JP2001308059A - Board drier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a board drier which can suppress the rise of cost required for dry treatment without generating water marks, even if it is a substrate which has a fine and complicated structure. SOLUTION: The drying gas of low molecular silicone generated by drying gas generator 31 is supplied from a drying gas supply nozzle 30 after being heated by heater 37. The drying gas is supplied as an air flow to the main surface of a substrate W which is being pulled up from within the pure water in a cleaning vessel 20. The silicone in drying gas condenses on the surface of the substrate W and is replaced with water, and then, it is vaporized. Since the silicone is superior in permeability and drying property, this drier can suppress the occurrence of watermarks, even if it is a substrate which has fine and complicated structure. Moreover, since the silicone will not load the environment, this does not need special disposal for wasting, and this can suppress the rise in cost required for drying treatment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for a photomask, a substrate for an optical disk, etc.
(Hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a surface treatment such as etching with a chemical solution, a cleaning treatment with pure water, etc., and a drying treatment are sequentially applied to the above-mentioned substrate to achieve a series of substrate treatments.
Of these processes, the drying process is generally performed as a final process after the final cleaning with pure water.

Conventionally, as a method of drying such a substrate, a method in which a substrate is rotated at a high speed to shake off moisture by its centrifugal force (so-called spin dry) or an IP method
There is a method using A (isopropyl alcohol). However, with the recent complication of the semiconductor device structure, a problem of poor drying called a watermark has come to be noticed, and a drying method using IPA, which does not easily cause such a problem, is becoming mainstream. Watermark is a dry spot generated by the reaction of moisture adhering to the substrate surface with the silicon material of the substrate and oxygen in the air to generate particles. The longer the time, the more likely it is.

In the drying method using IPA, IPA vapor is sprayed on the surface of the substrate to which moisture has adhered. IP
Since A is vaporized within a short time after being replaced by moisture attached to the substrate surface, a watermark is relatively unlikely to occur in a drying method using IPA.

[0005]

However, in recent years, as is well known, environmental issues have been regarded as important, and IPA which exerts a burden on the environment if released directly to the outside is considered.
In order to dispose of, it was necessary to perform a predetermined disposal treatment to make the environment harmless. Naturally, such a disposal process requires a considerable cost, and there is a problem that this raises the cost of substrate processing.

In recent years, the device structure formed on the substrate surface has been increasingly miniaturized and complicated, and the problem of the watermark may occur even in the drying method using IPA.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and does not generate a watermark even on a substrate having a miniaturized and complicated structure, and suppresses an increase in cost required for a drying process. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate drying apparatus capable of performing the above.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate drying apparatus for drying a substrate which has been washed with pure water. Dry gas supply means for supplying a dry gas containing silicone gas to the surface is provided.

Further, the invention according to claim 2 is a substrate drying apparatus for drying a substrate after being washed with pure water,
A pure water is stored, and a cleaning tank for cleaning the substrate by immersing the substrate in the pure water, a lifting means for lifting the cleaned substrate from the cleaning tank, and a substrate being lifted by the lifting means. Drying gas supply means for supplying a drying gas containing a silicone gas to the main surface.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the substrate drying apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the drying gas supply means is provided on a side of the substrate being lifted from the cleaning tank by the lifting means. I have.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate drying apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the drying gas supply means is provided with the drying gas in a substantially horizontal direction on a gas-liquid interface of pure water in the cleaning tank. A gas flow is formed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate drying apparatus according to any one of the second to fourth aspects,
The cleaning tank is configured to wash a plurality of substrates spaced apart from each other, the lifting means is configured to collectively lift the plurality of substrates, and the drying gas supply means is configured to lift the plurality of substrates by the lifting means. The air flow of the dry gas is formed between each of the substrates.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate drying apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the drying gas is heated to a temperature higher than the substrate to be dried by 10 ° C. or more. Dry gas heating means for feeding to the supply means is further provided.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the substrate drying apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects,
The drying gas is constituted only by the silicone gas.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in a substrate drying apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects,
The dry gas contains a silicone gas and a gas of a water-soluble solvent of 10% by volume or less.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate drying apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects,
The silicone gas is a low-molecular silicone gas phase.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

