US20020014084A1

US20020014084A1 - Substrate-processing apparatus

Info

Publication number: US20020014084A1
Application number: US09/916,342
Authority: US
Inventors: Masatoshi Kaneda; Masami Akimoto; Nobuyuki Jinnai
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-11-05
Filing date: 2001-07-30
Publication date: 2002-02-07
Also published as: JP2000150360A

Abstract

A substrate-processing apparatus comprising a processing chamber in which a substrate is processed, an air-supplying device for supplying air having controlled temperature and humidity into the processing chamber, an air passage having an inlet port and an outlet port connected to the processing chamber, for guiding the air from the inlet port to the outlet port, a cooling/dehumidifying section arranged in the air passage and having a thermoelectric cooling device, for cooling and dehumidifying the air introduced from the inlet port, a heating section arranged in the air passage, for heating the air that has been cooled and dehumidified by the cooling/dehumidifying section, a humidifying section provided in the air passage, for humidifying the air heated by the heating section and guiding the air to the outlet port, a temperature-humidity sensor provided at a position in the air passage, and a control device for controlling the cooling/dehumidifying section, the heating section and the humidifying section, in accordance with temperature and humidity detected at the position in the air passage, thereby to adjust the temperature and humidity of the air to be supplied from the outlet port.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 10-330227 (filed Nov. 5, 1998), the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to a substrate-processing apparatus.

In the step of performing photolithography on, for example, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as “wafer”), the wafer is coated with resist, forming a resist film, the resist film is exposed to light applied via a pattern, and the resist film is subjected to developing. This sequence of processes is carried out by a coating/developing apparatus that incorporates process units designed to perform the processes, respectively.

In the coating/developing apparatus, the resist-coating unit, for example, coats wafers with resist solution, generally by means of spin coating method. In the spin coating method, a substrate is rotated at high speed, thereby spreading resist over the wafer by virtue of a centrifugal force and forming a resist film on the wafer.

The thickness of the resist film greatly depends on the ambient temperature and humidity of the wafer. Generally, air set at prescribed temperature and humidity is supplied Into the process vessel, thereby maintaining the wafer in a prescribed atmosphere. The air is supplied by an air-supplying device. Air is introduced into the air-supplying device from, for example, a clean room. In the air-supplying device, a cooling-dehumidifying section having a refrigerator cools the air to a temperature near the dew point, for example to 4° C. Then, a heating section having a heater heats the air to a desirable temperature of, for example, 23° C. Next, a humidifying section humidifies the air to a desired humidity of, for example, 45% (RH) Thereafter, the air is supplied into the process vessel by means of a fan.

The temperature and humidity of the air to be supplied into the process vessel is controlled by feedback control in most cases. In the feedback control, a temperature-humidity sensor provided in the process vessel detects the temperature and humidity, which is fed back to control the temperature and humidity of the air. Like most refrigerators, the refrigerator of the cooling-dehumidifying section cannot control temperature minutely and is always driven to generate a constant output. Hence, the temperature and humidity detected by the sensor is fed back to the heating section and humidifying section only, thereby to control the temperature and humidity.

Therefore, the air is always dehumidified and cooled to a prescribed low temperature in the conventional apparatus. Much energy is inevitably wasted. Further, the use of a refrigerator increases the installation space of the conventional apparatus,

In consideration of the forgoing, the present invention has been made. The object of this invention is to provide a novel substrate-processing apparatus which can control temperature and humidity, while saving more energy and more space than the conventional apparatus, and can lower the temperature and humidity to prescribed values within a shorter time than the conventional apparatus, thereby to solve the above-mentioned problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To achieve the object described above, a substrate-processing apparatus according to the primary aspect of the invention comprises: a processing chamber in which a substrate is processed; an air-supplying device for supplying air having controlled temperature and humidity into the processing chamber; an air passage having an inlet port and an outlet port connected to the processing chamber, for guiding the air from the inlet port to the outlet port; a cooling/dehumidifying section arranged in the air passage and having a thermoelectric cooling device, for cooling and dehumidifying the air introduced from the inlet port; a heating section arranged in the air passage, for heating the air that has been cooled and dehumidified by the cooling/dehumidifying section; a humidifying section provided in the air passage, for humidifying the air heated by the heating section and guiding the air to the outlet port; a temperature-humidity sensor provided at a position in the air passage; and a control device for controlling the cooling/dehumidifying section, the heating section and the humidifying section, in accordance with temperature and humidity detected at the position in the air passage, thereby to adjust the temperature and humidity of the air to be supplied from the outlet port.

