Patent ID: 7820243

Claim:
A resist coating method comprising: supplying a resist solution to substantially a center of a circular target substrate to be processed while rotating the target substrate at a first rotational speed of 2,000 rpm to 6,000 rpm during a supply period, and terminating supply of the resist solution at an end of the supply period such that the resist solution is kept not supplied onto the target substrate thereafter until residual parts of the resist solution have been spun off; rotating the target substrate while reducing a rotational speed thereof from the first rotational speed to a second rotational speed that is lower than the first rotational speed and that is 500 to 2,000 rpm with a first deceleration rate of 20,000 to 50,000 rpm/sec during a period from a first time point after the supply period to a second time point; rotating the target substrate while reducing a rotational speed thereof from the second rotational speed to a third rotational speed that is lower than the second rotational speed and that is 0 to 500 rpm or until rotational halt with a second deceleration rate of 1,000 to 5,000 rpm/sec during a period from the second time point to a third time point, the second deceleration rate gradually becoming smaller with a decrease in rotational speed of the target substrate, and the periods from the first time point to the third time point being 1 to 3 seconds in total; and rotating the target substrate while accelerating a rotational speed thereof from the third rotational speed or the rotational halt to a fourth rotational speed higher than the third rotational speed during a period from the third time point to a fourth time point, and rotating the target substrate at the fourth rotational speed from the fourth time point to spin off residual parts of the resist solution.