TWI824281B - Developing device and developing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The developing device of the present invention includes: a conveying unit that horizontally conveys a substrate having an exposed photoresist film on its surface with the photoresist film facing upward; and a primary supply unit that supplies a developer solution to the upper surface of the substrate. and covering it with a liquid film of the developer; and a secondary supply unit located downstream of the liquid film forming unit in the conveyance direction of the substrate to additionally supply the developer to the upper surface of the conveyed substrate. The secondary supply part includes: a secondary supply nozzle having a liquid ejection port for ejecting the developer liquid onto the upper surface of the substrate; and a gas ejection nozzle located downstream of the primary supply part and upstream of the liquid ejection port. The gas ejection port disposed close to the liquid ejection port injects gas toward the liquid film on the substrate to form an air curtain extending in the width direction. When the photoresist film formed on the surface of the substrate is developed, additional supply of the developer can further improve the in-plane uniformity of the development process.

Description

Developing device and developing method

The invention relates to a developing method and a developing device for developing a substrate using a developing solution. Target substrates include glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices, semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for plasma displays (PDP), glass substrates for photomask screens, substrates for color filters, substrates for recording disks, and solar cells. Various substrates such as substrates for electronic paper and electronic paper substrates.

In the substrate manufacturing step, a substrate processing technology that forms a pattern by photolithography is often used. The basic steps in the substrate processing technology are film formation step, coating step, exposure step, development step and etching step. Among these steps, the development step is a step of developing the photoresist layer and forming a mask pattern by supplying a developer to the substrate on which the thin film and the exposed photoresist layer are laminated.

For example, in the developing device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2018-120976 (Patent Document 1), the photoresist layer is treated by uniformly supplying a developer solution to a substrate that is horizontally conveyed with the photoresist film facing upward. The resist film is developed. By locally additionally supplying the developer to a portion that requires a higher developing ability than other portions, the in-plane uniformity of the development process can be improved.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] In the above-described prior art, the developer is additionally supplied only within a part of the range in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the substrate. However, it is considered to be effective if the developer is additionally supplied uniformly over the entire width direction, for example. The reason is as follows. As development proceeds, a phenomenon occurs in which the photoresist material or oxygen in the air is dissolved in the liquid film of the developer covering the substrate, causing the developing ability of the developer to decrease. This situation may cause a decrease in the in-plane uniformity of the development process. It can be produced anywhere on the substrate. Therefore, it is expected that the uniformity of processing will be improved by additionally supplying the developer uniformly across the width direction of the conveyed substrate to compensate for the decrease in developing ability.

The present invention was made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technology for developing a photoresist film formed on a substrate surface that can achieve in-plane uniformity of the development process by additionally supplying a developer. further improved technology. [Technical means to solve problems]

One aspect of the present invention is a developing device including a conveying unit that supports a substrate having an exposed photoresist film on its surface in a horizontal position with the photoresist film facing upward, and The edge is transported in a horizontal direction; a primary supply unit supplies a developer to the upper surface of the substrate supported by the transport unit and covers the upper surface of the substrate with a film of the developer; and a secondary supply unit, The developer is additionally supplied to the upper surface of the conveyed substrate on the downstream side of the primary supply unit in the conveyance direction of the substrate. Here, the secondary supply part includes: a secondary supply nozzle having a liquid ejection port for ejecting the developer onto the upper surface of the substrate; and a blocking part that is longer than the primary supply in the conveyance direction. The portion is disposed closer to the liquid ejection port on the downstream side and upstream of the liquid ejection port, thereby limiting the thickness of the liquid film transported to the position opposite to the liquid ejection port, and suppressing the thickness of the liquid film from the liquid ejection port. The developer supplied to the substrate from the liquid ejection port flows toward the upstream side in the conveyance direction.

In addition, another aspect of the present invention is a developing method in which a photoresist film on an exposed substrate surface is developed using a developer, and the developing method includes: treating the photoresist with the The step of supplying a developer solution once to the upper surface of the substrate in a horizontal position with the film facing upward, and covering the upper surface of the substrate with a liquid film of the developer solution; removing the substrate on which the liquid film is formed The step of conveying in the horizontal direction; and the step of ejecting the developer onto the upper surface of the substrate from a liquid ejection port of a secondary supply nozzle disposed above the substrate being conveyed. Furthermore, a blocking portion disposed in close proximity to the liquid ejection port on an upstream side of the liquid ejection port in the transport direction limits the thickness of the liquid film transported to a position opposite to the liquid ejection port, Furthermore, the developer supplied to the substrate from the liquid ejection port is suppressed from flowing to the upstream side in the conveyance direction.

In the following description, when abbreviated as "upstream side", it refers to the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the substrate. In addition, when abbreviated as "downstream side", it means the downstream side in the conveyance direction of a board|substrate. When viewed from the conveyed substrate, the downstream end portion corresponds to the front end portion in the conveying direction. In addition, the upstream end portion corresponds to the rear end portion in the conveyance direction.

In the invention configured as described above, additional developer is supplied (secondary supply) to the substrate covered with the liquid film formed of the developer supplied once. This further promotes development in the liquid film and can be expected to improve the uniformity of the process. However, according to the findings of the present inventors, sufficient improvement cannot be found only by supplying the developer solution twice. In particular, the effect of improving uniformity in the direction along the conveyance direction is small. This is considered to be due to the following reasons.

When the developer is supplied a second time to the liquid film of the developer covering the substrate, components of the new developer are diffused in the liquid film. Therefore, it is considered that the recovery effect of the developing ability affects not only the liquid film at the additional supply position but also the liquid film around it. In the case of performing secondary supply while conveying the substrate, when comparing the front end portion and the rear end portion of the substrate in the conveyance direction, new liquid is added only to the existing developer that has originally formed a liquid film near the front end portion. In contrast, the developer is further added near the rear end portion to the existing developer that has been affected by the previous secondary supply. This is considered to be one of the causes of uneven processing in the conveyance direction, that is, a difference in processing results between the side near the front end of the substrate and the side near the rear end.