The cooling/dehumidifying section, which has a thermoelectric cooling element, such as Peltier elements, can minutely set a temperature for the air, in accordance with the energy the heating section and humidifying section. Thus, the cooling/dehumidifying section helps to save energy in the entire substrate-processing apparatus. Moreover, having Peltier elements, the cooling/dehumidifying section can have a high response and can adjust the air temperature with high accuracy.

In the first embodiment of the invention, the control device controls the cooling/dehumidifying section in accordance with an operation output of the heating section or humidifying section. It is therefore desired that control device should control the cooling/dehumidifying section in accordance with the operation output of the heating section or humidifying section, such that the operation output of the heating section or humidifying section remains to surpass a predetermined threshold value.

In the first embodiment, the temperature-humidity sensor is provided in the inlet port of the air passage, and the air acquires, in the outlet port, the temperature and humidity adjusted by the control device.

The first embodiment further comprises a temperature-humidity sensor for detecting temperature and humidity at a peripheral part of the substrate, and the control device determines the temperature and humidity to be adjusted by the control device, from the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature-humidity sensor at the peripheral part of the substrate.

In the first embodiment, the temperature-humidity sensor is provided between the cooling/dehumidifying section and the heating section, and the control device controls the cooling/dehumidifying section in accordance with outputs of the heating section and humidifying section, thereby to impart a predetermined temperature to the air that has passed through the cooling/dehumidifying section.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention. [0016]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a coating/developing apparatus, which is an embodiment of the present invention; [0017]
FIG. 2 is a front view of the coating/developing apparatus shown in FIG. 1; [0018]
FIG. 3 is a rear view of the coating/developing apparatus shown in FIG. 1; [0019]
FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view illustrating the structure of the air-supplying device used in the coating/developing apparatus shown in FIG. 1; [0020]
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the structure of the air-supplying device shown in FIG. 4; [0021]
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cooling/dehumidifying section used in the air-supplying device shown in FIG. 5; [0022]
FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view depicting the structure of another type of an air-supplying; and [0023]
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the structure of the air-supplying device shown in FIG. 7.[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings. [0025]
(First Embodiment) [0026]
FIGS. [0027] 1 to 3 present an outer appearance of a coating/developing apparatus 1, which is an embodiment of this invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view, FIG. 3 is a front view, and FIG. 3 is a rear view.
As shown in FIG. 1, the coating/developing [0028] apparatus 1 has a cassette station 2, a process station 3, and an interface section 4, which are connected together. The cassette station 2 is provided to receive a cassette C containing wafers W from an external apparatus and to supply the cassette C to an external apparatus. The process station 3 incorporates various process units each designed to process wafers W one after another. The interface section 4 transfers wafers W between the process station 3 and an exposure apparatus (not shown).
The [0029] cassette station 3 has a cassette table 10. On the cassette table 10, a plurality of cassettes C can be mounted in a row extending in X direction (i.e., depthwise direction in FIG. 1), each having its inlet/outlet port opposing the process station 3. On the cassette table 10, a wafer carrier 11 can move along a transport path 12, in the X direction in which the cassettes C are arranged, and can move in Z direction (i.e., vertical direction), too, in which wafers W are stacked in each cassette C. Thus, the wafer carrier 11 can have an access to any wafer W held in any cassette C mounted on the cassette table 10.
The [0030] wafer carrier 11 can rotate in θ direction, too, and can therefore have an access to an alignment apparatus 52 and extension apparatus 53 that belong to the multi-stage unit of the third process-unit group G₃. The third process-unit group is provided in the process station 3, which will be described below.
In the [0031] process station 3, a main carrier 23 is arranged. As shown in FIG. 3, the main carrier 23 has three pairs of pincers at its center part. The pairs of pincers are arranged one above another, each for holding a waver W. Around the main carrier 23 there are arranged process-unit groups, each composed of process units laid one upon another. At most five process-unit groups G₁, G₂, G₃, G₄, and G₅can be provided in the coating/developing apparatus 1. The first and second groups G₁and G₂are arranged in the front section of the apparatus 1. The third group G₃is located near the cassette station 2. The fourth group G₄is positioned near the interface section 4. The fifth group G₅, indicated by broken lines, can be arranged in the rear section of the apparatus 1.
