Substrate processing apparatus and substrate removal method

A substrate processing apparatus, comprising:

• a processing vessel configured to accommodate a substrate inside and to process the substrate, the processing vessel having a bottom;
• a substrate support that is provided inside the processing vessel and has a mounting surface on which the substrate is mounted;
• a lift-pin mechanism that includes a lift pin movable relative to the substrate support, a cylindrical member disposed around the lift pin, and a pin housing chamber in which the lift pin is housed, the lift-pin mechanism being configured to lift the substrate mounted in the substrate support by raising the lift pin;
• a case extending through the bottom of the processing vessel, the case including a protruding part that protrudes downward relative to the bottom of the processing vessel in a vertical direction, the pin housing chamber formed in the case;
• and
• circuitry configured to control supplying inert gas to the pin housing chamber,
• wherein the substrate support has a hole through which the lift pin is passable,
• wherein the cylindrical member includes a vertical part extending in the vertical direction and a flange part extending outward from the vertical part in a radial direction, the vertical part disposed inside the case, the flange part defining a top surface of the cylindrical member,
• wherein the flange part is configured to transition from a non-contact state with a lower surface of the substrate support to a contact state with the lower surface of the substrate support as the lift pin rises,
• wherein the lift-pin mechanism further includes a pressure regulator that regulates pressure in the hole by passing the inert gas through the pin housing chamber,
• wherein the circuitry is configured to adjust, at a timing when the substrate is to be lifted, the pressure in the hole to a lifting pressure that is greater than or equal to a pressure in a processing space that is above the mounting surface and at which the substrate remains continuously mounted on the mounting surface,
• wherein the pressure regulator includes a gas exhaust channel disposed in the protruding part of the case, the gas exhaust channel configured to exhaust gas in the pin housing chamber formed in the case, and
• wherein the circuitry is further configured to start supplying the inert gas to the pin housing chamber before the flange part reaches the contact state with the lower surface of the substrate support.