Therefore, in the present invention, the blocking portion is provided upstream of the position where the secondary supply of the developer is performed. This restricts the thickness of the liquid film conveyed to the position facing the liquid ejection port, and suppresses the flow of the developer supplied to the substrate from the liquid ejection port to the upstream side in the conveyance direction. This can prevent the secondary supplied developer from spreading to the upstream side, that is, to the rear end side of the substrate. Therefore, the unevenness of processing in the conveyance direction as described above can be improved. In addition, by reducing the thickness of the liquid film immediately before the secondary supply of the developer, the rate at which the existing developer is mixed into the secondary supply of the developer can be suppressed. This makes it possible to effectively utilize the high developing ability of the secondary supplied developer. As described above, the blocking portion has a function of blocking the flow of the liquid film formed on the substrate and the newly supplied developer solution. One aspect of the present invention is a developing method that uses a developer to develop a photoresist film on an exposed substrate surface, and the developing method includes: facing the photoresist film upward. A step of supplying a developer solution once to the upper surface of the substrate supported in a horizontal position and covering the upper surface of the substrate with a liquid film of the developer solution; and transporting the substrate with the liquid film formed on it in a horizontal direction. Steps: spraying gas toward the liquid film on the conveyed substrate to form an air curtain extending in a width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the substrate; and spraying the gas onto the substrate The step of supplying the developer solution twice to the upper surface of the substrate; and changing the injection amount of the gas to one of the substrates over time. [Effects of the invention]

As described above, in the present invention, when the developer liquid film formed on the substrate is supplied with the developer liquid a second time, the thickness of the liquid film conveyed to the position where the developer liquid is supplied secondarily is reduced on the upstream side and suppressed. The secondary supplied developer flows out to the upstream side. With this structure, it is possible to further improve the in-plane uniformity of the development process.

<First Embodiment> 1A and 1B are diagrams showing the first embodiment of the developing device of the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 1A is a plan view showing the schematic structure of the developing device 1 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a side cross-sectional view of the developing device 1 . In order to uniformly express the directions in the following figures, the XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is set as shown in FIG. 1A . Here, the XY plane represents the horizontal plane, and the Z direction represents the vertical direction. The (-Z) direction is the direction of gravity.

The developing device 1 sequentially performs development processing in the first developing unit 3 and development in the second developing unit 4 while transporting the substrate S processed in the previous step along the transport direction X inside the frame 2 . A substrate processing apparatus that performs rinsing processing in the rinsing section 5 and drying processing in the drying section 6 . As the substrate S, for example, a semiconductor substrate or a glass substrate for various applications such as a photomask, a display device, or a solar cell can be applied. The developing device 1 can be used for the purpose of developing the exposed photoresist film carried on the surface of these substrates. However, the types and uses of the substrate are not particularly limited to these.

Three partitions 21 to 23 are provided in the middle portion of the frame 2, and these partitions divide the interior of the frame 2 into four processing spaces. In addition, a conveyance passage opening 24 for conveying the substrate S is provided at the center of each partition plate 21 to 23 . Through these conveyance passage openings 24, the four processing spaces are connected in the conveyance direction X. The first developing unit 3 is arranged in the upstream processing space among these processing spaces, and the second developing unit 4 is arranged in the second processing space from the upstream side. Furthermore, a rinse part 5 and a drying part 6 are respectively arranged in the third and fourth processing spaces.

In addition, the frame 2 is provided with an import port 25 at an upstream end in the conveyance direction X for importing the substrate S processed by the exposure device (not shown). On the other hand, a post-baking device for carrying out the substrate S subjected to the development process, rinsing process and drying process to the next processing device (for example, performing a post-baking process after the development process) is provided at the downstream end. or etching device) exit 26.

In addition, a substrate transport unit 7 for transporting the substrate S via the carry-in port 25 , the transport passage opening 24 and the carry-out port 26 is provided inside the housing 2 . The substrate conveying unit 7 has a plurality of conveying rollers 71 and a conveying driving mechanism 72 that drives the conveying rollers 71 . As shown in FIG. 1B , the plurality of conveying rollers 71 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the conveying path connecting the conveying opening 25 , the conveying passage opening 24 and the unloading opening 26 . Each conveyance roller 71 includes a rotation shaft 711 extending in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction X, that is, the width direction Y of the substrate S, and a plurality of wheels 712 having a central portion fixed to the rotation shaft. The plurality of wheels 712 are arranged on the rotation shaft 711 at predetermined intervals in the width direction Y, and can support the substrate S from the lower surface side.

Each rotation shaft 711 is connected to the conveyance drive mechanism 72 . Furthermore, when the drive motor (not shown) of the conveyance drive mechanism 72 is operated in accordance with an operation command from the control unit 8 of the entire control device, the rotational drive force generated in the drive motor is transmitted to the rotation shaft 711 to cause the rotation shaft 711 to rotate. Wheel 712 rotates. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1B , the substrate S supported vertically by the wheels 712 presses the first developing unit 3 and the second developing unit 3 in a horizontal position with its surface (the surface on which the thin film and the resist film are laminated) facing upward. 4. The rinsing section 5 and the drying section 6 are transported in sequence.

The first developing unit 3 includes slit nozzles 31 and 32 arranged above the substrate S transported by the transport roller 71 . The slit nozzle 31 has a nozzle body 311 extending in the width direction Y and a slit-shaped discharge port 312 elongated in the width direction Y on the lower surface of the nozzle body 311 . In addition, the slit nozzle 32 has a nozzle body 321 extending in the width direction Y and a slit-shaped discharge port 322 elongated in the width direction Y on the lower surface of the nozzle body 321 . As shown in FIG. 1A , the nozzle bodies 311 and 321 are longer than the substrate S in the width direction Y. On the other hand, the ejection ports 312 and 322 have a width approximately the same as the width dimension of the substrate S. Furthermore, the slit nozzles 31 and 32 are arranged so that the discharge openings 312 and 322 face the upper surface of the substrate S. Among them, the slit nozzle 31 is held with its upper end inclined at 45 degrees in the (-X) direction. The reason for this will be described below.

The slit nozzles 31 and 32 are connected to the developer supply source 81 . The developer supply source 81 supplies the developing fluid pressure to the slit nozzles 31 and 32 in accordance with the discharge command from the control unit 8 . Thereby, the developer is supplied to the substrate S from the discharge ports 312 and 322 across the width direction Y toward the substrate S conveyed by the conveyance roller 71 . In the first developing unit 3 , the substrate S passes under the slit nozzles 31 and 32 , whereby surface tension is used to fill the entire surface of the substrate S with the developer. That is, a slurry-like liquid film formed of the developer is formed. In this way, the development process of the resist film on the substrate S is started from the time when the developer is supplied. Then, the substrate S subjected to the development process by the first developing unit 3 as described above is conveyed to the second developing unit 4 .

The second developing unit 4 includes an air nozzle 41 and a slit nozzle 42 arranged above the substrate S transported by the transport roller 71 . The slit nozzle 42 has substantially the same structure as the slit nozzle 31 . That is, the slit nozzle 42 has a nozzle body 421 extending in the width direction Y and a slit-shaped discharge port 422 elongated in the width direction Y on the lower surface of the nozzle body 421 . The slit nozzle 42 is connected to the developer supply source 81 . When the developer supply source 81 sends the developing fluid pressure to the slit nozzle 42 in accordance with the discharge command from the control unit 8, the developer is supplied from the discharge port 422 to the substrate S in the width direction Y toward the substrate S conveyed by the conveyor roller 71. S.

