Patent ID: 9721803
Date: 2017-08-01
CPC Classifications: H01J,H01L

Claim:
1. A method of etching a substrate to be processed, the method comprising: supplying an etchant gas including Cl after supplying the etchant gas, evacuating the inside of the processing container where the substrate is accommodated; after evacuating the processing container, supplying a noble gas into the processing container where the substrate is accommodated; and after supplying the noble gas, generating heat by exciting plasma of the noble gas within the processing container where the substrate is accommodated after the etchant gas is chemically adsorbed on the surface of the substrate by supplying microwaves through a dielectric window into the processing container to activate the noble gas without (i) supplying an RF bias power to a stage supporting the substrate within the processing container and (ii) changing a temperature of the substrate, wherein atoms of the substrate that form bonds with atoms or molecules of the etchant gas are separated from a surface of the substrate by the heat generated from the activating of the noble gas without cutting the bonds formed between the atoms of the substrate and the atoms or molecules of the etchant gas.