Patent ID: 8105958

Claim:
A semiconductor device manufacturing method for processing substrates one by one, each substrate having a laminated structure formed thereon, which includes a poly-silicon layer and a metal layer containing a refractory metal as a main component, the method comprising: supplying a process gas consisting essentially of Ar gas, H 2 gas, and O 2 gas into a process chamber that accommodates the substrate; supplying microwaves into the process chamber from a plurality of slots formed in a planar antenna disposed on the process chamber to generate plasma of the process gas by the microwaves inside the process chamber; and subjecting the laminated structure to a plasma oxidation process of oxidizing the poly-silicon layer preferentially to the metal layer by the plasma to form an oxide film on the poly-silicon layer, wherein the process gas has a flow rate ratio of the H 2 gas relative to the O 2 gas set at a value of 8 to 12 and the process chamber has a process temperature of 400 to 600° C. set therein during the plasma oxidation process, not only to prevent the metal layer from being oxidized but also to prevent metal contamination from occurring inside the process chamber and to prevent inter-substrate process uniformity from deteriorating.