JPH0982678A - Substrate treating system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a substrate treating system which is lessened in initial cost and capable of transferring a substrate from an upper to a lower treating tank restraining treating liquid attached to the substrate from being completely dried up but keeping the substrate drained enough. SOLUTION: A substrate treating system 1 is equipped with an upper treating tank 2 and a lower treating tank 3 provided adjacent to each other, and a substrate B is consecutively introduced into the treating tanks 2 and 3, wherein upper treating liquid X is fed to the surface of the substrate B through the upper treating tank 2, and lower treating liquid Y is supplied to the substrate B in the lower treating tank 3. Moreover, the device 1 is equipped with a partitioning wall 13 provided between the treating tanks 2 and 3, an opening 13 provided in the partitioning wall 13 for letting the substrate B pass through, and a roller 14 which transfers the substrate B from the upper treating tank 2 to the lower treating tank 3 through the opening 13a keeping it in a horizontal position, wherein an air knife 40 which extends vertical to the direction in which the substrate B is transferred and is provided with an gas nozzle 43 which blows gas against the surface of the substrate B where treating liquid is fed is provided in the opening 13a.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus in which a plurality of processing baths for supplying a processing liquid to a substrate transported in a substantially horizontal direction are connected in series.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Substrates such as liquid crystals and semiconductors are sequentially transported in a substantially horizontal posture by a transporting means such as a conveyor belt or rollers into a processing bath in which a plurality of processing baths are arranged in series. Predetermined processing is performed by supplying various processing liquids. As the processing liquid, for example, a developing liquid, a cleaning liquid, an etching liquid, a stripping liquid, pure water, or the like having different properties is used, and different processing liquids are supplied to the respective processing tanks.
A partition wall having an opening through which a substrate is passed is provided between the processing tanks, and the opening allows the substrates to be transferred between the processing tanks. I try not to mix them.

However, when the substrate to which the processing liquid is supplied in the upper processing tank is conveyed to the lower processing tank through the opening, the upper processing liquid adheres to the substrate transferred to the lower processing tank. Therefore, in the lower side processing tank, the upper side processing liquid and the lower side processing liquid are mixed with each other on the substrate, and the property of the lower side processing liquid is changed, resulting in defective processing of the substrate. Occurs.

As a substrate processing apparatus adopting a measure for avoiding such inconvenience, an air knife facing the front and back surfaces of the substrate is provided at the exit of the upper processing tank,
A similar air knife was also installed at the inlet of the lower processing tank, and a liquid draining device that prevented the processing liquid on the upper side from moving to the lower processing tank due to the discharge of gas from these air knives to the front and back surfaces of the substrate. , Liquid draining rollers are installed at the outlet and inlet of the processing tanks on the upper and lower sides so as to cross the front and back of the substrate, and the processing liquids on the upper and lower sides are not mixed by this liquid draining roller. Such a drainer is known. In addition to these, there is known one in which the transfer of the substrate is temporarily stopped when the supply of the processing liquid in each processing tank is completed, and the substrate is tilted to perform the liquid draining.

[0005]

By the way, in the case where the air knives are provided inside both the above-mentioned upper processing tank and the lower processing tank, the distance between the air knives becomes large and the gas supply amount is large. Is likely to become excessive, and the substrate may dry to cause spot-like or band-like unevenness on the front and back surfaces, and particles adhering to this unevenness adhere to the surface of the substrate due to drying, making removal difficult. I had a problem. Therefore, the substrate may be made semi-dry, but this adjustment is very difficult. Further, since the air knives are provided on both the upper side and the lower side, there is a problem that the equipment cost increases.

Further, in the case where the liquid draining roller is provided, it is difficult to adjust the gap between the liquid draining rollers, and if the distance between the substrate and the roller is too small, the suspended matter in the air adhering to the roller will be the surface of the substrate. However, if the distance between the substrate and the roller is too wide, the liquid draining of the substrate becomes insufficient.