In the first process-unit group G[0032] ₁, two spinner-type process units, each designed to perform a specific process on a wafer W held by a spin chuck in a cap CP, are provided as is illustrated in FIG. 2. These process units are, for example, a resist-coating unit 30 and a developing unit 31. The unit 31 is mounted on the top of the unit 30, thus constituting a two-stage structure. Similarly, in the second process-unit group G₂, a resist-coating unit 40 and a developing unit 41 is mounted on the top of a coating unit 40, constituting a two-stage structure.
In the third process-unit group G[0033] ₃, open-type process units, each designed to perform a specific process on a wafer W mounted on a table, are provided as is illustrated in FIG. 3. The process units are, for example, a cooling unit 50 for cooling a wafer W, an adhesion unit 51 for rendering a wafer W hydrophobic so that resist may be well fixed on the wafer W, an alignment unit 52 for positioning a wafer W, an extension unit 53 for holding a wafer w at a waiting position, two pre-baking units 54 and 55 for heating wafers W coated with resist, and two post-baking units 56 and 57 for heating wafers W subjected to developing process. These process units are stacked in the order they are mentioned, constituting an eight-stage structure. In the fourth process-unit group G₄, a cleaning unit 60, an extension/cleaning unit 61 for cooling a wafer W held at a waiting position, an extension unit 62, a cleaning unit 63, post-exposure baking units 64 and 65 for heating wafers W subjected to exposure process, and post-baking units 66 and 67 are stacked in the order they are mentioned, constituting an eight-stage structure. The combination and order, in which the process units are stacked, may be changed as is desired.
A [0034] wafer carrier 71 is provided on the center part of the interface section 4. Like the wafer carrier 11, the wafer carrier 71 can move in the X direction along a transport path 72 and in the Z direction (i.e., the vertical direction) and can rotate in the θ direction. Therefore, the carrier 71 can transfer wafers W to and from the extension cooling unit 61 and extension unit 62, both belonging to the fourth process-unit group G4. Further, the carrier 71 can transfer wafers W to and from a periphery-exposing unit 73 which is provided in the rear section of the apparatus 1 and which is designed to remove resist film from the peripheral edge of a wafer W.
As shown in FIG. 2, the coating/developing [0035] apparatus 1 is installed on a grating 74 that serves as the floor of a clean room. An air-supplying device 81 is arranged in the space below the grating 74.
The air-supplying [0036] device 81 has the structure shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. More specifically, the device 81 comprises a chamber 82 having an inlet port 83 and an outlet port 84. In the chamber 82, a filter 85 for catching particles, a cooling/dehumidifying section 86 for cooling and dehumidifying the air cleaned by the filter 85, a heating section 87 for heating the air cooled and dehumidified by the cooling/dehumidifying section 86, a humidifying section 88 for humidifying the air heated by the heating section 87, and an air blower 89 for supplying the air humidified by the humidifying section 88, into, for example, the resist-coating unit 30 through the outlet port 84 of the chamber 82, are arranged in the order mentioned, from the inlet port 33 toward the outlet port 34.
As shown in FIG. 6, the cooling/[0037] dehumidifying section 86 comprises a casing 86 a and a number of fins 86 b. The casing 86 a is provided in the chamber 82 and contains the fins 86 b. The fins 86 b are thermally connected to two cooling bodies 86 c, which are composed of a thermoelectric device, for example, Peltier elements and which are provided on the sides of the casing 86 a, respectively. Two water-cooled plates 86 d are attached to the cooling bodies 86 c, respectively, for cooling the heat-radiating sections of the cooling bodies 86 c. In each water-cooled plate 86 d, cooling water, such as tap water, circulates to cool the plate 86 d. In the cooling/dehumidifying section 86, the dehumidification of air is minutely controlled by, for example, the power supply to the Peltier elements.
The [0038] heating section 87 incorporates an electric heater. The humidifying section 88 is of the type having an electric heater for evaporating pure water. Both sections 87 and 88 can be minutely controlled by, adjusting the power supply to the electric heaters.
In the resist-[0039] coating unit 30, for example, a first temperature-humidity sensor 91 is provide in the cup CP, to detect the temperature and humidity in the cup CP. Further, a second temperature-humidity sensor 92 is provided in the outlet port 84 of the air-supplying device 81, in order to detect the temperature and humidity of the air passing through the outlet port 84. Still further, a third temperature-humidity sensor 93 is provided at the downstream of the filter 85, which in turn is located at the downstream of the inlet port 83 of the air-supplying device 81. The third sensor 93 can therefore detect the temperature and humidity of the air that has passed through the inlet port 83.
