Abstract: The present invention is a plasma etching method including: an arranging step of arranging a pair of electrodes oppositely in a chamber and making one of the electrodes support a substrate to be processed in such a manner that the substrate is arranged between the electrodes, the substrate having an organic-material film; and an etching step of applying a high-frequency electric power to at least one of the electrodes to form a high-frequency electric field between the pair of the electrodes, supplying a process gas into the chamber to form a plasma of the process gas by means of the electric field, and plasma-etching the organic-material film of the substrate by means of the plasma partway in order to form a groove having a flat bottom. A frequency of the high-frequency electric power applied to the at least one of the electrodes is 50 to 150 MHz in the etching step.

Abstract: A Si etching method includes: arranging a silicon substrate or a substrate having a silicon layer in a processing chamber; generating a plasma of an etching gas in the processing chamber; and etching the silicon substrate by the plasma. The etching gas is a gaseous mixture including a Br2 gas and one of a Cl2 gas and a chloride gas. The chloride gas has a mass that is higher than that of the Cl2 gas.

Abstract: A dry etching method includes: mounting a silicon substrate in a processing chamber; generating a plasma by discharging an etching gas in the processing chamber; and etching the silicon substrate by the plasma. The etching gas is a gaseous mixture including a Cl2 gas and one of an O2 gas, a rare gas, a HBr gas, a CF4 gas, and a SF6 gas.

Abstract: A dry etching method includes: mounting a silicon substrate on an electrode arranged in a processing chamber; generating a plasma by discharging an etching gas in the processing chamber; supplying to the electrode a radio frequency power for attracting ions from the plasma; and etching the silicon substrate by the plasma by using an inorganic mask containing silicon as an etching mask. An absolute value of a self-bias voltage generated in the electrode is equal to or smaller than about 280 V, and wherein the etching is carried out while satisfying the following equation: y?0.0114x+0.171, where x is a pressure inside the processing chamber and y is a power density of the radio frequency power per unit area of the electrode.

Abstract: In a dry etching method, a silicon substrate is mounted on an electrode arranged in a processing chamber; a plasma is generated by discharging an etching gas in the processing chamber; a radio frequency power for attracting ions from the plasma is supplied to the electrode; and the silicon substrate is etched by the plasma. A pressure inside the processing chamber is set as 1 mTorr to 100 mTorr, and the etching is carried out while satisfying the following equation: yM?2.84*10?3x+0.28, where yM is a power density of the radio frequency power per unit area of the electrode and x is the pressure inside the processing chamber.

Abstract: The present invention is a plasma etching method including: an arranging step of arranging a pair of electrodes oppositely in a chamber and making one of the electrodes support a substrate to be processed in such a manner that the substrate is arranged between the electrodes, the substrate having an organic-material film and an inorganic-material film; and an etching step of applying a high-frequency electric power to at least one of the electrodes to form a high-frequency electric field between the pair of the electrodes, supplying a process gas into the chamber to form a plasma of the process gas by means of the electric field, and selectively plasma-etching the organic-material film of the substrate with respect to the inorganic-material film by means of the plasma; wherein a frequency of the high-frequency electric power applied to the at least one of the electrodes is 50 to 150 MHz in the etching step.

Abstract: A disk drive. The disk drive includes a head-slider, an actuator, a ramp and a shroud. The head-slider is configured to fly above the disk. The actuator is configured to support the head-slider and to swing about a pivot shaft to move the head-slider in a radial direction of the disk. The actuator may also be configured to rest on the ramp in a stand-by position. The shroud includes an inner peripheral side surface and an outer peripheral side surface. The shroud is configured to control an air-stream which flows in a direction from the pivot shaft toward the head-slider. The inner peripheral side surface and the outer peripheral side surface are configured to blast the head-slider with the air-stream upon spinning the disk when the head-slider is positioned away from the disk in the stand-by position.

Abstract: Photoresist film is used as a mask, plasma etching of a SiO2 film is selectively performed to a photoresist film, and a hole is formed. An etching gas comprising unsaturated fluorocarbon gas containing oxygen expressed with CxFyO (y/x is 1-1.5 at an integer in x, as for 4 or 5, and y) is used for the plasma etching. C4F4O gas and C4F6O gas are used for the unsaturated fluorocarbon gas containing oxygen, for example.

Abstract: A substrate processing method that forms an opening, which has a size that fills the need for downsizing a semiconductor device and is to be transferred to an amorphous carbon film, in a photoresist film of a substrate to be processed. Deposit is accumulated on a side wall surface of the opening in the photoresist film using plasma produced from a deposition gas having a gas attachment coefficient S of 0.1 to 1.0 so as to reduce the opening width of the opening.

Abstract: The present invention is a plasma etching method including: an arranging step of arranging a pair of electrodes oppositely in a chamber and making one of the electrodes support a substrate to be processed in such a manner that the substrate is arranged between the electrodes, the substrate having an organic-material film and an inorganic-material film; and an etching step of applying a high-frequency electric power to at least one of the electrodes to form a high-frequency electric field between the pair of the electrodes, supplying a process gas into the chamber to form a plasma of the process gas by means of the electric field, and selectively plasma-etching the organic-material film of the substrate with respect to the inorganic-material film by means of the plasma; wherein a frequency of the high-frequency electric power applied to the at least one of the electrodes is 50 to 150 MHz in the etching step.

