Patent ID: 7205024

Claim:
A method of forming a film, comprising: applying a coating liquid in which particles or colloids of a starting substance of a film component are dispersed in a solvent on the surface of a substrate to form a film; transferring the substrate into a sealed chamber and first gelling the coating liquid on the substrate while exposing the substrate to a carrier gas containing solvent vapor of the coating liquid at a first average concentration; bringing the substrate to a predetermined temperature, and after the substrate attains a predetermined temperature; secondly gelling the coating liquid on the substrate with a carrier gas containing the solvent vapor of the coating liquid at a second average concentration higher than the first average concentration; wherein the first average concentration corresponds to the saturated vapor pressure of the solvent at the substrate temperature during transfer into the chamber; and wherein the second average concentration corresponds to the saturated vapor pressure of the solvent at the substrate temperature at the predetermined temperature during the second gelling.