Plasma processing apparatus and plasma processing method in which a part of the processing chamber is formed using a pre-fluorinated material of aluminum

• US 5,895,586 A
• Filed: 11/12/1996
• Issued: 04/20/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Usui, Tatehito, Ito, Satoshi, Takahashi, Kazue, Ono, Tetsuo, Hamasaki, Ryoji, Kanai, Saburo, Tago, Kazutami, Kaji, Tetsunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Paschall, Mark H.
• Application Number:
  US08/737,520
• Time in Patent Office: 889 Days
• Field of Search: 219/121.4, 219/121.42, 219/121.43, 219/121.44, 219/121.48, 156/345, 156/643.1, 156/646.1, 118/723 R, 216/67-72
• US Class Current: 219/121.43
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32467 Material
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32477 characterised by the means for protecting vessels or internal parts, e.g. coatings
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 156/914 Differential etching apparatus including particular materials of construction

Abstract

There are provided a plasma processing apparatus and a plasma processing method which are suitable for processing a processed substance using a gas plasma containing fluorine atoms.

Structural materials used for a high vacuum processing chamber of a plasma processing apparatus are aluminum, aluminum having an anodic oxide coating processed surface and a material having a film of aluminum oxide or a film having aluminum oxide as a main component. A part or the whole of the inner surfaces of the processing chamber is constructed with a pre-fluorinated material.

When plasma processing of a processed substance is performed using a gas plasma containing fluorine atoms in the processing chamber having the pre-fluorinated inner surfaces, time-varying processing characteristic can be suppressed.

Claims

1. A plasma processing method, which comprises the steps of:

forming at least a part of an inner surface of a processing chamber using a pre-fluorinated material of aluminum, wherein a surface electric resistivity of the pre-fluorinated material of aluminum is more than 100 times as large as the surface electric resistivity of the material of aluminum not pre-fluorinated,

performing plasma processing of a sample using a gas containing fluorine atoms, and

performing cleaning processing of the processing chamber using a gas containing oxygen.

2. A plasma processing apparatus for processing of a sample using a gas containing fluorine atoms, comprising a processing chamber having an inner surface formed using a pre-fluorinated material of aluminum, wherein a surface electric resistivity of the pre-fluorinated material of aluminum is more than 100 times as large as the surface electric resistivity of the material of aluminum not pre-fluorinated.

3. A plasma processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said pre-fluorinated material of aluminum is a pre-fluorinated material of aluminum having a film containing an aluminum oxide component on the surface.

4. A plasma processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pre-fluorinated material of aluminum is pre-fluorinated pure aluminum.

5. A plasma processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pre-fluorinated material of aluminum is a pre-fluorinated aluminum alloy.