Patent ID: 7871471

Claim:
A substrate processing apparatus inspection method to be adopted in a substrate processing apparatus comprising a processing chamber where a specific type of processing is executed on a substrate placed on a stage with the temperature thereof set at a low level equal to or lower than 0° C. in a vacuum atmosphere; a loadlock chamber connected to said processing chamber and a transfer chamber, connected to said loadlock chamber through which the substrate is transferred at a pressure of one atmosphere, when inspecting the state inside said processing chamber by measuring particles on a test-piece substrate having undergone a specific type of test processing inside said processing chamber, wherein: the test-piece substrate having been processed in said processing chamber is transferred back into said transfer chamber via said loadlock chamber after holding the test-piece substrate in said loadlock chamber over a predetermined length of time while delivering a dried inert gas into said loadlock chamber; and said predetermined length of time is set to a length of time at which an increase in the particles on the test-piece substrate can be kept within an acceptable range, wherein said test processing is executed by using a processing gas containing at least a fluorocarbon gas and N 2 gas, a treatment process is executed immediately after said test processing by using a processing gas containing a fluorocarbon gas with no N 2 gas content, and a pressure inside said processing chamber and a high-frequency power applied to a lower electrode during said treatment process are set to levels at which the substrate is not etched.