Plasma processing apparatus

• US 20060090704A1
• Filed: 10/27/2005
• Published: 05/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Azuma, Kazufumi, Ide, Tetsuya, Sasaki, Atsushi, Nakata, Yukihiko
• Granted Patent: US 7,728,251 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 118/723.0MW
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32192 Microwave generated discharge H01J37/32357, H01J37/32366, H01J37/32394, H01J37/32403 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32238 Windows

Abstract

In a plasma processing apparatus, electromagnetic waves are radiated from slots of waveguides into a processing chamber via dielectric windows that are supported on beams, thereby generating a plasma. A substrate, which is an object of processing, is processed by the generated plasma. Dielectric plates are attached to those surfaces of the beams, which are opposed to the processing chamber. The thickness of each dielectric plate is set at ½ or more of the intra-dielectric wavelength of the electromagnetic waves. Using the plasma processing apparatus, a large-area processing can uniformly be performed.

Claims

1. A plasma processing apparatus comprising:

a processing chamber in which a to-be-processed substrate is placed;

an electromagnetic source that outputs electromagnetic waves;

a plurality of waveguides that propagate the electromagnetic waves;

a waveguide antenna that is provided with a plurality of slots, which are formed in each of the waveguides and radiate the electromagnetic waves; and

a plurality of dielectric windows that are formed of a dielectric material, associated with the slots that are formed in each of the waveguides, and constitute a seal surface at one face of the processing chamber,

wherein a plasma is generated by the electromagnetic waves that are radiated from the slots into the processing chamber via the dielectric windows, and the generated plasma processes the substrate, and

dielectric plates are provided on those surfaces of the dielectric windows, which are opposed to the processing chamber, and a thickness of each of the dielectric plates in a direction in which the electromagnetic waves propagate is set at ½

or more of an intra-dielectric-plate wavelength of the electromagnetic waves.

3. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the dielectric plate in the direction in which the electromagnetic waves propagate is set at a value that satisfies a following equation:

h=(m·

π

·

λ

)/(2π

·

(ε

_d)^0.5·

cos β

)

where h;

the thickness of the dielectric plate, m;

an integer of 1 or more, λ

;

a wavelength of the electromagnetic waves in a vacuum, ε

_d;

a specific dielectric constant of the dielectric plate, and β

;

a refraction angle at which the electromagnetic waves are incident on the dielectric plate.

4. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dielectric plates are arranged such that the dielectric plates are spaced apart with a pitch of ½

or more of the intra-dielectric-plate wavelength of the electromagnetic waves, and the dielectric plates are fixed to beams by a plurality of fixing members that are at least partly formed of a conductive material.

5. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the fixing members are arranged such that the fixing members are spaced apart with a pitch of an n-number (n=an integer of 1 or more) of times of ½

of the intra-dielectric-plate wavelength of the electromagnetic waves.

2. A plasma processing apparatus including a plurality of waveguides that are configured to distribute electromagnetic waves from an electromagnetic wave source, and a dielectric window that is associated with a slot antenna provided in each of the waveguides and constitutes a seal surface of a processing chamber, the apparatus comprising:

a plurality of dielectric plates that are provided on an inner surface of the dielectric window; and

a section for generating a surface-wave plasma on inner wall surfaces of the dielectric plates, and

each of the dielectric plates has a thickness that is equal to or greater than such a thickness as to propagate the electromagnetic waves within the dielectric plate.

6. A plasma processing apparatus comprising:

a processing chamber in which a to-be-processed substrate is placeable;

an electromagnetic source that outputs electromagnetic waves;

a plurality of waveguides that propagate the electromagnetic waves;

a plurality of slots that are formed in each of the waveguides and constitute a waveguide antenna that radiates the electromagnetic waves; and

a plurality of dielectric windows that are formed of a dielectric material, associated with the slots that are formed in each of the waveguides, and provided as a seal surface at one face of the processing chamber,

wherein a plasma is generated by the electromagnetic waves that are radiated from the slots into the processing chamber via the dielectric windows, and the generated plasma processes the substrate, and

dielectric plates are provided on inner surfaces of the dielectric windows of the processing chamber, the dielectric plates are arranged such that the dielectric plates are spaced apart with a pitch of ½

or more of an intra-dielectric-plate wavelength, and the dielectric plates are fixed to beams by a plurality of fixing members that are at least partly formed of a conductive material.