Cup and liquid processing apparatus

Abstract

To suppress the bounce of the processing liquid splashed from the substrate onto the substrate on the inner surface of the cup.SOLUTION: A cup surrounding a substrate for liquid processing of the substrate is configured to have a first groove extending longitudinally on the inner surface of the cup, and a plurality of second grooves, each end of which is provided to be connected to the first groove and each of which has a cross-sectional area smaller than that of the first groove when viewed in the elongation direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a cup, a liquid processing apparatus, and a liquid processing method.

Background Art

[0002] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, liquid processing is performed on semiconductor wafers (hereinafter referred to as wafers). This liquid processing includes a process of supplying a processing liquid to the wafers stored in a cup. Patent Document 1 shows that the inner peripheral surface of the cup is subjected to roughening treatment and a hydrophilic film is formed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] An object of the present disclosure is to suppress the rebound of the processing liquid scattered from the substrate to the substrate on the inner peripheral surface of the cup when liquid processing the substrate surrounded by the cup.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The cup of the present disclosure is a cup that surrounds the substrate for liquid processing of the substrate, a first groove provided to extend in the vertical direction on the inner peripheral surface of the cup, and a plurality of second grooves each having one end connected to the first groove and each having a cross-sectional area smaller than that of the first groove when viewed in the extending direction, and includes.

Effects of the Invention

[0006] When treating a substrate surrounded by a cup, the present disclosure can suppress the rebound of the processing liquid scattered from the substrate onto the substrate on the inner peripheral surface of the cup.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] An overview of a developing apparatus 1, which is an example of a liquid processing apparatus, will be described. The developing apparatus 1 includes a cup 3 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the developing apparatus 1, a developing process of supplying a developing solution to a wafer W, which is a substrate, to resolve a resist pattern on the surface of the wafer W and a cleaning process following the developing process are performed. In the cleaning process, a cleaning solution, such as pure water, is supplied to the surface of the rotating wafer W, and the developing solution is removed.

[0009] The above-described developing process and cleaning process are performed with the wafer W surrounded by the cup 3, preventing the scattering of each liquid to each part of the apparatus, and the used liquids flow from the cup 3 to the drain path and are removed. Then, droplets of the cleaning solution scattered from the wafer W due to the rotation of the wafer W during the cleaning process collide with the inner peripheral surface of the cup 3. A pattern formed of grooves is formed on the inner peripheral surface. A liquid film is formed from the above-described droplets by the pattern, and subsequently, the droplets colliding with the inner peripheral surface are captured by the liquid film. The pattern is configured to be able to discharge the cleaning solution constituting the liquid film downward of the cup so that an appropriate amount of the cleaning solution maintains the liquid film during the cleaning process.

[0010] Hereinafter, the developing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the longitudinal side view of FIG. 1 and the plan view of FIG. 2. The developing apparatus 1 includes a spin chuck 11 as a mounting portion for mounting the wafer W. The spin chuck 11 adsorbs the central portion of the back surface of the wafer W and holds the wafer W horizontally. The spin chuck 11 is connected to a rotation mechanism 13 via a shaft portion 12 extending vertically, and rotates around a vertical axis while holding the wafer W. Due to the rotation of the spin chuck 11, the wafer W rotates around the center.

[0011] The above-described cup 3 will be described. The cup 3 is located in the outer region of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 11 in a plan view, and includes a body portion 31, an inclined wall 32, a bottom portion 33, an inner peripheral wall 35, an annular portion 36, and a descending wall 38. These respective portions are configured as annular or cylindrical members whose central axes coincide with each other in a plan view. Note that this central axis coincides with the rotation axis of the spin chuck 11 in a plan view.

[0012] The body portion 31 is provided outside the wafer W placed on the spin chuck 11 in a plan view, and is configured as a vertically standing cylindrical body. The inner peripheral surface of this body portion 31 is denoted as 31A. This inner peripheral surface 31A is the third height region of the inner peripheral surface of the cup 3, and the above-described grooves and the unevenness 53 formed by sandblasting described later are not formed, and it is configured as a smooth surface. The upper end side of the body portion 31 is configured as an inclined wall 32 by inclining so as to extend obliquely upward toward the central axis of the body portion 31. The lower end and the upper end of the inclined wall 32 are located below and above the wafer W held by the spin chuck 11, respectively. Therefore, the inclined wall 32, together with the body portion 31, constitutes the side wall and the inner peripheral surface of the cup 3. The above-described groove pattern is formed on this inclined wall 32, which will be described in detail later.

[0013] The lower end of the body portion 31 extends horizontally toward the central axis of the body portion 31 to form an annular bottom portion 33. On the upper surface of this bottom portion 33, a vertical partition wall 34 is provided so as to partition the upper portion of the bottom portion 33 into an outer peripheral edge region 33A on the peripheral side and an inner peripheral edge region 33B closer to the central axis of the body portion 31. The partition wall 34 is configured in a cylindrical shape along the circumference of the bottom portion 33. A drain port 30 is opened in the region facing the outer peripheral edge region 33A in the bottom portion 33, and the developing solution and the cleaning solution that have flowed down from the wafer W into the cup 3 flow from this drain port 30 into the drain path and are removed. Also, an exhaust port 39 for exhausting the inside of the cup 3 is opened in the region facing the inner peripheral edge region 33B in the bottom portion 33.

[0014] The inner peripheral edge of the bottom portion 33 projects vertically upward to form an inner peripheral wall 35. Also, an annular portion 36 is provided so as to surround the shaft portion 12, and the upper end of the inner peripheral wall 35 is in contact with the lower surface of the central portion in the width direction of the annular portion 36. The peripheral side of the annular portion 36 is provided with a guide portion 37 that is mountain-shaped in a longitudinal sectional view and whose top is located below the peripheral portion of the wafer W. The peripheral end of this guide portion 37 extends vertically so as to be positioned below the upper end of the partition wall 34, thereby being configured as a cylindrical descending wall 38, and the descending wall 38 is located outside the partition wall 34.

[0015] Three vertical pins 14 are provided so as to penetrate a portion on the center side of the guide portion 37 in the annular portion 36. Each pin 14 moves up and down by a lifting mechanism 15, and transfers the wafer W between a transfer mechanism (not shown) and the spin chuck 11. Further, a filter mechanism 16 is provided above the cup 3 to supply air downward. The development process and the cleaning process described above are performed in a state where a downward air flow is formed on the wafer W by the supply of air from the filter mechanism 16 and the exhaust from the exhaust port 39 in the cup 3.

