Patent ID: 7846257

Claim:
A method for cleaning a substrate processing apparatus that includes a processing chamber where a specific type of processing is executed on a processing target substrate, to be adopted when cleaning the inside of said processing chamber after transferring the processing target substrate out of said processing chamber, comprising: a first processing step in which the inside of said processing chamber is cleaned without forming plasma by executing voltage application control to control voltage application to an electrostatic holding means for electrostatically holding the processing target substrate onto a stage, based upon a first application voltage stored in a setting information storage means, with said processing chamber sustaining a first pressure environment at a lower pressure level as a specific gas is supplied into said processing chamber via a gas supply system and said processing chamber is evacuated by an evacuation system; and a second processing step in which, with a second pressure environment assuming a second pressure higher than said first pressure created inside said processing chamber, the inside of said processing chamber is cleaned without forming plasma by executing voltage application control to control voltage application to said electrostatic holding means based upon a second application voltage stored in said setting information storage means while the specific gas is supplied into said processing chamber via said gas supply system and said processing chamber is evacuated by the evacuation system, wherein: when an abnormal discharge is expected to occur inside said processing chamber while said first processing step is in progress based on the first application voltage having value higher than a first discharge start voltage determined in correspondence to the first pressure based upon a discharge start voltage curve, a voltage lower than the discharge start voltage is set as said first application voltage, and when an abnormal discharge is expected to occur inside said processing chamber while said second processing step is in progress based on the second application voltage having a value higher than a second discharge start voltage determined in correspondence to the second pressure based upon the discharge start voltage curve, a voltage lower than the second discharge start voltage is set as said second application voltage.