Film coating apparatus

A film coating apparatus comprising:

• a substrate holding mechanism configured to hold a substrate substantially horizontally;
• a nozzle having a slit-form liquid discharge port extending from one end to another end of the substrate;
• a coating solution supply mechanism in fluid communication with said nozzle and configured to supply a coating solution to the nozzle;
• and
• a moving mechanism coupled to said nozzle and configured to move the nozzle in parallel to an upper surface of the substrate in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the slit-form liquid discharge port in such a manner that the slit-form liquid discharge port keeps a substantially constant clearance with the substrate,
• the nozzle comprising:
• an inlet port for introducing the coating solution from the coating solution supply mechanism;
• a liquid storage portion communicating with both the inlet port and the slit-form liquid discharge port, said liquid storage portion being configured to temporarily store the coating solution introduced through the inlet port;
• and
• a film-thickness control mechanism provided on both peripheral regions of the slit-form liquid discharge port, said film-thickness control mechanism being configured to reduce a pressure of the coating solution discharged from two peripheral regions of the slit-form liquid discharge port;
• wherein the film-thickness control mechanism controls the pressure of the coating solution discharged from the two peripheral regions of the slit-form liquid discharge port to be substantially equal to a pressure at a middle region of said slit-form liquid discharge port, thereby forming a coating film with a uniform thickness on an upper surface of the substrate.