Further, in the case where the substrate is tilted to perform the liquid draining, a mechanism for tilting the substrate is required in the transfer path in the processing tank, and the apparatus becomes complicated. In addition to the increase in equipment cost, it takes time to tilt the substrate and restore it to its original horizontal position, which causes a problem that the processing efficiency of the substrate decreases.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the treatment liquid is completely removed when the substrate is transferred from the upper processing tank to the lower processing tank with a simple structure. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of performing necessary and sufficient drainage without drying.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A substrate which is formed while being conveyed by a conveying means for conveying the substrate and a partition wall which is arranged along the conveying direction of the substrate by the conveying means and has a partition wall having an opening for passing the conveyed substrate In the substrate processing apparatus, which is provided with a superior processing bath and an inferior processing bath that respectively supply different processing liquids to each other, and a gas supply unit that blows gas onto the substrate to drain the supplied processing liquid, The supply means is arranged along the partition wall so as to have a dimension that at least traverses the substrate, and has a tip facing the opening and blowing gas from a direction substantially orthogonal to the surface of the passing substrate. It is characterized by having.

According to the present invention, the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate introduced into the upper processing tank in the horizontal posture by the transfer means, and the predetermined processing is performed by the processing liquid.
It is sent into the lower processing tank through an opening provided in the partition wall, where a processing liquid of a type different from the above processing liquid is supplied, and a predetermined processing is performed with this processing liquid. Then, when the substrate passes through the opening, the gas from the gas outlet is blown to the processing liquid supply surface of the substrate,
The blowing of this gas blows off the processing liquid present on the surface to which the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate, thereby forming a boundary area where the processing liquid in the upper processing tank and the processing liquid in the lower processing tank do not mix with each other. To be done. Due to the existence of this boundary area, the processing liquid in the upper processing tank is not mixed with the substrate fed from the upper processing tank to the lower processing tank and mixed in the lower processing tank. The adverse effect on the substrate processing due to is avoided.

Since the gas outlet is provided so as to face the opening formed in the partition wall, a dedicated air knife member is provided in the upper processing tank and the lower processing tank as in the conventional case. Narrow the width of the band-shaped boundary area formed on the surface of the substrate, as compared with the case where gas is separately discharged from the gas outlet to the upper processing tank side and the lower processing tank side. This makes it possible to suppress the complete drying of the substrate surface in the boundary area, to reliably suppress the occurrence of unevenness due to the complete drying of the substrate surface, and to prevent the floating due to complete drying. Adhesion of the mist to the substrate surface is surely suppressed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the lower processing bath is configured so that the processing liquid is supplied immediately downstream of the opening. It is a feature.

According to the present invention, even if the processing liquid on the lower processing tank side is supplied immediately after passing through the opening, the upper processing liquid and the lower processing liquid are separated by the air flow from the gas outlet. Since they do not mix, the length of the lower processing tank in the transport direction can be set to the minimum.

[0014]

1 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present invention. Substrate processing apparatus 1
Is formed by arranging a plurality of processing tanks 11 in parallel so as to be adjacent to each other. Each processing tank 11 has a rectangular parallelepiped substrate processing chamber 12 for processing the substrate B at the top. The substrate processing chambers 12 are formed so as to sandwich a partition wall 13, and the partition wall 13 has an opening 13a through which the substrate B passes. The substrate B is sequentially transported from the processing tank 11 on the left side in FIG. 1 toward the processing tank 11 on the right side in FIG. 1 through these openings 13a. Substrate processing chamber 12
A funnel portion 12a having a mortar shape is provided in the lower portion of the substrate so that the processing liquid supplied to the substrate B is collected.

Inside each processing tank 11, there is provided a roller (conveying means) 14 having an axis perpendicular to the conveying direction of the substrate B. These rollers 14 are set in the substrate processing chamber 12 at substantially the same height as the opening 13a and arranged side by side. The substrate B, which is placed on the roller 14, is configured to move from the upper processing tank 11 to the lower processing tank 11 through the opening 13a by the driving rotation of the roller 14. In the following, in FIG. 1, the processing tank 11 on the left side of the central portion is a processing tank 2 on the upper side and the processing tank 1 on the right side
1 is called the lower processing tank 3.

The above-mentioned upper processing tank 2 has a sprinkling pipe 21 arranged above the row of rollers 14 in the substrate processing chamber 12, and from this sprinkling pipe 21 to the substrate B on the roller 14. The good processing liquid X is supplied toward the surface.
The surface of the substrate B is subjected to a predetermined process by the supply of the good side processing liquid X. The good-side processing liquid X used for processing the substrate B drops from the edge of the substrate B,
It is adapted to be collected in the liquid distilling tank 22 provided below the funnel portion 12a.

