Abstract: Provided are a desmearing method which can reliably remove a smear caused either by an inorganic substance or by an organic substance, and a desmearing apparatus which carries out this desmearing method. The desmearing method is used for a wiring substrate material which is obtained by laminating a conductive layer and an insulating layer. The insulating layer is formed of a resin containing a filler. The desmearing method includes a wet-type ultraviolet beam irradiation step of irradiating a portion to be processed in the wiring substrate material with an ultraviolet beam in a gas atmosphere while maintaining the portion to be processed in a wet state. Ozone and oxygen are present in the gas atmosphere. The desmearing method also includes a physical vibration applying step of applying physical vibrations to the wiring substrate material after the wet-type ultraviolet beam irradiation step.

Abstract: Provided is a low-dielectric constant material curing process including irradiating a low-dielectric constant material on a semiconductor substrate with ultraviolet rays. In the low-dielectric constant material curing process, the ultraviolet light source is a fluorescent lamp including: a light-emitting tube sealed and filled with a discharge gas containing xenon gas; a pair of electrodes for inducing a discharge in the interior space of the light-emitting tube; a dielectric material being interposed between the interior space and at least one of the pair of electrodes; and a phosphor layer formed on a surface of the light-emitting tube and containing a phosphor that is excited by light generated from the discharge gas by a discharge in the interior space. The phosphor emits ultraviolet rays having a wavelength within a range of 180 to 300 nm.