Rotation holding device

Abstract

To provide a rotary holding device capable of performing uniform processing over the entire substrate suctioned and held by a suction holding part.SOLUTION: A rotary holding device 10 includes: A suction holding part 11 having an upper surface 11u that suctions and holds a central part of a lower surface of a substrate W; and a rotary driving part 13 that rotates the suction holding part 11 in a circumference of a vertical axis. The rotary holding device 10 includes a plurality of gas nozzles 17 as a temperature adjustment part. The plurality of gas nozzles 17 are arranged in a circumferential direction of the substrate W suctioned and held by the suction holding part 11. Each of the plurality of gas nozzles 17 is disposed such that a gas ejection part extends in a diameter direction of the substrate W suctioned and held by the suction holding part 11. A gas supply system 18 is connected to a gas introduction part of each gas nozzle 17.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 22

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a rotary holding device that rotates while adsorbing and holding the central portion of the lower surface of a substrate.

Background Art

[0002] In order to perform various processes on substrates such as semiconductor substrates, FPD (Flat Panel Display) substrates such as liquid crystal display devices or organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display devices, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, magneto-optical disk substrates, photomask substrates, ceramic substrates, or solar cell substrates, a substrate processing apparatus is used.

[0003] As an example of a substrate processing apparatus, there is a coating apparatus that forms a resist film on the surface of a substrate. In the coating processing apparatus, various processing liquids such as a cleaning liquid or a resist liquid are supplied to the rotating substrate. This coating processing apparatus includes a spin chuck that rotates while holding a single substrate in a horizontal posture.

[0004] As an example of such a spin chuck, Patent Document 1 describes a spin chuck that adsorbs and holds the central portion of the back surface of a substrate. The spin chuck has a circular upper surface. On the upper surface of the spin chuck, a convex portion is formed at the peripheral edge portion, and a plurality of minute protrusions are formed inside the convex portion. Further, a plurality of suction holes are formed on the upper surface of the spin chuck.

[0005] In a state where a substrate is placed on the spin chuck, the atmosphere in the space formed between the upper surface of the spin chuck and the substrate and inside the annular convex portion is sucked, whereby the substrate is adsorbed and held on the spin chuck.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

[0007] In recent years, semiconductor product substrates have been made thinner to suit their applications. This thinning of substrates reduces their rigidity. Therefore, depending on the configuration of the spin chuck, the portion of the substrate not held by the spin chuck may deform during rotation, potentially leading to instability in the substrate's holding state. Alternatively, a temperature difference may occur between the portion of the substrate held by the spin chuck and the portion not held by the spin chuck during rotation.

[0008] The instability in the holding state of the rotating substrate and the temperature differences that occur between multiple parts of the rotating substrate, as described above, reduce the uniformity of the processing across the entire substrate.

[0009] The object of the present invention is to provide a rotating holding device that enables uniform processing of the entire substrate held by the adsorption holding unit. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] (1) The rotary holding device according to the present invention is a rotary holding device that rotates a substrate while adsorbing and holding the central portion of its lower surface, comprising: an adsorption holding portion that adsorbs and holds the central portion of the lower surface of the substrate; a rotation drive portion that rotates the adsorption holding portion around a rotation axis extending in the vertical direction; and a temperature adjustment portion that adjusts the temperature of at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate that is not adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding portion while the adsorption holding portion is adsorbing and holding the substrate. The temperature control unit includes a gas supply unit that supplies temperature control gas to at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge, and the gas supply unit includes a first annular opposing surface that surrounds the adsorption holding unit and faces at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate when the adsorption holding unit is adsorbing and holding the substrate, and a plurality of gas injection ports are formed on the first annular opposing surface that simultaneously inject temperature control gas to at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate when the adsorption holding unit is adsorbing and holding the substrate, and an annular inclined surface is formed on the portion of the first annular opposing surface that is closest to the adsorption holding unit, so as to face at least the inner edge of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate when the adsorption holding unit is adsorbing and holding the substrate, and at least a portion of the plurality of gas injection ports are located on the inclined surface and inject temperature control gas along a direction perpendicular to the inclined surface ru.

[0011] In this rotating holding device, the central part of the lower surface of the substrate is held by a suction holding unit. The suction holding unit that holds the substrate is rotated by a rotation drive unit. The temperature control unit described above can suppress the occurrence of temperature differences between multiple parts of the substrate when processing is performed on the substrate being rotated by the rotating holding device. Therefore, uniform processing across the entire substrate becomes possible.

[0012] Also, The temperature control unit includes a gas supply unit for supplying temperature-controlling gas, located in at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge. nothing In this case, the temperature of the substrate, including the lower peripheral edge, is adjusted by a temperature-regulating gas. As a result, there is no need to install a heating device such as a heater or ultraviolet lamp in the rotating holding device, and the substrate processing environment is not affected by excessive heat. Furthermore, the gas supply unit includes a first annular opposing surface that surrounds the adsorption holding unit and faces at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate while the adsorption holding unit is adsorbing and holding the substrate. The first annular opposing surface has a plurality of gas injection ports formed thereon that simultaneously inject temperature-regulating gas onto at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate while the adsorption holding unit is adsorbing and holding the substrate. In this case, temperature-regulating gas is supplied to at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate from the plurality of gas injection ports formed on the first annular opposing surface. Furthermore, the first annular opposing surface has an annular inclined surface that faces inward and upward toward the first annular opposing surface. At least some of the multiple gas injection nozzles are located on the inclined surface and inject temperature-regulating gas in a direction perpendicular to the inclined surface.

[0013] ( 2 The temperature-regulating gas may be a gas supplied to at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge, thereby adjusting the temperature of the portion of the substrate including the lower peripheral edge to match or approach the temperature of the portion of the substrate including the lower center.

[0014] In this case, by supplying temperature-regulating gas to at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate, temperature differences between multiple parts of the substrate are suppressed. Therefore, more uniform processing across the entire substrate becomes possible.

[0019] ( 3 At least some of the multiple gas injection ports may be dispersed in the rotational direction around the axis of rotation. In this case, temperature-regulating gas is supplied simultaneously to multiple portions of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate in the circumferential direction.

[0022] ( 4 The suction holding portion has an upper surface that suctions and holds the central part of the lower surface of the substrate, and the upper surface has a peripheral region along the outer edge and a central region surrounded by the peripheral region, the peripheral region is provided with a plurality of first suction holes and the central region is provided with a plurality of second suction holes, and the surface density of the plurality of first suction holes in the peripheral region may be greater than the surface density of the plurality of second suction holes in the central region.

[0023] According to the configuration of the adsorption holding part described above, when the substrate adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding part rotates, the portion of the substrate located in the peripheral region is suppressed from lifting from the upper surface of the adsorption holding part, and the holding state of the substrate is stabilized. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the processing of the substrate from varying at a plurality of portions on the substrate due to a part of the substrate lifting from the upper surface of the adsorption holding part. As a result, uniform processing over the entire substrate becomes possible.

[0024] The substrate processing apparatus may include the above-described rotation holding device. According to the above-described rotation holding device, the generation of a temperature difference between a plurality of portions of the rotating substrate is suppressed. Therefore, uniform processing using a processing liquid can be performed on the entire substrate rotated by the rotation holding device.

Advantages of the Invention

[0025] According to the present invention, it becomes possible to perform uniform processing on the entire substrate adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding part.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0026] [Figure 1] It is a schematic cross-sectional view of a coating apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] It is a schematic plan view of the coating apparatus of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] It is an external perspective view of a gas nozzle. [Figure 4] It is an exploded perspective view of an adsorption holding part according to a first configuration example. [Figure 5] It is a plan view of the adsorption holding part of FIG. 4 according to a first configuration example. [Figure 6] It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of the adsorption holding part of FIG. 5. [Figure 7] It is an exploded perspective view of an adsorption holding part according to a second configuration example. [Figure 8] It is a bottom view of the upper circular member of FIG. 7. [Figure 9] It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an adsorption holding part according to a second configuration example. [Figure 10] It is a plan view of an adsorption holding part according to a reference form. [Figure 11] Figure 10 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the suction holding section along the BB line. [Figure 12] This is a plan view showing an example of a first coating unevenness that occurred on a substrate after coating treatment using the adsorption holding part according to the reference embodiment. [Figure 13] This is a cross-sectional view illustrating the first estimated mechanism for the occurrence of the first coating unevenness shown in Figure 12. [Figure 14] This is a cross-sectional view illustrating the second estimated mechanism for the occurrence of the first coating unevenness shown in Figure 12. [Figure 15] This is a plan view showing an example of a second type of coating unevenness that occurred on the substrate after the coating process. [Figure 16] Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the estimated mechanism for the occurrence of the second coating unevenness. [Figure 17] This is a plan view illustrating the portion of the substrate that will be subject to film thickness measurement in the first confirmation test for uneven coating. [Figure 18] This figure shows the results of the confirmation test regarding the first coating unevenness. [Figure 19] This is a schematic cross-sectional view of a coating apparatus used to explain a temperature control verification test. [Figure 20] This figure shows the results of the temperature control verification test. [Figure 21] This figure shows the film thickness distribution of the resist film on four substrates that were coated under different gas supply conditions from the gas nozzle to the substrate. [Figure 22] This is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a basic configuration example of a coating apparatus according to the second embodiment. [Figure 23] Figure 22 is a schematic plan view of the coating apparatus. [Figure 24] This is an external perspective view of the gas nozzle according to the first modified example. [Figure 25] Figure 24 is a plan view of the gas nozzle. [Figure 26] Figure 24 is a bottom view of the gas nozzle. [Figure 27]This figure shows the positional relationship between the gas nozzle and the adsorption holding unit in a first modified example of a coating apparatus. [Figure 28] Figure 27 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of multiple parts of the adsorption holding section and gas nozzle. [Figure 29] This is a bottom view of a gas nozzle relating to the second modified example. [Figure 30] This is a plan view of a gas nozzle according to a third modified example. [Figure 31] This is a plan view of a gas nozzle according to the fourth modified example. [Figure 32] This is a perspective view of the gas nozzle according to the fifth modified example. [Figure 33] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view illustrating the positional relationship between the gas nozzle and the substrate held by the adsorption holding unit according to the fifth modified example. [Figure 34] This figure shows the film thickness distribution of the resist film in the example substrate and comparative example substrate of the second embodiment. [Figure 35] Figures 1 and 22 are external perspective views showing other configuration examples of the gas ejection section in the gas nozzle. [Figure 36] Figures 1 and 22 are external perspective views showing yet another configuration example of the gas ejection section in the gas nozzle. [Figure 37] Figures 22 and 23 are schematic plan views of a coating apparatus showing an example in which some of the gas nozzles among the multiple gas nozzles are adjusted in position. [Figure 38] Figures 22 and 23 are schematic plan views of a coating apparatus showing an example in which some of the gas nozzles among the multiple gas nozzles are adjusted in position. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0027] Hereinafter, a rotating holding device and a substrate processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, "substrate" refers to a substrate for a Flat Panel Display (FPD) used in a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display device, a semiconductor substrate, a substrate for an optical disk, a substrate for a magnetic disk, a substrate for a magneto-optical disk, a substrate for a photomask, a ceramic substrate, or a substrate for a solar cell. In the following description, a coating device for coating a resist solution onto a substrate will be described as an example of a substrate processing device. In the following description, the substrate to be processed has at least a portion of a circular outer edge. A notch or orientation flat is locally formed on the outer edge of the substrate to identify the position and orientation of the substrate. Furthermore, a rim (outer support ring) is formed around the entire circumference of the outer edge of the substrate. In the substrate, the thickness of the region inside the rim (substrate thickness) is 200 μm or less, which is smaller than the thickness of the rim.

[0028] 1. First Embodiment [1] Overall configuration of the coating apparatus Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a coating apparatus according to the first embodiment, and Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of the coating apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1. In Figure 2, some of the components of the coating apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1 are omitted from the illustration. Also, the substrate W shown in Figure 1 is indicated by a dashed line.

[0029] As shown in Figure 1, the coating apparatus 1 according to this embodiment mainly comprises a rotating holding device 10 and a processing liquid supply device 20. The rotating holding device 10 is configured to rotate while holding the central part of the lower surface of the substrate W by suction.

