Method of wet cleaning a surface of at least one material chosen from silicon, silicon-germanium alloys, A(III)/B(V)-type semiconductors and epitaxially grown crystalline materials, such as germanium, in which method the following successive steps are carried out: a) the surface is brought into contact with an HF solution; b) the surface is rinsed with acidified, deionized water, then a powerful oxidizing agent is added to the deionized water and the rinsing is continued; c) optionally, step a) is repeated, once or twice, while optionally reducing the contacting time; d) step b) is optionally repeated, once or twice; and e) the surface is dried. Process for fabricating an electronic, optical or optoelectronic device, such as a CMOS or MOSFET device, comprising at least one wet cleaning step using the said cleaning method.