[0016] Then, the air flowing into the cup 3 passes through a flow path (referred to as an exhaust region 17) formed between the side surface of the wafer W and the inner peripheral surface of the inclined wall 32. Further, the air passes through a flow path (referred to as a narrow flow path 18) between the inner peripheral surface 31A of the body portion 31 and the outer peripheral surface of the descending wall 38, flows from the inner peripheral edge region 33B to the exhaust port 39, and is removed. Therefore, the narrow flow path 18 is a flow path located below and downstream with respect to the exhaust region 17. The width A2 of the narrow flow path 18 is smaller than the width A1 of the exhaust region 17. Since the cup 3 is configured as described above, the exhaust region 17 and the narrow flow path 18 are annular, and the widths A1 and A2 are the radial lengths in the annular shape.

[0017] The cup 3 is made of resin. The resin constituting the inner peripheral surface of the inclined wall 32 on which the pattern is formed is hydrophilized and has a carboxyl group. More specifically, for example, the resin before hydrophilization has a methyl group, and as shown by the following formula 1 for this methyl group, the hydrophilization treatment by fluorination and oxidation is performed to form a carboxyl group. Note that this hydrophilization treatment is performed both inside and outside each of the grooves 41 to 43, 51, and 52 described later. Formula 1: -CH3 + O2 + F2 → -COF + H2O → -COOH

[0018] The developer used in the developing apparatus 1 is a strong base. Therefore, when the developer adheres to the inner peripheral surface of the inclined wall 32, the reaction of the following formula 2 occurs, and protons are desorbed from the carboxyl group to become carboxylate anions. The developer adheres to the inner peripheral surface by splashing from the wafer W when supplied to the wafer W, or by scattering from the wafer W by the centrifugal force of the rotation of the wafer W during the cleaning process. Since the cleaning liquid (pure water) is a weak base, the generated carboxylate anions attract the cleaning liquid due to the action of the charges possessed by the carboxylate anions. Therefore, a liquid film is likely to be formed on the inner peripheral surface of the inclined wall 32 by the cleaning liquid. As shown in the following formula 3, the carboxylate anion returns to the carboxyl group by the donation of protons from the cleaning liquid. Therefore, when processing the wafers W sequentially conveyed to the developing apparatus 1, the reactions of formula 2 and formula 3 are repeated, and a state in which a liquid film is likely to be formed is achieved during the cleaning process of each wafer W. Formula 2: -COOH + OH - → -COO - Formula 3: -COO - + H2O → -COOH

[0019] The hydrophilic treatment shown in the above formula 1 is not performed, for example, on the inner peripheral surface 31A of the body portion 31 of the cup 3, and the inner peripheral surface of the body portion 31A has lower hydrophilicity (larger contact angle of the cleaning liquid) than the inner peripheral surface of the inclined wall 32. Thereby, after the liquid film is formed on the inclined wall 32, the cleaning liquid flowing down to the inner peripheral surface 31A of the body portion 31 of the cup 3 flows down quickly and is discharged. Therefore, in the narrow flow path 18 formed by this inner peripheral surface 31A, it is prevented that the cleaning liquid stays and is further narrowed, and it is prevented from affecting the processing of the wafer W.

[0020] In addition, EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) is mixed into the resin that constitutes the body portion 31 of the cup 3. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, metal particles M, which are impurities contained in the wafer W, are mixed into the developing solution or the cleaning solution supplied to the wafer W, and it is assumed that they flow down from the wafer W. When the waste liquid (developing solution or cleaning solution) containing the particles M flows down the inner peripheral surface 31A of the body portion 31, it forms a complex with EDTA and is fixed to the inner peripheral surface 31A as shown in FIG. 4. That is, the waste liquid is purified so that the free M is removed, and the inflow of the waste liquid containing the particles M into the drain port 30 is suppressed, thereby suppressing the metal contamination of the drain path. Therefore, it is also easy to recover the developing solution and the cleaning solution from the drain path and reuse them.

[0021] Instead of configuring the inner peripheral surface 31A that forms the side wall of the cup 3 as a metal collection surface in this way, a film for collecting metal may be provided on the inner peripheral surface 31A of the body portion 31, and the metal may be collected by the film. That is, in this case, the surface of the film is the metal collection surface, and this film can also be configured to contain, for example, EDTA.

[0022] By the way, in order to perform the above-described developing process and cleaning process, a developing solution supply nozzle 21 and a cleaning solution supply nozzle 22 are provided in the developing apparatus 1. The developing solution supply nozzle 21 is connected to a developing solution supply mechanism 23. The developing solution supply mechanism 23 includes a valve and a storage portion for the developing solution, and controls the supply and cutoff of the developing solution from the storage portion to the developing solution supply nozzle 21. That is, the supply of the developing solution from the developing solution supply nozzle 21 is controlled by the developing solution supply mechanism 23. The cleaning solution supply nozzle 22 is connected to a cleaning solution supply mechanism 24. The cleaning solution supply mechanism 24 includes a valve and a storage portion for the cleaning solution, and controls the supply and cutoff of the cleaning solution from the storage portion to the cleaning solution supply nozzle 22. That is, the supply of the cleaning solution from the cleaning solution supply nozzle 22 is controlled by the cleaning solution supply mechanism 24. In FIG. 2, 21A and 22A are the discharge ports of the developing solution supply nozzle 21 and the cleaning solution supply nozzle 22, respectively.

[0023] In addition, the developer supply nozzle 21 and the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 22 are respectively connected to the drive mechanisms 25 and 26, and are configured to be movable up and down and horizontally. By being configured in this way, the developer supply nozzle 21 and the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 22 can move between a standby area (not shown) for waiting for these nozzles outside the cup 3 and above the wafer W held on the spin chuck 11.

[0024] The developing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10 constituted by a computer, and a program stored in a storage medium such as a compact disk, a hard disk, a memory card, and a DVD is installed. Commands (each step) are incorporated into the program so that control signals are output from the control unit 10 to each part of the developing apparatus 1. By this control signal, the movement of each nozzle by the drive mechanisms 25 and 26, the rotation of the spin chuck 11 by the rotation mechanism 13, the supply and cutoff of the developer from the developer supply nozzle 21 by the developer supply mechanism 23, the supply and cutoff of the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 22 by the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 24, etc. are controlled. Thereby, the developing process and the cleaning process in the developing apparatus 1 are performed.

