Method of fabricating a semiconductor device

A method of fabricating a semiconductor device, comprising:

• a first step of cleaning a surface of a semiconductor substrate by:
• introducing a gas containing at least F2 or HF into a plasma generating chamber of a surface cleaning device having an arrangement in which the plasma generating chamber and a processing chamber are separated from each other by a shower plate, to generate plasma in the plasma generating chamber;
• and introducing a radical contained in the plasma from the plasma generating chamber into the processing chamber in which the semiconductor substrate is placed through the shower plate while introducing a gas containing at least an H2 gas or an HF gas into the processing chamber;
• and
• a second step of exposing the surface of the semiconductor substrate having been subjected to the first step to a hydride, with the substrate being at a temperature lower than a thermal decomposition temperature of the hydride.

An apparatus for fabricating a semiconductor device, comprising:

• a transfer chamber;
• a first processing device and a second processing device coupled to the transfer chamber via an openable shutter;
• a transport controller configured to control a substrate transport mechanism provided in the transfer chamber and the openable shutter;
• and
• a process controller configured to control substrate processing steps performed by the first and second processing devices, wherein
• the transport controller is loaded with a program which controls the transport mechanism and the openable shutter in such a manner that a substrate is transported to the first processing device, and after completion of the processing by the first processing device, the substrate is transported to the second processing device through the transfer chamber;
• the first processing device is a surface cleaning device having an arrangement in which a plasma generating chamber and a processing chamber are separated from each other by a shower plate;
• the process controller is loaded with a program which controls the first processing device in such a manner that a gas containing at least F2 or HF is introduced into the plasma generating chamber to generate plasma in the plasma generating chamber, and a radical contained in the plasma is introduced from the plasma generating chamber into the processing chamber through the shower plate, while a gas containing at least an H2 gas or an HF gas is introduced into the processing chamber;
• and
• the process controller is further loaded with a program which controls the second processing chamber in such a manner that a surface of the semiconductor substrate having been moved into the second processing device is exposed to a hydride, and a temperature of the semiconductor substrate is made lower than a thermal decomposition temperature of the hydride.