Patent ID: 7959816

Claim:
A wet-processing apparatus for carrying out a wet-step to form a pattern on a substrate defining a display panel, comprising: a wet-step bath in which said wet-step is carried out; a vibration-type film separator for separating impurities out of a solution used in said wet-step; a re-supply path through which said solution out of which said impurities were removed by means of said vibration-type film separator is re-supplied to said wet-step bath; a plurality of tanks in each of which a solution having been used for said wet-step and supplied from said wet-step bath is temporarily stored; a pump for feeding said solution stored in said tanks into said vibration-type film separator; and a path through which an enriched solution containing impurities separated from said solution by means of said vibration-type film separator is fed into said tanks from said vibration-type film separator, said solution and said enriched solution being supplied from said wet-step bath and said vibration-type film separator, respectively, selectively to one of said tanks; a flow-path switching unit for supplying the solution stored in the one selected tank into said vibration-type film separator; a concentration-detecting sensor for detecting a concentration of impurities contained in said solution stored in each of said tanks; and a controller which, when said concentration of impurities contained in the solution stored in the one selected tank is over a threshold, controls said flow-path switching unit to switch from supplying the solution of the one selected tank into said vibration-type film separator to supplying the solution of another one of the tanks into the vibration-type film separator.