[0030] The processing liquid supply device 20 includes a liquid nozzle 21 and a processing liquid supply system 22. The processing liquid supply system 22 supplies resist liquid to the liquid nozzle 21. The liquid nozzle 21 discharges the supplied resist liquid onto the upper surface of the substrate W, which is held by adsorption and rotated by the processing liquid supply device 20. As a result, a resist film is formed on the upper surface of the untreated substrate W (coating process). The substrate W on which the resist film has been formed is removed from the coating device 1 and subjected to exposure processing in an exposure device (not shown).

[0031] The specific configuration of the rotating holding device 10 will now be described. The rotating holding device 10 includes a suction holding unit 11, a rotating shaft 12, a rotating drive unit 13, a suction device 14, a cup 15, a drain guide tube 16, a gas nozzle 17, and a gas supply system 18.

[0032] The suction holding part 11 has a flat upper surface 11u that suction and holds the central part of the lower surface of the substrate W, and is attached to the upper end of the rotating shaft 12 that extends in the vertical direction. Numerous suction holes vh1, vh2 (see Figure 4, described later) are formed on the upper surface 11u of the suction holding part 11. The rotation drive unit 13 rotates the rotating shaft 12 around its axis.

[0033] As shown by the thick dotted line in Figure 1, an intake path vp is formed inside the adsorption holding section 11 and the rotating shaft 12. The intake path vp is connected to a suction device 14. The suction device 14 includes a suction mechanism such as an aspirator, and sucks the atmosphere from the space above the upper surface 11u of the adsorption holding section 11 through the intake path vp and discharges it to the outside of the coating device 1.

[0034] As shown in Figure 2, the cup 15 is provided so as to surround the suction holding portion 11 in a plan view and is configured to be movable to multiple positions in the vertical direction by a lifting mechanism (not shown). As shown in Figure 1, the cup 15 includes a bottom portion 15x and an outer peripheral wall portion 15y. The bottom portion 15x has a substantially annular shape. The inner peripheral end of the bottom portion 15x is bent upward by a predetermined height. The outer peripheral wall portion 15y is formed to extend upward by a predetermined height from the outer peripheral end of the bottom portion 15x, bend, and further extend diagonally upward toward the suction holding portion 11.

[0035] A drain 15d is formed in the bottom 15x of the cup 15. A drain guide tube 16 is attached to the portion of the bottom 15x where the drain 15d is formed. The lower end of the drain guide tube 16 is connected to a drainage system (not shown).

[0036] As shown in Figure 2, a gas nozzle 17 is provided in a plan view between the inner end of the outer peripheral wall portion 15y of the cup 15 and the outer peripheral end of the adsorption holding portion 11. Figure 3 is an external perspective view of the gas nozzle 17. As shown in Figure 3, the gas nozzle 17 has a substantially L-shape and includes a gas introduction portion 17a and a gas ejection portion 17b. The gas introduction portion 17a has a cylindrical shape and is provided at the lower part of the gas nozzle 17. The gas ejection portion 17b is a slit-shaped opening and is formed at the upper end of the gas nozzle 17. Inside the gas nozzle 17, a gas supply path 17v is formed, connecting the gas introduction portion 17a to the gas ejection portion 17b.

[0037] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the gas nozzle 17 is positioned near the outer peripheral end of the adsorption holding part 11, with the gas ejection part 17b facing the lower surface of the substrate W that is adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding part 11. The coating apparatus 1 has a configuration in which a rotating holding device 10 and a processing liquid supply device 20 are housed in a housing (not shown). The gas nozzle 17 is fixed to the housing of the coating apparatus 1, for example. With the substrate W adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding part 11, the distance between the lower surface of the substrate W and the upper end of the gas nozzle 17 (gas ejection part 17b) is set to, for example, about 0.5 mm to 10 mm. Furthermore, the gas nozzle 17 is positioned so that the slit-shaped opening of the gas ejection part 17b extends in the direction of the diameter of the substrate W that is adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding part 11. In addition, a gas supply system 18 is connected to the gas introduction part 17a (Figure 3) of the gas nozzle 17.

[0038] In the coating apparatus 1 having the above configuration, the substrate W is held in a horizontal position by the suction holding unit 11 during the coating process. The cup 15 is positioned vertically so that the inner surface of the outer peripheral wall portion 15y faces the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W in the horizontal direction. In this state, the substrate W is rotated by the operation of the rotary drive unit 13.

[0039] Next, the liquid nozzle 21 is moved above the substrate W by a nozzle moving device (not shown). In this state, resist liquid is discharged from the moved liquid nozzle 21 onto the substrate W. As a result, the resist liquid is applied to the rotating substrate W. The resist liquid that splashes outward from the rotating substrate W is caught by the inner surface of the outer peripheral wall portion 15y of the cup 15. The caught resist liquid is collected at the bottom 15x of the cup 15 and is led from the drain 15d through the drain guide tube 16 to a drainage system (not shown).

[0040] In the coating apparatus 1, the temperature of the substrate W to be maintained during the coating process (hereinafter referred to as the processing temperature) is predetermined. The processing temperature is, for example, 23°C. However, as will be described later, when the substrate W held by the suction holding unit 11 rotates, the temperature of the part of the substrate W that is not in contact with the suction holding unit 11 may drop lower than the temperature of the other parts that are in contact with the suction holding unit 11. Therefore, even if the temperature of the part of the substrate W in contact with the suction holding unit 11 is maintained at the processing temperature, the temperature of the part of the substrate W that is not in contact with the suction holding unit 11 may be maintained at a temperature lower than the processing temperature.

[0041] Therefore, the gas supply system 18 supplies a gas having a temperature higher than the processing temperature (hereinafter referred to as temperature-adjusting gas) to the gas nozzle 17 during the coating process. In this case, the temperature-adjusting gas supplied to the gas nozzle 17 is sprayed from the gas ejection part 17b of the gas nozzle 17 onto a portion of the lower surface of the substrate W during the coating process. As a result, the temperature of the portion of the substrate W that is not in contact with the adsorption holding part 11 matches or approaches the temperature of the other portion of the substrate W that is in contact with the adsorption holding part 11 (for example, the processing temperature).

[0042] During the coating process of the substrate W, the flow rate of the temperature-regulating gas injected from the gas ejection section 17b onto the substrate W is adjusted to such an extent that the substrate W, which is adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding section 11, is not peeled off from the upper surface 11u of the adsorption holding section 11. Heated nitrogen gas is used as the temperature-regulating gas supplied to the gas nozzle 17. Alternatively, heated dry air can be used as the temperature-regulating gas supplied to the gas nozzle 17.

[0043] By the way, in the coating apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, the adsorption holding unit 11 has a configuration for stabilizing the holding state of the substrate W during the coating process. A specific example of the configuration of the adsorption holding unit 11 will be described below.

[0044] [2] Specific example of the configuration of the adsorption and holding unit 11 (1) First example configuration Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the adsorption holding part 11 according to the first configuration example. Figure 5 is a plan view of the adsorption holding part 11 of Figure 4 according to the first configuration example. Figure 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the adsorption holding part 11 of Figure 5 along line AA. In Figure 5, in addition to the overall plan view of the adsorption holding part 11, an enlarged plan view of a part of the outer peripheral end of the adsorption holding part 11 and its surrounding area is shown in a callout.

[0045] As shown in Figure 4, the adsorption holding portion 11 according to the first configuration example is mainly composed of a disc-shaped member 40 and an annular member 50. The disc-shaped member 40 and the annular member 50 are made of, for example, a resin with excellent corrosion resistance. The disc-shaped member 40 has an adsorption portion 41, an intake path forming portion 42, and a support portion 43 arranged from top to bottom. The adsorption portion 41 includes the upper surface 11u of the adsorption holding portion 11 and is configured to adsorb and hold the central part of the lower surface of the substrate W.

[0046] The diameter of the upper surface 11u is within 15% of the diameter of the substrate W, with the radius of the substrate W as the center value. When the diameter of the substrate W is 300 mm, it is preferable that the diameter of the upper surface 11u be within the range of 130 mm to 170 mm. When the diameter of the upper surface 11u is within 15% of the diameter of the substrate W, with the radius of the substrate W as the center value, the lower central part of the substrate W is adsorbed over a wider area, and the holding state is more stable compared to when the diameter of the upper surface 11u is smaller than that range. In addition, it becomes easier to manufacture the adsorption holding part 11 having a flat upper surface 11u throughout, compared to when the diameter of the upper surface 11u is larger than the above range.

[0047] As shown in Figure 6, in the disc-shaped member 40, the diameters of the intake path forming portion 42 and the support portion 43 are smaller than the diameter of the suction portion 41. As a result, the outer peripheral end of the suction portion 41 and its surrounding portion protrude in a flange-like manner outward (to the side) of the disc-shaped member 40 at a position above the intake path forming portion 42 and the support portion 43.

[0048] In the following description, the virtual axis extending vertically through the center of the adsorption holding section 11 is referred to as the central axis 11c. The intake path forming section 42 has a plurality of lateral holes that extend linearly horizontally from the central axis 11c toward the outer peripheral end of the adsorption holding section 11. The internal space of each of these lateral holes constitutes a linear path LP, which is part of the intake path vp described above. As shown in Figure 5, the plurality of linear paths LP are formed at a constant angular pitch β with the central axis 11c as the center. The internal spaces of the plurality of linear paths LP are in communication with each other at the center of the adsorption holding section 11. In this example, the angular pitch β is 30°. Note that the angular pitch β may be 15° or 60°.

[0049] As shown in Figure 6, the support portion 43 located at the bottom of the disc-shaped member 40 has a mounting portion 43a that is attached to the upper end of the rotating shaft 12 in Figure 1. The mounting portion 43a has a cylindrical shape that surrounds the central axis 11c and is formed to protrude downward from the other parts with respect to the central axis 11c. In addition, a communication hole 43b is formed in the support portion 43 along the central axis 11c. The communication hole 43b connects the internal space of the multiple linear paths LP with the space below the disc-shaped member 40.

[0050] When the support portion 43 is attached to the upper end of the rotating shaft 12, the central axis 11c coincides with the axis of the rotating shaft 12, and the internal spaces of the multiple linear paths LP communicate with the internal space of the intake path vp formed in the rotating shaft 12 through the communication hole 43b.

[0051] As shown in Figure 4, the annular member 50 has a bottom portion 51 and an outer peripheral wall portion 52. The bottom portion 51 has an annular shape. The inner circumferential end of the bottom portion 51 is configured to be connectable to the lower outer peripheral end of the support portion 43 of the disc-shaped member 40. The outer peripheral wall portion 52 is formed to extend upward from the outer peripheral end of the bottom portion 51 to a certain height. The upper end of the outer peripheral wall portion 52 is configured to be connectable to the lower outer peripheral end of the suction portion 41 of the disc-shaped member 40.

[0052] The annular member 50 is attached to the disc-shaped member 40 so as to connect the lower outer circumference of the suction part 41 and the lower outer circumference of the support part 43, as shown by the thick solid arrow in Figure 4. During this attachment, the connection between the disc-shaped member 40 and the annular member 50 is welded. This creates an annular space below the periphery of the suction part 41. This annular space constitutes the annular path RP (Figures 5 and 6), which is part of the intake path vp within the suction holding part 11. In plan view, the annular path RP surrounds a plurality of linear paths LP. The ends of the plurality of linear paths LP opposite the central axis 11c are open to the space within the annular path RP. Therefore, the internal space of the annular path RP and the internal spaces of the plurality of linear paths LP are in communication with each other.

[0053] As shown by the thick dashed circle in Figure 5, the upper surface 11u of the adsorption holding portion 11 according to this embodiment is divided into a peripheral region R1 along the outer edge of the adsorption holding portion 11 and a central region R2 surrounded by the peripheral region R1.

[0054] In this example, the peripheral region R1 is an annular region of a certain width extending from the outer edge of the suction holding portion 11, and overlaps with the annular member 50 in a plan view. When the diameter of the upper surface 11u is 150 mm, the radial width of the peripheral region R1 is within the range of 5 mm to 30 mm.

[0055] On the upper surface 11u of the adsorption holding portion 11, multiple suction holes are formed throughout the peripheral region R1 and the central region R2 to attract the lower surface of the substrate W. In the following description, among the multiple suction holes formed on the upper surface 11u of the adsorption holding portion 11, the suction holes formed in the peripheral region R1 will be called suction holes vh1, and the suction holes formed in the central region R2 will be called suction holes vh2.

