An apparatus and method for removing photoresist from a substrate, which
includes treating the photoresist with a first reactant to cause
swelling, cracking or delamination of the photoresist, treating the
photoresist with a second reactant to chemically alter the photoresist,
and subsequently removing the chemically altered photoresist with a third
reactant. In one example, the first reactant is supercritical carbon
dioxide (SCCO.sub.2), the second reactant is ozone vapor, and the third
reactant is deionized water.