JP2000232045A - Method of forming resist pattern - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To reduce the exposure time in an exposure process of a peripheral region outside a circuit formation region of a substrate when forming a resist pattern. SOLUTION: A resist is removed by a solvent in a peripheral region outside a device region with respect to a substrate coated with a resist 70, for example, a wafer 10, and in a region near an outer edge formed along an outer edge of the wafer 10. Next, after exposing the wafer 10 using a predetermined pattern mask, the resist remaining in the peripheral region outside the device region is dissolved by development so as to dissolve the resist in the peripheral region and the region inside the region near the outer edge. Then, exposure is performed, and further, exposure is performed on a part of the area inside the exposed area. In this case, since the resist in the region near the outer edge of the wafer 10 is removed by the solvent, the region to be exposed for dissolution by development becomes narrower, and the exposure time is shortened.
The power consumption of the light source of the exposure unit 6 can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for forming a predetermined resist pattern on a substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor device manufacturing process, there is a process of forming a resist pattern on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as "wafer"). In this step, for example, after a resist solution is applied to a wafer, light, an electron beam, an ion beam, or the like is irradiated onto the resist surface through a mask corresponding to the pattern, thereby exposing the device area, and then developing. By doing so, a resist mask is formed.

In this method of forming a resist pattern, conventionally, after exposing a device region, a peripheral region outside the device region is exposed. In the exposure of the peripheral region (hereinafter, referred to as “peripheral exposure”), the peripheral region is exposed along the outer edge of the wafer by, for example, moving a light source (full-peripheral exposure). The part was partially exposed (partial exposure).

Here, the entire circumference is exposed because leaving the resist in the peripheral region may cause particles in a later process. Further, the partial exposure is carried out in a later step, for example, by transporting the wafer by a transport means of a type that holds and transports a part of the peripheral portion of the wafer, which is called a mechanical chuck or the like. This is because leaving a portion of the resist which is to be formed may cause the generation of particles.

Here, the portion held by the mechanical chuck is located at a plurality of, for example, three, positions on the peripheral portion of the wafer, and the inside of the portion covers a part of the inner region from the peripheral exposure region for performing the full-round exposure. Therefore, the partial exposure as described above is required. The exposed area is dissolved and removed by a developing solution such as an aqueous alkaline solution in the developing step.

[0006]

However, in the peripheral exposure as described above, the power of the light source cannot be increased so much in order to reduce the power consumption of the light source. Had to be moved several times with respect to the wafer. Also, although the area from which the resist is removed by full-circumferential exposure is different depending on the case, if the entire area outside the device area must be full-circularly exposed, the outer edge of the device area is not an arc like the outer edge of the wafer, Since it is a combination of lines extending vertically and horizontally (lines extending in the X and Y directions), the light source is first moved in the circumferential direction along the outer edge of the wafer to expose the outer edge, and then the outer edge of the device region is exposed. X along the light source,
Since the exposure in the vicinity of the outer edge of the device area must be performed by moving in the Y direction, the number of exposure times may be further increased.

As described above, when the number of exposures is increased, the processing time of the full-circumferential exposure is increased. In addition, when the processing time is increased, the power consumption of the light source is increased. In addition, there is a region where exposure is overlapped by a plurality of exposures, and in this case, there is a problem that power of the light source is wasted.

Here, if the exposure area of the light source is made larger than the exposure area corresponding to the exposure area, the light source is moved in the X and Y directions along the outer edge of the device area, so that the outer edge of the wafer is simultaneously formed. Exposure can be performed, but if the entire peripheral area is to be exposed by such a smaller number of exposures, the exposure area must be considerably increased, and eventually the power of the light source increases and the power consumption increases. Since the exposure area is larger than the area, there is also a problem that the power of the exposure area protruding from the exposure area is wasted.

The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the exposure time of a peripheral region outside a circuit formation region of a substrate when the resist is dissolved by development. And a method of forming a resist pattern.