At this time, a liquid film formed of the developer has been formed on the upper surface of the substrate S. Therefore, the slit nozzle 42 has the function of additionally supplying the developer liquid to the liquid film on the substrate S. In order to distinguish these developer supplies, the developer supply for forming a liquid film by the slit nozzles 31 and 32 is called "primary supply", and the additional developer supply by the slit nozzle 42 is called "secondary supply". Supply".

From the viewpoint of reducing environmental load, there is room for reuse of the developer spilled from the substrate S among the developers supplied to the substrate S in the first developing section 3 and the second developing section 4 . For example, it is ideal to collect the spilled developer through a recovery path (not shown), remove the resist material, dissolved oxygen, etc. dissolved in the liquid, perform a regeneration process to supplement the chemical components, and then return it to the developer supply source 81 .

An air nozzle 41 that injects gas and functions as an air knife is arranged adjacent to the slit nozzle 42 for secondary supply on the upstream side in the conveyance direction X, that is, on the (-X) side. The air nozzle 41 has a nozzle body 411 extending in the width direction Y with a width larger than the width of the substrate S, and a slit-shaped discharge port 412 opening toward the upper surface of the substrate S at a lower portion thereof.

The air nozzle 41 is connected to the air supply source 83 via a flow control mechanism 84 such as a mass flow controller. When the air supply source 83 sends out gas such as dry air in accordance with the control command from the control unit 8 , the gas is ejected toward the substrate S from the ejection port 412 of the air nozzle 41 via the flow rate control mechanism 84 . The ejection port 412 extends in the width direction Y with a width longer than the width of the substrate S and in an elongated slit shape. Therefore, the gas ejected from the ejection port 412 forms an air curtain that is uniform over the entire width direction of the substrate S in the Y direction and has a limited ejection range in the X direction at a position immediately before the secondary supply of the developer from the slit nozzle 42 . . The reasons for this are explained in detail below.

The rinse unit 5 includes a slit nozzle (eluent nozzle) 51 arranged above the substrate S conveyed by the conveyance roller 71 . The slit nozzle 51 has the same structure as the slit nozzle 31 used in the first developing unit 3 . The discharge port 512 provided on the lower surface of the nozzle body 511 is arranged to face the surface of the substrate S. The slit nozzle 51 is connected to an eluent supply source 82 . When the eluent supply source 82 sends the eluent hydraulic pressure to the slit nozzle 51 in accordance with the ejection command from the control unit 8, the eluent is ejected from the ejection port 512 across the width direction Y toward the substrate S conveyed by the conveyance roller 71. supplied to the substrate S. By supplying the eluent, the developer adhering to the surface of the substrate S is washed away together with the dissolved resist components, thereby stopping the development process. The substrate S wetted by the eluent in this way is conveyed to the drying section 6 .

The drying section 6 includes a pair of air nozzles 61 and 62 . The air nozzles 61 and 62 are respectively arranged above and below the conveyance roller 71 . In addition, the air nozzles 61 and 62 are connected to the air supply source 83 . Therefore, the air supply source 83 operates in accordance with the drying command from the control unit 8 to pressure-feed drying air to the air nozzles 61 and 62 . Then, curtain-like drying air is supplied to the front and back surfaces of the substrate S conveyed by the conveyance roller 71, thereby removing the eluent adhering to the substrate S. The substrate S subjected to the drying process in this way is carried out from the developing device 1 through the unloading port 26 by the transport roller 71 .

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an outline of the development process performed by the development device. More specifically, FIG. 2 describes a series of processes performed on one substrate S put into the developing device 1 . Practically speaking, a plurality of substrates S are sequentially put into the developing device 1 one by one, and the processing in each part of the device is performed on these substrates S in parallel.

When the substrate S exposed by the exposure device in the previous step is loaded into the developing device 1 , the substrate transport unit 7 starts transporting the substrate S in the X direction (step S101 ). Then, in the first developing unit 3 , the developer is supplied once from the slit nozzles 31 and 32 (step S102 ). Thereby, the substrate S on which the liquid film P of the developer liquid is formed is conveyed to the second developing unit 4 . In the second developing unit 4 , curtain-like air is blown from the air nozzle 41 to the liquid film P on the substrate S (step S103 ), and immediately thereafter, a secondary supply of the developer is performed from the slit nozzle 42 (step S104 ).

Then, the substrate S undergoes a rinsing process in the rinsing section 5 (step S105) and a drying process in the drying section 6 (step S106), and is carried out (step S107). Since these processing contents are well known, description is omitted.

3A to 3D are diagrams schematically showing a liquid film forming process based on one supply of developer solution. The primary supply of the developer is performed through the slit nozzles 31 and 32 which are arranged close to each other. As shown in FIG. 3A , the upper end of the upstream slit nozzle 31 is inclined toward the (-X) side, that is, the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the substrate S, and the lower lip surface 313 of the nozzle body 311 is substantially horizontal. The dotted line shown in FIG. 3A represents the height of the upper surface of the conveyed substrate S. As can be seen from the figure, the slit nozzle 31 is arranged so that its lip surface 313 is relatively close to the upper surface of the substrate. On the other hand, the slit nozzle 32 on the downstream side is arranged in an upright state with the discharge port 322 facing downward. The gap between the ejection port 322 and the upper surface of the substrate is larger than the gap between the ejection port 312 of the slit nozzle 31 and the upper surface of the substrate.

As shown in FIG. 3B , when the front end Sa of the substrate S passes directly below the slit nozzle 31 , the developer is ejected from the slit nozzle 31 . The ejected developer liquid causes the gap between the lip surface 313 and the upper surface of the substrate S to be in a liquid-tight state due to the action of surface tension. In this state, the substrate S is conveyed in the X direction, thereby forming a uniform and thin liquid film of the developer on the surface (upper surface) of the substrate S. By reducing the gap between the slit nozzle 31 and the substrate S and making the lip surface 313 and the upper surface of the substrate S liquid-tight, a uniform liquid film can be formed even if the ejection amount of the developer is relatively small.

As shown in FIG. 3C , when the front end Sa of the substrate S passes directly below the slit nozzle 32 , the developer is supplied from the slit nozzle 32 . As a result, the thickness of the liquid film on the substrate S increases. The above operation is continued until the rear end portion Sb of the substrate S passes directly below the slit nozzle 32 . Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3D , the liquid film P with a uniform and sufficient thickness can be formed on the entire upper surface of the substrate S.

In order to supply a sufficient amount of developer to develop the resist film satisfactorily, the thickness of the liquid film P needs to be appropriate. However, in order to form a liquid film P with a sufficient thickness, when a large amount of developer is to be supplied from the beginning, it is necessary to make the distance between the nozzle and the substrate S relatively large in advance. Therefore, the flow of the developer on the substrate S increases, making it difficult to stably form a continuous and uniform liquid film. As described above, the liquid film P having a sufficient thickness can be stably formed by using the slit nozzle 31 close to the substrate S to form a thin liquid film and increasing the liquid film by supplying the liquid from the slit nozzle 32 . The thickness of the large liquid film.