<1. Configuration of Substrate Drying Apparatus> FIG. 1 is a view showing the overall configuration of a substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention. The substrate drying apparatus is roughly composed of a drying tank 10 for performing a drying process and a mechanism for supplying various gases to the drying tank 10. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the drying tank 10, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the drying tank 10.

The drying tank 10 is a casing whose inside can be closed by closing a lid (not shown). The transfer of the substrate W into and out of the drying tank 10 is performed by a transfer robot (not shown) in a state where the lid is opened.

A washing tank 20 is fixedly disposed inside the drying tank 10. The cleaning tank 20 is a processing tank for storing pure water and immersing the substrate W in the pure water to clean the substrate W. The cleaning tank 20 is provided with a pure water supply mechanism and a drainage mechanism (not shown). These mechanisms supply new pure water to the cleaning tank 20 and remove used pure water from the cleaning tank 20. Can be drained. The cleaning tank 20 may be further provided with a mechanism for supplying and discharging not only pure water but also a chemical solution such as an etching solution.

The drying tank 10 has a lifter LH inside.
(See FIGS. 2 and 3). Lifter LH
Has a function to raise and lower the lifter arm 25 in the vertical direction. The lifter arm 25 has three holding rods 2
6a, 26b, 26c are fixed so that their longitudinal directions are substantially horizontal, and three holding rods 26a, 26b, 2c are provided.
In each of 6c, a plurality of holding grooves for holding the substrate W in an upright posture by fitting the outer edge portion of the substrate W are provided at predetermined intervals.

With such a configuration, the lifter LH is
The positions where the plurality of substrates W held in parallel and stacked and spaced apart from each other by the book holding rods 26a, 26b, and 26c are immersed in the pure water stored in the cleaning tank 20, and are withdrawn from the pure water. Can be raised and lowered between the raised position. The lifter LH can employ various mechanisms such as a feed screw mechanism using a ball screw and a belt mechanism using a pulley and a belt as a mechanism for moving the lifter arm 25 up and down.

The drying tank 10 has two drying gas supply nozzles 30 and two nitrogen gas supply nozzles 50 therein.
Is provided. Each of the two dry gas supply nozzles 30 and the two nitrogen gas supply nozzles 50 has the longitudinal direction substantially horizontal (the three holding rods 26a, 26b, and 2).
6c) (in parallel with 6c). The drying gas supply nozzle 30 has a plurality of discharge holes 30a, and the nitrogen gas supply nozzle 50 has a plurality of discharge holes 50a (see FIG. 3).

Here, the discharge hole 30a provided in the dry gas supply nozzle 30 is formed such that the discharge direction is substantially horizontal. On the other hand, the nitrogen gas supply nozzle 50
Is formed such that the discharge direction is directed obliquely downward. Then, the discharge hole 30a
Are three holding rods 26a, 26b, 26 of the lifter LH.
The substrates are formed so as to be located between the plurality of substrates W arranged and held in parallel with each other by c (see FIG. 3).

The drying gas supply nozzle 30 has a drying tank 10
Dry gas is supplied from a dry gas supply mechanism provided outside. Such a dry gas supply mechanism includes a nitrogen gas supply source 3
2, a drying gas generating section 31, a pipe 35, and a heater 37.
And is constituted by. The drying gas generator 31 includes:
Liquid silicone is stored.

Silicone is a general term for chain organopolysiloxanes having a main chain of (Si—O) x, and includes liquid, grease-like, rubber-like and resin-like depending on the degree of polymerization. The silicone used in the substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention is a liquid (low viscosity) low molecular silicone having a low degree of polymerization. The structural formula of the low molecular silicone is shown below.