[0025] The operation of the developing apparatus 1 will be described. When the wafer W is conveyed onto the spin chuck 11 by the conveying mechanism, the wafer W is placed on the spin chuck 11 via the pins 14 and adsorbed and held. The developer supply nozzle 21 moves from the standby area outside the cup 3 onto the peripheral edge portion of the wafer W. While the wafer W rotates at a relatively low rotational speed, the developer supply nozzle 21 moves onto the central portion of the wafer W while discharging the developer onto the wafer W, and the entire surface of the wafer W is covered with the developer. The developer supply nozzle 21 returns to the standby area, and the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 22 is positioned from the standby area above the central portion of the wafer W.

[0026] The wafer W rotates at a relatively high rotational speed, and the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 22 to the central portion of the wafer W. The cleaning liquid spreads toward the peripheral edge of the wafer W due to centrifugal force, and flushes away and removes the developing solution from the surface of the wafer W. Then, this cleaning liquid is also shaken off from the wafer W by centrifugal force and removed. After the supply of the cleaning liquid stops, the cleaning supply nozzle 2, which is a processing liquid supply unit, returns to the standby area, and the rotation of the wafer W stops. Then, the wafer W is transferred from the spin chuck 11 to the transfer mechanism via the pin 14, and the wafer W is carried out of the developing apparatus 1. Such a series of operations are performed every time the wafer W is transferred to the developing apparatus 1.

[0027] Subsequently, with reference to FIG. 5, the configuration of the inner peripheral surface of the inclined wall 32 of the cup 3 will be further described. FIG. 5 shows the inner peripheral surface as viewed from inside the cup 3. More specifically, a part of the inner peripheral surface formed by the inclined wall 32 in the circumferential direction is cut off and represented as a plane after eliminating the curvature. For example, on the inner peripheral surface of the inclined wall 32, a pattern formed by the grooves as described above is formed to be rotationally symmetric. Therefore, for a plurality of parts of the inner peripheral surface, the pattern is formed in the same manner as shown in FIG. 5. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the inner peripheral surface of the inclined wall 32 will be described in a state where the curvature is changed and represented as a plane as shown in FIG. 5.

[0028] The height of the inner peripheral surface of the inclined wall 32 is divided into three along the horizontal plane, and from the bottom to the top, they are the lower side region R1, the intermediate region R2, and the upper end region R3. The groove patterns are different among these regions R1 to R3, and no such pattern is formed in the upper end region R3. The lower end of the intermediate region R2 is located above the surface of the wafer W placed on the spin chuck 11. Therefore, the lower side region R1 is formed from a position above the surface of the wafer W to a position below the wafer W. The lower side region R1 corresponds to the first height region, the intermediate region R2 corresponds to the second height region, and the upper end region R3 corresponds to the fourth height region, respectively.

[0029] The outline of the functions of each region R1 to R3 will be described. The lower region R1 is configured such that, as described above, a liquid film is formed from the droplets of the cleaning liquid, the droplets are collected by the liquid film, and the excess cleaning liquid is discharged downward. In addition to the cleaning liquid that directly scatters from the wafer W into the lower region R1, the cleaning liquid that scatters into the upper intermediate region R2 also reaches the lower region R1 and is discharged downward from the lower region R1.

[0030] A liquid film is also formed from the droplets in the intermediate region R2. In addition, the intermediate region R2 is configured such that it can efficiently collect fine droplets, i.e., mist, and form a liquid film. Since the mist tends to move upward above the wafer W, the intermediate region R2 is arranged at a position higher than the wafer W, i.e., at a height closer to the opening of the cup 3, as described above. Since the intermediate region R2 is thus located near the open end of the cup 3, it has a pattern shape that is less likely to disrupt the downward airflow formed on the wafer W. In the following description, relatively large droplets may sometimes be simply described as droplets, distinguished from the mist.

[0031] Regarding the upper end region R3, it is configured such that the collection effect of the cleaning liquid droplets and mist is lower than that of the lower region R1 and the intermediate region R2. This is because if droplets adhere or a liquid film is formed in the upper end region R3 including the upper end of the cup 3, the liquid may overcome the open end of the cup 3 due to the surface tension of the liquid and flow around to the outside of the cup 3 and flow down the outside. That is, the upper end region R3 is provided to prevent contamination of the outside of the cup 3 by the cleaning liquid.

[0032] From the above-described roles, the vertical length of the upper end region R3 may be relatively small. Therefore, between the intermediate region R2 and the upper end region R3, the vertical length of the intermediate region R2 is larger so that the area of the intermediate region R2 can be increased to obtain a high collection effect of the cleaning liquid. Also, as described above, for the intermediate region R2, a pattern is formed so as not to disturb the downward airflow, so that the liquid is more easily discharged downward in the lower side region R1 than in the intermediate region R2. In this example, between the lower side region R1 and the intermediate region R2, the lower side region R1 has a larger vertical length and a larger area. Therefore, it is configured to be able to efficiently discharge the liquid downward.

[0033] Hereinafter, the lower side region R1 will be described in detail. Three types of grooves are formed in the lower side region R1, and for convenience of explanation, they are described as the main groove 41, the sub groove 42, and the auxiliary groove 43. These three grooves may be collectively referred to as grooves 41 to 43. A large number of each of the grooves 41 to 43 are formed. The main groove 41 corresponds to the first groove, and the sub groove 42 corresponds to the second groove. In this example, the outer region of the grooves 41 to 43 in the lower side region R1 is a smooth surface, and the unevenness 53 formed in the intermediate region R2 described later is not formed.

[0034] The main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43 extend linearly in the vertical direction and are inclined in the left-right direction with respect to the horizontal plane. More specifically, the lower sides of the respective grooves 41 and 43 are inclined so as to face leftward. These main groove 41 and auxiliary groove 43 are formed in parallel with each other, and in the circumferential direction of the inclined wall 32, the main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43 are arranged so as to alternate. In FIG. 5, the left and right inclination angles formed by the extension directions of the grooves 41 and 43 with respect to the horizontal plane (represented by a chain line) are shown as θ1, and this angle θ1 is, for example, 50° to 70°.

[0035] Auxiliary grooves 42 are formed so as to branch off from the left and right sides of each main groove 41. Therefore, one end of each of the plurality of auxiliary grooves 42 is provided so as to sandwich the main groove 41 from the left and right and is connected to the main groove 41. More specifically, a large number of auxiliary grooves 42 are connected from the left side of the main groove 41 at intervals in the extending direction of the main groove 41, and a large number of auxiliary grooves 42 are connected from the right side of the main groove 41 at intervals in the extending direction of the main groove 41. When looking at the main groove 41 along the extending direction, one end of the left-side auxiliary groove 42 and one end of the right-side auxiliary groove 42 are alternately and repeatedly connected at intervals in the extending direction. Therefore, the connection positions of the left-side auxiliary grooves 42 and the connection positions of the right-side auxiliary grooves 42 are different from each other in the extending direction.