[0056] Multiple suction holes vh1 are formed on multiple linear paths LP in the peripheral region R1, connecting the space on the upper surface 11u with the internal space of the linear paths LP. Similarly, multiple suction holes vh2 are formed on the annular path RP in the central region R2, connecting the space on the upper surface 11u with the internal space of the annular path RP. As a result, when the suction device 14 in Figure 1 is in operation, the atmosphere on the peripheral region R1 of the adsorption holding unit 11 is guided to the suction device 14 through the multiple suction holes vh1, the annular path RP, the multiple linear paths LP, and the intake path vp of the rotating shaft 12. Furthermore, the atmosphere on the central region R2 of the adsorption holding unit 11 is guided to the suction device 14 through the multiple suction holes vh2, the multiple linear paths LP, and the intake path vp of the rotating shaft 12.

[0057] Multiple suction holes vh1, vh2 have circular openings with diameters of, for example, 0.1 mm to 0.4 mm, and are arranged on virtual concentric circles centered on the central axis 11c. More specifically, the multiple suction holes vh1 are arranged on four virtual circles centered on the central axis 11c in the peripheral region R1, and the multiple suction holes vh2 are arranged on five virtual circles centered on the central axis 11c in the central region R2. In Figure 5, some of the virtual concentric circles are shown by dashed lines.

[0058] In the peripheral region R1, the radius of the virtual circle in which multiple suction holes vh1 are arranged is determined to increase sequentially from the smallest virtual circle by a first pitch pt1, as shown in the blowout in Figure 5. On the other hand, in the central region R2, the radius of the virtual circle in which multiple suction holes vh2 are arranged is determined to increase sequentially from the smallest virtual circle by a second pitch pt2 that is larger than the first pitch pt1. The first pitch pt1 and the second pitch pt2 are so-called PCD (Pitch Circle Diameter) pitches. The first pitch pt1 is, for example, 1 mm to 3 mm, and the second pitch pt2 is, for example, 5 mm to 40 mm.

[0059] During the manufacturing of the adsorption holding part 11, holes are drilled into the adsorption part 41 using a drill to form multiple suction holes vh1 and vh2. In the peripheral region R1, multiple suction holes vh1 formed on one of two adjacent virtual circles and multiple suction holes vh1 formed on the other virtual circle are arranged in a staggered (zigzag) pattern in the rotational direction around the central axis 11c. In this case, the distance between adjacent suction holes vh1 can be increased compared to the case where multiple suction holes vh1 formed on two adjacent virtual circles are arranged in the radial direction of the upper surface 11u. This makes it easier to form multiple suction holes vh1 in the peripheral region R1, and allows the first pitch pt1 to be made sufficiently small compared to the second pitch pt2 with a simple configuration.

[0060] However, if all of the multiple suction holes vh1 and vh2 are the same size, the suction force generated in each of the multiple suction holes vh1 arranged on the largest virtual circle may become significantly larger than the suction force generated in each of the other suction holes vh1 and vh2. In this case, when the substrate W is held by the adsorption holding part 11, the substrate W may be deformed due to a part of the substrate W being strongly attracted locally. Therefore, in this embodiment, the size of some of the suction holes vh1 arranged on the largest virtual circle centered on the central axis 11c is set to be smaller than the size of the other remaining suction holes vh1 and vh2. Specifically, the opening of each of the some suction holes vh1 has a diameter of, for example, 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm, and the opening of each of the other remaining suction holes vh1 and vh2 has a diameter of, for example, 0.2 mm to 0.4 mm. This prevents deformation of the substrate W caused by a part of the substrate W being strongly attracted locally.

[0061] In the adsorption holding part 11 according to the first configuration example described above, the surface density of the suction holes vh1 in the peripheral region R1 is greater than the surface density of the suction holes vh2 in the central region R2. In this case, when the substrate W is adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding part 11, the portion of the substrate W facing the peripheral region R1 is adsorbed with a greater suction force than the portion of the substrate W facing the central region R2. As a result, when the adsorbed substrate W is rotated, the portion of the substrate W located on the peripheral region R1 is prevented from lifting off the upper surface 11u of the adsorption holding part 11 against the suction force acting on that portion, and the holding state of the substrate W is stabilized.

[0062] The surface density of the suction holes vh1 in the peripheral region R1 can be calculated by dividing the sum of the opening areas of the multiple suction holes vh1 formed in the peripheral region R1 by the area of ​​the peripheral region R1. Similarly, the surface density of the suction holes vh2 in the central region R2 can be calculated by dividing the sum of the opening areas of the multiple suction holes vh2 formed in the central region R2 by the area of ​​the central region R2.

[0063] In the adsorption holding section 11 according to this embodiment, the multiple suction holes vh1 and vh2 have the following relationship: The linear density of the multiple suction holes vh1, which are dispersed and arranged on each virtual circle in the peripheral region R1, is greater than the linear density of the multiple suction holes vh2, which are dispersed and arranged on each virtual circle in the central region R2. In this case, the multiple suction holes vh1 are dispersed and arranged on each virtual circle in the peripheral region R1, and the multiple suction holes vh2 are dispersed and arranged on each virtual circle in the central region R2, so that the central part of the lower surface of the substrate W is more stably adsorbed and held on the adsorption holding section 11.

[0064] In the peripheral region R1, the number of multiple suction holes vh1 arranged on each virtual circle is greater than the number of multiple suction holes vh2 arranged on any of the virtual circles in the central region R2. In this case, with a simple configuration, the surface density of suction holes vh1 in the peripheral region R1 can be made greater than the surface density of suction holes vh2 in the central region R2.

[0065] In the central region R2, multiple suction holes vh2 are arranged to line up on multiple linear paths LP. Therefore, the angular pitch of each pair of adjacent suction holes vh2 on each virtual circle in the central region R2 is the angular pitch β described above. On the other hand, the angular pitch α of each pair of adjacent suction holes vh1 on each virtual circle in the peripheral region R1 is smaller than the angular pitch β of each pair of adjacent suction holes vh2 on any of the virtual circles in the central region R2. In this embodiment, the angular pitch α is, for example, greater than 0° and 4° or less, and preferably between 1° and 3°. In this case, with a simple configuration, the surface density of suction holes vh1 in the peripheral region R1 can be made greater than the surface density of suction holes vh2 in the central region R2.

[0066] In the suction holding section 11, it is desirable that the distance (shortest distance) md (Figure 5) between each of the suction holes vh1 arranged on the largest virtual circle among the multiple suction holes vh1 and the outer peripheral edge of the suction holding section 11 is as small as possible. In the suction holding section 11 according to the first configuration example, the distance md is 2 mm or more and 4 mm or less. In this case, when the substrate W is held by the suction holding section 11, the portion of the substrate W facing the outer peripheral edge of the suction holding section 11 is adsorbed onto the upper surface 11u of the suction holding section 11. As a result, the central part of the lower surface of the substrate W is prevented from lifting away from the upper surface 11u of the suction holding section 11, and the holding state of the substrate W becomes even more stable.

[0067] (2) Second example configuration The differences between the suction holding part 11 in the second configuration example and the suction holding part 11 in the first configuration example will be explained. Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view of the suction holding part 11 in the second configuration example. As shown in Figure 7, the suction holding part 11 in the second configuration example is mainly composed of an upper circular member 60, a lower circular member 70, and a sealing member 79.

[0068] The upper circular member 60 is made of, for example, a resin with excellent corrosion resistance, and has a disc-shaped suction portion 61 and a cylindrical outer peripheral wall portion 62. The outer peripheral wall portion 62 is formed to extend downward from the outer peripheral end of the suction portion 61. The suction portion 61 includes the upper surface 11u of the suction holding portion 11 and is configured to suction and hold the central part of the lower surface of the substrate W. The configuration of the upper surface 11u of the suction holding portion 11 in this example is exactly the same as the configuration of the upper surface 11u of the suction holding portion 11 (Figure 5) in the first configuration example.

[0069] Figure 8 is a bottom view of the upper circular member 60 in Figure 7, and Figure 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the suction holding part 11 according to the second configuration example. The cross-sectional view in Figure 9 corresponds to the longitudinal cross-sectional view in Figure 6 according to the first configuration example. As shown in Figure 8, the lower surface 60b of the upper circular member 60 is also divided into a peripheral region R1 and a central region R2, similar to the upper surface 11u.

[0070] An annular groove RG is formed on the lower surface 60b of the upper circular member 60, overlapping the peripheral region R1. In addition, a plurality of linear grooves LG are formed on the lower surface 60b of the upper circular member 60, overlapping the central region R2. The plurality of linear grooves LG extend linearly in the horizontal direction from the central axis 11c toward the outer peripheral wall 62 and are formed to be aligned at a constant angular pitch β (Figure 5) with respect to the central axis 11c.

[0071] Each linear groove LG is formed such that its depth gradually decreases from the central axis 11c toward the peripheral region R1. The depth of the annular groove RG is substantially constant around the entire circumference of the peripheral region R1 and is substantially equal to the maximum depth of the multiple linear grooves LG. Screw holes 65 are formed in each of the multiple portions of the lower surface 60b of the upper circular member 60 that are surrounded by the multiple linear grooves LG and the annular groove RG.

[0072] As shown in Figure 7, the lower circular member 70 has a disc-shaped support portion 71 and a cylindrical outer peripheral wall portion 72, and is made of, for example, a highly rigid metal material. A communication hole 73 is formed in the center of the support portion 71, penetrating in the vertical direction. In addition, the support portion 71 has a plurality of through holes 74 that surround the communication hole 73, corresponding to the plurality of screw holes 65 (Figure 8) of the upper circular member 60.

[0073] The outer peripheral wall portion 72 is formed to extend upward from the outer peripheral end of the support portion 71. The outer diameter of the outer peripheral wall portion 72 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the outer peripheral wall portion 62 of the upper circular member 60. A groove 72g extending in the circumferential direction with a constant width is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the outer peripheral wall portion 72. The sealing member 79 is an O-ring that can be fitted into the groove 72g of the outer peripheral wall portion 72. As shown by the white arrow in Figure 7, the sealing member 79 is fitted into the groove 72g of the outer peripheral wall portion 72. Also, as shown by the thick solid arrow in Figure 7, the lower circular member 70 is further fitted inside the upper circular member 60. In this state, multiple screw members BL (Figure 9) are attached from below the lower circular member 70 through multiple through holes 74 (Figure 7) formed in the lower circular member 70 to multiple screw holes 65 (Figure 8) of the upper circular member 60. As a result, the upper circular member 60 and the lower circular member 70 are connected, as shown in Figure 9.

[0074] With the upper circular member 60 and the lower circular member 70 connected, an annular space is formed between the annular groove RG of the upper circular member 60 and the outer circumference of the lower circular member 70. This space functions as the annular path RP described above. In addition, a linear space is formed between the bottoms of the multiple linear grooves LG of the upper circular member 60 and the support portion 71 of the lower circular member 70. These spaces function as multiple linear paths LP.

[0075] The support portion 71, like the support portion 43 in Figure 6, has a mounting portion 71a that is attached to the upper end of the rotating shaft 12 in Figure 1. The communication hole 73 is formed inside the mounting portion 71a, along the central axis 11c.

[0076] As described above, in the adsorption holding section 11 according to the second configuration example, each of the multiple linear grooves LG formed on the lower surface 60b of the upper circular member 60 is formed such that its depth gradually decreases from the central axis 11c toward the peripheral region R1. As a result, the cross-sectional area of ​​each linear path LP perpendicular to the gas flow direction gradually decreases from the center of the adsorption holding section 11 toward the outer edge. With this configuration, even if the size of the multiple suction holes vh2 formed to overlap each linear path LP is the same, the suction force generated in the multiple suction holes vh2 is made uniform. Therefore, the entire central part of the lower surface of the substrate W is attracted with a substantially uniform force.

[0077] Furthermore, the suction holding section 11 according to the second configuration example has a configuration in which the upper circular member 60 and the lower circular member 70 are connected by a plurality of screw members BL. This makes it easy to perform maintenance on the inside of the suction holding section 11.