As shown in FIG. 4, the [0040] second sensor 92 and third sensor 93 generates signals representing the temperatures and humidities the sensors 92 and 93 have detected. The signals are supplied to a control device 94. As will be described later in detail, the control device 94 controls the cooling/dehumidifying section 86, heating section 87 and humidifying section 88, basically in accordance with the difference between the temperatures detected by the second sensor 92 and third sensor 93 and also the difference between the humidities detected by these sensors 92 and 93, thereby to adjust the temperature and humidity of air to prescribed values before the air is supplied through the outlet port 84.
The air supplied through the [0041] outlet port 84 is supplied into the cup CP of the resist-coating unit 30 through a duct 95. The air in the cup CP is thereby adjusted to prescribed temperature and prescribed humidity. The air in the resist-coating unit 30 is exhausted through an exhaust duct 96 into, for example, the central exhaust system provided in the factory wherein the coating/developing apparatus 1 is installed.
How the [0042] control device 94 controls the temperature and humidity of air will now be explained.
As described above, the [0043] control device 94 controls the cooling/dehumidifying section 86, heating section 87 and humidifying section 88, in accordance with the differences between the temperatures detected by the second sensor 92 and third sensor 93 and also the difference between the humidities detected by these sensors 92 and 93. It should be noted that the second sensor 92 is located at a particular position to detect a target temperature and a target humidity , while the third sensor 93 is provided to detect the temperature and humidity of the air to be introduced into the air-supplying device 81.
Assume that the target the target temperature and humidity for the position where the [0044] second sensor 92 is located are 23° C. and 45% (RH), and that the temperature and humidity of the air to be introduced into the air-supplying device 81 are 24° C. and 50% (RH). In this case, the control device 94 performs its function as follows.
The [0045] control device 94 operates the heating section 87 and humidifying section 88 at 20% or less of the output capacity of these sections 87 and 88, where 20% is selected as the threshold output value, in order to reduce power consumption as much as possible in the sections 87 and 88.
Since the [0046] heating section 87 is operated at 20% or less of the output capacity and the air need to be humidified in the humidifying section 88, the air must be set at 10 to 11C at point B (FIG. 4) right after it has passed through the cooling/dehumidifying section 86. To drive the humidifying section 88 at, for example, 20% of its output capacity, for example, thereby to impart a desired humidity to air, it is necessary to set the air at about 17° C. right after the air has passed through the heating section 87.
The [0047] control device 94 first controls the cooling/dehumidifying section 86, thus cooling the air introduced via the input port 83 from 25° C. to 10 to 11° C. and dehumidifying the air. The control device 94 then drives the heating section 87, thereby heating the air a target value of 17° C. Finally, the control device 94 drives the humidifying section 88, thus humidifying the air to a final humidity, or a target humidity of 45%. Therefore, the air passing thorough the outlet port 84 has already been set at the temperature of 23° C. and the humidity of 45%.
The [0048] control device 94 keeps monitoring the outputs of the heating section 87 and humidifying section 88. If the outputs of the sections 87 and 88 surpass the threshold output value, i.e., 20% of the output capacity of the sections 87 and 88, they are reduced. If the output of the heating section 87, for example, needs to be reduced, the target temperature for point B is increased, and the cooling/dehumidifying section 86 is controlled in accordance with the target temperature increased. In other words, the cooling/dehumidifying section 86 absorbs the energy that has been saved in the heating section 87 and humidifying section 88. In this case, too, the cooling/dehumidifying section 86 has a high response and can minutely adjust the target temperature for point B, because it has Peltier elements that are high-response components.
In this embodiment, the temperature and humidity of air are so controlled that the air supplied into the resist-[0049] coating unit 30 have the same temperature and humidity as those of the air passing through the outlet port 84. However, the temperature and humidity of air may be practically influenced by the disturbance while the air is flowing through the duct 95. In view of this, a target temperature for the air passing through the outlet port 84 may be set in accordance with the difference between the temperatures the first sensor 91 and second sensor 92 have detected.
In this case, the [0050] control device 94 is designed to receive the output value of the first sensor 91 via the control device 99 that is provided in the coating/developing apparatus 1.