As shown in FIG. 3D , the horizontal distance D in the X direction between the ejection port 322 of the slit nozzle 32 on the downstream side and the ejection port 412 of the air nozzle 41 of the second developing unit 4 is made in advance larger than the distance D of the substrate S in the direction. Length Lx. Therefore, the liquid film P on the substrate S can be transported while being kept stationary. During this period, the photoresist film on the substrate S is continuously in contact with the developer, thereby performing the development process.

4A, 4B, 5A, and 5B are diagrams for explaining the processing in the second developing unit. Development is performed by conveying the substrate S with the liquid film P formed on the upper surface. At this time, the resist material released from the substrate S, oxygen in the air, and the like are gradually dissolved in the developer, thereby gradually reducing the developing ability of the developer. The "developing ability" of a developer described here is a concept showing how much of the resist film the developer can remove. Quantitatively speaking, the developing ability can be expressed, for example, by the amount of resist that can be dissolved per unit time. As development proceeds, the amount of dissolved resist material or oxygen inevitably increases, and the developing ability of the developer decreases over time due to a decrease in liquid temperature, etc.

As shown in FIG. 4A , it is believed that the liquid film P on the substrate S conveyed in a stationary state has a distribution in which the developability decreases toward the side closer to the front end Sa of the substrate S, that is, the downstream side in the conveyance direction. The reason for this is that, as described above, in the first developing unit 3 , the developer is supplied sequentially from the front end Sa of the conveyed substrate S. Therefore, the closer the portion is to the front end Sa, the longer the time has elapsed since supply. .

In order to compensate for the decrease in developing efficiency due to the decrease in developing capability, in the developing device 1 , additional supply (secondary supply) of the developer is performed in the second developing unit 4 . As shown in FIG. 4B , in the portion of the substrate S where the developer is newly supplied from the slit nozzle 42 , as shown by the solid line in the graph at the lower part of FIG. 4B , it is expected to obtain a high developing capability due to the fresh developer. However, in reality, as shown by the dotted line, the new developer mixes with the existing developer in the liquid film P, so that the developing force on the substrate S decreases, and there is a problem toward the upstream side (the left side in the figure). Extension.

When the substrate S is continued to be conveyed in this state, the proportion of the new developer in the liquid film P gradually increases, and the liquid film P has a distribution of developing ability different from the originally expected developing ability. This situation is one of the reasons why the in-plane uniformity of the development processing results, especially the uniformity in the conveyance direction, is reduced.

In order to solve the above problem, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5A , an air knife is used to blow the liquid film P to the liquid film P using the air nozzle 41 just before the second supply of the developer from the slit nozzle 42 . The blowing by the air knife is performed to block the flow of the developer between the upstream side and the downstream side of the blowing position. Specifically, it has the following two effects. First, by reducing the thickness of the liquid film P, it is possible to reduce the rate at which the existing developer, that is, the developer with reduced developing ability, is mixed into the newly supplied developer. Thereby, the newly supplied developer can process the substrate S while maintaining the original developing capability.

Secondly, it can prevent the newly supplied developer from flowing upstream beyond the blowing position of the air knife (hereinafter, this phenomenon is referred to as "overflow"). This makes it possible to avoid changes in the distribution of the developing ability on the upstream side before the secondary supply of the developer is performed.

The dotted line in FIG. 5A schematically represents the distribution of developing ability at this time. By reducing the mixing of the existing developer into the secondary supplied developer and suppressing the overflow of the secondary supplied developer to the upstream side, a distribution close to the ideal distribution shown by the solid line can be obtained.

Even when the substrate S is transported in the above state, as shown in FIG. 5B , the distribution near the boundary between the newly supplied developer Ln and the existing developer Lo maintains substantially the original shape. The movement of the substrate S causes the substrate S to shift toward the upstream side. Therefore, the development conditions remain substantially constant from the front end portion Sa to the rear end portion Sb of the substrate S, and excellent in-plane uniformity can be obtained as a result of the development process.

6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating the effect of the air knife in this embodiment. The inventor of the present application verified the effect of the air knife of this embodiment through the following experiments. In the experiment, the developing device 1 shown in FIG. 1 was used to develop the test substrate prepared for the experiment under various development conditions, and the uniformity of the process was evaluated based on the development results. As the development conditions, the following cases were used: (1) only one supply of developer was performed without using an air knife, (2) two cases of primary supply and secondary supply were performed, and (3) primary supply and secondary supply were performed. In addition, air knife is also used.

FIG. 6A shows the test substrate St used in the experiment. The test substrate St is a rectangular glass substrate on which a photoresist film is formed on the surface, and a predetermined test pattern TP is formed by exposing five positions, namely positions A to E, near the four corners and near the center. As the test pattern TP, a pattern having a line and space structure with a predetermined pitch was used, and the pattern line width after development was measured at multiple locations within each pattern to determine the deviation 3σ.

FIG. 6B is a diagram showing an example of experimental results. “Position A” and the like represent the variation in the line width measurement results in the test pattern TP at each position, and the “whole” on the right end represents the variation in all line width measurement results without distinguishing between positions A to E. In the case (1) where the developer is supplied once, the variation in line width at each position A to E is relatively large, and the overall variation is also large. Compared with the deviation at each position A to position E, the overall deviation is larger, which means that even for the same pattern, the line width after development is different depending on the position in the substrate.

In the case (2) of increasing the secondary supply of the developer, although the deviation at each position A to E is improved, the overall deviation is basically not improved. That is, although the secondary supply has the effect of suppressing the variation in line width within a relatively narrow range within the substrate, it can be said that it is not necessarily sufficient to suppress variation in a wider range.

When the air knife is further added (3), in addition to further improving the deviation at each position A to position E, the overall deviation is also suppressed. Moreover, the degree does not change much from the deviation of each position A to position E. Therefore, by using an air knife to separate the primary supplied liquid film and the secondary supplied developer liquid, in other words, blocking interference between them, the in-plane uniformity of the entire substrate during the development process can be improved.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the backflow phenomenon of the developer. Next, another effect brought by air knife blowing will be studied. As described above, the thickness of the existing liquid film P can be reduced by blowing the air knife. However, the developer in the liquid film P extruded by the wind pressure of the air knife flows to the upstream side as shown by the arrow in (a) of FIG. 7 (hereinafter, this phenomenon is referred to as "backflow"). As described above, on the upstream side of the air knife blowing position, the distribution of the developing ability is disordered due to the backflow of the developer solution.

As an influence of the disorder, the developing ability in the liquid film P may decrease or increase. For example, when the pattern formed by development is a pattern that requires removal of a relatively large amount of resist film, the influence of the backflow may act in the direction of reducing the development capability.

