Patent ID: 9252009
Filing Date: 2016-02-02
CPC Classification: H01L

Claim Text:
1. A liquid processing apparatus comprising: a substrate holding unit configured to horizontally hold a substrate; a rotation driving unit configured to rotate the substrate holding unit about a vertical axis; a processing liquid supply unit configured to supply a processing liquid to the substrate while the substrate is being rotated; a rotating cup including an upper wall portion configured to cover an outer area of a peripheral edge of the substrate and a side wall portion configured to extend downward; and an upper guide ring and a lower guide ring provided between the upper wall portion of the rotating cup and the substrate holding unit, and each configured to be rotated together with the substrate holding unit, to surround the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, to be arranged vertically to overlap with each other with a gap therebetween, and to guide the processing liquid scattered from the substrate, wherein the rotating cup is surrounded by a cylindrical circumference wall and configured to be rotated together with the substrate holding unit, and to receive and downwardly guide the processing liquid guided by the upper guide ring and the lower guide ring while surrounding the upper guide ring and the lower guide ring such that the processing liquid flows through a gap between the upper wall portion of the rotating cup and the upper guide ring and the gap between the upper guide ring and the lower guide ring, and then flows downward to an external cup, the upper guide ring and the lower guide ring are arranged in a vertical direction such that the gap between the upper guide ring and the lower guide ring is positioned at a center of a height position of the substrate in a thickness direction and becomes narrower as approaching an outer circumferential side while an outer circumference of each of the upper guide is crescent shaped such that each of a bottom surface of the upper guide ring and a top surface of the lower guide ring is obliquely slanted downward, and each of a height position of a top surface and a bottom surface of the upper guide ring and a height position of a top surface and a bottom surface of the lower guide ring is lower at the outer circumferential side than an inner side.