[0036] Each auxiliary groove 42 is formed, for example, in a linear shape. In the main groove 41, the auxiliary grooves 42 provided on the left side in the extending direction are parallel to each other, and the auxiliary grooves 42 provided on the right side in the extending direction are parallel to each other. Also, assuming that the upper side in the extending direction of the main groove 41 is the tip side, when looking at the main groove 41 in the extending direction, the other end side of the auxiliary groove 42 extends toward the tip side in the extending direction with respect to one end side of the auxiliary groove 42. And the other end of the auxiliary groove 42 is connected to the auxiliary groove 43 from the side.

[0037] By connecting the auxiliary grooves 42 as described above, it can be seen that, similar to the main groove 41, the auxiliary grooves 42 also branch off from the left and right sides of the auxiliary groove 43. Also, when looking at the auxiliary groove 43 in the extending direction, the other ends of the auxiliary grooves 42 connected from the left side and the other ends of the auxiliary grooves 42 connected from the right side are alternately and repeatedly positioned at intervals in the extending direction. Note that the connection positions of the left-side auxiliary grooves 42 and the connection positions of the right-side auxiliary grooves 42 are different from each other in the extending direction of the auxiliary groove 43. The auxiliary groove 42 has a role of storing droplets inside and forming a liquid film. Therefore, with respect to the main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43, the dispersibility in the lower region R1 of the auxiliary groove 42 is enhanced by arranging a large number of auxiliary grooves 42 on the left and right respectively, and by forming the auxiliary grooves 42 so as to extend from different positions on the left and right in the extending direction. That is, the formation of the liquid film is prevented from staying at a local position.

[0038] With the grooves 41 to 43 arranged as described above, when comparing the main groove 41 and the sub-groove 42 in an arbitrary unit area of each part in the circumferential direction of the lower side region R1, the sub-groove 42 has a higher number density. And when taking one set consisting of the main groove 41 and the sub-grooves 42 sandwiching the main groove 41 from the left and right, this set forms a tree-shaped groove with the main groove 41 as the trunk and the sub-grooves 42 as the branches. And as such a set of tree-shaped grooves, a plurality of them are provided in the circumferential direction of the lower side region R1 and are connected to each other via the auxiliary grooves 43.

[0039] The grooves 41 to 43 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 as well. FIG. 6 shows a cross-section intersecting the extending direction of the main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43 and along the extending direction of the sub-groove 42, and FIG. 7 shows a cross-section intersecting the extending direction of the sub-groove 42. If the width of the main groove 41 is L1, the width of the sub-groove 42 is L2, and the width of the auxiliary groove 43 is L3, then L1>L2 = L3. And if the depth of the main groove 41 is H1 and the depth of the auxiliary groove 43 is H3, then H1>H3. Regarding the sub-groove 42, the depth of one end connected to the main groove 41 is the same as the depth H1 of the main groove 41, and the depth of the other end connected to the auxiliary groove 43 is the same as the depth H2 of the auxiliary groove 43, and its size increases from the other end side toward the one end side.

[0040] Due to the widths and depths of the grooves 41 to 43 as described above, when comparing the cross-sectional areas of the cross-sections viewed in the extending direction of each of the grooves 41 to 43, the cross-sectional area of the main groove 41 is larger than the cross-sectional areas of the sub-groove 42 and the auxiliary groove 43. Although the state of the lower side region R1 during the cleaning process will be described in detail later, the liquid film is mainly formed by the sub-grooves 42, and the main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43 are for discharging the liquid, and this discharge is mainly performed by the main groove 41. Regarding the sub-groove 42, it is formed so as to have the above-described relationship of number density with respect to the main groove 41 so that it can surely play the role of forming the liquid film.

[0041] Next, the intermediate region R2 will be described. In the intermediate region R2, a main groove 51 and an auxiliary groove 52 are formed. These main groove 51 and auxiliary groove 52 are the third grooves, and the main groove 51 is also the fourth groove. Note that the main groove 51 and the auxiliary groove 52 may be collectively referred to as grooves 51, 52. Similar to the main groove 41 in the lower side region R1, the main groove 51 is a groove that is inclined in the left-right direction with respect to the horizontal plane and extends linearly in the vertical direction when viewed from inside the cup 3, and its lower side is formed to face leftward. In FIG. 5, the left and right inclination angles formed by the extension direction of the groove 51 with respect to the horizontal plane are shown as θ2, and this angle θ2 is smaller than the angle θ1 formed by the main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43 described above, for example, 10° to 30°.

[0042] A number of main grooves 51 are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction of the intermediate region R2 and are parallel to each other. Also, the lower ends of each main groove 51 are connected to the upper end of either the main groove 41 or the auxiliary groove 43. Therefore, if viewed from a different perspective, the upper ends of each of the main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43 extend into the intermediate region R2, forming the main groove 51.

[0043] Looking at the main groove 51 connected to the main groove 41 among the multiple main grooves 51, one end of the auxiliary groove 52 is connected from the left and right with respect to the extension direction of the main groove 51. Therefore, the auxiliary groove 52 is formed so as to branch off from the left and right in the extension direction of the main groove 51. And the other end of each auxiliary groove 52 is connected to the main groove 51 connected to the auxiliary groove 43 from the side.

[0044] More specifically, when looking at the extending direction of the main groove 51 connected to the main groove 41, a large number of sub-grooves 52 are connected at intervals in the extending direction from the left side of the main groove 51, and a large number of sub-grooves 52 are connected at intervals in the extending direction from the right side of the main groove 51. And when looking in the extending direction, one end of the left sub-groove 52 and one end of the right sub-groove 52 are alternately and repeatedly connected at intervals in the extending direction. Therefore, in the extending direction of the main groove 51, the connection positions of the left sub-groove 52 and the connection positions of the right sub-groove 52 are different from each other. This sub-groove 52 is used for forming a liquid film in the same way as the sub-groove 42 in the lower side region R1. However, when a large number of them are provided on each of the left and right sides of the main groove 51 in this way and extend from different positions on the left and right sides of the main groove 51, they are widely dispersed and arranged in the intermediate region R2, and the formation of the liquid film is prevented from staying at a local position.

