Patent ID: 8206605

Claim:
A substrate processing method for processing a substrate having a single-crystal silicon substrate base, a first oxide film formed by a thermal oxidation treatment and containing no H 2 O molecules, and a second oxide film containing an impurity, a part of the single-crystal silicon substrate base being exposed through the first and second oxide films in a chamber, comprising: a plasma etching step of etching the exposed single-crystal silicon substrate base using a plasma of a halogen-based gas; a H 2 O molecules removing step of removing H 2 O molecules from the chamber without supplying additional H 2 O molecules when an HF gas is supplied to the chamber; an HF gas supply step of supplying the HF gas toward the substrate without supplying additional H 2 O molecules so as to combine the HF gas and H 2 O molecules contained in the second oxide film and a deposit film which has been formed on the substrate in said plasma etching step to change the second oxide film and the deposit film into a residual matter; and a cleaning gas supply step of supplying a cleaning gas containing at least NH 3 gas toward the substrate on which both the first oxide film and the residual matter exist contemporaneously, wherein the first oxide film containing no H 2 O molecules does not combine with the HF gas so that the first oxide film is not changed into a residual matter in said HF gas supply step.