SUBSTRATE CLEANING METHOD, SUBSTRATE CLEANING APPARATUS AND VACUUM PROCESSING SYSTEM

摘要

In order to remove a deposit adhered to the backside of the peripheral portion of a wafer, a cleaning gas containing carbon dioxide gas is set to a pressure that is slightly lower than the pressure corresponding to a vapor pressure line of carbon dioxide at a temperature in the nozzle, and a gas cluster of carbon dioxide is generated. A gas cluster of carbon dioxide generated under such a condition is in a state immediately prior to undergoing a phase change to a liquid and therefore is a gas cluster having a large cluster diameter and having molecules that are firmly solidified.

主权项

1. A substrate cleaning method for removing a deposit adhered to a backside or a peripheral portion of a substrate, the substrate cleaning method comprising:
supporting a substrate by a support; adjusting and maintaining a pressure inside a nozzle unit to be higher than a pressure in the processing chamber; and ejecting a cleaning gas containing a carbon dioxide gas to the backside or the peripheral portion of the substrate from the nozzle unit as an aggregate of atoms or molecules of carbon dioxide gas through adiabatic expansion, so that the deposit is removed from the backside or the peripheral portion of the substrate; and wherein the pressure inside the nozzle unit is set to be slightly lower than a pressure on a vapor pressure line of carbon dioxide at a temperature of the cleaning gas in the nozzle unit, so that the gas cluster is generated in a solidified state.