[0010]

Therefore, the invention of claim 1 comprises a step of applying a resist, which becomes soluble in a developing solution when exposed to light, to a substrate, and then a step of applying a resist outside the circuit formation region of the substrate. In the peripheral region, a step of removing the resist in a region near the outer edge formed along the outer edge of the substrate with a solvent,
Next, a step of exposing the substrate using a predetermined pattern mask, and subsequently, moving the exposed portion relative to the substrate in the surface direction, and by the exposed portion, A step of exposing a region inside the vicinity region over the entire circumference, and thereafter moving the exposure unit relative to the substrate in a plane direction, and exposing the inside of the peripheral region exposed by the step by the exposure unit in the step. A step of exposing a part of the region, and after this step, a developing solution is supplied to the substrate surface, thereby developing the substrate surface, and removing the resist in the peripheral region and a part of the region inside the peripheral region. Dissolving.

In such a method, in removing unnecessary resist in a peripheral region outside the circuit formation region of the substrate, first, the resist in the region near the outer edge of the substrate is dissolved and removed with a solvent, and then removed in the peripheral region. Since exposure is performed on the remaining resist, the time required for the exposure processing is reduced, and the power consumption of the light source can be reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the step of exposing a part of the inside of the peripheral area, the length of the area to be exposed in the circumferential direction of the circular substrate is set to the exposure length, and When the length in the circumferential direction of the substrate is defined as the exposure area width, and the angle between the reference position set on the substrate and the center in the circumferential direction of the area to be exposed is designated exposure angle, 360 ° ×
Exposure angle is determined by (exposure length-exposure area width) / substrate outer peripheral length, and start angle is determined by designated exposure angle-the exposure angle / 2.
The method further includes a step of rotating the exposure area of the exposure unit and the substrate relative to the reference position from the position of the start angle by an exposure angle relative to the vertical axis to perform exposure. By calculating the exposure angle and the start angle in this manner, the area where the exposure overlaps can be reduced, and the power of the light source can be further reduced.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An example of a coating / developing apparatus used for carrying out a method for forming a resist pattern according to the present invention will be schematically described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. FIG. 1 and 2, reference numeral 11 denotes a loading / unloading stage for loading / unloading a wafer cassette. For example, a cassette C containing 25 sheets is placed by an automatic transfer robot, for example. In a region facing the loading / unloading stage 11, a transfer arm 12 for the wafer 10 is provided so as to be freely rotatable in X, Y directions and θ (rotation about a vertical axis). Further, a processing section 1A is connected to the back side of the transfer arm 12.

The processing unit 1A includes, for example, a coating / developing unit U1 on the right side and a heating / cooling unit U2 on the left, front and back sides when viewed from the loading / unloading stage 11, for example. , U3, and U4, respectively, and for transferring the wafer 10 between the cassette C, the coating / developing system unit, and the heating / cooling system unit, for example, can move up and down, move left and right, move back and forth, and A wafer transfer arm MA that is rotatable about a vertical axis is provided at the center.

In the coating and developing system unit U1,
For example, two developing units 13 are provided in an upper stage, and two coating units 2 are provided in a lower stage. A mechanism for performing edge rinsing described later is incorporated in the coating unit 2. In the units U2 to U4 of the heating / cooling system, as shown in FIG. 3, before and after the main arm MA (indicated by the direction as viewed from the loading / unloading stage 1 to the back), a shelf 1 is provided.
4, 15 are provided. The shelves 14 and 15 are configured by stacking a plurality of units, and a heating unit for heating the wafer 10, an alignment unit for positioning the wafer 10, and the like are assigned to these units, and a unit group is further provided. One of them is wafer 1
0 is assigned as a delivery unit. It should be noted that the allocation of the units shown in FIG. Note that the shelf 1 can be slid along the guide rail.
You may provide the same shelf as 4 and 15.

The above-described portion including the coating / developing system unit U1 and the heating / cooling system units U2 to U4 will be referred to as a clean track, and an interface unit 1B is provided at the back of the clean track. Exposure device 16 via
Is connected. The interface unit 1B transfers a wafer 10 between a clean track and an exposure apparatus 16 from a wafer transfer arm 17 configured to be movable up and down, movable left and right, back and forth, and rotatable about a vertical axis. This unit 1B incorporates a peripheral exposure device 5 described later.

Next, an example of the coating unit 2 will be described with reference to a cross-sectional view of FIG. 4A and a perspective view of FIG. The coating unit 2 includes a motor M,
And a mounting portion 20 having, for example, a vacuum suction function supported rotatably and vertically by a rotating shaft 22, and a support column 31 and a horizontal arm above the wafer 10 vacuum-adsorbed to the mounting portion 20. A nozzle 30 that can be arranged via a system 32, and a supply pipe 33 that communicates and connects the nozzle 30 with a coating solution storage tank (not shown).

