Patent ID: 7712475

Claim:
A cleaning apparatus comprising: a substrate holding unit that holds a circular substrate in a horizontal attitude; an airtight container that accommodates the substrate such that a gap is formed between the airtight container and a front surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit and a gap is formed between the airtight container and at least a peripheral portion of a back surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, wherein hydrophilic regions having been subjected to a hydrophilizing treatment and hydrophobic regions having been subjected to a hydrophobizing treatment are formed in an inner surface of the airtight container, and wherein the hydrophilic regions and the hydrophobic regions are formed along concentric circles having their common center located on a center axis of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, and are arranged alternately with respect to a radial direction of the substrate; a first cleaning liquid supply path, opening into an interior of the airtight container to face a center portion of the front surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, that supplies a cleaning liquid toward the center portion of the front surface of the substrate; a dry gas supply path through which a dry gas is supplied to the substrate held by the substrate holding unit after the substrate is supplied with the cleaning liquid; and a fluid discharge path, opening into the interior of the airtight container along a circle having its center located on an center axis of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, that discharges the cleaning liquid from the airtight container, whereby the cleaning liquid supplied through the first cleaning liquid supply path into the airtight container flows and spreads from the center portion of the substrate to the peripheral portion of the substrate and exits through the fluid discharge path while such that the gaps between the airtight container and the surfaces of the substrate filled up with the cleaning liquid.