The coating/developing [0051] apparatus 1 having the structure described above operates as will now be described. First, in the cassette station 2 the wafer carrier 11 removes the wafers W, which are not processed yet, from a cassette C mounted on the cassette table 10. The wafer carrier 11 then transports the wafers W into the alignment apparatus 52 that belongs to the third process-unit group G₃. The alignment apparatus 52 aligns the wafers W. The main carrier 23 transports the wafers W from the alignment apparatus 52 into the adhesion unit 51. In the adhesion unit 51, the wafers W are made hydrophobic. The wafers W are then transported into the cooling unit 50 that belongs to the third process-unit group G₃. The cooling unit 50 cools the wafers W to a predetermined temperature. Thereafter, the wafers W are transported into the resist-coating unit 30 that belongs to the first process-unit group G₁. In the resist-coating unit 30, the surface of each wafer W is coated with a resist film having a prescribed thickness by means of spin coating.
The thickness of the resist film greatly depends on temperature and humidity. It is therefore necessary to adjust the temperature and humidity in the cup CP to desired values. In the present embodiment, the air-supplying [0052] device 81 supplies into the cup CP the air adjusted to the prescribed temperature and humidity. Thus, the atmosphere in the cup CP is maintained at the desired values.
Air is controlled in terms of temperature and humidity in the air-supplying [0053] device 81 in the manner described above. Therefore, the following advantages are attained in the coating/developing apparatus 1.
Not only the temperatures and humidities in not only the [0054] heating section 87 and humidifying section 88, but also the temperature and humidity in the cooling/dehumidifying section 86 are controlled by supplying air adjusted to the prescribed temperature and humidity from the air-supplying device 81 into the cooling/dehumidifying section 86, unlike in the conventional coating/developing apparatus. Moreover, the cooling/dehumidifying section 86 has Peltier elements, which achieve a high-precision control of temperature and humidity in the heating section 87, humidifying section 88, and cooling/dehumidifying section 86. Hence, the cooling/dehumidifying section 86 can operate to supply air of desired temperature and humidity, while reducing the outputs (i.e., energy consumption) of the heating section 87 and humidifying section 88 (for example, to 20% or less of their maximum outputs).
By contrast, the conventional coating/developing apparatus comprises a cooling/dehumidifying section having a refrigerator that is operated to generate a fixed output. Having a refrigerator, the cooling/dehumidifying section cannot minutely control temperature. The heating section and the humidifying section must therefore be controlled in accordance with the temperature and humidity of the air supplied from the refrigerator. As a consequence, the coating/developing apparatus, as a whole, consumes a great amount of energy. To be more specific, a considerable amount of energy is consumed, not only in the refrigerator but also in the heating section and humidifying section, because air is cooled in the refrigerator to a temperature near the dew point, then heated in the heating section and finally humidified in the humidifying section. [0055]
The coating/developing [0056] apparatus 1 according to the invention has no refrigerator for cooling air to such a low temperature. The apparatus 1 as a whole can therefore save more energy as compared with the conventional coating/developing apparatus. Further, the heating section 87 and humidifying section 88 are hardly influenced by disturbance in most cases, particularly while they are operating with a small amount of energy. The sections 87 and 88 can, therefore, control the temperature and humidity of the air with high efficiency.
Since the Peltier elements control the temperature of air, the air-supplying [0057] device 81 can have a high response and control the temperature and humidity of the air with high accuracy. Having no refrigerator, the coating/developing apparatus 1 can save more installation space than the conventional apparatus, which comprises a refrigerator.
The position where the [0058] third sensor 93 is provided near the inlet port 83 is not limited to the position specified above. The third sensor 93 may be located at, for example, point B. In this case, the temperature to which the cooling/dehumidifying section 86 should cool the air is set in accordance with the outputs of the heating section 87 and humidifying section 88. The cooling/dehumidifying section 86 may then be controlled in accordance with the temperature and humidity detected by the third sensor 93 located at point B.
(Second Embodiment) [0059]
The second embodiment of the present invention will now be described. [0060]
The air-supplying [0061] device 81 of the first embodiment cools, dehumidifies, heats and humidifies the air introduced into it. Instead the device 81, the air-supplying device 101 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 may be used to perform a process, such as resist coating, on a substrate at a humidity higher than the humidity of the air introduced into the device 101. In other words, if the air need not be dehumidified, the air-supplying device 101 that is more simple than the apparatus 1 can be used, thereby saving more energy and more space than the air-supplying device 81.