[0045] In the above-mentioned main groove 51, each sub-groove 52 provided on the left side in the extending direction is formed linearly in parallel with each other, and each sub-groove 52 provided on the right side in the extending direction is formed linearly in parallel with each other. Assuming that the upper side is the tip side in the extending direction of the main groove 51 connected to the main groove 41, when looking in the extending direction of this main groove 51, the other end side of the sub-groove 52 extends toward the tip side in the extending direction with respect to one end side of the sub-groove 52.

[0046] With the arrangement of the main groove 51 and the sub-groove 52 as described above, if the main groove 51 connected to the main groove 41 and the sub-groove 52 sandwiching the main groove 51 from the left and right are regarded as a set, this set forms a tree-shaped groove with the main groove 51 as the trunk and the sub-groove 52 as the branches, and it extends from the main groove 41. And as such a set of tree-shaped grooves, a plurality of them are provided in the circumferential direction of the lower side region R1 and are connected to each other through the main groove 51 connected to the auxiliary groove 43.

[0047] The main groove 51 and the sub-groove 52 will be further described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIGS. 8 and 9 respectively show cross-sections intersecting the extending directions of the main groove 51 and the sub-groove 52. The width L4 of the main groove 51 and the width L5 of the sub-groove 52 are the same as the respective widths L2 and L3 of the sub-groove 42 and the auxiliary groove 43 in the lower side region R1, for example, and thus are smaller than the width L1 of the main groove 41 in the lower side region R1. The height H4 of the main groove 51 and the height H5 of the sub-groove 52 are the same as the height H3 of the auxiliary groove 43, for example, and thus are smaller than the height of the main groove 41. Therefore, the cross-sectional areas of the main groove 51 and the sub-groove 52 are smaller than the cross-sectional area of the main groove 41. Although unevenness 53 is formed on the outer sides of the grooves 51 and 52 as will be described later, the depths H4 and H5 of the grooves 51 and 52 are the depths based on the convex portions of the unevenness 53 (that is, the distance between the top of the convex portion and the bottom surface of the groove).

[0048] Not providing the main groove 41 in the intermediate region R2 and configuring both the main groove 51 and the sub-groove 52 to have relatively small cross-sectional areas as described above is to prevent the disturbance of the downward airflow toward the wafer W. That is, if a groove with a large width or a large depth is provided in the intermediate region R2 near the opening of the cup 3, a large amount of the downward airflow will flow into the groove and be guided by the groove and flow away, for example, forming a swirling flow. However, this prevents the disturbance of the airflow and thus prevents the processing of the wafer W from becoming defective.

[0049] By the way, the outer regions of the main groove 51 and the sub-groove 52 in the intermediate region R2 have been processed by sandblasting, thereby forming fine unevenness 53. The width of the concave portion constituting the unevenness 53 (the interval between the tops of the convex portions) is smaller than the widths L1 to L5 of the respective grooves described above. That is, the unevenness in the intermediate region R2 is finer than the unevenness formed by the grooves 41 to 43 in the lower side region R1. The unevenness 53 in this intermediate region R2 has the role of efficiently collecting mist. Since the mist is minute as described above, it can enter the concave portion constituting the unevenness 53, is caught by colliding with the convex portion constituting the unevenness 53, and easily accumulates in the concave portion to form a liquid film. Mist scattered later toward the concave portion adheres to and is collected by the liquid film, preventing it from adhering to the wafer W.

[0050] Next, the upper end region R3 will be described. The upper end region R3 including the upper end of the cup 3 is formed of a smooth surface. Therefore, the grooves 41 to 43, 51, 52 and the unevenness 53 described in the description of the regions R1 and R2 are not formed. Therefore, the main groove 51 and the sub-groove 52 have a shape that is interrupted on the way to the upper end of the cup 3. Since it is such a smooth surface, droplets and mist hardly adhere to the upper end region R3, and as described above, the intrusion of the cleaning liquid due to the surface tension of the cleaning liquid hardly occurs.

[0051] Hereinafter, the states of the lower region R1 and the intermediate region R2 when the wafer W is cleaned by the developing device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 shows the flow of the cleaning liquid in the lower region R1 by dotted arrows. FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a cross section taken along the line A-A' in FIG. 10, showing the state of the sub-grooves 42 arranged vertically. In each of the figures shown so far, it has been shown that the widths of the grooves 41 to 43 and 51 and 52 in the depth direction are constant, but in FIG. 11, the sub-groove 42 is shown as having a shape in which the width is narrowed toward the deep part. The grooves 41 to 43, 51, and 52 may or may not be narrowed in this way.

[0052] When the cleaning liquid is supplied to the wafer W and the shaking off due to rotation is started, the droplets D of the cleaning liquid scattered toward the lower region R1 enter the sub-groove 42 (FIG. 11(a)). As the shaking off of the cleaning liquid continues, more droplets D enter the sub-groove 42 and a liquid film D1 is formed (FIG. 11(b)). Subsequently, the droplets D scattered toward the sub-groove 42 collide with this liquid film D1 and are attracted to the liquid film D1 by the surface tension of the cleaning liquid and integrated with the liquid film D1. That is, it is caught by the liquid film D1 without bouncing back toward the wafer W (FIG. 11(c)).

[0053] In addition, droplets D that have scattered into the region between the sub-grooves 42 collide with this region, causing it to expand, and a part of them comes into contact with and merges with the liquid film D1 in the sub-groove 42. That is, a liquid film D1 is also formed in the region between the sub-grooves 42, and the region where the liquid film D1 is formed is not limited to within the sub-groove 42. Fig. 11(c) shows a state in which the liquid film D1 is formed across the inside and between the sub-grooves 42. The widely formed liquid film D1 captures the droplets D that subsequently scatter into the lower region R1.

[0054] Note that although the liquid film D1 is formed inside and around the sub-groove 42 in this way, since droplets scatter from the wafer W in the circumferential direction, droplets D scatter throughout the circumferential direction of the lower region R1. That is, droplets D also scatter into the main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43, and the formation range of the liquid film D1 extends across these main groove 41 and auxiliary groove 43, and droplets D are captured in each region where the liquid film D1 is formed. Therefore, although the main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43 have been described as grooves for discharging liquid, they are also used for forming the liquid film D1.