[0027]

Embedded image

The low molecular silicone in the present invention is 2
It is from a dimer to a pentamer (n is 2 to 5), and in the present embodiment, a dimer is used. In the present invention, the degree of polymerization of the low-molecular silicone is limited to those from a dimer to a pentamer because, in this range, the liquid state becomes low in viscosity, so that it is supplied as a dry gas by nitrogen bubbling described later. Because it is easy. In this specification, low-molecular silicone refers to dimer to pentamer unless otherwise specified.

A nitrogen gas can be supplied as bubbles from the nitrogen gas supply source 32 into the liquid silicone stored in the dry gas generating section 31, and so-called nitrogen gas bubbling can be performed. By this bubbling, a gaseous phase (gas) of silicone is mixed in nitrogen gas, and a dry gas composed of silicone gas can be sent to the pipe 35 using nitrogen gas as a carrier gas. In the present embodiment, only the liquid silicone is stored in the dry gas generating section 31, and the dry gas is constituted only by the silicone gas. The concentration of the dry gas in the gas flowing through the pipe 35 was about 2% by volume, and the flow rate was 10 l / min. It should be about the degree.

A heater 37 is provided in the middle of the path where the pipe 35 is provided, and the drying gas carried by the carrier gas is heated by the heater 37.
At this time, the substrate W to be dried in the drying tank 10 is 1
The drying gas is heated to a temperature higher than 0 ° C. For example, when the substrate W to be dried has a temperature of 23 ° C., the substrate 37 is heated by the heater 37 so that the temperature of the drying gas is 33 ° C. or higher. The drying gas heated by the heater 37 is further supplied to the drying gas supply nozzle 30 via the pipe 35 and is supplied into the drying tank 10 from the discharge hole 30a of the drying gas supply nozzle 30.

The drying gas supply mode from the drying gas supply nozzle 30 will be further described later. However, since the drying gas supply nozzle 30 is provided on the side of the substrate W being lifted from the cleaning tank 20 by the lifter LH, Dry gas is supplied from the side of the substrate W being lifted. The drying gas supply nozzle 30 forms a gas flow of the drying gas in a substantially horizontal direction between the plurality of substrates W being lifted and on the gas-liquid interface of the pure water in the cleaning tank 20.

On the other hand, nitrogen gas is supplied to the nitrogen gas supply nozzle 50 from a nitrogen gas supply source 52 provided outside the drying tank 10. The nitrogen gas supply source 52 is connected to the nitrogen gas supply nozzle 50 via a pipe 55. Also,
A heater 57 is provided in the middle of the path where the pipe 55 is provided. The nitrogen gas sent from the nitrogen gas supply source 52 passes through the pipe 55, is heated by the heater 57 on the way, reaches the nitrogen gas supply nozzle 50, and obliquely lowers from the discharge hole 50 a of the nitrogen gas supply nozzle 50. It is discharged toward.

In this embodiment, the drying gas supply nozzle 30 corresponds to the drying gas supply means, and the lifter L
H corresponds to the lifting means, and the heater 37 corresponds to the dry gas heating means.

<2. Drying Process in Substrate Drying Apparatus> Next, the procedure of the drying processing in the substrate drying apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 4 to 7 are views for explaining the state of the drying process in the substrate drying apparatus.

First, in FIG. 4, the substrate W has been subjected to a cleaning process with pure water (water cleaning process). The washing process is
The plurality of substrates W stacked and arranged at an interval from each other are held by the lifter LH and immersed in pure water in the cleaning tank 20. At this time, pure water is continuously supplied from the lower part of the cleaning tank 20, and the pure water always overflows from the upper part (so-called upflow processing). In this way, the contaminants are separated from the substrate W,
It is discharged outside the cleaning tank 20. It is needless to say that the used pure water overflowing from the washing tank 20 is collected and discharged to the outside of the drying tank 10. Further, prior to the water washing process, the surface treatment of the substrate W with the chemical solution in the cleaning tank 20 may be performed, or the substrate W after the chemical solution treatment may be carried into the drying tank 10 in another tank.

