealed from the passage of air therethrough, and the casing of the coating unit is set in the housing at a level below the casing of the temperature control unit, the casing of the heating unit, the casing of the temperature control unit and the casing of the coating unit are arranged with an air passageway interposed therebetween within the housing so as to achieve heat insulation therebetween, an air blowing mechanism is connected to the coating unit and configured to blow air having a controlled temperature and humidity into the coating unit so as to control the temperature and humidity of the coating unit, the casing of the coating unit is constructed to cause the air blown from the air blowing mechanism into the coating unit to be exhausted from the coating unit into the air passageway, the air passageway is connected to an exhaust device through an exhaust port formed on the housing of the process tower and located above the casing of the heating unit, and the insulating film-forming apparatus is designed such that the air blown from the air blowing mechanism is forced by the exhaust device to pass through the coating unit and flow upward into the air passageway, then flow upward through a portion of the air passageway around the casing of the temperature control unit and a portion of the air passageway around the casing of the heating unit, in this order, and then exhaust at the exhaust device.