[0055] Regarding the cleaning liquid that forms the liquid film D1 in the main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43, since these main groove 41 and auxiliary groove 43 are formed in the vertical direction, it flows downward along these main groove 41 and auxiliary groove 43 due to gravity. Also, regarding the cleaning liquid that forms the liquid film D1 in each sub-groove 42, it flows as shown in Fig. 10 so as to gather in the main groove 41 due to the action of gravity and other factors. To explain the above other factors, as described above, the sub-groove 42 is connected to the main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43, but since the opening area with respect to the main groove 41 is larger than the opening area with respect to the auxiliary groove 43, it is easier to flow into the main groove 41 than into the auxiliary groove 43. Also, due to the difference in the cross-sectional area of the grooves, a larger liquid flow is formed in the main groove 41 than in the auxiliary groove 43, and the surface tension from this liquid flow strongly acts on the liquid film D1 in the sub-groove 42. Therefore, as the liquid in the sub-groove 42, it is easier to flow toward the main groove 41 than toward the auxiliary groove 43. The cleaning liquid that has flowed downward in the main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43 flows through the narrow flow path 18 formed by the body portion 31 and the descending wall 38 from its lower end and flows into the drain port 30.

[0056] Since the main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43 are connected to the main groove 51 in the intermediate region R2, the cleaning liquid that scatters into the intermediate region R2 and flows in this main groove 51 also flows into these main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43 as will be described later, and is discharged downward along these main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43. In this way, while the cleaning liquid scatters from the wafer W and the liquid film D1 takes it in, the discharge of the cleaning liquid constituting the liquid film D1 continues, so that the formation of the liquid film D1 is maintained by an appropriate amount of cleaning liquid in the lower side region R1.

[0057] The state of the intermediate region R2 when the liquid film D1 is formed in the lower side region R1 will be described as follows. Liquid droplets D of the cleaning liquid shaken off from the wafer W also scatter into this intermediate region R2. FIG. 12 shows a plan view of the wafer W at the time of shaking off. As described above, the angle of the main groove 51 formed in the intermediate region R2 with respect to the horizontal plane is relatively small. As shown in FIG. 12 in plan view, each liquid droplet D scatters from the peripheral edge of the rotating wafer W in the tangential direction of the wafer W, but as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 13, the direction in which the liquid droplet D scatters and the extending direction of the main groove 51 are generally the same.

[0058] Therefore, for the liquid droplets D scattered toward the main groove 51, the probability of colliding with the corner forming the opening edge of the main groove 51 and bouncing back to the wafer W can be kept low, and as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 14, it is easy to enter the main groove 51. In this way, the main groove 51 is formed so as to have an extending direction in which the liquid droplets D can easily enter, so that the liquid droplets D gather in the main groove 51 and the liquid film D1 is formed.

[0059] In addition, droplets D also scatter toward the auxiliary groove 52, and a liquid film D1 is formed inside thereof. Then, the droplets D scattered into the main groove 51 and the auxiliary groove 52 where the liquid film D1 is formed in this way are caught by the liquid film D1, integrated with the liquid film D1, and scattering onto the wafer W is prevented. Further, the droplets D scattered outside the main groove 51 and outside the auxiliary groove 52 collide with the area, expand the area, and a part of them comes into contact with and integrates with the liquid film D1 in the main groove 51 or the liquid film D1 in the auxiliary groove 52. That is, the liquid film D1 is also formed in the outer region of the groove, and the region where the liquid film D1 is formed is not limited to inside the main groove 51 and the auxiliary groove 52.

[0060] The cleaning liquid constituting the liquid film D1 in the main groove 51 flows downward into the lower main groove 41 and is discharged by the action of gravity. Further, the cleaning liquid constituting the liquid film D1 in the auxiliary groove 52 flows into the main groove 51 by being drawn by the liquid flow in the main groove 51 due to the action of gravity or the surface tension of the cleaning liquid, and is discharged toward the main groove 41. While the liquid constituting such a liquid film D1 is being discharged, new droplets D are collected, whereby the liquid films in the main groove 51 and the auxiliary groove 52 are maintained.

[0061] In addition, mist generated from the cleaning liquid supplied to the wafer W floats on the wafer W. As described above, this mist is captured by the unevenness 53 to form a liquid film. Then, the mist subsequently supplied to the unevenness 53 is caught by the liquid film.

[0062] As described above, while the collection of droplets D by the liquid film D1 in the lower region R1 and the collection of droplets D and mist by the liquid film D1 in the intermediate region D2 are being performed, the cleaning process proceeds. Then, the supply of the cleaning liquid to the wafer W is stopped, and the scattering of the cleaning liquid from the wafer W is stopped. While the supply of droplets D to the lower region R1 and the supply of droplets D and mist to the intermediate region D2 are no longer performed, the discharge of the cleaning liquid through each groove continues. FIG. 11(d) shows a state in which the cleaning liquid is being discharged from the auxiliary groove 42.

[0063] Note that the cleaning liquid that formed the liquid film D1 outside each of the grooves 41 to 43 and 51, 52 also enters the grooves due to gravity and is discharged from the grooves. When the cleaning process ends in this way, the liquid film D1 disappears from inside and outside each groove due to the discharge of the cleaning liquid. Each time the wafer W is processed, the state described above is repeated. Therefore, for the sub-groove 42, the states shown in FIGS. 11(a) to (d) are repeated.

[0064] Incidentally, during the above cleaning process, it has been described that the liquid film D1 is continuously formed in the sub-groove 42, the main groove 51, and the sub-groove 52. However, depending on the amount of the cleaning liquid scattered from the wafer W and the discharge amount of the cleaning liquid from the main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43, the liquid film D1 is formed intermittently. Even in such an intermittent formation of the liquid film D1, the liquid film D1 can obtain a cleaning liquid collection effect.

[0065] Incidentally, when forming a liquid film on the inner peripheral surface of the cup 3 to collect the cleaning liquid, for example, a configuration may be considered in which a mesh-like member is provided on the inner peripheral surface, or recesses having relatively large openings are dispersedly formed on the inner peripheral surface. However, when such a configuration is adopted, it is considered that a relatively large amount of the cleaning liquid will be retained in those meshes and recesses for a long time. Such a cleaning liquid may deteriorate and may adhere to the wafer W during the processing of the wafer W newly introduced into the developing apparatus 1, thereby affecting the processing.

