A coating and developing method to be carried out in a coating and developing apparatus, the apparatus comprising a carrier block, a processing block, and an interface block connectable to an exposure apparatus, said coating and developing apparatus being configured to transfer a substrate, which has been carried by a carrier into the carrier block, to the processing block, form at least two coating films, including a resist film, on the substrate in the processing block, send the substrate to the exposure apparatus via the interface block, develop the substrate after exposure, which has returned via the interface block, in the processing block, and transfer the substrate to the carrier block, wherein
- (a) the processing block includes two early-stage coating unit blocks vertically stacked on top of each other, two later-stage coating unit blocks vertically stacked on top of each other and stacked on the early-stage coating unit blocks, and two developing unit blocks vertically stacked on top of each other and stacked on the early-stage coating unit blocks;
- each early-stage coating unit block is configured to perform the same coating processing of a substrate, has a plurality of processing modules, including liquid processing modules for forming at least one lower coating film of the coating films necessary for exposure and heating modules for heating the substrate, and is provided with a transport mechanism that moves along a linear transport passage, extending from the carrier block side to the interface block side, to transport the substrate between the processing modules;
- each later-stage coating unit block is configured to perform the same processing of a substrate, has a plurality of processing modules, including liquid processing modules for forming at least one upper coating film of the coating films necessary for exposure and heating modules for heating the substrate, and is provided with a transport mechanism that moves along a linear transport passage, extending from the carrier block side to the interface block side, to transport the substrate between the processing modules;
- and each developing unit block is configured to perform the same processing of a substrate, has a plurality of processing modules, including developing modules for supplying a developer to the substrate and heating modules for heating the substrate, and is provided with a transport mechanism that moves along a linear transport passage, extending from the carrier block side to the interface block side, to transport the substrate between the processing modules;
- (b) either the early-stage coating unit blocks or the later-stage coating unit blocks include, as the liquid processing modules, resist film-forming modules for forming a resist film on a substrate;
- said coating and developing apparatus further includes:
- (c) transfer units, each of which is, respectively, provided on the carrier block side of the early-stage coating unit blocks, the later-stage coating unit blocks and the developing unit blocks, for transferring a substrate to and from the transport mechanisms of the associated unit blocks, respectively;
- (d) a first transfer mechanism configured to transfer substrates to the transfer units, respectively, such that the substrates are distributed from the carrier to the transfer units associated with the early-stage coating unit blocks, configured to return a substrate from each of the transfer units associated with the developing unit blocks to the carrier, and configured to transfer substrates, which have been processed in the early-stage coating unit blocks, to the transfer units associated with the later-stage coating unit blocks, respectively;
- (e) a second transfer mechanism configured to receive substrates before exposure which have been processed in the processing block, and configured to transfer substrates after exposure to the developing unit blocks, respectively, such that the substrates are distributed to the developing unit blocks;
- (f) a post-development inspection module for inspecting a substrate after development;
- said coating and developing method comprising:
- a post-development inspection step that inspects a substrate after development by the post-development inspection module;
- a storing step that stores in a storage section data on a transport route along which the substrate, as an inspection object, was transported to the post-development inspection module;
- an identifying step that identifies, when an abnormality in the substrate is detected upon inspection by the post-development inspection module, the processing module or modules that processed the substrate having the abnormality in the developing unit blocks, based on data stored in the storage section;
- and
- a controlling step that controls operation of the transport mechanism of the developing unit block such that subsequent substrates are transported to the processing module or modules, of the same type as the identified processing module, other than the identified processing module.