Between the liquid distilling tank 22 and the sprinkling pipe 21, the upper side processing liquid X in the liquid distilling tank 22 is sprinkled in the liquid sprinkling pipe 2.
1 is provided with a processing liquid supply pipeline 23 for supplying the processing liquid, and the processing liquid supply pipe 23 for supplying the processing liquid is provided with a processing liquid supply pump 23a and a filter 23b from the upstream side. The upper processing liquid X in the liquid distilling tank 22 is circulated and used by driving the pump 23a.

The lower processing bath 3 has one sprinkling pipe 31 arranged above the row of rollers 14 in the substrate processing chamber 12. The sprinkling pipe 31 is provided on the uppermost stream side in the lower processing tank 3 and close to the partition wall 13.
The lower processing liquid Y is supplied from 1 toward the surface of the substrate B on the roller 14. This lower processing liquid Y
Is supplied, the surface of the substrate B is subjected to a predetermined treatment. Then, the lower processing liquid Y used for processing the substrate B drops from the edge portion of the substrate B, and the funnel portion 12
It is adapted to be collected via a through a liquid distilling tank 32 provided therebelow.

Between the liquid distilling tank 32 and the sprinkling pipe 31, the lower side processing liquid Y in the liquid distilling tank 32 is sprinkled on the sprinkling pipe 3.
1 is provided with a lower processing liquid supply pipeline 33, and the lower processing liquid supply pipeline 33 is provided with a processing liquid supply pump 33a and a filter 33b from the upstream side. By driving the pump 33a, the lower processing liquid Y in the liquid distilling tank 32 is circulated and used.

An opening 1 is provided near each of the processing tanks 2 and 3.
Gas supply means 4 for spraying gas onto the surface of the substrate B passing through 3a is provided. This gas supply means 4
Has an air knife part 40 attached to the partition wall 13 at the upper edge of the opening 13a, and a gas source 44 for supplying gas to the air knife part 40 through a gas supply conduit 45.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of the air knife portion 40 provided in the opening 13a of the partition wall 13. As shown in FIG. As shown in this figure, the air knife portion 40 includes an air knife body 41, an air passage 42 bored in the air knife body 41, and a gas outlet 43 communicating with the air passage 42. ing.

The air knife main body 41 is formed of a rectangular parallelepiped metal block having a predetermined thickness so as to cross at least the substrate B being conveyed. On the other hand, a bifurcated bracket 13b whose bottom is opened is provided at the lower end edge of the partition wall 13 formed above the opening 13a. And the air knife part 40
Is the bracket 1 above the air knife body 41.
It is clamped by 3b and fixed to the partition wall 13 in a bolted state.

The air passage 42 is formed by perforating the central portion of the air knife body 41 in the longitudinal direction over substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction. A crack extending over the entire length in the longitudinal direction is formed in the lower portion of the air passage 42, and the lower end portion of the crack serves as the gas outlet 43.

Then, with the air knife portion 40 fixed to the bracket 13b, a slight gap is formed between the air outlet 43 and the substrate B passing thereunder so that a slight gap is formed in the air knife body 41. The mounting position is set so that the air knife portion 40 and the substrate B do not interfere with each other.

On the other hand, a gas source 44 for supplying gas to the air knife section 40 is arranged near the substrate processing apparatus 1, and high-pressure gas from this gas source 44 passes through the gas supply line 45. The air is supplied to the air passage 42 of the air knife body 41. In this embodiment, the gas source 4
A high-pressure nitrogen cylinder 4 is applied, and nitrogen gas is supplied from the gas outlet 43.

The sprinkling pipe 31 is provided parallel to the air knife portion 40 in the lower processing tank 3 slightly downstream of the air knife portion 40. A plurality of sprinkling nozzles 31a are arranged in parallel at the bottom of the sprinkling pipe 31 at equal pitches, and the lower processing liquid Y supplied from the liquid distilling tank 32 through the lower processing liquid supply pipe line 33 is supplied to the lower processing liquid Y. It is adapted to be supplied to the surface of the substrate B from the spray nozzle 31a.