[0066] However, as described above, a set including the sub-groove 42 and the main groove 41 that extends in the vertical direction and has a larger cross-sectional area than the sub-groove 42 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the cup 3. The liquid film D1 is formed, and the cleaning liquid that formed the liquid film D1 is discharged downward from the main groove 41. Therefore, for the cup 3, it is possible to prevent the deteriorated cleaning liquid from being supplied to the wafer W, collect the liquid droplets D of the cleaning liquid scattered from the wafer W by forming a liquid film on the inner peripheral surface, suppress the rebound of the liquid droplets D on the inner peripheral surface, and prevent the liquid droplets D from adhering to the peripheral edge of the wafer W. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the yield of the semiconductor product manufactured from the wafer W.

[0067] And a plurality of sets of the main groove 41 and the sub-grooves 42 are provided circumferentially in the lower side region R1 of the cup 3. Therefore, the collection effect of the droplets D can be obtained over a wide range of the inner peripheral surface of the cup 3. That is, the rebound of the droplet D on the inner peripheral surface of the cup 3 can be more reliably suppressed, and the adhesion to the wafer W can be prevented. Further, the sub-grooves 42 branch off from different upper and lower positions on the left and right sides of the main groove 41, respectively. By providing a large number of the sub-grooves 42 in such a layout, the collection effect of the droplets D can be obtained over a wide range in the circumferential direction and the vertical direction of the inner peripheral surface of the cup 3.

[0068] When viewed facing the inner peripheral surface of the cup 3, the main groove 41 is inclined to the left and right with respect to the horizontal plane. Therefore, the flow-down of the cleaning liquid in the main groove 41 becomes relatively gentle. As described above, due to the action of the surface tension of the cleaning liquid, the cleaning liquid in the sub-groove 42 flows into the main groove 41. Therefore, the suppression of the flow-down of the cleaning liquid in the main groove 41 also means the suppression of the discharge of the cleaning liquid in the sub-groove 42 into the main groove 41. Accordingly, due to the inclination of the main groove 41 described above, the formation of the liquid film D1 during the cleaning process in the main groove 41 and the sub-groove 42 takes a long time, and a high collection effect for the droplets D can be obtained. Note that the auxiliary groove 43, which has a role of discharging the cleaning liquid downward together with the main groove 41, is also inclined in the same manner as the main groove 41. Therefore, the flow-down of the cleaning liquid from the auxiliary groove 43 is also suppressed, and in each of the grooves 41 to 43, the liquid film D1 is more reliably maintained for a relatively long time.

[0069] Also, in the cup 3, the intermediate region R2 is configured to have finer irregularities than the lower side region R1, thereby preventing the disturbance of the downward airflow described above and enabling the collection of the droplets and mist of the cleaning liquid. In the above-described example, by not forming the main groove 41 in the intermediate region R2, the intermediate region R2 has a configuration with finer irregularities.

[0070] Incidentally, the fact that the unevenness in the intermediate region R2 is finer than that in the lower region R1 will be described in more detail. Making the unevenness in the intermediate region R2 finer in this way means that the configuration of the lower region R1 will not affect the downward airflow more than when it is arranged in the intermediate region R2, and the main groove 41 may be provided in the intermediate region R2. That is, in the above example, although the main groove 41 extends into the intermediate region R2 as the main groove 51 with changed thickness and depth, it may extend into the intermediate region R2 as the main groove 41 without changing the thickness and depth respectively. Then, let the ratio of the opening area of the auxiliary groove 42 to the opening area of the main groove 41 per unit area of this intermediate region R2 be the first ratio, and let the ratio of the opening areas of the main groove 51 and the auxiliary groove 52 to the opening area of the main groove 41 per unit area of the intermediate region R2 be the second ratio. Assuming that there is no groove with a larger opening area than the main groove 41 when viewed in the extending direction and that the first ratio < the second ratio, it is considered that the unevenness in the intermediate region R2 is finer. Specifically, for example, when only a few of the aforementioned main grooves 41 extend into the intermediate region R2, the first ratio < the second ratio in this way. In addition, for the purpose of defining as described above, even when the main groove 41 is not provided in the above-described intermediate region R2, it corresponds to the first ratio < the second ratio.

[0071] Incidentally, assuming that the main groove 51 and the auxiliary groove 52 are not formed in the intermediate region R2 and only sandblasting treatment is performed. Even when unevenness 53 is formed in such a way that the interval between the convex portions becomes smaller than the opening widths of the main groove 41, the auxiliary groove 42, and the auxiliary groove 43, the fact that the unevenness in the intermediate region R2 is finer than that in the lower region R1 is included.

[0072] As described above, the unevenness in the intermediate region R2 is finer than that in the lower region R1. The unevenness includes cases where it is constituted by grooves and cases where it is constituted by unevenness other than grooves. However, the unevenness other than grooves here refers to unevenness intentionally formed by the above-mentioned sandblasting, plasma treatment, etching, etc., and does not include unevenness unavoidably formed in the manufacturing process of the cup 3. Specifically, the unevenness other than grooves formed by sandblasting or the like is, for example, unevenness with a surface roughness Ra of 0.5 μm or more.

[0073] By the way, regarding the inner peripheral surface 31A that forms the narrow flow path 18, in the above example, the main groove 51 and the sub-groove 52 are not provided at all, so that the holding performance of the cleaning liquid in the narrow flow path 18 is kept low as described above, and it is prevented that the cleaning liquid accumulates. However, the main groove 51 and the sub-groove 52 may also be formed on this inner peripheral surface 31A. For example, the main groove 41 in the lower region R1 described above can extend across this inner peripheral surface 31A, and the sub-groove 42 can be formed so as to branch from the main groove 51 also on the inner peripheral surface 31A in the same manner as in the lower region R1. However, in order to prevent the accumulation of the above-mentioned cleaning liquid, the ratio of the opening area of the sub-groove 42 per unit area formed on the inner peripheral surface 31A is made smaller than the ratio of the opening area of the sub-groove 42 per unit area in the lower region R1, so that the holding performance does not become excessive. Specifically, for example, the sub-groove 42 is provided so that the interval between the sub-grooves 42 along the extending direction of the main groove 41 is larger on the inner peripheral surface 31A than in the lower region R1, and the number of sub-grooves 42 on the inner peripheral surface 31A is smaller than in the lower region R1, so that the relationship of the above-mentioned opening area ratio can be obtained. In addition, in order to prevent the cleaning liquid, which is pure water, from accumulating in the narrow flow path 18 in this way, the inner peripheral surface 31A may be constituted by a member having higher water repellency than each of the lower region R1, the intermediate region R2, and the upper end region R3.