[0078] [3] Consideration and effects (1) The inventors' first study Figure 10 is a plan view of the adsorption holding portion according to the reference embodiment, and Figure 11 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the adsorption holding portion of Figure 10 along line BB. As shown in Figures 10 and 11, the adsorption holding portion 99 according to this reference embodiment has basically the same configuration as the adsorption holding portion 11 according to the first configuration example, except that an annular path RP and a plurality of suction holes vh2 are not formed.

[0079] Specifically, the suction holding part 99 according to this reference embodiment has a flat upper surface 99u that suction and holds the central part of the lower surface of the substrate W, and is configured to be attachable to the rotation shaft 12 in Figure 1. Here, the virtual axis extending vertically from the outer peripheral end through the center of the suction holding part 99 is called the central axis 99c. Inside the suction holding part 99, a plurality of linear paths LP are formed at a constant angular pitch (30° in this example) with respect to the central axis 99c, extending horizontally in a straight line from the central axis 99c toward the outer peripheral end of the suction holding part 99. The ends of the plurality of linear paths LP opposite to the central axis 99c are closed. On the upper surface 99u of the suction holding part 99, a plurality of suction holes vh are formed at a constant interval so as to overlap each linear path LP in a plan view.

[0080] The present inventors have used a coating apparatus equipped with the adsorption holding part 99 according to this reference embodiment to apply 100 μ A coating process was performed on a substrate W having a thickness of m or less. As a result, coating irregularities that could be visually confirmed occurred on the substrate W after the coating process. These coating irregularities are referred to as the first coating irregularities.

[0081] Figure 12 is a plan view showing an example of a first coating unevenness that occurred on a substrate W after coating using the adsorption holding part 99 according to the reference embodiment. In Figure 12, the portion of the substrate W that overlaps with the outer peripheral edge of the adsorption holding part 99 during the coating process (hereinafter referred to as the outer edge of the held area) is shown by a dotted line. As shown by the dot pattern in Figure 12, the first coating unevenness is formed such that multiple curves extend a certain distance from multiple parts of the outer edge of the held area toward the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W, curving in a common rotational direction with the center of the substrate W as the rotation center.

[0082] The inventors have estimated the following first and second mechanisms as the mechanism for the occurrence of the first coating unevenness. Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the first mechanism estimated for the occurrence of the first coating unevenness in Figure 12. When the substrate W held by the adsorption holding part 99 rotates at high speed, a phenomenon occurs in which the outer periphery of the substrate W floats above the upper surface 99u of the adsorption holding part 99, as shown by the thick dashed arrow in the upper part of Figure 12. This phenomenon is likely to occur when rotating a substrate W with a small thickness (a thickness of 100 μm or less in this example). This is because the rigidity of the substrate W is low.

[0083] When the upward force exerted on the outer periphery of the substrate W exceeds the suction force generated by the suction holes vh formed near the outer edge of the adsorption holding portion 99, a gap is formed between the outer edge of the held area of ​​the substrate W and the upper surface 99u of the adsorption holding portion 99. In this case, as shown by the thick solid arrow in the upper part of Figure 13, the atmosphere around the substrate W enters the suction holes vh near the outer edge of the adsorption holding portion 99 through the gap between the substrate W and the upper surface 99u of the adsorption holding portion 99. As a result, the outer edge of the held area of ​​the substrate W is locally cooled due to the localized flow of gas near the outer edge of the adsorption holding portion 99.

[0084] On the other hand, as the coating process begins, the resist liquid RL supplied from the liquid nozzle 21 to the central part of the substrate W spreads toward the outer edge of the substrate W, as shown by the white arrows in the upper part of Figure 13. At this time, if the temperature of the outer edge of the retained area of ​​the substrate W decreases locally, the resist liquid RL spread on the substrate W is cooled locally. The fluidity of the resist liquid RL on the substrate W is higher when the temperature of the resist liquid RL is higher and lower when the temperature of the resist liquid RL is lower. Therefore, the fluidity of the resist liquid RL on the substrate W decreases locally at the outer edge of the adsorption retaining part 99. As a result, the resist liquid RL accumulates in multiple parts of the outer edge of the retained area of ​​the substrate W, as shown in the lower part of Figure 13.

[0085] When a certain amount of resist liquid RL accumulates at the outer edge of the retained area of ​​the substrate W, subsequent resist liquid RL flowing over the accumulated resist liquid RL becomes less susceptible to the localized temperature drop of the substrate W. As a result, subsequent resist liquid RL flows over the resist liquid RL that has accumulated at the outer edge of the retained area of ​​the substrate W and continues to flow towards the outer edge of the substrate W. At this time, the first coating unevenness described above occurs.

[0086] Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the second mechanism estimated to cause the first coating unevenness in Figure 12. In Figure 14, the state of the substrate W rotating at two different speeds by the suction holding part 99 of Figure 10 is shown in an external perspective view. In Figure 14, the substrate W held on the suction holding part 99 is shown with dashed lines and dot patterns, and the upper surface 99u of the suction holding part 99 is shown as transparent to the substrate W.

[0087] As shown in the upper part of Figure 14, when the rotation speed of the substrate W is relatively low, the substrate W held by the suction holding part 99 is maintained in a relatively flat state along the upper surface 99u of the suction holding part 99. However, when the rotation speed of the substrate W is relatively high, an upward force is generated over the entire substrate W. As a result, as shown in the lower part of Figure 14, the portion of the substrate W that is not held by the multiple suction holes vh deforms so that it lifts up from the upper surface 99u.

[0088] Here, the multiple suction holes vh of the adsorption holding section 99 overlap with the multiple linear paths LP in Figure 10. As a result, the substrate W deforms in a wavy manner in the circumferential direction. In Figure 14, the dashed lines on the upper surface 99u that overlap with the multiple linear paths LP in Figure 10 are shown as imaginary lines.

[0089] During the coating process of the substrate W by the suction holding unit 99, the rotation speed of the substrate W changes in multiple stages. When the rotation speed of the substrate W changes significantly in a short period of time, a large inertial force is generated between the portion of the substrate W held by the multiple suction holes vh of the suction holding unit 99 and the portion of the substrate W that deforms in a wave-like manner outside the suction holding unit 99. At this time, an annular twist occurs in a part of the substrate W at a position outside the suction holding unit 99. As a result, the first coating unevenness occurs due to this twist.

[0090] The first coating unevenness is presumed to occur according to one of the first and second mechanisms described above. Considering the first and second mechanisms described above, the inventors considered that if the outer edge of the area to be held on the substrate W does not lift off the upper surface 99u of the suction holding part 99 during the coating process, the holding state of the substrate W by the suction holding part 99 will be stable and the first coating unevenness will not occur. Furthermore, the inventors considered that with the configuration of the suction holding part 99 according to the reference embodiment, an attractive force sufficient to suppress the outer edge of the area to be held on the substrate W lifting off the upper surface 99u of the suction holding part 99 cannot be obtained. Considering these points, the inventors devised the suction holding part 11 according to the first and second configuration examples described above.

[0091] (2) The inventors' second investigation The inventors performed a coating process on a substrate W having a thickness of 100 μm or less using a coating apparatus having the same configuration as the coating apparatus 1 in Figure 1, except that it does not have a gas nozzle 17 and a gas supply system 18. As a result, coating unevenness that could be seen with the naked eye occurred on the substrate W after the coating process. This coating unevenness is referred to as the second coating unevenness.

[0092] Figure 15 is a plan view showing an example of a second coating unevenness that occurred on the substrate W after the coating process. In Figure 15, as in the example in Figure 12, the outer edge of the retained area is shown by a dotted line. As shown by the dot pattern in Figure 15, the second coating unevenness is formed to show a ring shape of a certain width surrounding the center of the substrate W. The inner edge of the second coating unevenness is located at the outer edge of the retained area.

[0093] The inventors have estimated the mechanism for the occurrence of the second coating unevenness. Figure 16 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the estimated mechanism for the occurrence of the second coating unevenness shown in Figure 15.

[0094] The coating apparatus is basically housed in a cleanroom. A downflow of clean air maintained at a predetermined temperature (e.g., 23°C) is formed in the space surrounding the coating apparatus. As a result, as shown by the white arrow in the upper part of Figure 16, gas is continuously blown onto the substrate W during the coating process from above the coating apparatus.

[0095] On the other hand, as the coating process begins, the resist liquid RL supplied from the liquid nozzle 21 to the substrate W spreads from the center of the substrate W toward the outer edge. In this example, the resist liquid RL contains a volatile solvent. In this case, as shown by the thick wavy arrow in the upper part of Figure 16, the solvent in the resist liquid RL spread on the substrate W vaporizes. At this time, the downflow from above the coating apparatus toward the substrate W promotes the vaporization of the solvent in the resist liquid RL coated on the substrate W.

[0096] Here, the heat capacity of the portion of the substrate W that does not come into contact with the adsorption and holding portion 11 (hereinafter referred to as the non-contact portion nc) is smaller than the heat capacity of the other portions (hereinafter referred to as the contact portion). Therefore, when the vaporization of the solvent in the resist liquid RL on the substrate W is accelerated, the temperature of the non-contact portion nc decreases compared to the contact portion due to the effect of the heat of vaporization.

[0097] The curing time for the resist liquid RL increases with decreasing temperature. Therefore, the resist liquid RL spread on the non-contact area nc is relatively fluid due to the rotation of the substrate W. However, in reality, even in the non-contact area nc, the high rotation speed further accelerates the vaporization of the solvent in the resist liquid RL at the outer edge of the substrate W and in the surrounding areas, causing the resist liquid RL to harden easily. As a result, ultimately, as shown in the lower part of Figure 16, a resist film RC of approximately constant thickness is formed, except for a certain width range from the outer edge of the retained area of ​​the substrate W. Consequently, the second coating unevenness described above occurs.

[0098] Considering the mechanism estimated above, the inventors considered adjusting the temperature of each part of the substrate W during the coating process so that the temperature of the part not adsorbed and held by the adsorption and holding part 11 matches or approaches the temperature of the part adsorbed and held by the adsorption and holding part 11. Taking these points into consideration, the inventors devised the coating apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1, which includes a gas nozzle 17 and a gas supply system 18 for heating the non-contact portion of the substrate W.

[0099] (3) Effects In the coating apparatus 1 described above, the rotating holding device 10 uses the suction holding section 11 according to the first and second configuration examples. With the suction holding section 11 described above, the lifting of the central part of the lower surface of the substrate W from the upper surface 11u is suppressed, and the holding state of the substrate W is stabilized. Therefore, when processing is performed on the substrate W rotated by the rotating holding device 10 described above, it is prevented that the processing of the substrate W will be uneven in multiple parts of the substrate W due to a part of the substrate W lifting from the upper surface 11u of the suction holding section 11. As a result, the occurrence of the first coating unevenness is suppressed, and uniform processing over the entire substrate W becomes possible.

[0100] In the coating apparatus 1 described above, the rotating holding device 10 is equipped with a gas nozzle 17 and a gas supply system 18 for adjusting the temperature of the non-contact portion of the substrate W. As a result, during the coating process of the substrate W, the temperature of the non-contact portion of the substrate W is made to match or approach the temperature of the contact portion. In this case, the occurrence of temperature differences between multiple parts of the substrate W during the coating process is suppressed. As a result, the occurrence of a second type of coating unevenness is suppressed, and uniform processing across the entire substrate W becomes possible.

[0101] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the temperature of the non-contact portion nc of the substrate W is adjusted by a temperature-regulating gas injected onto the substrate W from the gas nozzle 17. In this case, it is not necessary to provide a heating device such as a heater or ultraviolet lamp near the adsorption holding portion 11 in order to adjust the temperature of the non-contact portion nc of the substrate W. As a result, the processing environment of the substrate W is not affected by excessive heat.

[0102] [4] Confirmation test for the first coating unevenness The inventors conducted the following verification tests to confirm the effect of the adsorption holding portion 11 described above. First, the inventors fabricated an adsorption holding portion having basically the same configuration as the adsorption holding portion 11 shown in Figures 4 to 6 as the adsorption holding portion of the example. In addition, the inventors fabricated an adsorption holding portion having basically the same configuration as the adsorption holding portion 99 shown in Figure 10 relating to a reference embodiment as the adsorption holding portion of a comparative example.

[0103] Furthermore, the inventors attached the adsorption and holding part of the fabricated embodiment to the coating apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1 and performed a coating process on the substrate W. In addition, the inventors attached the adsorption and holding part of the fabricated comparative example to the coating apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1 and performed a coating process on the substrate W.