That is, in a pattern with a large amount of resist to be removed, a large amount of resist material is dissolved in the liquid film P, thereby significantly reducing the developing ability as shown by the solid line in FIG. 7( b ). In this state, when the developer in which the developing ability is further reduced flows back from the downstream side, the developing ability of the liquid film P is further reduced as shown by the dotted line. This situation leads to a state in which the resist that should be removed cannot be completely removed, that is, the development is insufficient.

On the other hand, in a pattern in which the amount of resist to be removed is relatively small, as shown by the solid line in (b) of FIG. 7 , the decrease in developing ability is also small. That is, the developer in the liquid film P maintains high developing ability. Here, when the developer that maintains high developing ability flows back, the developing ability decreases slowly as shown by the dotted line due to the same action as when the amount of the developing solution is increased, and may occur depending on the situation. rise. In this case, even the remaining resist is removed, resulting in a so-called excessive development state.

As described above, the backflow of the developer in the liquid film P caused by the air knife blowing has an undesirable influence on the development process on the upstream side in any of the above-mentioned types of patterns. Therefore, it is desirable to suppress the backflow as much as possible. The larger the injection volume from the air nozzle 41 is, the larger the amount of developer liquid that flows back is. Therefore, from this point of view, the injection amount of gas is preferably small. However, if it is too small, overflow of the secondary supplied developer cannot be suppressed.

Excessive flow of the developer solution within the liquid film may cause a decrease in process uniformity. Therefore, it can be said that the injection amount of gas from the air nozzle 41 or its flow rate is preferably as small as possible within a range that can prevent overflow. In addition, it is of course necessary to avoid strong airflow that exposes the surface of the substrate S by blowing it. The appropriate value for the gas injection amount can change depending on various parameters such as the physical property values of the resist material and developer, the type of pattern, and the conveyance speed. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct experiments in advance to determine the optimal conditions.

Even so, since the air knife is blowing, a certain degree of backflow cannot be avoided. In particular, the portion of the substrate S close to the rear end portion Sb continues to be affected by the backflow for a long time, and the influence is accumulated. Therefore, a difference in development processing results occurs between the side closer to the front end portion Sa.

In view of the above, in the above-mentioned embodiment, it is more preferable not to keep the amount of gas injected as the air knife constant but to change the injection amount with time during the processing of one substrate S. This can suppress development defects caused by backflow.

The appropriate value for the injection amount of the air knife gas can be changed according to various parameters such as the physical property values of the resist material and the developer, the type of pattern, and the conveyance speed. Therefore, prior experiments are required to determine optimal conditions. Similarly, the influence of the backflow can also change depending on various conditions, so the change distribution of the injection amount is also experimentally determined in advance.

The appropriate distribution thus obtained can be prepared and registered in advance as a processing recipe. When the developing device 1 is operated, the control unit 8 controls the flow rate control mechanism 84 to change the gas injection amount from the air nozzle 41 over time according to the processing procedure, thereby achieving the target processing.

8A to 8C are diagrams showing examples of change distributions of gas injection amounts. In the figure, time Ts is the time when the gas injection starts on one substrate S, and corresponds to the time when the front end Sa of the substrate S reaches the injection position of the air knife. On the other hand, time Te is the time when gas injection to the same substrate S is completed, and corresponds to the time when the rear end portion Sb of the substrate S reaches the injection position of the air knife.

In the example shown in FIG. 8A , the injection amount of gas from the air nozzle 41 gradually decreases continuously. As shown by the solid line, the injection may be continued to a certain extent at time Te, and as shown by the dotted line, the injection may be finally stopped. In addition, in the above example, the change in the injection amount is linear with respect to time, but it may be a non-linear change form along an appropriate curve.

When the injection is stopped, the overflow prevention effect on the secondary supplied developer disappears. It is considered that the above influence is small at the rear end portion Sb of the substrate S. In addition, in order to avoid insufficient development, it may also be effective to intentionally inject new developer into the liquid film P. Accordingly, it is also possible to adopt a change distribution in which injection is stopped later.

In the example shown in FIG. 8B , the injection amount changes stepwise at a certain time. In this case, as shown by the solid line, the injection may be continued to a certain extent at the time Te, and as shown by the dotted line, the injection may be finally stopped. In addition, the change pattern along the curve can also be expressed.

As described above, generally speaking, it is considered preferable to change the form in which the injection amount of gas decreases with time. The reason is that the backflow of the developer caused by the air knife blowing acts to increase the development failure. Therefore, in order to suppress this situation, it is effective to reduce the injection amount.

However, as shown in FIG. 8C , a variation including a situation in which the injection amount is increased may also be preferable. For example, the pattern density is different between a portion of the substrate S close to the front end portion Sa and a portion close to the rear end portion Sb. Specifically, there may be a case where a pattern with a small amount of resist to be removed is arranged near the front end portion Sa of the substrate S and a pattern with a large amount of resist to be removed is arranged closer to the rear end portion Sb. In this case, insufficient development of the pattern on the rear end side can be avoided by increasing the reverse flow rate of the developer that maintains high developing ability.

As mentioned above, the preferred change form of the injection amount depends on the specific situation, and needs to be adjusted individually according to the specifications of the development process.

<Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the developing device of the present invention will be described. In the embodiment, the air nozzle 41 arranged adjacent to the upstream side of the slit nozzle 42 for secondary supply of the developer forms an air knife. Thereby, the developer supplied once and constituting the liquid film P is separated from the developer supplied twice. On the other hand, in the developing device of the second embodiment to be described next, a blade member is arranged in close proximity to the upper surface of the substrate S instead of the air knife so as to face the upper surface of the substrate S. Thereby, a part of the developer constituting the liquid film P is scraped off to limit the thickness of the liquid film P, and at the same time, overflow of the secondary supplied developer is suppressed. In addition, except for this point, the structure of the developing device is the same as that of the developing device of the first embodiment, and therefore a detailed description is omitted.

9A and 9B are diagrams showing main parts of a second embodiment of the developing device of the present invention. In the embodiment, the blade member 43 is provided instead of the air nozzle. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9A , the blade member 43 is a flat plate-shaped member adjacent to the upstream side of the slit nozzle 42 , that is, on the (-X) side and extending in the width direction Y. The lower end of the blade member 43 extends in the horizontal direction and is supported so as to be close to and opposed to the upper surface of the conveyed substrate S with a predetermined gap therebetween. For example, it can be mounted on the (-X) side of the slit nozzle 42, but a separate support mechanism can also be provided. In addition, the slit nozzle and the blade member may be integrally formed.