At the stage where the water washing process is being performed,
Gas supply from the drying gas supply nozzle 30 is stopped. On the other hand, from the nitrogen gas supply nozzle 50, the drying tank 10
May be supplied with nitrogen gas.

Next, when the water washing process for a predetermined time is completed,
The supply of the drying gas from the drying gas supply nozzle 30 is started, and the plurality of substrates W held by the lifter LH are held.
All at once (FIG. 5). At this time, the drying gas supply nozzle 30 supplies the drying gas from the side of the substrate W being lifted from the cleaning tank 20 by the lifter LH, and as shown by an arrow A5 in FIG.
And a gas flow of the dry gas is formed in a substantially horizontal direction on the gas-liquid interface of the pure water in the cleaning tank 20.

A large amount of pure water droplets adhere to the main surface of the substrate W being lifted by the lifter LH.
An airflow of a dry gas made of silicone gas is supplied from the dry gas supply nozzle 30 to the main surface of the substrate W to which such pure water has adhered. The drying gas supplied from the drying gas supply nozzle 30 is 10 ° C. lower than the substrate W being withdrawn.
The heater 57 is heated to a higher temperature. Accordingly, the silicone gas is easily condensed on each of the main surfaces of the plurality of substrates W, and the silicone liquid is replaced by water droplets of the substrate W and adheres.

At the stage of lifting the substrate W by the lifter LH, pure water is continuously supplied to the cleaning tank 20 from the lower part, and pure water continues to overflow from the upper part.
The impurities in the cleaning tank 20 are discharged out of the tank.

Next, when the substrate W is completely separated from the pure water in the cleaning tank 20 by the lifter LH, the gas supply from the drying gas supply nozzle 30 is stopped, and the nitrogen gas or the nitrogen gas is supplied from the nitrogen gas supply nozzle 50. The nitrogen gas heated by the heater 57 is supplied (FIG. 6). By supplying the nitrogen gas from the nitrogen gas supply nozzle 50, the atmosphere inside the drying tank 10 is replaced with an inert nitrogen gas, and the silicone adhered to the substrate W is vaporized. In particular, when heated nitrogen gas is blown onto the substrate W, the vaporization of silicone is promoted, and the drying time is shortened. At this stage, the supply of pure water to the cleaning tank 20 is stopped, and the used pure water is discharged from the cleaning tank 20.

After the silicone adhering to the substrate W is completely vaporized, the supply of the nitrogen gas from the nitrogen gas supply nozzle 50 is stopped, and the lid of the drying tank 10 is opened to put the dried substrate W out of the tank. Unload (Fig. 7). As described above, a series of drying processing of the substrate W is completed.

As described above, in the substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention, the gas flow of the low molecular silicone gas is supplied to the main surface of the substrate W to which the pure water is attached, and the silicone gas is condensed on the main surface. Substrate W is dried by replacing pure water droplets with silicone. Silicone is also used in cosmetics and the like and does not cause problems such as ozone depletion and global warming, and is a material with a light environmental load. Therefore, no special treatment is required for disposal. Therefore, an increase in cost required for the drying process can be suppressed.

The low molecular silicone has a low surface tension, that of water is 71.8 dyn / cm, and that of IPA is 20.8 dyn / cm.
cm, whereas the surface tension of low molecular silicone is 1
It is 6.5 dyn / cm or less. Thus, the low surface tension of the low molecular silicone means that its permeability is higher than that of IPA. Due to its high permeability, low molecular silicone can be easily replaced by moisture even in recent miniaturized and complicated device structures.
Especially the aspect ratio like a hole (ratio of length to diameter)
The low molecular weight silicone can be replaced with moisture even in the large part of the above. Therefore, the drying method using low molecular silicone has good drying performance even in recent miniaturized and complicated device structures, and does not easily cause a problem of a watermark caused by attached moisture.