Therefore, the substrate B conveyed from the upper processing bath 2 to the lower processing bath 3 by the driving rotation of the rollers 14.
When passing through the opening 13a of the partition wall 13, the upper surface of the partition wall 13 receives the gas jet from the gas blow-out port 43 of the air knife unit 40, whereby the surface of the substrate B is bordered by the gas blow-out port 43. A band-shaped airflow is formed toward the upstream side and the downstream side. Then, the upper-side processing liquid layer X1 formed on the surface of the substrate B is pushed to the upstream side of the surface of the substrate B by the airflow toward the upstream side, and thus the substrate B passing through the opening 13a. The upper side processing liquid layer X1 is removed from the surface of the.

Further, the lower processing liquid layer Y1 is formed by the lower processing liquid Y supplied from the spray nozzle 31a to the surface of the substrate B.
Is pressed by the air flow from the gas outlet 43 toward the downstream side, and the lower processing liquid layer Y1 is prevented from moving toward the upstream side. Therefore, the upper processing liquid X and the lower processing liquid Y do not mix with each other on the substrate B.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged explanatory view in which an essential part of FIG. 1 is enlarged in order to explain the operation of the present invention.
The state immediately before the substrate B reaches the opening 13a, (b)
Is a state in which the downstream end (right side) of the substrate B reaches the opening 13a, (c) is a state in which the substrate B is passing through the opening 13a, and (d) is a state in which the substrate B is opening in the opening 13a. It shows a state in which the liquid has passed and the upstream end thereof has been conveyed to the downstream side of the liquid spray nozzle 31a.

First, as shown in FIG. 3A, immediately before the substrate B in the upper processing tank 2 reaches the opening 13a of the partition wall 13, the liquid is supplied from the sprinkling pipe 21 of the upper processing tank 2. By supplying the upper-side processing liquid X, the upper-side processing liquid layer X1 is formed on the entire surface of the substrate B. Further, since the lower processing liquid Y supplied from the sprinkling pipe 31 of the lower processing tank 3 does not have the substrate B in the lower portion, it is in a state of flowing down to the funnel portion 12a of the lower processing tank 3 as it is. Further, the gas supplied from the air knife section 40 is blown out toward the edge of the partition wall 13 below the opening 13a as shown by the arrow, and here the upper side processing tank 2 and the lower side processing tank 3 are discharged. It is split.

Next, in the state shown in FIG. 3B, the downstream end of the substrate B reaches the opening 13a, and a part of it passes over the opening 13a. In this state, the gas supplied from the air knife portion 40 collides with the surface of the substrate B, and thereby splits into the left and right,
The airflow directed to the upper side pushes the upper processing liquid layer X1 formed on the surface of the substrate B to the upstream side (left side), and the airflow branched to the downstream side flows outward from the end portion of the substrate B. Since it escapes, the upper surface side processing liquid layer X1 is removed from the surface end portion of the substrate B.

Next, in the state shown in FIG. 3C, the downstream side of the substrate B enters the lower processing tank 3 by a considerable length,
The lower processing liquid Y is supplied to the surface of the substrate B from the sprinkling pipe 31 of the lower processing tank 3. In this state, the gas ejected from the air knife portion 40 is divided into left and right on the surface of the substrate B, and the air stream separated on the upstream side prevents the upper processing liquid layer X1 from proceeding to the downstream side and the lower side. Since the processing liquid Y is prevented from entering the upstream side, a strip-shaped boundary region where the upper processing liquid X and the lower processing liquid Y do not mix with each other immediately below the air knife portion 40. A is formed, and in this state, the lower side processing liquid layer Y is provided on the downstream side of the sprinkling pipe 31 of the substrate B.
1 is sequentially formed.

Then, in the state shown in FIG. 3D, the upstream end of the substrate B passes through the discharge position of the lower processing liquid Y from the sprinkling pipe 31 of the lower processing bath 3, whereby the substrate B is discharged. The lower processing liquid layer Y1 is formed on the entire surface of the.

