Patent ID: 7823534

Claim:
A developing apparatus comprising: a substrate holding unit that holds a substrate in a horizontal attitude, the substrate having an exposed resist thereon; a rotational drive mechanism that rotates the substrate holding unit, holding the substrate, around a vertical axis; a developer nozzle that ejects a developing solution toward the substrate, the developer nozzle having an ejection port having a shape of an elongated slit, the ejection port having a length, measured in a longitudinal direction thereof, smaller than a radius of the substrate; a moving mechanism that moves the developer nozzle in a substantially radial direction of the substrate, the moving mechanism including a nozzle support unit to support the developer nozzle; and a control unit that controls the rotational drive mechanism and the moving mechanism, wherein the nozzle support unit of the moving mechanism is configured to support the developer nozzle such that a longitudinal direction of the ejection port is oriented parallel to a moving direction of the developer nozzle in which the developer nozzle moves in the radial direction of the substrate when the ejection port is located above the substrate; and wherein the control unit is configured to control the rotational drive mechanism, the developer nozzle and the moving mechanism such that the developer nozzle is moved from a peripheral portion of the substrate toward the center portion of the substrate while ejecting the developing solution in a form of a strip through the ejection port and while rotating the substrate around the vertical axis at a rotation speed not less than 500 rpm, thereby to supply the developing solution to a surface of the substrate in a spiral form, and thereafter the developer nozzle is configured to be stopped above the center portion of the substrate while ejecting the developing solution, thereby to supply the developing solution to the center portion of the substrate that is rotating.