Coating and developing apparatus, coating and developing method, and storage medium

A coating and developing method using a coating and developing apparatus to coat substrates with a resist and to develop the substrates after exposure thereof to light, wherein:

• the coating and developing apparatus includes
• a carrier block into which substrates are carried by a carrier;
• a processing block to and from which the substrates that have been carried into the carrier block are transferred, the processing block forming a film coating, inclusive of a resist film, upon the substrates, and
• an interface block for conveying to an optical exposure apparatus the substrates each having the film coating formed thereon by the processing block;
• the processing block includes a plurality of resist-film forming blocks each located between the carrier block and the interface block, and a developing block located between the carrier block and the interface block;
• conveyance means for substrate loading into the processing block is provided in the carrier block, the conveyance means for substrate loading adapted to convey the substrates from the carrier to the resist-film forming blocks;
• conveyance means for substrate loading into the exposure apparatus is provided in the interface block, the conveyance means for substrate loading adapted to convey the substrates to the exposure apparatus and after unloading the substrates therefrom, convey the substrates to the developing block;
• and
• the coating and developing method comprises the steps of
• using the processing block loading conveyance means to convey the substrates, one at a time, from the carrier to each resist-film forming block sequentially and periodically, and
• using the exposure apparatus loading conveyance means to load the substrates from the resist-film forming blocks into the exposure apparatus in the sequence that each substrate has been conveyed to each resist-film forming block by the processing block loading conveyance means.

A storage medium within which a computer program operating on a computer is stored, the storage medium being used for a coating and developing method which activates a coating and developing apparatus to coat substrates with a resist and to develop the substrates after exposure thereof to light, wherein:

• the coating and developing apparatus includes
• a carrier block into which substrates are carried by a carrier;
• a processing block to and from which the substrates that have been carried into the carrier block are transferred, the processing block forming a film coating, inclusive of a resist film, upon the substrates, and
• an interface block for conveying to an optical exposure apparatus the substrates each having the film coating formed thereon by the processing block;
• the processing block includes a plurality of resist-film forming blocks each located between the carrier block and the interface block, and a developing block located between the carrier block and the interface block;
• conveyance means for substrate loading into the processing block is provided in the carrier block, the conveyance means for substrate loading adapted to convey the substrates from the carrier to the resist-film forming blocks;
• conveyance means for substrate loading into the exposure apparatus is provided in the interface block, the conveyance means for substrate loading adapted to convey the substrates to the exposure apparatus and after unloading the substrates therefrom, convey the substrates to the developing block;
• and
• the coating and developing method comprises the steps of
• using the processing block loading conveyance means to convey the substrates, one at a time, from the carrier to each resist-film forming block sequentially and periodically, and
• using the exposure apparatus loading conveyance means to load the substrates from the resist-film forming blocks into the exposure apparatus in the sequence that each substrate has been conveyed to each resist-film forming block by the processing block loading conveyance means.