As described in detail above, the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment has the upper edge portion of the opening 13a formed in the partition wall 13 that separates the upper processing tank 2 and the lower processing tank 3 from each other. The air knife section 40 is provided, and the substrate B transferred from the gas outlet 43 (FIG. 2) of the air knife section 40.
Since a strip-shaped air flow is jetted so as to traverse the substrate, when the substrate B passes through the opening 13a,
The airflow from the air knife section 40 is divided into an upstream side and a downstream side on the surface of the substrate B, and by this branching, the upper processing liquid X and the lower processing liquid Y are placed on the substrate B immediately below the air knife portion 40. A boundary region A is formed in which the two do not mix with each other.

Therefore, when passing through the opening 13a of the partition wall 13, it is surely prevented that the upper processing liquid X and the lower processing liquid Y are mixed with each other on the surface of the substrate B. The adverse effect due to the mixing of the upper-side processing liquid X and the lower-side processing liquid Y on the surface of is surely prevented, which is effective in properly performing the processing of the substrate B by the lower-side processing liquid Y.

In the present invention, since the air knife portion 40 is provided in the opening 13a of the partition wall 13 which is the boundary between the upper processing tank 2 and the lower processing tank 3, as in the conventional case. Upper processing tank 2 and lower processing tank 3
Compared to the case where a dedicated air knife is installed in the
It is possible to narrow the width dimension of the band-shaped boundary region A formed on the surface of the substrate B, whereby the complete drying of the surface of the substrate B in the boundary region A can be suppressed. Therefore, the occurrence of unevenness due to the complete drying of the surface of the substrate B is reliably suppressed, and the adhesion of the floating mist to the surface of the substrate B due to the complete drying is reliably suppressed.

The present invention can employ the following embodiments in addition to the above embodiments.

(1) In the above embodiment, the air knife portion 40 is provided only on the upper edge portion of the opening 13a formed in the partition wall 13, but is also provided on the lower edge portion of the opening 13a. In this way, the gas may be jetted also to the back surface of the substrate B by the air knife provided at the lower edge portion. By doing so, even if the upper processing liquid X is attached to the back surface of the substrate B, the mixing of the upper processing liquid X into the lower processing liquid Y is reliably suppressed.

(2) In the above embodiment, nitrogen is applied to the gas blown from the air knife section 40.
The present invention is not limited to the case where the gas ejected from the air knife section 40 is nitrogen, and air may be used depending on the type of the processing liquid for processing the substrate B, or an inert gas such as argon. Gas may be used. Further, a reducing gas such as hydrogen may be used depending on the case.

(3) In the above embodiment, the gas outlet 43 of the air knife portion 40 is formed by a slit-shaped opening extending in the direction (longitudinal direction) orthogonal to the transfer direction of the substrate B. Instead of forming the openings 43 into slits, a large number of gas outlets formed in spots are arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction, and the respective gas outlets of the spots are arranged so that the discharge areas on the substrate B overlap with each other. The interval between the outlets may be set.

(4) In the above embodiment, the roller 14 that is driven and rotated is used as the transporting means for transporting the substrate B, but the transporting means is not limited to the roller 14 in the present invention, and a conveyor belt is used. May be used. In this case, the air knife 40 is provided only on the upstream side of the substrate.

(5) In the above embodiment, the processing liquids X and Y supplied to the substrate B are circulated and used, but in the present invention, the processing liquids X and Y are circulated and used. It is not limited to this, and it may be discharged to the outside of the system after being supplied to the substrate B.

(6) In the above embodiment, the air knife portion 40 is hung from the upper edge of the opening 13a of the partition wall 13, whereby the air flow from the gas outlet 43 is transferred to the substrate B.
However, instead of doing this, the air knife body 41 is slightly inclined toward the upper treatment tank 2 so that the air flow from the gas outlet 43 is increased in the upper treatment tank 2. Alternatively, the air may be blown out toward the substrate B at a position slightly inclined. This makes it possible to more reliably perform drainage of the upper processing liquid layer X1 on the surface of the substrate B.

