Coating method and apparatus

A coating method comprising the steps of:

• supplying a processing solution onto a surface of at least one target to be processed from at least one processing-solution supplier, the surface of the target being divided into a plurality of fields;
• adjusting, via a flow-rate adjuster, a flow rate of the processing solution while supplied to each field on the target while the processing-solution supplier is moving in relative motion to the target;
• feeding the processing solution from a processing-solution supply source at a specific pressure via a processing-solution pressure-up feeder;
• adjusting, via a pressure adjuster, the pressure of the processing solution fed via the processing-solution pressure-up feeder to another specific pressure or more at which the processing solution is supplied to all of the fields on the target at least simultaneously;
• detecting, via a flow-rate detector, a flow rate of the processing solution supplied to each field on the wafer;
• detecting, via a pressure detector, the pressure of the processing solution fed via the processing-solution pressure-up feeder;
• and
• controlling the flow-rate adjuster and the pressure adjuster based on prestored control data and detection signals from the flow-rate detector and the pressure detector so that the processing solution is supplied to each field on the target at a predetermined flow rate from the processing-solution suppliers.

A coating apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of processing-solution suppliers to supply a processing solution onto surfaces of a plurality of targets to be processed;
• a flow-rate adjuster, provided for each processing-solution supplier, to adjust a flow rate of the processing solution while supplied to the targets;
• a processing-solution pressure-up feeder to feed the processing solution from a processing-solution supply source at a specific pressure to each processing-solution supplier;
• a pressure adjuster to adjust the pressure of the processing solution fed via the processing-solution pressure-up feeder to another specific pressure or more at which the processing solution is fed to the processing-solution suppliers at least when the processing-solution suppliers are operating simultaneously;
• a flow-rate detector to detect a flow rate of the processing solution supplied from each processing-solution supplier;
• a pressure detector to detect the pressure of the processing solution fed via the processing-solution pressure-up feeder;
• and
• a controller to control the flow-rate adjuster and the pressure adjuster based on prestored control data and detection signals from the flow-rate detector and the pressure detector so that the same amount of processing solution is supplied to the targets from the processing-solution suppliers.

A coating apparatus comprising:

• at least one processing-solution supplier having a plurality of processing-solution supplying apertures divided into a plurality of blocks through which a processing solution is supplied onto a surface of at least one target to be processed;
• a transfer mechanism to move the processing-solution supplier in relative motion to the target;
• a flow-rate adjuster, provided for each block of the processing-solution supplier, to adjust a flow rate of the processing solution while supplied to the target;
• a processing-solution pressure-up feeder to feed the processing solution from a processing-solution supply source at a specific pressure to the processing-solution supplier;
• a pressure adjuster to adjust the pressure of the processing solution fed via the processing-solution pressure-up feeder to another specific pressure or more at which the processing solution is fed at least to one or more of the blocks through which the processing solution is supplied simultaneously;
• a flow-rate detector to detect a flow rate of the processing solution supplied through each block of the processing-solution supplier;
• a pressure detector to detect the pressure of the processing solution fed via the processing-solution pressure-up feeder;
• and
• a controller to control the flow-rate adjuster and the pressure adjuster based on prestored control data and detection signals from the flow-rate detector and the pressure detector so that a predetermined flow rate of processing solution is supplied to the target through each block of the processing-solution supplier.

A processing-solution supplying method comprising the steps of:

• increasing a flow rate of a processing solution up to a set constant rate toward a region in the vicinity of an edge of a rotating target to be processed;
• supplying the processing solution at the set constant rate from the region in the vicinity of the edge to another region in the vicinity of the center of the target;
• decreasing the flow rate of the processing solution on a specific region between the region in the vicinity of the center of the target to a region in the vicinity of another edge of the target, thus spreading the processing solution over the surface of the target;
• and
• decreasing further gradually the flow rate of the processing solution from the specific region to the region in the vicinity of the other edge of the target.