Patent ID: 7927429

Claim:
A substrate cleaning method for cleaning target substrates, the method comprising: holding a target substrate having a surface with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas present thereon in a substantially horizontal state on a holder; then, while rotating the target substrate, performing a rinse process on the target substrate by supplying only pure water at a first feed amount onto both the hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas of the target substrate from a pure-water feed point positioned at a center of the surface; continuous with the rinse process, and while rotating the target substrate, performing a transition process by reducing the feed amount of the pure water from the first feed amount, while supplying the pure water to the target substrate from the pure-water feed point positioned at the center of the surface without stopping supply of the pure water so as to cause a liquid film formed on the target substrate to be thinner than a liquid film formed during the rinse process; continuous with the transition process, and while rotating the target substrate, performing a spin dry process on the target substrate by: moving the pure-water feed point outward from the center of the surface while supplying only pure water, from the pure-water feed point, at a second feed amount smaller than the first feed amount to form a film of pure water on the surface of the target substrate outside of the pure-water feed point as the pure-water feed point is moved so as to dry the surface of the target substrate inside of the pure-water feed point, and stopping supply of the pure water when the pure-water feed point reaches a position near a peripheral edge of the target substrate while maintaining the rotation of the target substrate for a predetermined time after said stopping supply; and finishing the spin dry process by stopping rotation of the target substrate, and unloading the target substrate from the holder without performing any drying process on the target substrate after said stopping rotation.