[0074] Incidentally, regarding the upper end region R3, as described above, in order to reduce the holding performance of the cleaning liquid, which is pure water, compared to the intermediate region R2 (i.e., to increase the water repellency), the main groove 51, the sub-groove 52, and the unevenness 53 are not provided, and it has a smooth surface. However, by providing the main groove 51 and the sub-groove 52 slightly or providing the unevenness 53, the holding performance of the cleaning liquid may be slightly higher than that of the smooth surface. When providing the main groove 51 and the sub-groove 52, in order to reduce the holding performance of the cleaning liquid compared to the intermediate region R2, for example, regarding the ratio of the opening area of the sub-groove 52 per unit area, the upper end region R3 may be made smaller than the intermediate region R2. When providing the unevenness 53 in the upper end region R3, for example, by making the surface roughness formed by the unevenness 53 in the upper end region R3 larger than the surface roughness formed by the unevenness 53 in the intermediate region R2 (so that the convex portions are relatively separated), the adhesion of the mist can be reduced and the holding performance can be lowered.

[0075] The pattern of the lower side region R1 described above is a modification of the groove pattern formed on the shell of a snail. FIG. 15 shows an example in which a pattern similar to the groove pattern of the snail shell is formed over the entire inner peripheral surface of the inclined wall 32. That is, the pattern shown in this FIG. 15 is formed over the regions R1 to R3 described above. Note that this FIG. 15, like FIG. 5, represents a planar view with the curvature of the inner peripheral surface of the curved inclined wall 32 canceled. The sub-groove 42 shown in FIG. 5 is linear, but the sub-groove 42 may be curved as shown in this FIG. 15.

[0076] In addition, the shape of each of the grooves described above can be changed as appropriate. For example, the main grooves 41, 51, and the auxiliary groove 43 extending in the vertical direction are linear in the above-described examples, but they may be curved. Also, for example, in the above example, the configuration is such that sets of grooves shaped like a tree are connected to each other, but they may be separated from each other. Specifically, for example, a configuration may be adopted in which different sets of sub-grooves 42 are not connected to each other without providing the auxiliary groove 43. Also, the sub-groove 42 may extend in a branched manner while extending from the main groove.

[0077] Incidentally, as the developing device 1, it has been described that the cleaning liquid is supplied to the wafer W and the cup 3 collects this cleaning liquid to form a liquid film. However, for example, prior to the splashing of the cleaning liquid, the splashing of the developing liquid may be performed, and a liquid film may be formed on the cup 3 with the developing liquid, and the operation may be to suppress the bouncing of the droplets of the developing liquid onto the cup. That is, the processing liquid for forming the liquid film may be the developing liquid.

[0078] Further, as for the liquid processing apparatus, a coating liquid for forming a coating film may be supplied to the central portion of the rotating wafer W as the processing liquid, and film formation may be performed on the wafer W by spin coating. This coating liquid contains a solvent and a solidifying component other than the solvent, and examples thereof include resist, a chemical solution for forming an antireflection film, or a chemical solution for forming an insulating film. At the time of spin coating, when the surplus coating liquid is splashed from the wafer W, the coating liquid scatters toward the inner peripheral surface of the cup 3, and a liquid film is formed in the same manner as when the cleaning liquid is used, and the droplets of the coating liquid are collected. Then, this coating liquid is supplied into each groove to form a liquid film.

[0079] Incidentally, similar to the case where a liquid film is formed with the cleaning liquid, during the processing of the wafer W, the coating liquid constituting the above liquid film is discharged from each groove. However, it is assumed that a little coating liquid remains in each groove. However, during the processing of this wafer W, the coating liquid remaining in the groove is prevented from solidifying by the coating liquid that continues to scatter from the wafer W and is supplied to each groove. Similarly, after the processing of the wafer W is completed, even if the coating liquid remains in each groove, the coating liquid is prevented from solidifying by the processing liquid supplied to the groove when the subsequent wafer W is processed. That is, it is possible to prevent the solidified coating liquid from adhering to the wafer W as particles.

[0080] Incidentally, it has been described that when the wafer W rotates, the processing liquid scatters from the wafer W and a liquid film is formed on the cup 3. However, it is conceivable that the processing liquid scatters from the wafer W to the cup 3 due to the impact when the processing liquid is discharged from the nozzle onto the wafer W, and a liquid film is formed. Therefore, in the substrate processing apparatus, the wafer W may not be configured to rotate. In such a case, as described above, the main groove 51 in the intermediate region R2 of the cup 3 may not be provided for the purpose of efficiently collecting the processing liquid from the rotating wafer W. Specifically, for example, in the above example, the same groove pattern as that of the lower region R1 may be formed for the part described as the intermediate region R2. That is, the main groove 41 and the auxiliary groove 43 may extend from the lower region R1 to the intermediate region R2, and the auxiliary groove 43 may branch from the main groove 41 and extend in the intermediate region R2 as well.

[0081] The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The above embodiments may be omitted, substituted, changed, and combined in various forms without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0082] W Wafer 3 Cup 41 Main groove 42 Sub groove R1 Lower region

Claims

1. A cup that surrounds a rotatable substrate for liquid processing of the substrate and has an opening at an upper portion, The cup has an inner circumferential surface including a first height region and a second height region located above the first height region and closer to the opening, The first height region and the second height region each have a plurality of grooves provided therein in a circumferential direction, A cup in which the groove in the first height region and the groove in the second height region are connected to each other at their ends and extend in different directions.

2. One of the grooves and another of the grooves in the first height region are connected to each other by a first sub-groove, 2. The cup of claim 1, wherein one said groove and another said groove in said second height region are connected to each other by a second minor groove.

3. the first minor groove has a smaller cross-sectional area than the groove in the first height region; 3. The cup of claim 2, wherein said second minor groove has a smaller cross-sectional area than said groove in said second elevation region.

4. The cup of claim 1 , wherein the first height region ranges from above a surface of the substrate to below the substrate.

5. 5. The cup of claim 1, wherein the groove in the second height region has a smaller cross-sectional area than the groove in the first height region.

6. The cup further has an upper end region including an upper end on an inner circumferential surface thereof, 5. The cup of claim 1, wherein the top end region does not have a groove connecting with the groove in the second height region.

7. A liquid processing apparatus including a rotatable cup surrounding a substrate for performing liquid processing on the substrate, The cup has an inner circumferential surface including a first height region and a second height region located above the first height region and closer to the opening, The first height region and the second height region each have a plurality of grooves provided therein in a circumferential direction, The liquid treatment device, wherein the groove in the first height region and the groove in the second height region are connected to each other at their ends and extend in different directions.

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