Plasma processing apparatus

• US 4,776,918 A
• Filed: 10/20/1987
• Issued: 10/11/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Renesas Technology Corporation (Renesas Electronics Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Takeuchi, deceased, Takahiko, Yamaguchi, Yasuhiro, Otsubo, Toru
• Primary Examiner(s): Powell, William A.
• Application Number:
  US07/110,368
• Time in Patent Office: 357 Days
• Field of Search: 204/192.1, 204/192.12, 204/192.32, 204/192.35, 204/192.37, 204/298, 156/345, 156/643-646, 156/653, 156/657, 156/659.1, 156/662, 118/728, 118/50.1, 118/620, 118/623, 427/38, 427/39
• US Class Current: 156/345.41
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/517 using a combination of discharges covered by two or more of groups C23C16/503 - C23C16/515
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32247 Resonators

Abstract

Microwaves supplied from a magnetron through a waveguide are resonated in a cavity resonator to increase their amplitude. The resonated microwaves are emitted into a plasma production chamber through slits and a wall. Then plasma is produced in the plasma production chamber into which plasma processing gas is introduced. The plasma is employed for uniformly processing a substrate.

Claims

1. A plasma processing apparatus comprising:

a microwave generation source;

a waveguide for supplying the microwaves from the microwave generation source;

a cavity resonator for resonating the microwaves supplied from the waveguide to increase the amplitude thereof;

a slit means having at least one slit provided on a wall of the cavity resonator which can transmit the microwaves; and

a plasma producing chamber in which plasma is produced by the microwaves introduced through the at least one slit and the wall separating the plasma producing chamber from said cavity resonator and by externally introduced processing gas, and a substrate is processed by the plasma.

2. A plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cavity resonator is formed in the shape of a cylinder and said slit means is provided in form of slit plate on the bottom face so as to be one wall of the plasma producting chamber.

3. A plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said plasma producing chamber is provided with means for generating a magnetic field for increasing the plasma density.

4. A plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said plasma producing chamber is, in its interior, provided with a grid plate facing the substrate for shielding the ions in the plasma.

5. A plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein electrodes opposite to each other are arranged on the upper and lower sides in said plasma producting chamber, said cavity resonator is a ringshaped resonator provided around the ring side wall of the plasma producing chamber and said slit means is a ring-shaped slit attached to the side wall inside the resonator.

6. A plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said wall is made of a ceramic-substrate or a quartz substrate.

7. A plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said wall is provided with gas supply holes for supplying the processing gas from its portions where the slits are not located into the plasma producing chamber, the gas supply holes being connected with gas supply means.

8. A plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said slit means is formed by plating onto the wall.

9. A plasma processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said slits means is provided on the side of the cavity resonator with respect to said wall.

10. A plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an electrode on which the substrate is placed is arranged in the plasma producing chamber, and a high frequency power supply is connected between the slit means and the electrode on which the substrate is placed.

11. A plasma processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a switch for switching the high frequency power supply between the slit means and the electrode on which the substrate is placed is provided.

12. A plasma processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein further comprising means for forming a casp magnetic field on the electrodes.