As shown in FIG. 9B , the size of the gap between the lower end of the blade member 43 and the upper surface of the substrate S is smaller than the thickness of the liquid film P formed on the substrate S by the first developing unit 3 . Therefore, the liquid film P conveyed together with the substrate S comes into contact with the vane member 43 and is further conveyed in a state where its film thickness is limited to the size of the gap. The slit nozzle 42 performs a secondary supply of the developer to the liquid film whose thickness has been reduced in this way, thereby suppressing a decrease in developing capability due to mixing of the existing developer. In addition, even if the secondary supplied developer flows to the upstream side, the existing developer flowing in from the blade member 43 and its lower part can be prevented from exceeding the blade member 43 and further spreading to the upstream side. That is, overflow can be prevented.

In the embodiment, it is also desirable that the horizontal distance between the discharge port 322 of the slit nozzle 32 of the first developing unit 3 and the blade member 43 is larger than the length Lx of the substrate S in the conveyance direction X ( FIG. 3D ). Thereby, the liquid film P can be stably maintained from the time the liquid film P covering the entire substrate S is formed until the liquid film P comes into contact with the vane member 43 .

As described above, the same effect as the air knife obtained by the air nozzle 41 in the first embodiment can be obtained by the blade member 43 facing the substrate S with a slight gap therebetween. That is, it is possible to limit the thickness of the liquid film P when the developer is supplied twice, and to prevent the developer supplied twice from spreading to the upstream side.

＜Others＞ As described above, in the developing device 1 of the embodiment, the substrate transport unit 7 functions as the “transport unit” of the present invention, and the first developing unit 3 and the second developing unit 4 function as the “primary transport unit” of the present invention. Supply Department" and "Secondary Supply Department" function. Furthermore, in the second developing unit 4 as the secondary supply unit, the slit nozzle 42 functions as the “secondary supply nozzle” of the present invention. In addition, the discharge port 422 of the slit nozzle 42 corresponds to the "liquid discharge port" of the present invention, and the discharge port 412 of the air nozzle 41 corresponds to the "gas discharge port" of the present invention. Furthermore, the discharge port 322 of the slit nozzle 32 corresponds to the "liquid discharge port" of the primary supply part of the present invention.

In addition, the air nozzle 41 of the first embodiment corresponds to the "gas injection nozzle" of the present invention, and the blade member 43 of the second embodiment corresponds to the "blocking member" of the present invention. Furthermore, they each function as a "blocking part" of the present invention. In addition, the flow rate control mechanism 84 and the control unit 8 are integrated and function as the "injection control unit" of the present invention.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes other than those described above can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. For example, in the above embodiment, when forming the liquid film P of the developer on the substrate S, the two slit nozzles 31 and 32 are combined. However, the structure for forming the liquid film is not limited to this and may be arbitrary. For example, the liquid film may be formed by a single slit nozzle, or the liquid film may be formed by a liquid supply mechanism other than the slit nozzle. For example, the liquid film may be formed without conveying the substrate S in one direction (for example, in a stopped state or a rotating state).

In addition, in the first embodiment, the air nozzle 41 and the slit nozzle 42 are formed independently, but they may be formed integrally. In this case, the positional relationship between the gas ejection port and the liquid ejection port, the shape of the flow path, etc. can be set with a higher degree of freedom. Likewise, the blade member 43 in the second embodiment may be integrally formed with the slit nozzle 42 .

In the above embodiment, the substrate S corresponds to an example of the “substrate” of the present invention. The “substrate” of the present invention also includes substrates other than the substrate S, such as semiconductor wafers and solar cell substrates.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the substrate S is conveyed directly under the fixedly arranged nozzle, so that the substrate S is relatively moved with respect to the nozzle. However, the same method as described above can also be used in a developing device that performs development processing by moving the nozzle while the substrate S is fixed or transported.

As explained above by exemplifying the specific embodiments, in the developing device and the developing method of the present invention, for example, the blocking portion may be configured to inject gas toward the liquid film on the substrate at a position close to the liquid ejection port, and the gas can eject gas toward the liquid film on the substrate. An air curtain extending in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction is formed. According to this structure, the thickness of the liquid film on the substrate can be limited by blowing the gas, and the newly supplied developer can be suppressed from exceeding the gas blowing position and spreading to the upstream side. More specifically, as described below.

In this structure, the air curtain extending in the width direction is formed upstream of the position where the secondary supply of the developer is performed. This can prevent the secondary supplied developer from exceeding the gas blowing position and spreading to the upstream side, that is, to the rear end side of the substrate. Therefore, the unevenness of processing in the conveyance direction as described above can be improved. In addition, by reducing the thickness of the liquid film by blowing the gas, the rate at which the existing developer is mixed into the secondary supplied developer can be suppressed. This makes it possible to effectively utilize the high developing ability of the secondary supplied developer.

On the other hand, a phenomenon occurs on the upstream side of the substrate conveyance direction from the blowing position of the air curtain: the existing developer forming a liquid film on the substrate is rushed upstream by the wind pressure of the gas. Here, this phenomenon is called "backflow" of the developer.

Here, the degree to which the developing ability of the developer in the liquid film is reduced is affected by the pattern to be developed. That is, in a pattern in which the amount of the photoresist film to be removed is large, the amount of the resist material dissolved in the developer increases, so that the developing ability also significantly decreases. As described above, when the developer with reduced developing ability flows back, it is mixed into the existing developing solution and the developing ability is reduced. This situation causes insufficient development particularly in patterns that require a large amount of photoresist film to be removed.

On the other hand, in a pattern in which the amount of the photoresist film to be removed is small, the amount of resist material dissolved in the developer is also small, so that a decrease in developing ability is suppressed. As mentioned above, when the developer that maintains the developing ability flows back and is mixed into the existing developer, it has the same effect as when the amount of the developer is increased, especially in patterns where the amount of photoresist film to be removed is small. Overdevelopment (excessive development) occurs in the

If the gas injection amount is increased or decreased as necessary, the inflow amount of the secondary supplied developer into the liquid film beyond the gas injection position and the degree of backflow of the developer in the upstream side liquid film can be controlled. Thereby, the degree of progress of development can be controlled. That is, by changing the injection amount of the gas over time according to the progress of the process, the uniformity of the process in the direction along the conveyance direction of the substrate can be improved.

For example, the injection amount may be changed according to a predetermined treatment procedure. How the developing ability of the developer in the liquid film changes and how the influence of the secondary supplied developer appears in the liquid film can be changed according to various conditions. Therefore, for example, if a processing procedure is prepared in advance based on experiments and the change pattern of the injection amount is determined based on this, the processing results under the same development conditions can be stabilized.

A specific change form of the injection amount may be, for example, a form in which the injection amount decreases over time, or a form in which the injection amount of gas to one substrate eventually becomes zero. The developer rushed to the upstream side by the gas injection acts in the direction of increasing the development failure, and its influence gradually accumulates. Therefore, it is generally considered that development defects can be reduced by changing the ejection amount to a lower value.