[0104] Subsequently, the substrate W after coating using the adsorption-holding unit of the example was designated as the example substrate, and the substrate W after coating using the adsorption-holding unit of the comparative example was designated as the comparative example substrate. The top surfaces of each substrate were then visually inspected. As a result, the first coating unevenness described above could not be observed on the example substrate. On the other hand, the first coating unevenness described above was observed on the comparative example substrate. Based on these visual results, the film thickness of the resist film was measured at multiple locations on each substrate W in order to confirm the state of the film on the substrate W in more detail.

[0105] Figure 17 is a plan view illustrating the portion of the substrate W that is subject to film thickness measurement in the first confirmation test for uneven coating. In Figure 17, the outer edge of the retained area is shown by a dotted line. As shown in Figure 17, the inventors determined that a plurality of portions arranged at a 1.6° pitch on a first circle C1 that substantially overlaps the outer edge of the retained area be the first measurement target subgroup. The inventors also determined that a plurality of portions arranged at a 1.6° pitch on a second circle C2 that is concentric with the first circle C1 and has a smaller radius than the first circle C1 be the second measurement target subgroup. Furthermore, the inventors determined that a plurality of portions arranged at a 1.6° pitch on a third circle C3 that is concentric with the first circle C1 and has a larger radius than the first circle C1 be the third measurement target subgroup.

[0106] In Figure 17, in each of the first to third circles C1 to C3, small black dots represent portions of multiple measurement targets arranged at 1.6° intervals. Note that in Figure 17, the angular pitch between multiple measurement points on the same circle is exaggerated to facilitate understanding of the relationships between multiple measurement points.

[0107] Figure 18 shows the results of the confirmation test for the first coating unevenness. In Figure 18, the film thickness measurement results for the example substrate and the comparative example substrate are shown for each of the first to third measurement target subgroups. In each graph shown in Figure 18, the vertical axis represents the film thickness, and the horizontal axis represents the measurement area (measurement position) in each of the first to third circles C1 to C3 in Figure 17. In each graph, the symbol "tt" shown on the vertical axis represents the thickness of the resist film to be formed by the coating process, i.e., the target film thickness. Furthermore, in each graph, lines connecting multiple film thickness measurement results for the example substrate are shown as thick solid lines, and lines connecting multiple film thickness measurement results for the comparative example substrate are shown as dotted lines.

[0108] As shown in Figure 18, the film thickness measurement results for the example substrate show less variation in film thickness compared to the comparative example substrate in all of the first to third measurement target subgroups. Furthermore, the film thickness measurement results for the example substrate are generally closer to the target film thickness tt in all of the first to third measurement target subgroups compared to the comparative example substrate. However, according to the film thickness measurement results for the first and third measurement target subgroups, the comparative example substrate shows significant variation in film thickness, particularly in the range from the outer edge of the retained area to the outer edge of the substrate. This significant variation in film thickness corresponds to the first coating unevenness.

[0109] These results show that by using the adsorption and holding portion 11 according to the first and second configuration examples described above, instead of the adsorption and holding portion 99 in Figure 10, the occurrence of the first coating unevenness can be sufficiently suppressed.

[0110] [5] Confirmation test for the second coating unevenness (1) Temperature of the substrate W during coating process The inventors conducted the following temperature control verification test to confirm how the temperature state of the substrate W differs when temperature control gas is supplied to the substrate W from the gas nozzle 17 in Figure 1 during the coating process of the substrate W, and when temperature control gas is not supplied.

[0111] Figure 19 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the coating apparatus 1 for illustrating the temperature control verification test. As shown in Figure 19, the inventors set a non-contact type first temperature sensor s1 on the coating apparatus 1 such that the temperature measurement point is located on the substrate W located on the adsorption holding part 11. In addition, the inventors set a non-contact type second temperature sensor s2 on the coating apparatus 1 such that the temperature measurement point is located on the substrate W located on the gas nozzle 17.

[0112] In this state, the outputs (temperature measurement results) of the first and second temperature sensors s1 and s2 were recorded when the substrate W was coated while heated temperature-controlled gas was supplied to the substrate W from the gas nozzle 17. The outputs (temperature measurement results) of the first and second temperature sensors s1 and s2 were also recorded when the coating process was performed without temperature-controlled gas being supplied to the substrate W from the gas nozzle 17.

[0113] Figure 20 shows the results of the temperature control verification test. In the graph in Figure 20, the vertical axis represents temperature and the horizontal axis represents time. On the horizontal axis of Figure 20, time t1 represents the point in time when the supply of resist liquid RL to the substrate W was stopped after the coating process began. Time t2 represents the end of the coating process, i.e., the point in time when the entire resist liquid RL spread on the substrate W had hardened. The symbol "pt" shown on the vertical axis of Figure 20 represents the processing temperature.

[0114] Furthermore, in the graph of Figure 20, the outputs (temperature measurement results) of the first and second temperature sensors s1 and s2 when the substrate W is coated while heated temperature-controlled gas is supplied to the substrate W from the gas nozzle 17 are shown by thick solid lines and thick dashed lines. Furthermore, in the graph of Figure 20, the outputs (temperature measurement results) of the first and second temperature sensors s1 and s2 when the substrate W is coated without temperature-controlled gas being supplied to the substrate W from the gas nozzle 17 are shown by dotted lines and double-dotted lines.

[0115] According to the temperature control verification test results in Figure 20, when heated temperature-controlled gas is supplied to the substrate W from the gas nozzle 17, the variation in the output of temperature sensors s1 and s2 is slightly smaller compared to when temperature-controlled gas is not supplied to the substrate W from the gas nozzle 17. Also, when heated temperature-controlled gas is supplied to the substrate W from the gas nozzle 17, the output of temperature sensors s1 and s2 is slightly closer to the processing temperature pt compared to when temperature-controlled gas is not supplied to the substrate W from the gas nozzle 17. As a result of these findings, it was confirmed that supplying heated temperature-controlled gas from the gas nozzle 17 in Figure 1 to the substrate W suppresses large temperature differences between multiple parts of the substrate W during the coating process. Furthermore, it was confirmed that supplying heated temperature-controlled gas from the gas nozzle 17 in Figure 1 to the substrate W brings the temperature of the substrate W closer to the processing temperature pt overall during the coating process.

[0116] (2) Second state of occurrence of uneven coating The present inventors performed coating on multiple substrates W using the coating apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1, while changing the supply method of temperature-regulating gas from the gas nozzle 17 to the substrate W, and confirmed the occurrence of a second type of coating unevenness depending on the supply method of temperature-regulating gas from the gas nozzle 17 to the substrate W.

[0117] Specifically, the inventors performed a coating process on the first of four substrates W without supplying temperature-adjusting gas from the gas nozzle 17 to the substrate W. Furthermore, the inventors performed a coating process on the second of the four substrates W while supplying temperature-adjusting gas at a first temperature from the gas nozzle 17 to the substrate W. Furthermore, the inventors performed a coating process on the third of the four substrates W while supplying temperature-adjusting gas at a second temperature from the gas nozzle 17 to the substrate W. Furthermore, the inventors performed a coating process on the fourth of the four substrates W while supplying temperature-adjusting gas at a third temperature from the gas nozzle 17 to the substrate W. The first to third temperatures are higher than the processing temperature pt. Also, the second temperature is higher than the first temperature, and the third temperature is higher than the second temperature.

[0118] Subsequently, the inventors measured the film thickness distribution of the resist film along a straight line passing through the center of each of the four substrates W obtained after the coating process as described above. Figure 21 shows the film thickness distribution of the resist film on the four substrates W, which were coated under conditions where the temperature-regulating gas was supplied from the gas nozzle 17 to the substrates W in different ways.

[0119] In Figure 21, the vertical axis represents the thickness of the resist film, and the horizontal axis represents the position on a line passing through the center of the substrate W. On the horizontal axis, "0" represents the center of the substrate W. Also, "150" "-150" represents one end of a straight line passing through the center of substrate W on the surface of substrate W, and "-150" represents the other end of the straight line passing through the center of substrate W on the surface of substrate W. Also, in this example, "75" on the horizontal axis The position of "-75" represents the position of the outer edge of the retained area.

[0120] Furthermore, in Figure 21, the dotted line shows the film thickness distribution corresponding to the first substrate W, and the solid line shows the film thickness distribution corresponding to the second substrate W. Additionally, the dashed-dotted line shows the film thickness distribution corresponding to the third substrate W, and the double-dotted-dotted line shows the film thickness distribution corresponding to the fourth substrate W.

[0121] As shown in Figure 21, on the first substrate W, where heated temperature-regulating gas was not supplied during the coating process, the film thickness is locally smaller at the outer edge of the retained area and in its vicinity. This indicates that a second type of coating unevenness is significantly present on the first substrate W.

[0122] On the other hand, for the second, third, and fourth substrates W, no significant decrease in film thickness was observed at or near the outer edge of the held area. Therefore, it can be seen that the occurrence of the second type of coating unevenness was suppressed.

[0123] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 21, the thickness of the resist film at the outer edge of the retained area and its vicinity increases as the temperature of the temperature-controlled gas supplied to the substrate W from the gas nozzle 17 increases. Therefore, it is desirable to adjust the temperature of the temperature-controlled gas supplied to the substrate W during the coating process so that the thickness of the resist film at the outer edge of the retained area and its vicinity becomes closer to the thickness of the resist film at other locations.

[0124] 2. Second Embodiment [1] Basic configuration of the coating apparatus according to the second embodiment The differences between the coating apparatus according to the second embodiment and the coating apparatus according to the first embodiment will be explained. Figure 22 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a basic configuration example of the coating apparatus according to the second embodiment, and Figure 23 is a schematic plan view of the coating apparatus 1 shown in Figure 22. In Figure 23, some of the components of the coating apparatus 1 shown in Figure 22 are omitted from the illustration. Also, the substrate W shown in Figure 22 is indicated by a dashed line.

[0125] In the following description, as in the first embodiment, the portion of the lower surface of the substrate W that contacts the suction holding portion 11 (the portion that is held by the suction holding portion 11) is referred to as the lower central portion. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the portion of the lower surface of the substrate W that surrounds the lower central portion and is not held by the suction holding portion 11 is referred to as the lower peripheral portion.

[0126] As shown in Figures 22 and 23, the coating apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes a plurality of gas nozzles 17 (four in this example) in the rotating holding device 10. The plurality of gas nozzles 17 are arranged at equal angular intervals (90° intervals with respect to the rotation axis 12 in this example) so as to be aligned in the circumferential direction of the substrate W that is adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding unit 11, as shown in Figure 23. In addition, each of the plurality of gas nozzles 17 is positioned such that the slit-shaped opening of the gas ejection part 17b (Figure 23) extends in the direction of the diameter of the substrate W that is adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding unit 11. A gas supply system 18 is connected to the gas introduction part 17a (Figure 3) of each gas nozzle 17.

[0127] In this coating apparatus 1, the gas supply system 18 supplies a temperature-regulating gas having a temperature higher than the processing temperature to a plurality of gas nozzles 17 during the coating process. In this case, the temperature-regulating gas having a high temperature is simultaneously injected from the gas ejection parts 17b of the plurality of gas nozzles 17 to multiple parts of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate W during the coating process. This makes it possible to match or bring the temperature of the lower central part of the substrate W and the temperature of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate W to each other without excessively increasing the flow rate of the temperature-regulating gas supplied to each of the multiple parts of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate W. As a result, deformation and damage to the substrate W caused by the supply of temperature-regulating gas at an excessive flow rate to a part of the substrate W are prevented.

[0128] [2] Modified form of gas nozzle 17 In the rotating holding device 10 according to this embodiment, the configuration of the gas nozzle 17 that supplies temperature-regulating gas to the lower peripheral edge of the substrate W is not limited to the example shown in Figure 22. Modifications of the gas nozzle 17 will be described below.

[0129] (1) First variation Figure 24 is an external perspective view of the gas nozzle according to the first modified example, Figure 25 is a plan view of the gas nozzle 170A in Figure 24, and Figure 26 is a bottom view of the gas nozzle 170A in Figure 24. As shown in Figures 24 to 26, the gas nozzle 170A in this example has an annular shape and is configured to allow the adsorption holding part 11 to be placed inside it.

