Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus for performing plasma processing on an object to be processed, including: a processing chamber for performing plasma etching on an object to be processed; a first gas inlet provided at an upper portion of the processing chamber for supplying gas to a center portion in the processing chamber; a plurality of second gas inlets placed on an outer circumference of the first gas inlet for supplying gas to an outer circumference portion in the processing chamber; two lines of gas supply systems for supplying processing gases to the first gas inlet and the second gas inlets, respectively; an evacuation means for reducing the pressure in the processing chamber; an electrode on which the object to be processed is placed disposed in the processing chamber opposed to the first gas inlet and the second gas inlets; a high frequency power supply for generating plasma; and additional gas supply systems provided to the two lines of gas supply systems, respectively, for adding a gas for generating

Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus includes in a processing chamber, a sample stage, a bell jar, a coil antenna, a Faraday shield, and a gas ring member located below a skirt portion of the bell jar and above the sample stage. The gas ring member supplies a process gas to a plasma generating space inside the bell jar from a gas port disposed on an inner surface of the gas ring member. A ring shaped plate is disposed near a periphery of the Faraday shield and having an inner surface facing and covering along the inner surface of the gas ring member and being spaced from the inner surface of the gas ring member so as to delimit a gap therebetween.

Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus includes: a film which is made of an insulative material and constructs a surface of a sample stage on which a sample is put; a disk-shaped member whose upper surface is joined with the film in a lower portion of the film and which is made of a heat conductive member; heaters which are arranged in the film and arranged in a center portion and regions of its outer peripheral side of the film; coolant channels which are arranged in the disk-shaped member and in which a coolant for cooling the disk-shaped member flows; a plurality of power sources each of which adjusts an electric power to each of the heaters in the plurality of regions; and a controller which adjusts outputs from the plurality of power sources by using a result obtained by presuming a temperature of the upper surface of the disk-shaped member.

Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus includes a vacuum chamber, a processing chamber housed in the vacuum chamber, and a sample stage located in the processing chamber, for supporting on its upper surface a disk-like sample to be processed, wherein plural disk-like samples are continuously processed with plasma generated in the processing chamber and wherein during the idling time between the successive processes the temperature of the sample stage is adjusted to a predetermined value higher than the temperature at which the samples are processed.

Abstract: It is possible to provide a plasma etching apparatus that controls the temperature of a sample at a higher speed and with more accuracy to improve the efficiency of processing the sample. A plasma processing apparatus includes a processing chamber to be depressurized and exhausted, a sample placement electrode provided in the processing chamber and having a sample placement surface on which a substrate to be processed is placed, an electromagnetic generation device to generate plasma in the processing chamber, a supply system that supplies processing gas to the processing chamber, a vacuum exhaust system that exhausts inside the processing chamber, a heater layer and a base temperature monitor that are disposed on the sample placement electrode, a wafer temperature estimating unit that estimates a wafer temperature from the base temperature monitor and plasma forming power supply, and a controller that regulates the heater corresponding to output from the temperature estimating unit.

Abstract: A vacuum processing apparatus is composed of a cassette block and a vacuum processing block. The cassette block has a cassette table for mounting a plurality of cassettes containing a sample and an atmospheric transfer means. The vacuum processing block has a plurality of processing chambers for performing vacuum processing to the sample and a vacuum transfer means for transferring the sample. Both of the plan views of the cassette block and the vacuum processing block are nearly rectangular, and the width of the cassette block is designed larger than the width of the vacuum processing block, and the plan view of the vacuum processing apparatus is formed in an L-shape or a T-shape.

Abstract: A vacuum processing apparatus is composed of a cassette block and a vacuum processing block. The cassette block has a cassette table for mounting a plurality of cassettes containing a sample and an atmospheric transfer means. The vacuum processing block has a plurality of processing chambers for performing vacuum processing to the sample and a vacuum transfer means for transferring the sample. Both of the plan views of the cassette block and the vacuum processing block are nearly rectangular, and the width of the cassette block is designed larger than the width of the vacuum processing block, and the plan view of the vacuum processing apparatus is formed in an L-shape or a T-shape.

Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus includes a high-frequency power source for applying bias power to an electrode on which a substrate is disposed, an insulating layer formed on a surface of the electrode, a conductive material buried within the insulating layer, a feeder line connecting the high-frequency power source and the conductive material, a variable capacitor provided in the feeder line, and a direct current power source connected to the electrode at a position between the electrode and the high-frequency power source. One portion of the insulating layer where the conductive material is buried formed on an outer part of the electrode has a thickness which is greater than a thickness of another portion of the insulating layer where the conducting material is not buried and which extends from a central part of the electrode to the one portion of the insulating layer.

Abstract: A plasma processing method for a plasma processing apparatus which includes, a gas ring, a bell jar, an antenna, a sample table, a Faraday shield, and an RF power source circuit for supplying a power source voltage to the antenna and the Faraday shield. The RF power source circuit includes an RF power source, an antenna connected with the RF power source, a resonance circuit connected in series with the antenna and supplying a resonance voltage, a detection circuit for detecting the resonance voltage of the resonance circuit, and a comparator circuit for comparing the resonance voltage detected by the detection circuit with a predetermined set value. A constant of the resonance circuit is changed based on the result of comparison by the comparison circuit.

Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus includes a sample stage disposed at a lower part of a processing chamber, a bell jar made of an insulative material constituting an upper portion of a vacuum vessel, a coil antenna disposed outside and around the bell jar to which electric power is supplied so as to generate the plasma in a plasma generating space inside of the bell jar, and a Faraday shield mounted on the bell jar and disposed between an external surface of the bell jar and the coil antenna. A ring shaped member made of an electric conductive material is disposed inside of an inner surface of a ring portion of the processing chamber located below a skirt portion of the bell jar and constitutes a part of the processing chamber. The ring shaped member extends upwardly so as to cover a portion of an inner surface of the bell jar.

Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes an apparatus for applying bias powers to a substrate to be processed and a material adjacent to the substrate, an apparatus for adjusting a feeding impedance for the bias power applied to the material, and an apparatus for adjusting feeding impedances for the bias powers to a plurality of positions on the substrate so as to make electrons projected to the substrate from the plasma uniform within a surface of the substrate.

Abstract: A temperature control type sample-holding electrode using a heater capable of enhancing the performance of controlling the electrode temperature and ensuring the uniformity of static adsorption force over the entire surface, the sample-holding electrode being provided in a processing chamber with a sample being disposed thereon, including a dielectric film having a sample-placing surface and a thin electrode film disposed so as to oppose to the sample-placing surface by way of the dielectric film and comprising a layer of a substantially identical height serving both as a static adsorption electrode and a heater electrode, and provided with power source device capable of simultaneously supplying an AC power for heater and DC power for static adsorption to the thin electrode film.

Abstract: A plasma etching method for a plasma etching apparatus including: a processing chamber for performing plasma etching on an object to be processed; a first gas supply source; a second gas supply source; a first gas inlet for introducing a processing gas into the processing chamber; a second gas inlet for introducing a processing gas into the processing chamber; a flow rate regulator for regulating the flow rate of the processing gas; and a gas shunt for dividing the first processing gas into a plurality of portions, wherein the second processing gas is merged with at least one part between the gas shunt and the first gas inlet and between the gas shunt and the second gas inlet.

Abstract: In a plasma processing apparatus using electrostatic chuck, increase of plasma potential is prevented and abnormal discharge is avoided. The plasma processing apparatus comprises an RF source for generating plasma in a vacuum container, another RF source for applying an RF bias power to a sample, a sample stage having an electrostatic chuck electrode, a DC power supply for applying an electrostatic chuck voltage to the electrode, and a controller for shifting the electrostatic chuck voltage to negative by a potential difference of quarter to half of peak-to-peak voltage of the RF bias power for suppressing increase of plasma potential.

Abstract: A vacuum processing apparatus is composed of a cassette block and a vacuum processing block. The cassette block has a cassette table for mounting a plurality of cassettes containing a sample and an atmospheric transfer means. The vacuum processing block has a plurality of processing chambers for performing vacuum processing to the sample and a vacuum transfer means for transferring the sample. Both of the plan views of the cassette block and the vacuum processing block are nearly rectangular, and the width of the cassette block is designed larger than the width of the vacuum processing block, and the plan view of the vacuum processing apparatus is formed in an L-shape or a T-shape.

Abstract: A method for operating a semiconductor processing apparatus that plasma-processes a semiconductor wafer mounted on a stage placed in a container using a plasma generated therein. The method includes setting a temperature of the semiconductor wafer, and controlling an operation of the semiconductor processing apparatus based on information about the temperature of the semiconductor wafer which is set.

Abstract: A wafer processing method for use with a wafer processing apparatus having a liquid cooling jacket with a built-in coolant liquid circulation path and a ceramic plate as attached onto the liquid cooling jacket and having therein a heater and an electrode for an electrostatic chuck. The method enables performance of wafer processing while letting a wafer be mounted on the ceramic plate by a wafer transport. The method includes causing the wafer transport to transport the wafer onto the ceramic plate, pre-heating the wafer while the wafer is held on the ceramic plate for a predetermined length of time, and mounting the preheated wafer on the ceramic plate.

Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus capable of generating a stable and uniform-density plasma includes a processing chamber whose one surface is formed by a flat-plate-like insulating-material manufactured window, a sample mounting stage in which a sample mounting plane is formed on a surface opposed to the insulating-material manufactured window of the processing chamber, a gas-inlet for introducing a processing gas into the processing chamber, a flat-plate-structured capacitively coupled antenna formed on an outer surface of the insulating-material manufactured window with slits provided in a radial pattern, and an inductively coupled antenna formed outside the insulating-material manufactured window and performing an inductive coupling with a plasma via the window, the plasma being formed within the processing chamber. The inductively coupled antenna is configured by a coil which is wound a plurality of times with a direction defined longitudinally, the direction being perpendicular to the sample mounting plane.

Abstract: In a plasma processing apparatus using electrostatic chuck, increase of plasma potential is prevented and abnormal discharge is avoided. The plasma processing apparatus comprises an RF source for generating plasma in a vacuum container, another RF source for applying an RF bias power to a sample, a sample stage having an electrostatic chuck electrode, a DC power supply for applying an electrostatic chuck voltage to the electrode, and a controller for shifting the electrostatic chuck voltage to negative by a potential difference of quarter to half of peak-to-peak voltage of the RF bias power for suppressing increase of plasma potential.

Abstract: To realize etching with a high selection ratio and a high accuracy in fabrication of an LSI, the composition of dissociated species of a reaction gas is accurately controlled when dry-etching a thin film on a semiconductor substrate by causing an inert gas excited to a metastable state in a plasma and a flon gas to interact with each other and selectively obtaining desired dissociated species.