The present invention provides a tetracarboxylic acid diester compound shown by the following general formula (1),

##STR00001##

wherein X.sub.1 represents a tetravalent organic group; and R.sub.1 represents a group shown by the following general formula (2),

##STR00002##

wherein the dotted line represents a bond; Y.sub.1 represents an organic group with a valency of k+1; “k” represents 1 or 2; and “n” represents 0 or 1. There can be provided a tetracarboxylic acid diester compound that can give a polyimide precursor polymer soluble in a safe organic solvent widely used as a solvent of a composition and usable as a base resin of a photosensitive resin composition.

A monomer having an onium salt structure represented by formula (1) gives a polymer which is fully compatible with resist components. A resist composition comprising the polymer has advantages including reduced acid diffusion, high sensitivity, high resolution, a good balance of lithography properties, and less defects, and is quite effective for precise micropatterning.

##STR00001##

A pattern is formed by (i) applying a chemically amplified positive resist composition comprising (A) a base resin, (B) a photoacid generator, (C) an organic solvent, and (D) a polyvinyl alcohol or polyvinyl alkyl ether onto a substrate to form a resist film thereon, (ii) exposing the resist film to radiation, and (iii) dry etching the resist film with an oxygen-containing gas for development. Using the chemically amplified positive resist composition, a positive pattern is formed via dry development without a need for silylation.

There are provided a liquid processing method, a liquid processing apparatus and a recording medium for liquid processing which can enhance the uniformity of the coating state of a processing liquid on a substrate. A coating unit includes a rotary holder for rotating a wafer, a nozzle for supplying a processing liquid onto a surface of the wafer, and a controller for controlling the position of the nozzle with respect to the wafer. A liquid processing method includes: starting the supply of the processing liquid to the surface of the wafer at an eccentric position at a distance from the center of rotation of the wafer, and moving the position on the wafer to which the processing liquid is supplied toward the center of rotation of the wafer while rotating the wafer at a first rotational speed; and, after the processing liquid supply position has reached the center of rotation of the wafer, rotating the wafer at a second rotational speed which is higher than the first rotational speed, thereby allowing the processing liquid to spread toward the periphery of the wafer.

Disclosed are a method and an apparatus for applying a liquid onto a substrate. The method for treating a substrate, the method includes: a liquid supplying step of supplying a treatment liquid for forming a liquid film on the substrate while rotating the substrate; and a liquid diffusing step of diffusing the treatment liquid discharged to the substrate by rotating the substrate, after the liquid supplying step. The liquid diffusing step includes: a primary diffusion step of rotating the substrate at a first diffusion speed; and a secondary diffusion step of rotating the substrate at a second diffusion speed, after the primary diffusion step. The second diffusion speed is higher than the first diffusion speed. Accordingly, the treatment liquid can be applied to the substrate again by performing the secondary diffusion step, making it possible to adjust the thickness of a photosensitive film.

A resist composition including a compound represented by formula (b1) in which R.sup.b1 represents an aryl group which may have a substituent; R.sup.b2 and R.sup.b3 each independently represents an aryl group which may have a substituent or an alkyl group which may have a substituent; provided that at least one of the aryl group represented by R.sup.b1 and the aryl group or the alkyl group represented by R.sup.b2 or R.sup.b3 has a substituent containing a halogen atom, and at least one of the aryl group represented by R.sup.b1 and the aryl group or the alkyl group represented by R.sup.b2 or R.sup.b3 has a substituent containing a sulfonyl group; and X.sup.− represents a counteranion ##STR00001##

Defects of substrates are inspected when executing a job in which a treatment recipe for substrates and the substrates being treatment objects are designated to perform predetermined treatments on the substrates. An imaging step successively images substrates. A first determination step decomposes, in order from the substrate as head of the job, a planar distribution of pixel values in a substrate image captured at the imaging step into pixel value distribution components using a Zernike polynomial, calculates Zernike coefficients of the pixel value distribution components corresponding to defects to be detected, and determines presence or absence of a defect based on the calculated Zernike coefficients. A second determination step determines, from predetermined timing after one or more substrates is determined to have no defect at the first determination step, presence or absence of a defect based on the substrate image determined to have no defect at the first determination step.

There is provided a new coating liquid for resist pattern coating. A coating liquid for resist pattern coating comprising a component A that is a polymer including at least one hydroxy group or carboxy group; a component B that is a sulfonic acid of A-SO.sub.3H (where A is a linear or branched alkyl group or fluorinated alkyl group having a carbon atom number of 1 to 16, an aromatic group having at least one of the alkyl group or the fluorinated alkyl group as a substituent, or a C.sub.4-16 alicyclic group optionally having a substituent); and a component C that is an organic solvent capable of dissolving the polymer and including ether or ketone compound of R.sup.1—O—R.sup.2 and/or R.sup.1—C(═O)—R.sup.2 (where R.sup.1 is a linear, branched, or cyclic alkyl group or fluorinated alkyl group having a carbon atom number of 3 to 16; and R.sup.2 is a linear, branched, or cyclic alkyl group or fluorinated alkyl group having a carbon atom number of 1 to 16), a method of forming a resist pattern using the coating liquid, and a method for forming a reverse pattern using the coating liquid.

Provided is a photosensitive resin composition that contains (A) a photobase generator and (B) an alkali-soluble epoxy compound, wherein the photobase generator (A) contains a compound represented by formula (2-1) and the alkali-soluble in epoxy compound (B) is an epoxy compound obtained by reacting (c) a polybasic acid anhydride with a product of a reaction between (a) an epoxy compound having two or more epoxy groups in the molecule and (b) a compound having one or more by hydroxyl groups and one carboxyl group in the molecule.

##STR00001##

A method includes transferring a wafer into a first processing chamber by using a robot arm mechanism, and applying a photoresist on the wafer in a first processing chamber. The wafer is transferred from the first processing chamber into a second processing chamber by using the robot arm mechanism, and the photoresist is exposed to a pattern of light in the second processing chamber. The method includes transferring the wafer from the second processing chamber into a third processing chamber by using the robot arm mechanism, and developing the exposed wafer in the third processing chamber. The method includes cleaning the robot arm mechanism in a dummy chamber.