Substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus

A substrate processing method that supplies a phosphoric acid aqueous solution containing silicon to a substrate including a front surface at which a silicon oxide film and a silicon nitride film are exposed to selectively etch the silicon nitride film, the substrate processing method comprising:

• a phosphoric acid storing step of storing the phosphoric acid aqueous solution, to be supplied to the substrate, in a phosphoric acid tank;
• a phosphoric acid guiding step of guiding the phosphoric acid aqueous solution from the phosphoric acid tank to a phosphoric acid nozzle;
• a phosphoric acid discharging step of making the phosphoric acid nozzle discharge the phosphoric acid aqueous solution toward the front surface of the substrate;
• a substrate rotating step of rotating the substrate around a vertical rotation axis, passing through a central portion of the substrate, while holding the substrate horizontally in parallel to the phosphoric acid discharging process;
• a phosphoric acid recovery step, starting at a time after the phosphoric acid aqueous solution was first supplied to the substrate from the phosphoric acid nozzle, of recovering to the phosphoric acid tank the phosphoric acid aqueous solution, that has been supplied to the substrate, by a phosphoric acid recovery unit, without also recovering to the phosphoric acid tank the phosphoric acid aqueous solution that was first supplied to the substrate;
• a concentration detecting step of detecting a silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid aqueous solution inside the phosphoric acid tank;
• a liquid amount decreasing step of, when the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid aqueous solution inside the phosphoric acid tank reaches an upper limit value of a specified concentration range, decreasing a liquid amount of the phosphoric acid aqueous solution inside the phosphoric acid tank to a value not more than a lower limit value of a specified liquid amount range by decreasing an amount of the phosphoric acid aqueous solution returning to the phosphoric acid tank;
• and
• a phosphoric acid replenishing step of, when the liquid amount of the phosphoric acid aqueous solution inside the phosphoric acid tank decreases to the value not more than the lower limit value of the specified liquid amount range in the liquid amount decreasing process, increasing the liquid amount of the phosphoric acid aqueous solution inside the phosphoric acid tank to a value within the specified liquid amount range and decreasing the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid aqueous solution inside the phosphoric acid tank to a value within the specified concentration range by replenishing a phosphoric acid aqueous solution to the phosphoric acid tank from a phosphoric acid replenishing unit differing from the phosphoric acid recovery unit.