A method for processing a substrate, for processing a surface of a substrate having projections/depressions formed on the surface, the method having: a rinsing step S101 of rinsing the surface of the substrate with a rinsing solution containing water; a chemical solution replacement step S102 of bringing a chemical solution into contact with the surface of the substrate that has been rinsed, to replace a liquid adhering to the surface of the substrate from the rinsing solution to the chemical solution; a state change step S103 of raising a temperature of the substrate wetted with the chemical solution to a temperature equal to or higher than the critical temperature of the chemical solution to allow the chemical solution to reach a supercritical state; and a removing step S104 of removing the chemical solution in the supercritical state from the surface of the substrate, in which the chemical solution contains an organic solvent (S1) (excluding, however, organic solvents having a fluorine atom) having a higher specific gravity than water.

A method of forming a surface treatment film on a substrate having, on a surface thereof, a first region where an insulator is exposed and a second region where at least one metallic matter is exposed, in which the surface treatment film is formed on the second region and is capable of suppressing intrusion of the surface treatment film onto the first region. A method of forming a surface treatment film, including preparing the substrate, oxidizing a surface of the second region, and forming a surface treatment film on the second region by exposing a surface of the substrate after the oxidation to a surface-treatment agent including a thiol having 8 or less carbon atoms.

Methods, apparatus, and systems are provided herein for processing a substrate. Generally, the processing involves Spacer-on-Spacer (SoS) Self-Aligned Quadruple Patterning (SAQP) techniques. The disclosed techniques provide a novel process flow that reduces defects by ensuring that cores are not removed from the substrate until the substrate is transferred to a deposition chamber used to deposit a second spacer layer. This reduces or eliminates the risk of structural damage to features on the substrate while the substrate is being transferred or cleaned. Such structural damage is common when the cores are removed from the substrate prior to cleaning and transfer.