Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

A substrate processing apparatus for performing a development process on a substrate after being subjected to an exposure process, the substrate processing apparatus comprising:

• a development part for performing a development reaction progressing process for progressing a development reaction by supplying a developer onto a substrate, a development reaction stopping process for stopping the development reaction by supplying de-ionized water onto the substrate and a rough drying process;
• a cleaning part for performing a cleaning process and a finish drying process on the substrate after being subjected to the rough drying process;
• and
• a transfer part for transferring the substrate after being subjected to the rough drying process from the development part to the cleaning part.

A substrate processing method for performing a substrate processing while sequentially transferring a substrate to a plurality of processing parts, the method comprising:

• a) comparing a processing time required for a specific processing part out of the plurality of processing parts to perform a specific process including a plurality of process steps with a reference time determined in advance;
• b) selecting a split processing mode where the plurality of process steps are divided into at least a first portion process step and a second portion process step if the processing time in the specific processing part is longer than the reference time and selecting a consecutive processing mode if the processing time is shorter than the reference time;
• and
• c) performing all the plurality of process steps on a substrate in the specific processing part when the consecutive processing mode is selected, and performing a processing including the first portion process step on a substrate in the specific processing part and then transferring the substrate from the specific processing part to a second portion processing part capable of performing the second portion process step and performing a processing including the second portion process step on the substrate in the second portion processing part when the split processing mode is selected.