Patent ID: 8479753

Claim:
A liquid processing apparatus comprising: a substrate holding member configured to rotate along with a substrate held thereon in a horizontal state; an annular rotary cup configured to surround the substrate held on the substrate holding member and to rotate along with the substrate; a rotation mechanism configured to integrally rotate the rotary cup and the substrate holding member; a liquid supply mechanism configured to supply a process liquid onto the substrate; and a drain cup having an annular shape corresponding to the rotary cup and configured to receive the process liquid discharged from the rotary cup, the drain cup being provided with a drain port to discharge the process liquid thus received, wherein the rotary cup includes an outer wall portion disposed inside a peripheral wall of the drain cup to surround the substrate and equipped with a circular flow generation element integrally formed therewith, the circular flow generation element being the lowermost element of the rotary cup that extends downward from the rotary cup into the drain cup, the outer wall portion and the circular flow generation element forming a cylindrical shape inside the peripheral wall of the drain cup, such that the outer wall portion and the circular flow generation element are arranged to rotate along with the rotary cup and the substrate holding member, relative to the drain cup, and to receive the process liquid thrown off from the substrate by an inner surface of the outer wall portion and guide the process liquid by an inner surface of the circular flow generation element toward a bottom portion of the drain cup, while generating a circular flow by the circular flow generation element within the drain cup, which leads the process liquid on the bottom within the drain cup to the drain port.