In addition, regarding the liquid ejection port that ejects the developer for primary supply, the shortest distance from the gas ejection port may be larger than the length of the substrate in the conveyance direction. According to this structure, during the transportation process, there is a period in which the liquid film on the substrate can be maintained quietly without external factors disturbing the liquid film. Therefore, development based on the liquid film can be performed well and stably. handle.

In addition, for example, the blocking portion may be provided in close proximity to the liquid ejection port and extend in the width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction, so that the blocking member with the lower end extending horizontally faces the upper surface of the conveyed substrate with a gap therebetween. The gap is smaller than the thickness of the liquid film formed on the substrate. According to this structure, the blocking member comes into contact with the liquid film, thereby limiting the thickness of the liquid film passing through the gap. At the same time, the blocking member prevents the newly supplied developer from flowing beyond the gap and spreading to the upstream side.

In this case, regarding the liquid ejection port that ejects the developer for primary supply, the shortest distance between the liquid ejection port and the blocking member may be greater than the length of the substrate in the conveyance direction. According to this structure, during the transportation process, there is a period in which the liquid film on the substrate can be maintained quietly without external factors disturbing the liquid film. Therefore, development based on the liquid film can be performed well and stably. handle.

In addition, for example, the blocking member may be provided on the upstream side in the conveyance direction among the side surfaces of the secondary supply nozzle. According to this structure, it is easy to maintain a constant distance between the blocking member and the liquid ejection port of the secondary supply nozzle, and there is no need to provide a separate mechanism for supporting the blocking member.

The gas from the gas injection nozzle can also be injected uniformly over the entire width direction of the substrate. This can improve the uniformity of processing in the width direction. Specifically, it is possible to prevent the existing developer flushed away by the gas or the newly supplied developer from flowing in the width direction to cause development unevenness.

In addition, for example, the secondary supplied developer may be sprayed uniformly over the entire width direction of the substrate. This can improve the uniformity of processing in the width direction. Specifically, the occurrence of development unevenness in the width direction can be suppressed.

In addition, while conveying the substrate at a constant speed, the formation of the liquid film, its thickness control, and the secondary supply of the developer can be sequentially performed. According to this structure, each part of the substrate can be processed at a constant processing pitch regardless of the position, so a uniform development process can be achieved. [Industrial availability]

The present invention is applicable to any development technology that supplies a developer solution to a substrate having an exposed photoresist film to develop the substrate.

1:Developing device 2:Frame 3: First developing section (primary supply section) 4: Second developing section (secondary supply section) 5: Washing department 6: Drying department 7:Substrate conveying section (transporting section) 8: Control section (injection control section) 21, 22, 23: Partition 24:Transportation entrance 25:Moving into the entrance 26:Move out 31, 32: Slit nozzle 41: Air nozzle (gas injection nozzle, blocking part) 42: Slit nozzle (secondary supply nozzle) 43: Blade member (blocking member, blocking part) 51: Slit nozzle (eluent nozzle) 61, 62: Air nozzle 71:Conveying roller 72:Transportation drive mechanism 81:Developer supply source 82:Eluent supply source 83:Air supply source 84: Flow control mechanism (injection control department) 311, 321: Nozzle body 312:Spout 313: Lip surface 322: The ejection port (of the slit nozzle 32) (the liquid ejection port of the primary supply part) 411:Nozzle body 412: (Air nozzle 41) ejection port (gas ejection port) 421:Nozzle body 422: Ejection port (liquid ejection port) (of slit nozzle 42) 511:Nozzle body 512:Spout 711:Rotation axis 712:wheel D: horizontal distance Ln, Lo: developer Lx: length P: liquid film S:Substrate Sa: front end Sb: back end St: test substrate S101～S107: steps Te, Ts: time TP: test pattern X:Conveying direction Y: width direction Z: vertical direction

1A and 1B are diagrams showing the first embodiment of the developing device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an outline of the development process performed by the development device. 3A to 3D are diagrams schematically showing a liquid film forming process based on one supply of developer solution. 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining processing in the second developing unit. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining processing in the second developing unit. 6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating the effects of the air knife according to this embodiment. 7(a) to 7(c) are diagrams for explaining the backflow phenomenon of the developer. 8A to 8C are diagrams showing examples of change distributions of gas injection amounts. 9A and 9B are diagrams showing main parts of a second embodiment of the developing device of the present invention.

1:Developing device

2:Frame

3: First developing section (primary supply section)

4: Second developing section (secondary supply section)

5: Washing department

6: Drying department

8: Control section (injection control section)

21, 22, 23: Partition

24:Transportation entrance

25:Moving into the entrance

26:Move out

31, 32: Slit nozzle

41: Air nozzle (gas injection nozzle, blocking part)

42: Slit nozzle (secondary supply nozzle)

51: Slit nozzle (eluent nozzle)

61:Air nozzle

72:Transportation drive mechanism

81:Developer supply source

82:Eluent supply source

83:Air supply source

84: Flow control mechanism (injection control part)

312:Spout

322: Ejection port (of the slit nozzle 32) (liquid ejection port of the primary supply part)

412: (Air nozzle 41) ejection port (gas ejection port)

422: Ejection port (liquid ejection port) (of slit nozzle 42)

512:Spout

P: liquid film

S:Substrate

X:Conveying direction

Y: width direction

Z: vertical direction

Claims (21)

