Resist coating and developing apparatus and method

A resist coating and developing apparatus comprising:

• a resist film-forming unit that applies a resist onto a substrate to form thereon a resist film;
• a resist developing unit that develops the resist film after exposure;
• a solvent gas generating unit that is set to a predetermined temperature and that generates a gaseous body containing a vapor of a solvent having a property of dissolving the resist film;
• a solvent gas conditioning unit that is set to a temperature lower than the predetermined temperature and conditions of the gaseous body generated in the solvent gas generating unit, the solvent gas conditioning including an inflow pipe allowing the gaseous body generated by the gas generating unit to flow into the solvent gas conditioning unit, and further including a nozzle connected to the inflow pipe;
• a processing chamber that is set to a temperature lower than the predetermined temperature, and that can be maintained at a reduced pressure, and that houses the substrate having thereon the resist film which has been developed and patterned in the resist developing unit;
• a heating unit, disposed in a processing chamber, that allows the substrate to be placed thereon and heats the substrate;
• a supply unit that supplies the gaseous body, having been conditioned by the solvent gas conditioning unit, toward the substrate placed on the heating unit;
• an exhaust unit that evacuates the processing chamber to a reduced pressure;
• and
• a temperature control unit that raises temperature of the heating unit after the gaseous body is supplied to the substrate placed on the heating unit.