The support column 31 is horizontally movable along a guide rail 34 laid on the bottom plate of the coating unit 2, so that the nozzle 30 escapes when the wafer 10 is loaded and unloaded. Is available. Further, the coating unit 2 has a cup 23 surrounding the wafer 10 adsorbed on the mounting portion 20 and preventing the liquid supplied on the wafer 10 from splashing around when the coating liquid is shaken off. Is provided. In the figure, reference numeral 25 denotes a drainage passage.

The coating unit is provided with a solvent nozzle 40 for dropping the solvent of the resist onto the edge rinse area of the wafer 10 adsorbed on the mounting portion 20. Here, the edge rinse area is a peripheral area outside the device area which is a circuit formation area of the wafer 10 and is formed along the outer edge of the wafer 10 from the outer edge of the wafer 10 to a position inside a predetermined distance. Area around the outer edge. As shown in FIG. 4 (b), the solvent nozzle 40 is supported in the vicinity of the tip by a nozzle support 43 provided with a support 42 at the tip of an arm 41, for example.
Can be moved between a standby position on the outside of the wafer and a processing position where the solvent of the resist is dropped onto the edge rinse area of the wafer 10 shown in FIG. 4 (a). The tip of the nozzle 40 is provided near the upper side of the cup 23 so that the tip of the nozzle 40 does not contact the cup 23. The solvent nozzle 40 is connected to a solvent storage tank (not shown) by a supply pipe.
The solvent is dripped into the edge rinse area of.

Next, a description will be given of a peripheral exposure apparatus 5 for performing full-area exposure and partial exposure on the wafer 10 with reference to FIG. In the drawing, reference numeral 51 denotes a mounting portion on which the wafer 10 is mounted in a substantially horizontal state with the device forming surface facing upward, and an upper side of the mounting portion 51 is opposed to the wafer 10. An exposure unit 6 is provided. The exposure unit 6 is provided between the light source 61, the light source 61 and the wafer 10, and is provided on an opposite side of the exposure region forming unit 62 of the light source 61 and an exposure region forming unit 62 which is a means for forming an exposure region. A mirror 63 for reflecting light emitted from the light source 61, and a light source 61 provided between the light source 61 and the exposure area forming unit 62.
And a lens 64 for collecting light emitted from the light source 61 toward the exposure region forming portion 62 and light emitted from the light source 61 and reflected by the mirror 63.

The exposure area forming section 62 is configured to form, for example, a square exposure area by arranging several hundred optical fibers, for example, quartz fibers. The shapes of the mirror 63 and the lens 64, and the positional relationship among the mirror 63 and the lens 64, the light source 61, and the exposure area forming section 62 are such that the light emitted from the light source 61 is received by the exposure area forming section 62 without leakage. It has been decided respectively.

The mounting section 51 moves the wafer 10 by θ rotation (rotation about a vertical axis) with respect to the exposure area of the exposure section 6 and in the plane direction in the X direction by, for example, moving means 52 provided on the lower side. It is configured to be possible. Further, in the figure, 53 is a recipe selection unit, 54 is a recipe storage unit, and 55 is a control unit. The recipe storage unit 54 stores a plurality of peripheral exposure recipes. A recipe stored in the recipe storage unit 54 is selected according to the state, and based on the recipe, the control unit 55
The operation of the exposure unit 6 and the movement unit 52 is controlled.

Next, the method of the present invention performed by the above-described apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. First, the flow of wafers in this apparatus will be described. A wafer cassette C containing a wafer 10 is loaded into the loading / unloading stage 11 from outside, and the wafer 10 is taken out of the cassette C by a wafer transfer arm 12. Heating / cooling unit U3
Is transferred to a wafer transfer arm MA via a transfer table which is one of the shelves. Next, after the hydrophobic treatment is performed in the processing unit of one shelf in the unit U3, light is applied to the surface (device forming surface) of the substrate, for example, the wafer 10 by the coating unit 2 as shown in FIG. Is applied, a resist solution 70 that becomes soluble in a developing solution is applied.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, the wafer 10 coated with the resist solution 70 is directly applied to the coating unit 2.
Performs an edge rinse process. That is, the wafer 10 is sucked and held by the mounting portion 20 of the coating unit 2, and
While rotating 0, a solvent for dissolving the resist 70 is supplied from the solvent nozzle 40 to the edge rinse area on the surface of the wafer 10. In this way, the solvent spreads over the entire edge rinse area, and the resist 7
0 is dissolved in the solvent and removed. The edge rinsing is performed in order to prevent the resist 70 in the region from being peeled off in the subsequent heating / cooling process, thereby preventing the generation of particles.

