Patent ID: 8465596

Claim:
A supercritical processing method, comprising the steps of: loading a substrate formed with a pattern into a processing chamber where the substrate is processed by a processing liquid and by a supercritical liquid including a fluorine compound; removing an ingredient facilitating a pyrolysis of the fluorine compound of the supercritical liquid both from the processing chamber and from the supercritical liquid; supplying the supercritical liquid including the fluorine compound from which the ingredient facilitating the pyrolysis of the fluorine is removed to the processing chamber where the substrate is received; sealing the processing chamber and performing a supercritical processing for the substrate with a supercritical condition obtained by heating the supercritical liquid including the fluorine compound from which the ingredient facilitating the pyrolysis of the fluorine is removed; and discharging the supercritical liquid from the processing chamber after completing the supercritical processing, wherein the removing of the ingredient from the processing chamber is performed in a closed state of the processing chamber prior to the loading of the substrate into the processing chamber and the removing of the ingredient from the supercritical liquid is performed prior to the supplying of the supercritical liquid to the processing chamber, and wherein the fluorine compound is hydrofluoro ether or hydrofluoro carbon.