In equipment that executes a drying process of forming a liquid membrane on a top surface of a substrate W which is held horizontally and gradually enlarging a dry area from which the liquid membrane has been removed, quality of the drying process is determined. Specifically, first, the top surface of the substrate is repeatedly imaged by an imaging unit during execution of the drying process. Then, it is determined whether the dry area is in a normal state based on a plurality of captured images acquired by the imaging. Accordingly, it is possible to quantitatively determine whether a dry area is in a normal state based on a plurality of captured images.

A cleaning apparatus of a substrate processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment includes a nozzle and a scanner. The nozzle ejects a gas toward in an inner wall surface of a processing chamber in which a substrate is processed. The scanner causes the nozzle to scan along the inner wall surface of the processing chamber in the processing chamber.

According to various embodiments, a method for processing a semiconductor region, wherein the semiconductor region comprises at least one precipitate, may include: forming a precipitate removal layer over the semiconductor region, wherein the precipitate removal layer may define an absorption temperature at which a chemical solubility of a constituent of the at least one precipitate is greater in the precipitate removal layer than in the semiconductor region; and heating the at least one precipitate above the absorption temperature.

Methods for forming an epilayer on a surface of a substrate are generally provided. For example, a substrate can be positioned within a hot wall CVD chamber (e.g., onto a susceptor within the CVD chamber). At least two source gases can then be introduced into the hot wall CVD chamber such that, upon decomposition, fluorine atoms, carbon atoms, and silicon atoms are present within the CVD chamber. The epilayer comprising SiC can then be grown on the surface of the substrate in the presence of the fluorine atoms.

A substrate processing system to remove residual halogen species from a substrate includes a processing chamber and a substrate support arranged in the processing chamber to support a substrate. The substrate includes residual halogen species. A heater heats the substrate to a temperature in a predetermined temperature range from 100 C. to 700 C. during a processing period. A chamber pressure controller controls pressure inside the processing chamber in a predetermined pressure range greater than 10 Torr and less than 800 Torr during the processing period. A vapor generator supplies water vapor at least one of in the processing chamber or to the processing chamber during the processing period.

A maximum height, that corresponds to a width of a pattern formed on a front surface of a substrate to be processed, is searched among a plurality of maximum heights each being a maximum value of a height of a pattern having a particular width when pattern collapse does not occur. Thereafter, it is determined that whether or not a height of the pattern is greater than the maximum height. In a case where the height of the pattern is greater than the maximum height, a hydrophobizing agent is supplied to the substrate such that a hydrophobized region is formed on a whole tip-side region in a lateral surface of the pattern, and a non-hydrophobized region remains on at least a portion of a root-side region in the lateral surface of the pattern. Thereafter the substrate is dried.

A substrate processing method according to the present disclosure includes: a liquid processing process of supplying a processing liquid to a substrate having a surface on which a pattern having a plurality of convex portions is formed; a drying process of removing the processing liquid existing on the surface of the substrate dry the substrate, and a separating process of separating a sticking portion between adjacent ones of the convex portions after the drying process.

A substrate processing device includes: a substrate holding member which horizontally holds a substrate; a first supply unit which has a first opening opposed to a lower surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding member and supplies fluid from the first opening toward the lower surface of the substrate; an opposing part having an upper surface opposed to the lower surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding member; and a second supply unit which supplies rinsing liquid from a second opening to a concave surface which is recessed on a central side in the upper surface of the opposing part. A height of the first opening is higher than a height of a liquid surface, of the rinsing liquid supplied to the concave surface, when the rinsing liquid overflows the opposing part. Therefore, the opposing part can be highly accurately cleaned.

Methods for forming an epilayer on a surface of a substrate are generally provided. For example, a substrate can be positioned within a hot wall CVD chamber (e.g., onto a susceptor within the CVD chamber). At least two source gases can then be introduced into the hot wall CVD chamber such that, upon decomposition, fluorine atoms, carbon atoms, and silicon atoms are present within the CVD chamber. The epilayer comprising SiC can then be grown on the surface of the substrate in the presence of the fluorine atoms.

According to one embodiment, a method including supplying a liquid onto a substrate, solidifying the liquid on the substrate to form a solidified body, and melting the solidified body of the liquid on the substrate is provided. When solidifying the liquid, an internal pressure of the liquid on the substrate is varied.