Thereafter, the wafer 10 subjected to edge rinsing is
After being heated by the heating unit, as shown in FIG. 6C, the exposure apparatus 1 is exposed through the interface unit 1B.
Then, the device area of the wafer 10 is exposed to light from a light source 72 using a pattern mask 71 corresponding to a predetermined pattern.

Subsequently, the exposed wafer 10 is sent to the peripheral exposure device 5 of the interface unit 1B, where the wafer 10 is exposed in a peripheral area outside the device area of the wafer 10 as shown in FIG. Exposure is performed on the entire circumference exposure area which is an area inside the edge rinse area. In this step, first, as shown in FIG.
0 in the plane direction with respect to the exposure unit 6 to
Exposure (full-circumferential exposure) of the entire-circumferential exposure area 81 formed inside the edge rinse area along the 0 arc is performed. Here, in FIG. 7A, the illustration of the edge rinse area is omitted.

At this time, the width W2 of the peripheral region is set to be larger than the edge rinse width W1.
An area of (W2-W1) width along the 0 arc corresponds to the entire circumference exposure area 81. For example, a recipe is created using this width as a parameter. In other words, this step is performed for the purpose of removing the resist 70 in the peripheral area other than the area where the resist 70 has been removed by edge rinsing. The size of the exposure area is determined so that the entire circumference exposure area 81 is exposed by moving the exposure area a number of times. At this time, the exposure may be performed by protruding into the edge rinse area.

Next, as shown in FIG.
0 is moved in the plane direction with respect to the exposure unit 6 in the θ direction and moved in the X direction, and partial exposures formed at, for example, three positions so as to protrude into a part of the inner area of the entire circumference exposure area 81. Area 8
Exposure 2 (partial exposure) is performed. This partial exposure area 8
2 means that the transfer means such as a mechanical
This area is touched when holding 0, but the position and size of this area 82 vary depending on the size of the wafer 10, the shape of the mechanical arm, and the like, and may be formed by protruding into a part of the device area. is there.

As an example, when the size of the wafer 10 is 8 inches, for example, when the central portion of the orientation flat 83 of the wafer 10 is set to 0 ° as shown in FIG. , 180 °, and 270 °, and its size is such that the width W3 from the outer edge of the wafer 10 is 3
mm and the length L1 are 12 mm.

As described above, the partial exposure is performed by moving the wafer 10 with respect to the exposure unit 6 by, for example, θ rotation and moving in the plane direction in the X direction, and for example, three parameters of an exposure position, a start angle, and an exposure angle. The recipe is determined by the data. Here, the θ rotation means that the exposure area of the exposure unit 6 is rotated in the circumferential direction around the center of the wafer 10. The method of determining the recipe will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 9 shows a reference position, for example, the orientation flat 83 of the wafer 10.
At the center of 0 °. 82 in the figure
Is a partial exposure area, width W4 indicates the width of the area 82 from the outer edge of the wafer 10 (exposure width), length L2 indicates the circumferential length of the area 82 (exposure length), and 84 indicates 2 shows an exposure area of the exposure unit 6.

First, regarding the exposure position, the exposure position corresponds to the exposure width W4, and the exposure angle and the start angle are determined by the following equations (1) and (2). Exposure angle θ1 = 360 ° × (exposure length L1−exposure area width W5) / wafer peripheral length (1) Start angle θ2 = designated exposure angle−exposure angle θ1 / 2 (2) The width W5 means that the exposure area 84 is
This is the length of the exposure region 84 in the wafer circumferential direction when the image is rotated θ around the center of 0. The designated exposure angle θ3 is an angle between the reference position and the center of the partial exposure area 82. For example, in the above-described example, the partial exposure area 82 is 90 °,
Since the center of the partial exposure area is set at 180 ° and 270 °, the designated angle is 90 °.
゜, 180 ゜, 270 ゜.

