Substrate processing apparatus

Abstract

A solidified body forming step includes: a first step of landing a processing surface of a cooling member on a liquid film to solidify the liquid to be solidified located in an area sandwiched between an upper surface and the processing surface; and a second step of releasing the processing surface from the solidified area solidified in the first step. The processing surface has a lower temperature than a freezing point of the liquid to be solidified. Adhesion between the solidified area and the processing surface is smaller than that between the solidified area and the upper surface.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A substrate processing apparatus, comprising:
 a substrate holder that holds a substrate in a horizontal posture, the substrate having an upper surface on which a liquid film of a liquid to be solidified is formed;   a cooling member that freezes the liquid film of the liquid to be solidified; and   a mover that moves the cooling member relative to the upper surface of the substrate held by the substrate holder, wherein:   the cooling member has a processing surface having a lower temperature than a freezing point of the liquid to be solidified;   the mover moves the cooling member to land the processing surface on the liquid film whereby the liquid to be solidified located in an area sandwiched between the upper surface and the processing surface is freezed to form a solidified area, and then moves the cooling member to release the processing surface from the solidified area; and   the processing surface is formed of a material   
       such that a first adhesion to the solidified area formed by landing the processing surface on the liquid film is smaller than a second adhesion between the upper surface and the solidified area formed by landing the processing surface on the liquid film. 
     
     
         2 . The substrate processing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the processing surface is narrower than the upper surface; and   the mover arranges the cooling member at an initial position such that the processing surface faces a part of the upper surface and then relatively moves the cooling member in a horizontal direction from the initial position.   
     
     
         3 . The substrate processing apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein:
 the initial position is a position above an upper surface central part of the substrate; and   the mover relatively moves the cooling member in a direction away from the initial position.   
     
     
         4 . The substrate processing apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein:
 the processing surface has a long shape having a length equal to or longer than a distance from a rotation center part of the substrate to an end edge part of the substrate;   the cooling member is so arranged at the initial position that one end part of the processing surface in a length direction is located above the rotation center part of the substrate and the other end part of the processing surface in the length direction is located above the end edge part of the substrate; and   the mover rotates the substrate with the rotation center part as a rotation center while the cooling member is positioned to the initial position.   
     
     
         5 . The substrate processing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the processing surface has the same shape as the upper surface or is wider than the upper surface; and   the mover arranges the cooling member so as to cover the upper surface from a vertically upper side with the processing surface and then moves the cooling member relative to the substrate.   
     
     
         6 . The substrate processing apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a remover that removes the solidified body from the substrate. 
     
     
         7 . The substrate processing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the processing surface is made of a fluorine-based material, a silicon-based material or polyethylene.