Plasma Processing Apparatus
First Claim
1. A plasma processing apparatus comprising a container in which a plasma is excited, a microwave supply system adapted to supply a microwave necessary for exciting the plasma into said container, a wave-guide path connected to said microwave supply system and formed with a plurality of slots, and a dielectric plate adapted to propagate the microwave emitted through said slots to the plasma, said plasma processing apparatus comprisingmeans for adjusting a wavelength of the microwave propagating in said wave-guide path, from the outside of said wave-guide path.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Provided is a plasma processing apparatus which can perform uniform processing even when a substrate to be processed has a large area. The plasma processing apparatus propagates microwaves introduced into wave guide tubes to dielectric plates through slots, and performs plasma processing to the surface of the substrate by converting a gas supplied into a vacuum container into the plasma state. In the plasma processing apparatus, a plurality of waveguide tubes are arranged in parallel, a plurality of dielectric plates are arranged for each waveguide tube, and partitioning members formed of a conductor and grounded are arranged between the adjacent dielectric plates. The in-tube wavelength of the waveguide tube is adjusted to be an optimum value by vertically moving a plunger. Furthermore, unintended plasma generation is eliminated in a space between the dielectric plate and the adjacent member, and stable plasma can be efficiently generated. As a result, high-speed and uniform processings, such as etching, film-forming, cleaning, ashing, can be performed.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A plasma processing apparatus comprising a container in which a plasma is excited, a microwave supply system adapted to supply a microwave necessary for exciting the plasma into said container, a wave-guide path connected to said microwave supply system and formed with a plurality of slots, and a dielectric plate adapted to propagate the microwave emitted through said slots to the plasma, said plasma processing apparatus comprising
means for adjusting a wavelength of the microwave propagating in said wave-guide path, from the outside of said wave-guide path.
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7. A plasma processing apparatus comprising a container in which a plasma is excited, a gas supply system adapted to supply a gas into said container, a microwave supply system adapted to supply a microwave necessary for exciting the plasma into said container, one or more waveguides connected to said microwave supply system and formed with a plurality of slots, a plurality of dielectric plates adapted to propagate the microwave emitted through said slots to the plasma, and a stage disposed in said container for placing thereon a processing substrate, said plasma processing apparatus wherein
a plurality of said dielectric plates are provided per said waveguide and a partition member made of a conductor at least partly is provided between the adjacent dielectric plates.
Specification