[0130] As shown in Figures 24 and 25, the upper surface 170u of the gas nozzle 170A has a flat, annular shape of constant width. Multiple through-hole groups g1 to g8 are formed on the upper surface 170u at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. In other words, multiple (eight in this example) through-hole groups g1 to g8 are formed on the upper surface 170u at equal angular intervals (45° in this example) with respect to the center of the gas nozzle 170A in a plan view. Each through-hole group g1 to g8 contains multiple through-holes h1 to hn (where n is a natural number of 2 or more). The multiple through-holes h1 to hn have a common inner diameter, for example, between 0.5 mm and 5.00 mm.

[0131] In each through-hole group g1 to g8, multiple through-holes h1 to hn are arranged in this order along a straight line from the inner edge to the outer edge of the gas nozzle 170A. The gas nozzle 170A has an annular internal space 173 (Figure 28), which will be described later. Multiple through-holes h1 to hn connect the internal space 173 to the space above the upper surface 170u.

[0132] As shown in Figure 26, the lower surface 170b of the gas nozzle 170A, like the upper surface 170u, has a flat, annular shape of constant width. Multiple gas introduction members 177 are provided on the lower surface 170b at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. In other words, multiple (eight in this example) gas introduction members 177 are provided on the lower surface 170b at equiangled (45° in this example) intervals with respect to the center of the gas nozzle 170A in a plan view. Each gas introduction member 177 is positioned so as not to overlap with any of the through-hole groups g1 to g8 in a plan view. More specifically, each gas introduction member 177 is provided on the lower surface 170b so as to be located midway between each pair of adjacent through-hole groups g1 to g8 in a plan view.

[0133] The gas introduction member 177 has a gas inlet 177a, a gas flow path 177b, and a gas outlet 177c. Through holes are formed in the mounting portions of each gas introduction member 177 on the lower surface 170b. The gas outlet 177c of the gas introduction member 177 is positioned on the through hole in the lower surface 170b.

[0134] With this configuration, when temperature-regulating gas is supplied to the gas inlet 177a, the temperature-regulating gas is guided into the internal space 173 (Figure 28) of the gas nozzle 170A through the gas flow path 177b, the gas outlet 177c, and the through-holes in the lower surface 170b. The temperature-regulating gas guided into the internal space 173 (Figure 28) is further injected into the space above the upper surface 170u from a group of through-holes g1 to g8 in the upper surface 170u. Therefore, when the gas nozzle 170A is installed in the coating apparatus 1, the gas supply system 18 (Figure 22) is connected to the gas inlets 177a of the multiple gas introduction members 177.

[0135] Two additional fixing members 178 are attached to the lower surface 170b of the gas nozzle 170A. The fixing members 178 have, for example, through holes into which screws can be inserted, and are positioned to protrude inward from the upper surface 170b of the gas nozzle 170A. The two fixing members 178 are fixed to the housing of the coating device 1, for example, using screws. As a result, the gas nozzle 170A is fixed inside the coating device 1 in a predetermined positional relationship with respect to the adsorption holding part 11.

[0136] The number of fixing members 178 provided on the gas nozzle 170A is not limited to two. The gas nozzle 170A may be provided with three, four, or five or more fixing members 178. In this case, it is preferable that the multiple fixing members 178 are arranged at equal intervals on the lower surface 170b.

[0137] Figure 27 shows the positional relationship between the gas nozzle 170A and the adsorption holding unit 11 in the coating apparatus 1 according to a first modified example. As shown in Figure 27, in the coating apparatus 1, the gas nozzle 170A is provided so as to surround the adsorption holding unit 11. The upper surface 170u of the gas nozzle 170A is held at a lower height than the upper surface 11u of the adsorption holding unit 11.

[0138] Figure 28 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of multiple parts of the adsorption holding section 11 and the gas nozzle 170A shown in Figure 27. The first row of Figure 28 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view when the adsorption holding section 11 and the gas nozzle 170A are cut along a vertical plane containing the line Q1-Q1 in Figure 27. The group of through holes g1 in Figure 24 is located along the vertical plane containing the line Q1-Q1. The second row of Figure 28 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view when the adsorption holding section 11 and the gas nozzle 170A are cut along a vertical plane containing the line Q2-Q2 in Figure 27. The group of through holes g2 in Figure 24 is located along the vertical plane containing the line Q2-Q2.

[0139] The third row of Figure 28 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view when the adsorption holding section 11 and the gas nozzle 170A are cut along a vertical plane containing the line Q3-Q3 in Figure 27. The group of through holes g3 in Figure 24 is located along the vertical plane containing the line Q3-Q3. The fourth row of Figure 28 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view when the adsorption holding section 11 and the gas nozzle 170A are cut along a vertical plane containing the line Q4-Q4 in Figure 27. The group of through holes g4 in Figure 24 is located along the vertical plane containing the line Q4-Q4.

[0140] The fifth row of Figure 28 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the adsorption holding unit 11 and the gas nozzle 170A when cut along the vertical plane containing the line Q5-Q5 in Figure 27. The gas introduction member 177 shown in Figure 24 is located along the vertical plane containing the line Q5-Q5. In addition, each figure in Figure 28 shows a cross-sectional view of the substrate W adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding unit 11, as well as a cross-sectional view of the substrate W adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding unit 11.

[0141] As shown in the vertical cross-sectional views of each section in Figure 28, the gas nozzle 170A is composed of an upper member 171 and a lower member 172. The upper member 171 has an annular flat plate portion that forms the upper surface 170u, an inner circumferential wall that extends downward to a predetermined height from the inner edge of the flat plate portion, and an outer circumferential wall that extends downward to a predetermined height from the outer edge of the flat plate portion. On the other hand, the lower member 172 is an annular flat plate member that corresponds to the flat plate portion of the upper member 171.

[0142] The inner and outer edges of the lower member 172 are connected to the lower end of the inner and outer circumferential walls of the upper member 171, respectively. This forms an annular internal space 173 between the flat portion of the upper member 171 and the lower member 172. The internal space 173 functions as a passage for temperature-regulating gas. The connection between the upper member 171 and the lower member 172 may be made by welding. Alternatively, the upper member 171 and the lower member 172 may be connected to each other, for example, using screws. In this case, it is preferable to provide a sealing member such as an O-ring at the connection between the upper member 171 and the lower member 172 to prevent gas in the internal space 173 from leaking out through the connection between the upper member 171 and the lower member 172.

[0143] In the first vertical section of Figure 28, multiple through-holes h1 to hn belonging to the through-hole group g1 in Figure 24 are formed on the upper surface 170u of the gas nozzle 170A. In the second vertical section, multiple through-holes h1 to hn belonging to the through-hole group g2 in Figure 24 are formed on the upper surface 170u of the gas nozzle 170A. In the third vertical section, multiple through-holes h1 to hn belonging to the through-hole group g3 in Figure 24 are formed on the upper surface 170u of the gas nozzle 170A. In the fourth vertical section, multiple through-holes h1 to hn belonging to the through-hole group g3 in Figure 24 are formed on the upper surface 170u of the gas nozzle 170A.

[0144] A slanted portion ut is formed on the upper surface 170u that is closest to the adsorption holding portion 11, and it faces inward and upward of the gas nozzle 170A. The inclination angle of the slanted portion ut with respect to the axis extending in the vertical direction is set to be, for example, within the range of 30° to 60°. In each of the through-hole groups g1 to g8 in Figure 24, the through-hole h1 closest to the inner edge of the gas nozzle 170A is located in the slanted portion ut. Each through-hole h1 is formed to extend in a direction perpendicular to the slanted portion ut.

[0145] In the longitudinal cross-sectional view of the gas nozzle 170A, the inclined portion ut extends linearly for a certain length outward and diagonally upward from the inner edge of the gas nozzle 170A. Furthermore, the inclined portion ut faces the portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate W, including the inner edge, when the substrate W is held in place by the adsorption holding portion 11.

[0146] In the gas nozzle 170A, the through-holes h1 of through-hole groups g1, g4, and g7 are formed in a first region near the upper end of the inclined portion ut. On the other hand, the through-holes h1 of through-hole groups g2, g5, and g8 are formed in a second region adjacent to the first region and located below the first region of the inclined portion ut. On the other hand, the through-holes h1 of through-hole groups g3 and g6 are formed in a third region adjacent to the second region and located below the second region of the inclined portion ut.

[0147] As described above, the multiple through-holes h1 are formed in a dispersed manner across multiple regions of the inclined portion ut. As a result, when the substrate W held by the adsorption holding portion 11 rotates, the temperature-regulating gas injected from the multiple through-holes h1 is supplied to the inner edge of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate W and its surrounding area.

[0148] Here, in the gas nozzle 170A, the direction perpendicular to the circumferential direction and extending outward from the center of the gas nozzle 170A is called the radial direction. In each through-hole group g1 to g8 in Figure 24, the through-holes h2 to hn are arranged at regular intervals (in this example, the inner diameter of the through-holes h2 to hn) along a straight line extending radially on the upper surface 170u, excluding the inclined portion ut. Specifically, each of the through-holes h1 to hn in this example has an inner diameter of 1.0 mm, and the through-holes h2 to hn are arranged in a straight line at a pitch of 2.0 mm.

[0149] In each of the two adjacent through-hole groups in the circumferential direction of the gas nozzle 170A, the formation positions of the through-holes h2~hn in one through-hole group are different from those of the other through-hole group. As a result, in the gas nozzle 170A, the through-holes of the multiple through-hole groups g1~g8 are arranged in a staggered (zigzag) pattern in the circumferential direction in a sequence corresponding to each other. Consequently, when the substrate W held by the adsorption holding unit 11 rotates, the temperature-regulating gas ejected from the multiple through-holes h2~hn of the multiple through-hole groups g1~g8 is supplied to the entire lower peripheral edge of the substrate W that faces the upper surface 170u.

[0150] As shown in the fifth row of Figure 28, a through hole 172h is formed approximately in the radial center of the mounting portion of the gas introduction member 177 on the lower surface 170b of the gas nozzle 170A. The gas introduction member 177 is positioned so that the gas outlet 177c overlaps the through hole 172h and is attached to the lower surface 170b. In this state, the gas inlet 177a of the gas introduction member 177 faces inward into the gas nozzle 170A.

[0151] As described above, when temperature-controlled gas is supplied to the gas inlet 177a, it is supplied to the internal space 173 through the gas flow path 177b, the gas outlet 177c, and the through-hole 172h. Here, no through-hole or opening is formed in the portion of the upper surface member 171 located above the through-hole 172h. Therefore, the temperature-controlled gas supplied from the gas introduction member 177 to the internal space 173 first collides with the upper surface member 171 and diffuses smoothly within the internal space 173. As a result, the temperature-controlled gas is smoothly and uniformly guided from the internal space 173 to the multiple through-hole groups g1 to g8.

[0152] Furthermore, with the substrate W adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding part 11, the distance D1 (see fifth row in Figure 28) between the lower surface of the substrate W and the upper surface 170u of the gas nozzle 170A is set to, for example, about 0.5 mm to 10 mm. Also, the distance D2 (see fifth row in Figure 28) between the outer edge of the adsorption holding part 11 and the inner edge of the gas nozzle 170A is set to, for example, about 1 mm to 10 mm.

[0153] (2) Second variation Figure 29 is a bottom view of a gas nozzle according to a second modification. The gas nozzle 170B according to the second modification has the same configuration as the gas nozzle 170A according to the first modification, except for the points described below.

[0154] As shown in Figure 29, a single gas introduction member 179 is provided on the lower surface 170b of the gas nozzle 170B, replacing the multiple gas introduction members 177 shown in Figure 26. The gas introduction member 179 has basically the same configuration as the gas introduction members 177.

[0155] In this example, instead of having multiple through holes 172h (Figure 28) in the lower member 172, a gas flow path 172p is formed inside the lower member 172. In Figure 29, the gas flow path 172p is shown by a dashed line and a dot pattern.

[0156] The gas flow path 172p has one upstream end and multiple (eight in this example) downstream ends de. The one upstream end is located at the mounting portion of the gas introduction member 179 on the lower surface 170b so that it can receive temperature-regulating gas supplied from the gas supply system 18 in Figure 22 through the gas introduction member 179. The multiple downstream ends de are located between each pair of adjacent through-hole groups g1 to g8 in a plan view and are open to the internal space 173 of the gas nozzle 170B.