The air-supplying [0062] device 101 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 has a chamber 102 that has an inlet port 103 and an outlet port 104. In the chamber 102, a filter 105 for catching particles, a cooling/heating section 106 for cooling and heating the air cleaned by the filter 105, a humidifying section 107 for humidifying the air cooled or heated by the cooling/heating section 106, and an air blower 107, such as a DC fan, for supplying the air humidified by the humidifying section 107 into, for example, the resist-coating unit 30 through the outlet port 104 of the chamber 102, are arranged in the order mentioned, from the inlet port 103 toward the outlet port 104.
The cooling/[0063] heating section 106 comprises a cooling section 106 a and a heating section 106 b. Like the cooling/dehumidifying section 68 described above, the cooling section 106 a has Peltier elements. The heating section 106 b has an electric heater, which generates heat when supplied with an electric power.
If the air-supplying [0064] device 101 is incorporated in the coating/ developing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1, a first temperature-humidity sensor 111 is provided in the cup CP of, for example, the resist-coating unit 30 to detect the temperature and humidity in the cup CP. Further, a second temperature-humidity sensor 112 is provided in the outlet port 104 of the air-supplying device 101 to detect the temperature and humidity of the air passing through the outlet port 104. The output signal of the first sensor 111, which represents the temperature and humidity the sensor 111 has detected, is supplied to a control device 113. The output signal of the second sensor 112, which represents the temperature and humidity the sensor 112 has detected, is supplied to a control device 113, too. The air flowing from the outlet port 104 is supplied through a duct 115 into the cup CP of the resist-coating unit 30. The air in the resist-coating unit 30 is exhausted through an exhaust duct 116 into, for example, the central exhaust system provided in the factory wherein the coating/developing apparatus 1 is installed.
The cooling/[0065] heating section 106 and humidifying section 107 are feedback-controlled so that the temperature and humidity of the air flowing from the device 101 via the outlet port 104 may have the preset target values. The output signals of the first temperature-humidity sensor 111 and second temperature-humidity sensor 112 are, of course, continuously supplied to the control device 113.
The use of the air-supplying [0066] device 101 of the structure described above renders it unnecessary to dehumidify the air, because the humidity in the cup CP is higher than that of the air introduced into the device 101 through the inlet port 103. The cooling section 106 a of the cooling/heating section 106 achieves minimum cooling required, because it has Peltier elements. The air-supplying device 101 therefore has a higher energy-saving efficiency than the conventional air-supplying device that has a refrigerator. The temperature and humidity of the air reach the desired values faster than in the conventional air-supplying device. Needless to say, the air-supplying device 101 helps to make the coating/developing apparatus 1 compact. The apparatus 1 can, therefore, still more save energy and installation space.
In the case of using this air-supplying [0067] device 101, too, the third temperature-humidity sensor may be provided near the inlet port 103 of the device 101 as in the air-supplying device 81 described above. Further, as in the air-supplying device 81, the control device 113 may controls the cooling/heating section 106 and humidifying section 107 in accordance with the differences between the temperatures detected by the second sensor 112 and the third sensor and also the difference between the humidities detected by the second sensor 112 and the third sensor. Still further, as in the air-supplying device 81, the signal output from the first temperature-humidity sensor 111 may be supplied to the control device provided in the coating/developing apparatus 1, so that this control device may output a control signal to the control device 113 in accordance with the differences between the final target values for temperature and humidity and the temperature and humidity represented by the signal output from the first sensor 111.
The embodiments described above are coating/developing apparatus, each having an air-supplying device. Nonetheless, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. Rather, the invention may be applied to other types of apparatuses wherein temperature and humidity must be controlled, such as a developing apparatus into which air needs to be supplied. Moreover, the substrates processed in the embodiments are wafers. The substrates are not limited to wafers in the present invention. They may be, for example, LCD substrates and any other type of substrates. [0068]
Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. [0069]