Here, the actual 90 inches of the 8-inch wafer 10
The parameters of the partial exposure area 82 at the position ゜ are determined.
At this time, the exposure position W4 is 3 mm since it corresponds to the width W3 in FIG. 7B. The exposure length L2 is the length L of FIG.
Therefore, the exposure area width W5 is, for example, 5 mm.
mm, and the wafer outer peripheral length is, for example, 628 mm. Therefore, the exposure angle θ1 is approximately 4 ° according to the equation (1), and the start angle θ2
Is 88 ° according to the equation (2).

Similarly, parameters are determined for the 180 ° position and the 270 ° position. At the 180 ° position, the exposure position W4 is 3 mm, the exposure angle θ1 is about 4 °, and the start angle θ2 is 178 °. 270 °, the exposure position W4 is 3 mm, the exposure angle θ1 is about 4 °, and the start angle θ2 is 2
68 ゜.

Therefore, in the partial exposure, the control unit 55 controls the exposure unit 6 and the moving unit 5 based on an appropriate recipe selected by the recipe selection unit 53 from the recipe storage unit 54, for example.
2, the wafer 10 is first rotated by θ to the start angle θ2, whereby the end of the partial exposure area 82 on the orientation flat 83 side and the exposure area 84 of the exposure unit 6 are
(At this time, the other end of the exposure area 84 is located on the partial exposure area 82 side). And light source 6
The wafer 10 is further rotated by the exposure angle θ1 θ while emitting light, and the partial exposure area 82 is exposed. In this manner, at the end of the exposure, the end of the partial exposure area 82 farther from the orientation flat 83 and the other end of the exposure area 84 of the exposure unit 6 are aligned (at this time, one end of the exposure area 84). Is located on the partial exposure area side 82).
If there is an area that is not exposed by such partial exposure, exposure is performed by combining movement of the wafer 10 in the X direction and θ rotation.

Here, the entire circumference exposure and the partial exposure performed by the peripheral edge exposure apparatus will be briefly described. An appropriate recipe is selected from the recipe storage unit 54 by the recipe selection unit 53 according to the target full circumference exposure and the partial exposure. select. Then, after placing the wafer 10 on which the device region has been exposed on the placement unit 51, the control unit 55 controls the exposure unit 6 and the moving unit 52 according to the selected recipe, and causes the light source 61 to emit light. The wafer 10 is moved around the entire exposure area 8 by the moving means 52.
1 and the exposure area 84 are rotated by θ so that the entire circumference is exposed. Next, the wafer 10 is directly placed on the mounting portion 51.
Similarly, while the light source 61 emits light, the wafer 10 is moved by the moving means 52 in the θ rotation and the X direction so that the partial exposure area 82 and the exposure area 84 correspond to each other to perform the partial exposure. .

After that, the wafer 10 is heated by the heating unit and then cooled by the cooling unit. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 8A, the developing unit 13 supplies the developing solution 73 to the device forming surface of the wafer 10. Then, development is performed. In this step, the exposed portion of the resist 70 is dissolved by the developing solution 73 and a predetermined resist pattern is formed on the device region.
Is formed, and the resist 70 in the entire peripheral exposure area 81 and the partial exposure area 82 is removed.
4 are formed (see FIG. 8B). After a while, the wafer W
Is returned to the cassette C on the loading / unloading stage 11.

In such a method, when developing and removing the unnecessary resist in the peripheral region outside the device region of the wafer 10, first, the resist in the region near the outer edge of the wafer 10 is dissolved and removed with a solvent by edge rinsing. After that, the resist remaining in the peripheral region is exposed all around. For this reason, the area that needs to be exposed in full-circumferential exposure is smaller than in the case where edge rinsing is not performed, so that the processing time for full-circular exposure is shortened, and power consumption of the light source can be reduced.

Since the entire exposure area becomes smaller,
Even when the region is exposed with a smaller number of times, it is not necessary to make the size of the exposure region of the exposed portion so large. For this reason, an area where exposure overlaps can be reduced while suppressing an increase in the power of the light source, and as a result, the power of the light source can be reduced.