[0157] A gas supply system 18 is connected to the gas introduction member 179 described above. As a result, the temperature-regulating gas supplied from the gas supply system 18 to one of the gas introduction members 179 is supplied to multiple parts within the internal space 173 through the gas flow path 172p.

[0158] (3) Third variation Figure 30 is a plan view of a gas nozzle according to the third modified example. The gas nozzle 170C according to the third modified example has the same configuration as the gas nozzle 170A according to the first modified example, except for the points described below.

[0159] As shown in Figure 30, the gas nozzle 170C has 12 through-hole groups g11 to g22 formed on its upper surface 170u. These multiple through-hole groups g11 to g22 are arranged in a windmill-like pattern at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the gas nozzle 170C. Each of the multiple through-hole groups g11 to g22 has a configuration in which multiple through-holes are arranged on a curve that extends from the inner edge to the outer edge of the gas nozzle 170C while curving. Furthermore, in the gas nozzle 170C, a large number of through-holes not belonging to the multiple through-hole groups g11 to g22 are formed in the inclined portion ut of the upper surface 170u.

[0160] In the third modified gas nozzle 170C, the number of through-holes into which the temperature-regulating gas can be injected is greater than in the first and second modified gas nozzles 170A and 170B. As a result, the temperature-regulating gas can be supplied more uniformly to multiple portions of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate W.

[0161] Furthermore, it is preferable that the distance between the centers of each pair of adjacent through-holes in the radial direction of each of the multiple through-hole groups g11 to g22 be set to be less than or equal to the diameter of each through-hole. In this case, when the substrate W held by the adsorption holding unit 11 rotates, the temperature-regulating gas can be supplied to the entire lower peripheral edge of the substrate W that faces the upper surface 170u.

[0162] (4) Fourth variation Figure 31 is a plan view of a gas nozzle according to the fourth modified example. The gas nozzle 170D according to the fourth modified example has the same configuration as the gas nozzle 170A according to the first modified example, except for the points described below.

[0163] As shown in Figure 31, in the gas nozzle 170D, instead of a group of through holes g1 to g8 (Figure 24), a plurality of slit-shaped openings SL (eight in this example) are formed on the upper surface 170u. The plurality of slit-shaped openings SL are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the gas nozzle 170D. Each slit-shaped opening SL is formed to extend linearly from near the inner edge to near the outer edge of the gas nozzle 170D.

[0164] With this configuration, when the gas nozzle 170D is in use, temperature-regulating gas is injected from the internal space 173 of the gas nozzle 170D through each slit-shaped opening SL into the space above the upper surface 170u.

[0165] (5) Fifth variation Figure 32 is an external perspective view of the gas nozzle according to the fifth modified example. The gas nozzle 170E according to the fifth modified example has the same configuration as the gas nozzle 170A according to the first modified example, except for the points described below.

[0166] As shown in Figure 32, the gas nozzle 170E includes a plate-shaped annular member 180 that surrounds the upper end of the upper surface member 171 of the gas nozzle 170A. The annular member 180 has an upper surface 180u that surrounds the upper surface 170u of the upper surface member 171 and is integrally molded with the upper surface member 171. The upper surfaces 170u and 180u are flush. In Figure 32, the outer edge of the upper surface 170u of the upper surface member 171 is shown by a dashed line.

[0167] Figure 33 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view illustrating the positional relationship between the gas nozzle 170E and the substrate W held by the adsorption holding part 11 according to the fifth modified example. As shown in Figure 33, the upper surface 170u of the upper surface member 171 faces a portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate W, including the inner edge. On the other hand, the upper surface 180u of the annular member 180 faces another portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate W.

[0168] When the substrate W is rotated by the adsorption holding unit 11, temperature-regulating gas is injected from multiple through holes h1 to hn on the upper surface 170u to a portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate W, including the inner edge. At this time, the upper surface 180u of the gas nozzle 170E guides the temperature-regulating gas injected above the upper surface 170u to the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W. As a result, in the space between the lower peripheral edge of the substrate W and the upper surfaces 170u and 180u of the gas nozzle 170E, a flow of temperature-regulating gas is generated from the adsorption holding unit 11 toward the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W, as shown by the thick solid arrows in Figure 33. Consequently, when resist liquid is supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W held by the adsorption holding unit 11, it is prevented from flowing back to the lower surface of the substrate W through the outer peripheral edge.

[0169] [3] Confirmation test for the second coating unevenness The inventors performed a coating process on a substrate W using a coating apparatus 1 equipped with a gas nozzle 170A according to the first modification, while supplying a temperature-regulating gas at a predetermined temperature to the substrate W from the gas nozzle 170A at a predetermined flow rate. The substrate W obtained by this coating process is called the example substrate. The inventors also performed a coating process on a substrate W without supplying a temperature-regulating gas to the substrate W. The substrate W obtained by this coating process is called the comparative example substrate.

[0170] Subsequently, the inventors measured the film thickness distribution of the resist film along a straight line passing through the center of each substrate W for the example substrate and the comparative example substrate. Figure 34 shows the film thickness distribution of the resist film in the example substrate and the comparative example substrate of the second embodiment.

[0171] In Figure 34, similar to the example in Figure 21, the vertical axis represents the thickness of the resist film, and the horizontal axis represents the position on a straight line passing through the center of the substrate W. On the horizontal axis, "0" represents the center of the substrate W. "150" represents one end of the straight line passing through the center of the substrate W on the surface of the substrate W, and "-150" represents the other end of the straight line passing through the center of the substrate W on the surface of the substrate W. In this example, the positions of "75" and "-75" on the horizontal axis represent the inner edge of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate W (the outer edge of the retained area as described above). Furthermore, in Figure 34, the thick solid line shows the thickness distribution corresponding to the example substrate, and the dotted line shows the thickness distribution corresponding to the comparative example substrate.

[0172] As shown in Figure 34, in the comparative example substrate, the film thickness is locally reduced at the outer edge of the retained area and in its vicinity. This indicates that the second type of coating unevenness is significantly present in the comparative example substrate.

[0173] On the other hand, in the example substrate, no significant decrease in film thickness was observed at the outer edge of the held area and in its vicinity. Therefore, it can be seen that the occurrence of the second type of coating unevenness was suppressed.

[0174] 3. Other Embodiments (1) In the rotating holding device 10 according to the above embodiment, the suction holding unit 11 according to the first and second configuration examples is used to prevent the occurrence of the first coating unevenness shown in Figure 12 on the substrate W after coating. In addition, a gas nozzle 17 and a gas supply system 18 are provided to prevent the occurrence of the second coating unevenness shown in Figure 15 on the substrate W after coating. However, the present invention is not limited to the above examples.

[0175] The rotating holding device 10 according to the present invention only needs to be able to prevent the occurrence of at least one of the first and second coating unevennesses. Therefore, if the coating device 1 in Figures 1 and 22 is provided with an adsorption holding unit 11, the gas nozzle 17 and gas supply system 18 do not need to be provided. Also, if the coating device 1 in Figures 1 and 22 is provided with a gas nozzle 17 and a gas supply system 18, the adsorption holding unit 99 according to the reference embodiment in Figure 10 may be provided instead of the adsorption holding unit 11 according to the first and second configuration examples.

[0176] (2) The rotating holding device 10 according to the above embodiment is used in a coating device 1, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The rotating holding device 10 may be used in a substrate processing device that performs processing other than coating on the substrate W instead of the coating device 1. For example, the rotating holding device 10 may be used in a substrate cleaning device that etches the upper surface of a substrate W on which a predetermined film has been formed. In this case, in the substrate cleaning device, an etching solution is supplied onto the upper surface of the substrate W which is held by the adsorption holding unit 11.

[0177] (3) In the rotating holding device 10 according to the above embodiment, a gas nozzle 17 and a gas supply system 18 are provided to prevent the occurrence of the second coating unevenness shown in Figure 15 on the substrate W after the coating process, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0178] To prevent the occurrence of the second coating unevenness shown in Figure 15 on the substrate W after the coating process, a lamp heater capable of locally heating the back surface of the substrate W with radiant heat may be used instead of the gas nozzle 17 and gas supply system 18.

[0179] (4) In the rotating holding device 10 shown in Figure 22 according to the second embodiment, four gas nozzles 17 are provided to heat four parts of the substrate W in order to prevent the second coating unevenness shown in Figure 15 from occurring on the substrate W after the coating process, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The rotating holding device 10 according to the second embodiment may be provided with two, three, or five or more gas nozzles 17 in order to supply temperature-regulating gas to multiple parts of the substrate W simultaneously. In this case, the multiple gas nozzles 17 may be arranged in the radial direction of the substrate W that is adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding unit 11, or they may be arranged in the circumferential direction of the substrate W.

[0180] (5) In the rotating holding device 10 according to the above embodiment, depending on the temperature distribution of the substrate W during the coating process, the gas nozzle 17 may supply a temperature-adjusting gas to the substrate W that is lower than the processing temperature in order to equalize the temperature of the entire substrate W. That is, the gas nozzle 17 and the gas supply system 18 may be configured to locally cool a part of the substrate W in order to equalize the temperature of multiple parts of the substrate W.

[0181] (6) In the coating apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment, the substrate W to be processed has at least a portion of a circular outer edge, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The substrate W to be processed may have at least a portion of an elliptical outer edge, or at least a portion of a polygonal outer edge.

[0182] (7) In the coating apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment, a rim portion is formed on the outer edge of the substrate W to be processed, but the present invention is not limited thereto. A rim portion does not have to be formed on the outer edge of the substrate W to be processed.

[0183] (8) In the gas nozzle 17 used in the rotating holding device 10 of Figures 1 and 22 according to the first and second embodiments, the gas ejection part 17b has a slit-shaped opening, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0184] Figure 35 is an external perspective view showing another configuration example of the gas ejection section 17b of the gas nozzle 17 in Figures 1 and 22. In Figure 35, only the configuration of the gas ejection section 17b and its surrounding area of ​​the gas nozzle 17 is shown in magnified view. As shown in Figure 35, the gas ejection section 17b of the gas nozzle 17 may be composed of a plurality of vertical holes arranged in a straight line. Each of the plurality of vertical holes in this example has an upward-facing circular opening. With this configuration, temperature-regulating gas is ejected upward from the plurality of vertical holes at the upper end of the gas nozzle 17. This generates a curtain-like airflow from the gas nozzle 17 toward the substrate W. In the example of Figure 35, the gas ejection section 17b is composed of 10 vertical holes, but the number of vertical holes constituting the gas ejection section 17b is not limited to 10. It may be less than 10 or more than 10.

[0185] When the gas ejection section 17b of the gas nozzle 17 is composed of multiple vertical holes arranged in a straight line, the inner diameter of the circular opening of each vertical hole may be determined according to the position where the vertical hole is formed. Figure 36 is an external perspective view showing yet another configuration example of the gas ejection section 17b in the gas nozzle 17 of Figures 1 and 22. In the example of Figure 36, of the 13 vertical holes that make up the gas ejection section 17b, the size of the five vertical holes in the range from the center of the gas nozzle 17 to one side sp1 is larger than the size of the eight vertical holes in the range from the center of the gas nozzle 17 to the other side sp2. More specifically, in the example of Figure 36, the inner diameter of each vertical hole in the range from the center of the gas nozzle 17 to one side sp1 is 2 mm, and the inner diameter of each vertical hole in the range from the center of the gas nozzle 17 to the other side sp2 is 1 mm.

[0186] In this way, by determining the size of the multiple vertical holes constituting the gas ejection section 17b according to their positions, temperature-regulating gas can be injected from multiple parts of the gas ejection section 17b at different flow rates. For example, the gas nozzle 17 in Figure 36 is arranged such that one side sp1 and the other side sp2 move away from the outer peripheral end of the adsorption holding section 11 in that order.

[0187] In this case, multiple vertical holes with larger sizes and multiple vertical holes with smaller sizes are arranged in the order away from the adsorption holding part 11. As a result, multiple vertical holes with larger sizes face the portion of the substrate W near the outer peripheral edge of the adsorption holding part 11, and multiple vertical holes with smaller sizes face the portion of the substrate W located at a predetermined distance outward from the outer peripheral edge of the adsorption holding part 11. Therefore, more temperature-regulating gas can be supplied to the portion of the substrate W near the outer peripheral edge of the adsorption holding part 11 than to the portion of the substrate W located at a predetermined distance outward from the outer peripheral edge of the adsorption holding part 11. As a result, it becomes possible to adjust the temperature of each part of the substrate W with higher precision.