The low-molecular silicone has a low latent heat of vaporization. Water has a heat of evaporation of 2256 J / g and IPA of 674 J / g, whereas the low-molecular silicone has a latent heat of vaporization of 300 J / g.
It is as follows. The low latent heat of vaporization of low molecular silicone means that its drying speed is faster than that of IPA. Therefore, in the drying method using low molecular silicone,
The time required for drying can be shortened as compared with the case where IPA is used, the throughput is improved, and the generation of a watermark due to the attached moisture can be further suppressed.

In the above embodiment, the dry gas supply nozzle 30 supplies the dry gas of low molecular weight silicone from the side of the substrate W being lifted from the cleaning tank 20 by the lifter LH. Since a dry gas stream is formed in a substantially horizontal direction on the gas-liquid interface of water,
Almost at the same time when the surface of the substrate W separates from the pure water, a dry gas is blown to the separated region. Therefore, the water on the main surface of the substrate W is hardly exposed to the outside air,
As a result, the low-molecular-weight silicone is quickly replaced, and the generation of watermarks can be more effectively suppressed.

At this time, a part of the supplied dry gas falls into the washing tank 20 and mixes with the pure water. However, the silicone is insoluble in water and is completely separated from the water. Therefore, problems such as transfer of particles due to Marangoni convection do not occur.

Further, since the drying gas supply nozzle 30 forms an air flow of the drying gas between each of the plurality of substrates W being lifted by the lifter LH, the drying of the low-molecular-weight silicone is uniformly performed on each substrate W. Gas can be sprayed.

Further, since the heater 57 heats the dry gas to a temperature higher by 10 ° C. or more than the substrate W being lifted, low-molecular silicone easily condenses on the main surface of the substrate W, and the silicone liquid Can be quickly replaced with water droplets on the substrate W, and as a result, the generation of watermarks can be more effectively suppressed.

<3. Modifications> While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described examples. For example, in the above-described embodiment, only the liquid low-molecular-weight silicone is stored in the dry gas generating unit 31 and the dry gas is constituted only by the silicone gas. The mixed solution of the solvent may be stored, and the dry gas may be a mixed gas of the silicone gas and the gas of the water-soluble solvent. As the water-soluble solvent, for example, alcohol such as IPA, acetone, ketone, carboxylic acid and the like can be used.
The water-soluble solvent gas in the mixed dry gas is 10% by volume.
It is necessary to: This is because, when the amount of the water-soluble solvent gas in the mixed dry gas is more than 10% by volume, the ratio of the silicone gas in the mixed dry gas decreases, and it becomes difficult to obtain the effect of using the above-described silicone. , IPA or the like causes a unique problem (disposal problem, etc.). If the gas of the water-soluble solvent in the mixed dry gas is 10% by volume or less, such a problem hardly occurs.

In the above embodiment, the dry gas is generated by bubbling nitrogen gas.
The drying gas generation method is not limited to this. For example, a heater is provided in the drying gas generation unit 31, and liquid silicone (or a liquid mixture of liquid silicone and a water-soluble solvent) is provided.
May be dried to generate a dry gas.

In the above embodiment, the drying gas is heated by the heater 57 to a temperature higher than the substrate W to be dried by 10 ° C. or more. However, the heating of the drying gas is not always required. When the drying gas is not heated, the substrate W
And the temperature of the drying gas are substantially equal to each other, so that condensation is less likely to occur than in the above embodiment.
Lowering the lifting speed than that of the above embodiment (1 mm / s
ec. degree) is required. If the lifting speed of the substrate W is reduced, condensation of the silicone occurs without heating the dry gas, and the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, the drying gas supply nozzle 30 is provided on the side of the substrate W being lifted from the cleaning tank 20 by the lifter LH. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The position may be any position at which an airflow of the drying gas can be supplied to the main surface of the substrate W.

