Patent ID: 7910167

Claim:
A film-forming method of forming a film on a substrate, comprising: determining an allowable film-forming treatment time depending on a type of a surface-improving treatment based on a contact angle between the substrate and a film-forming solution with respect to an elapsed time after the surface-improving treatment is performed on the substrate so that the contact angle is maintained to be equal to or smaller than a prescribed angle after the surface-improving treatment is performed on the substrate; setting a predetermined amount of time corresponding to the allowable film-forming treatment time in a time controller; performing the surface-improving treatment on the substrate by a surface-improving treatment device; conveying the substrate from the surface-improving treatment device to the time controller after the performing of the surface-improving treatment; determining in the time controller whether the predetermined amount of time has passed since the surface-improving treatment has been performed on the substrate; and one of conveying the substrate from the time controller to a film-forming solution applicator and applying the film-forming solution to the substrate by the film-forming solution applicator whenever it is determined in the time controller that the predetermined amount of time has not passed, and conveying the substrate from the time controller to the surface-improving treatment device and repeating the surface-improving treatment on the substrate whenever it is determined in the time controller that the predetermined amount of time has passed.