[0188] In the example shown in Figure 36, the gas ejection section 17b is composed of 13 vertical holes, but the number of vertical holes constituting the gas ejection section 17b is not limited to 13. There may be fewer than 13 or more than 13. Furthermore, the sizes of the multiple vertical holes constituting the gas ejection section 17b are not limited to two types, but may be three or more types. Alternatively, the sizes of all the vertical holes constituting the gas ejection section 17b may be different from each other.

[0189] (9) Each gas nozzle 17 in Figures 22 and 23 relating to the second embodiment may be mounted on the housing of the coating apparatus 1 so as to be position-adjustable with respect to the adsorption holding unit 11. Figures 37 and 38 are schematic plan views of the coating apparatus 1 showing an example in which the position of some of the gas nozzles 17 among the plurality of gas nozzles 17 in Figures 22 and 23 is adjusted.

[0190] As shown by the white arrows in Figures 37 and 38, in the coating apparatus 1 of this example, each of the multiple gas nozzles 17 can be adjusted to move closer to and further away from the adsorption holding unit 11. In the example in Figure 37, three of the four gas nozzles 17 are fixed so as to be close to the adsorption holding unit 11, and one gas nozzle 17 is fixed so as to be a predetermined distance away from the adsorption holding unit 11. In the example in Figure 38, two of the four gas nozzles 17 are fixed so as to be close to the adsorption holding unit 11, and two gas nozzles 17 are fixed so as to be a predetermined distance away from the adsorption holding unit 11.

[0191] In this way, by appropriately adjusting the positions of the multiple gas nozzles 17 relative to the adsorption holding unit 11, a desired amount of temperature-regulating gas can be supplied to multiple radial portions (multiple annular portions) of the lower surface of the substrate W that is adsorbed and held on the adsorption holding unit 11.

[0192] 4. Correspondence between each component of the claim and each element of the embodiment The following describes an example of the correspondence between each component of the claim and each element of the embodiment. In the above embodiment, the rotating holding device 10 is an example of a rotating holding device, the suction holding part 11 is an example of a suction holding part, the upper surface 11u is an example of an upper surface, the rotating shaft 12 and the rotating drive part 13 are examples of a rotating drive part, and the rotating shaft 12 and the central shaft 11c are examples of a rotating shaft.

[0193] Furthermore, peripheral region R1 is an example of a peripheral region, central region R2 is an example of a central region, suction hole vh1 is an example of a first suction hole, suction hole vh2 is an example of a second suction hole, angular pitch α is an example of the angular pitch of the first suction hole, angular pitch β is an example of the angular pitch of the second suction hole, linear path LP is an example of a linear path, and annular path RP is an example of an annular path.

[0194] moreover, The inclined portion ut of the gas nozzle 170A in Figure 28 is an example of an inclined surface.The gas nozzle 17, gas supply system 18, and gas nozzles 170A to 170E are examples of the temperature control unit and gas supply unit, the upper surface 170u of the gas nozzles 170A to 170E is an example of the first annular opposing surface, and the multiple through holes h1 to hn of the multiple through hole groups g1 to g8 are examples of multiple gas injection ports. ri, dispose The liquid supply device 20 is an example of a processing liquid supply device, and the coating device 1 is an example of a substrate processing device. Various other elements having the configuration or function described in the claim may also be used as each component of the claim. 5. Reference form (1) The rotating holding device according to the reference embodiment is a rotating holding device that rotates a substrate while adsorbing and holding the central part of its lower surface, and comprises an adsorption holding part that adsorbs and holds the central part of the lower surface of the substrate, a rotation drive part that rotates the adsorption holding part around a rotation axis that extends in the vertical direction, and a temperature adjustment part that adjusts the temperature of at least a part of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate that is not adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding part while the adsorption holding part is adsorbing and holding the substrate. In this rotating holding device, the central part of the lower surface of the substrate is held by a suction holding unit. The suction holding unit that holds the substrate is rotated by a rotation drive unit. The temperature control unit described above can suppress the occurrence of temperature differences between multiple parts of the substrate when processing is performed on the substrate being rotated by the rotating holding device. Therefore, uniform processing across the entire substrate becomes possible. (2) The temperature control unit may include a gas supply unit that supplies a temperature-controlling gas to at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge. In this case, the temperature of the portion of the substrate including the lower peripheral edge is controlled by the temperature-controlling gas. As a result, there is no need to provide a heating device such as a heater or ultraviolet lamp in the rotating holding device, and the processing environment of the substrate is not affected by excessive heat. (3) The temperature-regulating gas may be a gas supplied to at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge so as to match or approach the temperature of the portion of the substrate including the lower peripheral edge to the temperature of the portion of the substrate including the lower center. In this case, by supplying temperature-regulating gas to at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate, temperature differences between multiple parts of the substrate are suppressed. Therefore, more uniform processing across the entire substrate becomes possible. (4) The gas supply unit may supply temperature-regulating gas to the region of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate, including the inner edge of the lower peripheral edge. In this case, a decrease in the temperature of the substrate located at the inner edge of the lower peripheral edge and its vicinity is prevented. This allows for uniform processing across the entire lower surface of the substrate. (5) The gas supply unit may be configured to simultaneously inject temperature-regulating gas into multiple different portions of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate while the adsorption holding unit is adsorbing and holding the substrate. In this case, temperature-regulating gas can be simultaneously injected into multiple portions of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate. Therefore, the temperature of the portion of the substrate including the lower peripheral edge can be matched to or approached the temperature of the portion of the substrate including the lower center, without excessively increasing the flow rate of temperature-regulating gas supplied to each of the multiple portions. As a result, deformation and damage to the substrate caused by excessive flow rate of temperature-regulating gas supplied to the lower peripheral edge of the substrate are prevented. (6) The gas supply unit includes a first annular opposing surface that surrounds the adsorption holding unit and faces at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate when the adsorption holding unit is adsorbing and holding the substrate, and the first annular opposing surface may have a plurality of gas injection ports that simultaneously inject temperature-regulating gas onto at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate when the adsorption holding unit is adsorbing and holding the substrate. In this case, temperature-regulating gas is supplied from the plurality of gas injection ports formed on the first annular opposing surface to at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate. (7) At least some of the multiple gas injection ports may be dispersed in the rotational direction around the axis of rotation. In this case, temperature-regulating gas is supplied simultaneously to multiple portions of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate in the circumferential direction. (8) The first annular opposing surface is positioned opposite to the first annular portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate when the adsorption holding portion is adsorbing and holding the substrate, and the gas supply portion is positioned opposite to the second annular portion that surrounds the first annular opposing surface and surrounds the first annular portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate when the adsorption holding portion is adsorbing and holding the substrate, and may further include a second annular opposing surface that guides the temperature-regulating gas injected from a plurality of gas injection ports on the first annular opposing surface to the outer peripheral edge of the substrate. In this case, a flow of temperature-regulating gas is generated in the space between the lower peripheral edge of the substrate and the first and second annular opposing surfaces, from the adsorption holding portion toward the outer peripheral edge of the substrate. This prevents the processing liquid supplied to the upper surface of the substrate, which is adsorbed and held by the adsorption holding portion, from flowing back to the lower surface through the outer peripheral edge. (9) The adsorption holding portion has an upper surface that adsorbs and holds the central part of the lower surface of the substrate, and the upper surface has a peripheral region along the outer edge and a central region surrounded by the peripheral region, the peripheral region is provided with a plurality of first suction holes and the central region is provided with a plurality of second suction holes, and the surface density of the plurality of first suction holes in the peripheral region may be greater than the surface density of the plurality of second suction holes in the central region. With the above-described suction-holding mechanism, when the substrate held by the suction-holding mechanism rotates, the portion of the substrate located on the peripheral region is prevented from lifting off the upper surface of the suction-holding mechanism, thus stabilizing the substrate's holding state. Therefore, variations in the processing of the substrate across multiple parts of the substrate due to a portion of the substrate lifting off the upper surface of the suction-holding mechanism are prevented. As a result, uniform processing across the entire substrate becomes possible. The substrate processing apparatus may include the above-described rotating holding device. The above-described rotating holding device suppresses the occurrence of temperature differences between multiple parts of the rotating substrate. Therefore, uniform processing using the processing solution becomes possible for the entire substrate rotated by the rotating holding device. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0195] 1...Coating device, 10...Rotation holding device, 11c...Central axis, 11u, 170u, 180u...Top surface, 12...Rotation axis, 13...Rotation drive unit, 14...Suction device, 15...Cup, 15d...Drain, 15x...Bottom, 15y...Outer peripheral wall, 16...Drain guide tube, 17, 170A, 170B, 170C, 170D, 170E...Gas nozzle, 17a...Gas introduction section, 17b...Gas ejection section, 17v...Gas supply pipe Path, 18...Gas supply system, 20...Processing liquid supply device, 21...Liquid nozzle, 22...Processing liquid supply system, 23...Nozzle moving part, 40...Disc-shaped member, 41, 61...Adsorption part, 42...Intake path forming part, 43...Support part, 43b, 73...Communication hole, 50, 180...Annular member, 60...Upper circular member, 60b...Bottom surface, 62...Outer peripheral wall part, 65...Screw hole, 70...Lower circular member, 71...Support part, 71a...Mounting part, 72... Outer wall portion, 72g…groove, 74, 172h, h1~hn…through hole, 79…sealing member, 99…adsorption holding part, 99c…central axis, 170b…bottom surface, 171…top surface member, 172…bottom surface member, 172p…gas flow path, 173…internal space, 177, 179…gas introduction member, 177a…gas inlet, 177b…gas flow path, 177c…gas outlet, 178…fixing member, BL…threaded member, de…downstream end, g 1~g8,g11~g22…Through-hole group, LG…Linear groove, LP…Linear path, nc…Non-contact portion, pt1…First pitch, pt2…Second pitch, R1…Peripheral region, R2…Central region, RP…Annular path, RG…Annular groove, RL…Resist liquid, SL…Slit-shaped opening, sp1…One side, sp2…Other side, ut…Inclined portion, vh, vh1, vh2…Suction hole, vp…Intake path, W…Substrate

Claims

1. A rotating holding device that rotates while adsorbing and holding the central part of the lower surface of a substrate, A suction holding part that suction and holds the central part of the lower surface of the substrate, A rotation drive unit that rotates the aforementioned suction holding unit around a rotation shaft extending in the vertical direction, The system includes a temperature adjustment unit that adjusts the temperature of at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate that is not held by the adsorption holding unit, while the adsorption holding unit is holding the substrate. The temperature control unit includes a gas supply unit that supplies temperature-controlling gas to at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge, The gas supply unit is, With the adsorption holding portion adsorbing and holding the substrate, the first annular opposing surface surrounds the adsorption holding portion and faces at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate, The first annular opposing surface has a plurality of gas injection ports formed therein, which simultaneously inject the temperature-regulating gas into at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate while the adsorption holding portion is adsorbing and holding the substrate. The portion of the first annular opposing surface closest to the adsorption holding portion has an annular inclined surface facing inward and upward, such that it faces at least the inner edge of the lower peripheral edge of the substrate when the adsorption holding portion is adsorbing and holding the substrate. A rotating holding device in which at least some of the plurality of gas injection nozzles are located on the inclined surface and inject the temperature-regulating gas in a direction perpendicular to the inclined surface.

2. The rotation holding device according to claim 1, wherein the temperature-regulating gas is supplied to at least a portion of the lower peripheral edge to adjust the temperature of the portion of the substrate including the lower peripheral edge to match or approach the temperature of the portion of the substrate including the lower central portion.

3. The rotation holding device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of gas injection ports are dispersed in the rotational direction about the rotation axis.

4. The adsorption and holding portion has an upper surface that adsorbs and holds the central portion of the lower surface of the substrate, The aforementioned upper surface is, Peripheral region along the outer edge, It has a central region surrounded by the peripheral region, The peripheral region is provided with a plurality of first suction holes. The central region is provided with a plurality of second suction holes. The rotational holding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the surface density of the plurality of first suction holes in the peripheral region is greater than the surface density of the plurality of second suction holes in the central region.

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