Further, in the above embodiment, the plurality of substrates W
Is a batch-type apparatus that collectively processes wafers W, but the technology according to the present invention can be applied to a so-called single-wafer apparatus that processes the substrates W one by one.

[0054]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the dry gas containing the silicone gas is supplied to the main surface of the substrate to which the pure water has adhered.
Because of its excellent drying properties, it is possible to suppress the generation of watermarks even on substrates with a finer and more complicated structure.Since silicone does not place a burden on the environment, it is a special treatment for disposal. Is not required, and an increase in cost required for the drying treatment can be suppressed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the dry gas containing the silicone gas is supplied to the main surface of the substrate being lifted by the lifting means.
The same effect as described above can be obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the dry gas supply means is provided on the side of the substrate being lifted from the cleaning tank by the lifting means, the dry gas supply means is provided for the substrate whose dry gas is being lifted. It can be easily supplied to the main surface.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the dry gas supply means forms a gas flow of the dry gas in a substantially horizontal direction on the gas-liquid interface of the pure water in the cleaning tank, so that the moisture on the main surface of the substrate is reduced. Is hardly exposed to the outside air, and as a result, the generation of a watermark can be more effectively suppressed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since a dry gas stream is formed between each of the plurality of substrates being lifted by the lifting means, the dry gas is uniformly supplied to each substrate. be able to.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the drying gas is heated to a temperature higher than the substrate to be dried by 10 ° C. or more, the silicone is easily condensed on the main surface of the substrate, and The generation of marks can be suppressed more effectively.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the dry gas is constituted only by the silicone gas, and the same effect as that of the first aspect of the present invention can be obtained efficiently.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the dry gas contains silicone gas and a gas of a water-soluble solvent of 10% by volume or less, and the same effect as the first aspect of the present invention can be obtained.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the dry gas can be easily supplied because the silicone gas is a low-molecular-weight silicone gas phase.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a drying tank of the substrate drying apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a drying tank of the substrate drying apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state of a drying process in the substrate drying apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state of a drying process in the substrate drying apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state of a drying process in the substrate drying apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state of a drying process in the substrate drying apparatus of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Drying tank 20 Cleaning tank 30 Dry gas supply nozzle 31 Dry gas generation part 37 Heater 50 Nitrogen gas supply nozzle LH lifter W Substrate

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A substrate drying apparatus for drying a substrate that has been washed with pure water, comprising: a drying gas supply unit for supplying a drying gas containing a silicone gas to a main surface of the substrate to which the pure water has adhered. A substrate drying apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. A substrate drying apparatus for drying a substrate that has been washed with pure water, comprising: a cleaning tank for storing pure water and immersing the substrate in the pure water to wash the substrate; A substrate, comprising: a lifting means for lifting the substrate after cleaning from the cleaning tank; and a drying gas supply means for supplying a drying gas containing a silicone gas to a main surface of the substrate being lifted by the lifting means. Drying equipment. 3. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the drying gas supply means is provided on a side of the substrate being lifted from the cleaning tank by the lifting means. apparatus. 4. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the drying gas supply means forms a gas flow of the drying gas in a substantially horizontal direction on a gas-liquid interface of pure water in the cleaning tank. Substrate drying device. 5. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cleaning tank cleans a plurality of substrates spaced apart from each other, and wherein the lifting unit includes the plurality of substrates. Wherein the drying gas supply means forms an airflow of the drying gas between each of the plurality of substrates being lifted by the lifting means. 6. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drying gas is heated to a temperature higher by at least 10 ° C. than a substrate to be dried and is sent to the drying gas supply means. A substrate drying apparatus, further comprising a drying gas heating means for performing drying. 7. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drying gas comprises only a silicone gas. 8. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drying gas includes a silicone gas and a gas of a water-soluble solvent of 10% by volume or less. apparatus. 9. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the silicone gas is a gas phase of low molecular silicone.