Drying processing method and apparatus using same

Abstract

A drying processing apparatus for supplying a dry gas to a processing chamber 35, which houses therein semiconductor wafers W, to dry the semiconductor wafers W, including a heater 32 for heating N.sub.2 gas serving as a carrier gas; a vapor generator 34 for making IPA misty by using the N.sub.2 gas heated by the heater 32 and for heating the IPA to produce the dry gas; and a flow control element 36 for supplying a predetermined rate of N.sub.2 gas to the processing chamber 35. Thus, it is possible to improve the efficiency of heat transfer of N.sub.2 gas, and it is possible to increase the amount of produced IPA gas and decrease the time to produce IPA gas. In addition, it is possible to prevent the turbulence of atmosphere in the processing chamber 35 after the drying processing is completed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.