[0044]

According to the invention described in claim 1, the transfer means for transferring the substrate, and the transfer means are good at supplying different kinds of processing liquids to the substrates sequentially transferred through the opening of the partition wall. In a substrate processing apparatus comprising a side processing tank and a lower processing tank, and a gas supply means for blowing a gas onto a substrate to drain the supplied processing liquid, the gas supply means is at least along the partition wall. Since it is provided with a dimension that traverses the substrate, its tip faces the opening, and has a gas outlet for blowing gas from a direction substantially orthogonal to the surface of the passing substrate, The processing liquid is supplied to the substrate introduced into the upper processing tank in a substantially horizontal posture by the means, and after the predetermined processing is performed by this processing liquid, the lower processing is performed through the opening provided in the partition wall. Send to tank Is, where the type of processing solution that is different from the above-described treatment liquid is supplied, is subjected to predetermined processing in the processing solution. Then, when the substrate passes through the opening, the gas from the gas outlet is blown onto the treatment liquid supply surface of the substrate, so that the treatment liquid present on the treatment liquid supply surface of the substrate is blown off by the blowing of the gas. As a result, a boundary region is formed in which the processing liquid in the upper processing tank and the processing liquid in the lower processing tank do not mix with each other. Due to the existence of this boundary area, the processing liquid in the upper processing tank is not mixed with the substrate sent from the upper processing tank to the lower processing tank and mixed in the lower processing tank. It is convenient for surely avoiding adverse effects on the substrate processing due to the mixture.

Since the gas outlet is provided so as to face the opening formed in the partition wall, a dedicated air knife member is provided in the upper processing tank and the lower processing tank as in the conventional case. Narrow the width of the band-shaped boundary area formed on the surface of the substrate, as compared with the case where gas is separately discharged from the gas outlet to the upper processing tank side and the lower processing tank side. This makes it possible to suppress the complete drying of the substrate surface in the boundary area, reliably suppress the occurrence of unevenness due to the complete drying of the substrate surface, and to prevent the floating mist due to complete drying. It is extremely convenient for surely preventing the adherence of the to the substrate surface.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the processing liquid is supplied to the lower processing tank at a position immediately downstream of the opening, the processing liquid is supplied to the lower processing side immediately after passing through the opening. Even if the processing liquid from the processing tank is supplied, the upper processing liquid and the lower processing liquid do not mix with each other due to the air flow from the gas outlet, so the length of the lower processing tank in the transport direction is increased accordingly. The size can be set to the minimum, which is effective in reducing the equipment cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of an air knife provided in an opening of a partition wall.

3A and 3B are partially enlarged explanatory views in which a main portion of FIG. 1 is enlarged to explain the operation of the present invention, in which (A) is a state immediately before the substrate reaches the opening, and (B) is a substrate. The downstream end (right side) of the substrate has reached the opening, (c) the substrate is passing through the opening, and (d) the substrate has passed through the opening and its upstream end is sprinkled. The respective states are shown when they are transported to the downstream side of the nozzle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 11 Processing tank 12 Substrate processing chamber 13 Partition wall 13a Opening 13b Bracket 14 Roller (conveying means) 2 Upper processing tank 21 Dispersion pipe 22 Liquid retention tank 23 Upper processing liquid supply line 23a Processing liquid supply Pump 23b Filter 3 Upper treatment tank 31 Dispersion pipe 32 Liquid retention tank 33 Lower treatment liquid supply pipe 33a Treatment liquid supply pump 33b Filter 40 Air knife part 41 Air knife body 42 Air passage 43 Gas outlet 44 Gas source 45 Gas supply line A Boundary area X Superior processing liquid X1 Superior processing liquid layer Y Lower processing liquid Y1 Lower processing liquid layer

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A transport means for transporting a substrate and a partition wall which is arranged along the transport direction of the substrate by the transport means and is partitioned by a partition wall having an opening for allowing the transported substrate to pass therethrough. A substrate processing including a superior processing bath and a downstream processing bath that supply different processing liquids to the substrate being transported, and a gas supply unit that blows gas onto the substrate to drain the supplied processing liquid In the apparatus, the gas supply means is arranged along the partition wall so as to have a dimension that traverses at least the substrate, and the tip thereof faces the opening, and the gas is supplied from a direction substantially orthogonal to the surface of the passage substrate. A substrate processing apparatus having a gas outlet for blowing a gas. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lower processing tank is configured so that the processing liquid is supplied immediately downstream of the opening.