Patent ID: 7755003

Claim:
A temperature control method for controlling a temperature of a hot plate, so that respective measured temperatures of the hot plate at a plurality of measurement points conform to respective target temperatures, in a heat processing apparatus for performing a heat process on a substrate placed on the hot plate, which is used in a coating/developing system for applying a resist coating onto the substrate to form a resist film and then performing development on the resist film after light exposure, the method comprising: a first step of measuring a stepped response waveform of measured temperatures of a substrate at the plurality of measurement points while changing stepwise each target temperature, then using the measured stepped response waveform to compose a pulsed response waveform with respect to a change of a pulsed target temperature, then using the pulsed response waveform to compose a triangular response waveform with respect to a change of a triangular target temperature, and then using the triangular response waveform to acquire a matrix as relation information showing a relation between the target temperatures and temperatures of the substrate at the plurality of measurement points; a second step of acquiring temperature distribution information by use of measured temperatures of the substrate placed on the hot plate, measured at the plurality of measurement points before adjustment of the target temperatures, and then calculating adjustment information by use of the relation information acquired in the first step and the temperature distribution information; and a third step of adjusting the target temperatures by use of the adjustment information acquired in the second step, wherein the second step is arranged to perform an offset adjustment of set temperature for heating the substrate, while performing one time or a plurality of times a temperature stabilization operation of placing a substrate on the hot plate and stabilizing temperature thereof, prior to an operation for calculating adjustment information, the second step is arranged to determine the adjustment information by repeating a plurality of times an operation for acquiring the temperature distribution information and an operation for calculating adjustment information by use of the relation information acquired in the first step and the temperature distribution information, and the second step is arranged to perform the operation for calculating adjustment information a plurality of times respectively at different time points corresponding to different temperature ranges.