Patent ID: 8083963

Claim:
A method of processing a substrate in a process chamber comprising a substrate support having a receiving surface, the method comprising: (a) placing the substrate on the receiving surface of the substrate support in the process chamber; (b) exposing a front surface of the substrate to an energized process gas to process the front surface of the substrate; and (c) cleaning a peripheral edge of a backside surface of the substrate by: (1) raising the substrate above the receiving surface of the substrate support by a distance d which is selected in relation to a pressure of the energized cleaning gas in the process chamber; (2) introducing a cleaning gas into the process chamber, the cleaning gas comprising H 2 and H 2 O and optionally any one or more of NH 3 , N 2 , CO and CO 2 ; and (3) while maintaining the substrate in the raised position, energizing the cleaning gas with RF energy to expose the backside surface of the substrate to an energized cleaning gas to clean the backside surface.