A developing device including: a transport unit that transports a substrate having an exposed photoresist film on its surface in a horizontal direction while supporting the substrate in a horizontal position with the photoresist film facing upward; and a primary supply a part that supplies a developer to the upper surface of the substrate supported by the conveyance part and covers the upper surface of the substrate with a liquid film of the developer; and a secondary supply part that is in the conveyance direction of the substrate The developer is additionally supplied downstream of the primary supply section to the upper surface of the conveyed substrate; and the secondary supply section includes a secondary supply nozzle having a function of ejecting the developer onto the upper surface of the substrate. the liquid ejection port for the developer; and the blocking portion, which is disposed in close proximity to the liquid ejection port on the downstream side of the primary supply portion and upstream of the liquid ejection port in the conveyance direction, The thickness of the liquid film conveyed to a position opposite to the liquid ejection port is limited, and the developer supplied from the liquid ejection port to the substrate is suppressed from flowing to the upstream side in the conveyance direction, The blocking portion has a gas injection nozzle for injecting gas toward the liquid film on the substrate from a gas ejection port disposed adjacent to the liquid ejection port, and is formed by the gas in a width orthogonal to the conveyance direction. an air curtain extending in the direction, and the primary supply part has an upper surface for the substrate conveyed by the conveying part A liquid ejection port for ejecting the developer liquid is provided, and the shortest distance between the liquid ejection port and the gas ejection port of the primary supply part is greater than the length of the substrate in the conveyance direction. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the gas injection nozzle injects the gas uniformly throughout the width direction of the substrate. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the secondary supply nozzle sprays the developer uniformly over the entire width direction of the substrate perpendicular to the conveyance direction. A developing device including: a transport unit that transports a substrate having an exposed photoresist film on its surface in a horizontal direction while supporting the substrate in a horizontal position with the photoresist film facing upward; and a primary supply a part that supplies a developer to the upper surface of the substrate supported by the conveyance part and covers the upper surface of the substrate with a liquid film of the developer; and a secondary supply part that is in the conveyance direction of the substrate The developer is additionally supplied downstream of the primary supply section to the upper surface of the conveyed substrate; and the secondary supply section includes a secondary supply nozzle having a function of ejecting the developer onto the upper surface of the substrate. the liquid ejection port for the developer; and the blocking portion, which is disposed in close proximity to the liquid ejection port on the downstream side of the primary supply portion and upstream of the liquid ejection port in the conveyance direction, limit The thickness of the liquid film conveyed to a position facing the liquid ejection port and suppressing the flow of the developer supplied to the substrate from the liquid ejection port to the upstream side in the conveyance direction, the blocking The broken portion has a blocking member proximate to the liquid ejection port and extending in a width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction. The lower end of the blocking member extends horizontally and is spaced apart from the upper surface of the substrate being conveyed. They are arranged facing each other with a gap smaller than the thickness of the liquid film formed by the primary supply part on the substrate. The developing device according to claim 4, wherein the blocking member is provided on a side surface of the secondary supply nozzle that is upstream in the conveyance direction. The developing device according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the primary supply unit has a liquid ejection port for ejecting the developer liquid onto the upper surface of the substrate transported by the transport unit, and the primary supply unit The shortest distance between the liquid ejection port and the blocking member is greater than the length of the substrate in the conveyance direction. The developing device according to claim 4, wherein the secondary supply nozzle sprays the developer liquid uniformly over the entire width direction of the substrate perpendicular to the conveyance direction. A developing method that uses a developing solution to develop a photoresist film on an exposed substrate surface, and the developing method includes: supporting the photoresist film from a primary supply part upward with the photoresist film facing upward. The step of supplying a developer solution once to the upper surface of the substrate in a horizontal position and covering the upper surface of the substrate with a liquid film of the developer solution; The step of transporting the substrate on which the liquid film is formed in a horizontal direction; and ejecting the development to the upper surface of the substrate from a liquid ejection port of a secondary supply nozzle disposed above the transported substrate. and a blocking portion disposed close to the liquid ejection port on the upstream side of the liquid ejection port in the transport direction of the substrate restricts the transfer to a position opposite to the liquid ejection port. The thickness of the liquid film is suppressed from the flow of the developer supplied to the substrate from the liquid ejection port to the upstream side in the conveyance direction. A gas injection nozzle that injects a gas toward the liquid film on the substrate through an ejection port, and forms an air curtain extending in a width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction by the gas, and the primary supply unit has a A liquid ejection port for ejecting the developer solution is provided on the upper surface of the substrate, and the shortest distance between the liquid ejection port and the gas ejection port of the primary supply part is greater than the length of the substrate in the conveyance direction. The developing method according to claim 8, wherein the formation of the liquid film, the thickness limitation of the liquid film by the blocking portion, and the above are sequentially performed while conveying the substrate at a constant speed. Secondary supply of developer solution. A developing method that uses a developer to develop a photoresist film on an exposed substrate surface, and the developing method includes: supporting a horizontal position with the photoresist film facing upward. A step of supplying a developer solution once to the upper surface of the substrate and covering the upper surface of the substrate with a liquid film of the developer solution; a step of transporting the substrate with the liquid film formed in a horizontal direction; and The step of ejecting the developer onto the upper surface of the substrate from a liquid ejection port of a secondary supply nozzle disposed above the substrate being conveyed; The blocking portion disposed closer to the liquid ejection port on the upstream side limits the thickness of the liquid film transported to a position facing the liquid ejection port, and suppresses the flow of water from the liquid ejection port to the substrate. The developer flows to the upstream side in the conveyance direction, and the blocking portion is adjacent to the liquid ejection port and extends in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, so that the lower end of the blocking member extends horizontally and The upper surfaces of the conveyed substrates face each other with a gap smaller than the thickness of the liquid film formed on the substrate. The developing method according to claim 10, wherein the formation of the liquid film, the thickness limitation of the liquid film by the blocking portion, and the above are sequentially performed while conveying the substrate at a constant speed. Secondary supply of developer solution. A developing device including: a transport unit that transports a substrate having an exposed photoresist film on its surface in a horizontal direction while supporting the substrate in a horizontal position with the photoresist film facing upward; and a primary supply a part that supplies a developer to the upper surface of the substrate supported by the conveyance part and covers the upper surface of the substrate with a liquid film of the developer; and a secondary supply part that is in the conveyance direction of the substrate The developer is additionally supplied downstream of the primary supply portion to the upper surface of the conveyed substrate; and The secondary supply section includes: a secondary supply nozzle having a liquid ejection port for ejecting the developer onto the upper surface of the substrate; and a gas ejection nozzle that injects the liquid film from the gas ejection port toward the substrate. gas to form an air curtain extending in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, and the gas ejection port is downstream of the primary supply part and upstream of the liquid ejection port in the conveyance direction. and an injection control unit that controls the injection amount of the gas from the gas injection nozzle, and the injection control unit changes the injection amount of the gas to one of the substrates over time. . The developing device according to claim 12, wherein the injection control section changes the injection amount according to a predetermined processing procedure. The developing device according to Claim 12 or 13, wherein the injection control section decreases the injection amount over time. The developing device according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the injection control section causes the injection amount of the gas to eventually become zero for one of the substrates. The developing device according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the secondary supply nozzle sprays the developer liquid uniformly over the entire width direction of the substrate. The developing device according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the gas injection nozzle injects the gas uniformly throughout the width direction of the substrate. The developing device according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the primary supply unit has a liquid ejection port for ejecting the developer onto an upper surface of the substrate transported by the transport unit, and the primary supply unit The shortest distance between the liquid ejection port and the gas ejection port is greater than the length of the substrate in the conveyance direction. A developing method that uses a developer to develop a photoresist film on an exposed substrate surface, and the developing method includes: supporting a horizontal position with the photoresist film facing upward. The step of supplying a developer to the upper surface of the substrate at once and covering the upper surface of the substrate with a liquid film of the developer; the step of transporting the substrate with the liquid film formed in a horizontal direction; toward the transported The steps of spraying gas onto the liquid film on the substrate to form an air curtain extending in a width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the substrate; and supplying the upper surface of the substrate through which the gas has been sprayed a second time The step of the developer; and changing the injection amount of the gas to the substrate over time. The development method according to claim 19, wherein the injection amount is reduced over time. The developing method according to claim 19 or claim 20, wherein the formation of the liquid film, the injection of the gas, and the secondary application of the developer are sequentially performed while the substrate is conveyed at a certain speed. supply.