Claims

1. A substrate-processing apparatus comprising:

a processing chamber in which a substrate is processed;

an air-supplying device for supplying air having controlled temperature and humidity into the processing chamber;

an air passage having an inlet port and an outlet port connected to the processing chamber, for guiding the air from the inlet port to the outlet port;

a cooling/dehumidifying section arranged in the air passage and having a thermoelectric cooling device, for cooling and dehumidifying the air introduced from the inlet port;

a heating section arranged in the air passage, for heating the air that has been cooled and dehumidified by the cooling/dehumidifying section;

a humidifying section provided in the air passage, for humidifying the air heated by the heating section and guiding the air to the outlet port;

a temperature-humidity sensor provided at a position in the air passage; and

a control device for controlling the cooling/dehumidifying section, the heating section and the humidifying section, in accordance with temperature and humidity detected at the position in the air passage, thereby to adjust the temperature and humidity of the air to be supplied from the outlet port.

2. A substrate-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control device controls the cooling/dehumidifying section in accordance with an operation output of the heating section or humidifying section.

3. A substrate-processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control device controls the cooling/dehumidifying section in accordance with the operation output of the heating section or humidifying section, such that the operation output of the heating section or humidifying section remains to surpass a predetermined threshold value.

4. A substrate-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature-humidity sensor is provided in the inlet port of the air passage, and in the outlet port the air acquires the temperature and humidity adjusted by the control device.

5. A substrate-processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature-humidity sensor for detecting temperature and humidity at a peripheral part of the substrate, and the control device determines the temperature and humidity to be adjusted by the control device, from the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature-humidity sensor at the peripheral part of the substrate.

6. A substrate-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature-humidity sensor is provided between the cooling/dehumidifying section and the heating section, and the control device controls the cooling/dehumidifying section in accordance with outputs of the heating section and humidifying section, thereby to impart a predetermined temperature to the air that has passed through the cooling/dehumidifying section.