Patent ID: 8646469

Claim:
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a substrate holding mechanism capable of holding a substrate substantially horizontally; a substrate rotating unit for rotating the substrate holding mechanism to rotate the substrate; a rinsing liquid supply mechanism for supplying a rinsing liquid onto the top of the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism; a gas knife mechanism that sprays gas onto the top of the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism to form a gas spraying zone on the substrate top, and also unidirectionally scans the substrate top in its entirety by the gas spraying zone, with the substrate holding mechanism not rotated by the substrate rotating unit; a rinsing liquid replenishing mechanism for supplying a rinsing liquid onto the substrate top at its area downstream in the gas-spraying-zone scanning direction with respect to the gas spraying zone formed by the gas knife mechanism; a substrate drying unit for drying the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism by rotating the substrate with the substrate rotating unit; and a control unit arranged to control the substrate drying unit, the rinsing liquid supply mechanism, the gas knife mechanism, and the rinsing liquid replenishing mechanism, such that after the rinsing liquid has been supplied onto the substrate top by the rinsing liquid supply mechanism, the substrate top is unidirectionally scanned by the gas spraying zone formed by the gas knife mechanism, with the substrate holding mechanism not rotated by the substrate rotating unit, while the rinsing liquid is supplied, by the rinsing liquid replenishing mechanism, to the area of the substrate top which is located downstream in the gas-spraying-zone scanning direction, thereby to remove the rinsing liquid from the substrate top, and that a liquid component on the substrate is then dried by the substrate drying unit.