Abstract: A plasma etching method includes disposing first electrode and second electrodes; preparing a part in a processing chamber; supporting a substrate by the second electrode to face the first electrode; vacuum-evacuating the processing chamber; supplying a first processing gas containing an etchant gas into a processing space between the first electrode and the second electrode; generating a plasma of the first processing gas in the processing space by applying a radio frequency power to the first electrode or the second electrode; and etching a film on the substrate by using the plasma. Further, a resist modification process includes vacuum-evacuating the processing chamber; supplying a second processing gas into the processing space; generating a plasma; and applying a negative DC voltage to the part, the part being disposed away from the substrate in the processing chamber and injecting electrons discharged from the part into the resist pattern on the substrate.

Abstract: A plasma etching method includes disposing a first electrode and a second electrode to face each other; preparing a part in the processing chamber; supporting a substrate; vacuum-evacuating the processing chamber; supplying an etching gas into a processing space between the first electrode and the second electrode; generating a plasma of the etching gas in the processing space by applying a radio wave power to the first electrode or the second electrode; and etching a film to be processed on a surface of the substrate by using the plasma. Further, a DC voltage is applied to the part during the etching process, the part being disposed away from the substrate and being etched by reaction with reactant species in the plasma.

Abstract: A cleaning substrate that can prevent a decrease in the operating rate of a substrate processing apparatus. The cleaning substrate that cleans the interior of a chamber in the substrate processing apparatus has a removal mechanism that removes foreign matter in the chamber.

Abstract: An electrode structure capable of adequately increasing an electron density in a processing space at a part facing a circumferential edge portion of a substrate. In a processing chamber of a substrate processing apparatus that performs RIE processing on a wafer, an upper electrode of the electrode structure is disposed to face the wafer placed on a susceptor inside the processing chamber. The upper electrode includes an inner electrode facing a central portion of the wafer and an outer electrode facing the circumferential edge portion of the wafer. The inner and outer electrodes are connected with first and second DC power sources, respectively. The outer electrode has its first secondary electron emission surface extending parallel to the wafer and its second secondary electron emission surface obliquely extending relative to the first secondary electron emission surface.

Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus includes an inner upper electrode provided to face a lower electrode mounting thereon a substrate, an outer upper electrode provided in a ring shape at a radially outside of the inner upper electrode and electrically isolated from the inner upper electrode in a vacuum evacuable processing chamber and a processing gas supply unit for supplying a processing gas into a processing space between the inner and the outer upper electrode and the lower electrode. A radio frequency (RF) power supply unit is also provide to apply a RF power to the lower electrode or the inner and the outer upper electrode to generate a plasma of the processing gas by RF discharge. A first and a second DC power supply unit are provided to apply a first and a second variable DC voltage to the inner upper electrode, respectively.

Abstract: A plasma etching apparatus includes a processing vessel; a lower electrode on which a target substrate is mounted in the processing vessel; an upper electrode disposed in the processing vessel to face the lower electrode in parallel; a processing gas supply unit configured to supply a processing gas into a processing space between the upper and the lower electrode; a first radio frequency power supply unit configured to apply, to the lower electrode, a first radio frequency power for generating plasma of the processing gas; a focus ring covering a top surface peripheral portion of the lower electrode protruding toward a radial outside of the substrate; a DC power supply configured to output a variable DC voltage; and a DC voltage supply network that connects the DC power supply to either one of the focus ring and the upper electrode or both depending on processing conditions of plasma etching.

Abstract: The present invention provides an upper electrode used in an etching apparatus and the etching apparatus including the upper electrode, both of which can properly reduce intensity of electric field of plasma around a central portion of a substrate to be processed, thus enhancing in-plane uniformity of a plasma process. In this apparatus, a recess, serving as a space for allowing a dielectric to be injected therein, is provided around a central portion of the upper electrode. A dielectric supply passage configured for supplying the dielectric into the space and a dielectric discharge passage configured for discharging the dielectric from the space are connected with the space, respectively.

Abstract: A plasma etching method etching an organic underlayer film formed on a target substrate by using a plasma of a processing gas via a pattered mask layer formed on the underlayer film. The processing gas includes a gaseous mixture of an oxygen-containing gas and a sulfur-containing gas not having oxygen. The oxygen-containing gas is one of O2 gas, CO gas, CO2 gas or a combination thereof and the mask layer is formed of a silicon-containing inorganic compound.

Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus includes a vacuum evacuable processing chamber, a first electrode divided into an outer electrode and an inner electrode, a second electrode, a first and a second high frequency power application unit for applying to the second electrode a first and a second high frequency power having a relatively high frequency and a relatively low frequency, respectively, a first and a second DC voltage application circuit apply a DC voltage to the outer and the inner electrode, respectively, and a processing gas supply unit. A space between the first electrode and the second electrode serves as a plasma generation space, and frequency-impedance characteristics of the outer electrode are set such that the impedance increases at the frequency of the second high frequency power and decreases at the frequency of the first high frequency power as the DC voltage applied to the outer electrode increases.

Abstract: A plasma etching method includes etching a silicon layer formed on a substrate to be processed through a patterned mask layer by using a plasma of a processing gas. The processing gas contains at least a CF3I gas, and during said etching the silicon layer, a radio frequency power is applied to a lower electrode mounting the substrate thereon such that a self-bias voltage Vdc for accelerating ions in the plasma is equal to or smaller than 200 V.