Further, at the time of partial exposure, as described above, the exposure angle θ1 and the start angle θ are calculated based on the equations (1) and (2).
Since 2 is calculated, the area where the exposure overlaps can be reduced, and the power of the light source can be further reduced. In other words, the exposure angle θ is originally calculated based on the formula of 360 ° × exposure length / wafer peripheral length. In this case, at the start of exposure, one end of the partial exposure region Since the central portion is located, and the central portion of the exposure region is located at the other end of the partial exposure region at the end of the exposure, the exposure is eventually overexposed by the exposure region. Therefore, in the present invention, the expression (1) is used to eliminate the extra exposed area, and the expression (2) is used to correct the position of the exposure area of the exposure unit. Therefore, unnecessary exposure is eliminated. The power of the light source can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, the exposure unit 6 and the wafer 10 may be configured to move relatively in the surface direction of the wafer 10. Instead of moving the wafer 10, the exposure unit 6 May be moved.
The moving means 52 is configured to be able to move the wafer 10 in the θ rotation and the X and Y directions with respect to the exposure area of the exposure unit 6, and to form the wafer 10 along the X or Y direction when performing the entire circumference exposure. In the region near the outer edge of the selected device region, the wafer 1 is positioned while the exposure region is positioned in the peripheral region of the wafer 10.
0 may be continuously moved in the X or Y direction to expose the area.

[0041]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in removing unnecessary resist in the peripheral region outside the circuit formation region of the substrate, first, the resist in the region near the outer edge of the substrate is removed with a solvent. Since the exposure is performed on the peripheral area and the area inside the area near the outer edge and is removed in the subsequent developing step, the processing time during the exposure can be reduced. According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the exposure angle and the start angle are calculated, the area where the exposure overlaps can be reduced, and the power of the light source can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating an example of a coating and developing apparatus in which a method of the present invention is performed.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a coating and developing apparatus in which the method of the present invention is performed.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an example of a coating and developing apparatus in which the method of the present invention is performed.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view and a perspective view showing a coating unit used in carrying out the method of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a peripheral exposure apparatus used in carrying out the method of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a process chart showing a part of one embodiment of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view for explaining a peripheral exposure step of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a process chart showing a part of one embodiment of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining partial exposure in the peripheral exposure step.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Semiconductor wafer 2 Coating unit 40 Solvent nozzle 5 Peripheral exposure apparatus 51 Placement part 52 Moving means 6 Exposure part 61 Light source 70 Resist 71 Pattern mask 73 Developing liquid 81 Full exposure area 82 Partial exposure area W1 Edge rinse width W2 Peripheral area Width θ1 Exposure angle θ2 Start angle θ3 Specified angle

Claims (2)

[Claims] A step of applying a resist, which becomes soluble in a developing solution when exposed to light, to a substrate; and forming a resist along a peripheral edge of the substrate in a peripheral region outside a circuit formation region. Removing the resist in the region near the outer edge by using a solvent, and then exposing the substrate using a predetermined pattern mask, and then moving the exposed portion relative to the substrate in the surface direction. A step of exposing the peripheral area of the substrate inside the outer edge vicinity area by the exposure unit over the entire circumference, and thereafter moving the exposure unit relative to the substrate in the surface direction, Exposing a part of the area inside the peripheral area exposed in the step by the exposing section; and supplying a developing solution to the substrate surface after this step, thereby developing the substrate surface and Areas and surrounding areas Down method of forming - resist pattern to the the step of dissolving a part of the resist of the inner region, characterized in that it comprises a. 2. A substrate on which a resist pattern is formed has a circular shape, and the step of exposing a part of a region inside the peripheral region includes the step of: Exposure area width is the circumferential length of the substrate in the exposure area of the exposure area, the designated exposure angle is the angle between the reference position set on the substrate and the circumferential center of the area to be exposed, and Then, an exposure angle is obtained by 360 ° × (exposure length−exposure area width) / substrate outer peripheral length, a start angle is obtained by specified exposure angle−the exposure angle / 2, and the exposure area of the exposure part and the substrate are determined. 2. The method for forming a resist pattern according to claim 1, further comprising the step of performing exposure by rotating around a vertical axis relative to the reference position by an exposure angle from a start angle position.