Patent ID: 8218124

Claim:
A substrate processing apparatus that is arranged adjacent to an exposure device, the substrate processing apparatus comprising: a processing section for subjecting a substrate to processing; and an interface for transferring and receiving the substrate between the processing section and the exposure device, wherein at least one of the processing section and the interface includes a drying processing unit that subjects the substrate to drying processing, the drying processing unit including: a substrate holding device that holds the substrate substantially horizontally, a rotation-driving device that rotates the substrate held by the substrate holding device around an axis perpendicular to the substrate, a rinse liquid supplier that supplies a rinse liquid onto the substrate held by the substrate holding device, to form a liquid layer of the rinse liquid on the substrate, and a rinse liquid supplier moving mechanism that moves the rinse liquid supplier such that the rinse liquid is continuously supplied from the center of the rotated substrate to its peripheral portion, the rotation-driving device adjusts a rotational speed of the substrate such that a thin layer region of the liquid layer of the rinse liquid whose thickness is smaller than a thickness of a remaining region of the liquid layer is formed at the center of the substrate, and the thin layer region gradually expands by a centrifugal force by the movement of the rinse liquid supplier, and gradually or continuously changes the rotational speed of the substrate such that the substrate is rotated at a first rotational speed with the rinse liquid supplied to the center of the substrate, and rotated at a second rotational speed lower than the first rotational speed with the rinse liquid supplied to the peripheral portion of the substrate, and the rinse liquid supplier moving mechanism stops the movement of the rinse liquid supplier for a predetermined time period such that the expansion of the thin layer region is stopped, and only one drying core is formed at the center of the substrate by the centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the substrate with the rinse liquid supplied to a position spaced apart from the center of the substrate by a predetermined distance.