Abstract: A vaporizing unit, in supplying a gas material produced by vaporizing a liquid material onto a substrate to conduct a film forming process, can vaporize the liquid material with high efficiency to suppress generation of particles. With the vaporizing unit, positively or negatively charged bubbles, which have a diameter of 1000 nm or less, are produced in the liquid material, and the liquid material is atomized to form a mist of the liquid material. Further, the mist of the liquid material is heated and vaporized. The fine bubbles are uniformly dispersed in advance in the liquid material, so that very fine and uniform mist particles of the liquid material are produced when the liquid material is atomized, which makes heat exchange readily conducted. By vaporizing the mist of the liquid material, vaporization efficiency is enhanced, and generation of particles can be suppressed.

Abstract: A vaporizing unit, in supplying a gas material produced by vaporizing a liquid material onto a substrate to conduct a film forming process, can vaporize the liquid material with high efficiency to suppress generation of particles. With the vaporizing unit, positively or negatively charged bubbles, which have a diameter of 1000 nm or less, are produced in the liquid material, and the liquid material is atomized to form a mist of the liquid material. Further, the mist of the liquid material is heated and vaporized. The fine bubbles are uniformly dispersed in advance in the liquid material, so that very fine and uniform mist particles of the liquid material are produced when the liquid material is atomized, which makes heat exchange readily conducted. By vaporizing the mist of the liquid material, vaporization efficiency is enhanced, and generation of particles can be suppressed.

Abstract: A semiconductor fabrication apparatus includes a semiconductor wafer mounting table having a cavity therein; and a nozzle which jets a liquefied temperature adjustment medium having a temperature equal to or less than a targeted temperature to an inner wall of the cavity in order to adjust a temperature of the semiconductor wafer mounting table to the targeted temperature. The semiconductor fabrication apparatus further includes a pressure detecting unit for detecting an internal pressure of the cavity; and a vacuum pump which discharges gas within the cavity such that a pressure detected by the pressure detecting unit becomes equal to or more than a saturated vapor pressure related to the temperature of the temperature adjustment medium jetted from the nozzle and equal to or less than a saturated vapor pressure related to the targeted temperature.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes steps of: generating positively or negatively charged fine bubbles having substantially zero buoyancy in a coating solution as an insulating film forming material; coating the coating solution including the bubbles on a substrate to form a coating film; and baking the coating film by heating the substrate before the bubbles are removed to obtain a porous low dielectric constant insulating film.

Abstract: A cooling unit for cooling a target object to a target temperature includes a decompression chamber thermally connected to the target object; a spraying part which sprays a liquid heat medium having a temperature equal to or lower than the target temperature to an inner surface of the decompression chamber; and an electric field generator which generates an electric field such that the heat medium sprayed from the spraying part is attached to the inner surface of the decompression chamber. The cooling unit further includes an exhaust part which evacuates the decompression chamber such that a pressure in the decompression chamber is equal to or lower than a saturated vapor pressure of the heat medium at the target temperature.

Abstract: Provided is a method for performing etching process or film forming process to a substrate W whereupon a prescribed pattern is formed with an opening. The method is provided with a step of mixing a liquid and a gas, at least one of which contains a component that contributes to the etching process or the film forming process, and generating charged nano-bubbles 85 having a diameter smaller than that of the opening formed on the semiconductor substrate W; a step of forming an electric field to attract the nano-bubbles onto the surface of the substrate W; and a step of performing the process by supplying the substrate with the liquid containing the nano-bubbles 85 while forming the electric field.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes steps of: generating positively or negatively charged fine bubbles having substantially zero buoyancy in a coating solution as an insulating film forming material; coating the coating solution including the bubbles on a substrate to form a coating film; and baking the coating film by heating the substrate before the bubbles are removed to obtain a porous low dielectric constant insulating film.

Abstract: A semiconductor fabrication apparatus includes a semiconductor wafer mounting table having a cavity therein; and a nozzle which jets a liquefied temperature adjustment medium having a temperature equal to or less than a targeted temperature to an inner wall of the cavity in order to adjust a temperature of the semiconductor wafer mounting table to the targeted temperature. The semiconductor fabrication apparatus further includes a pressure detecting unit for detecting an internal pressure of the cavity; and a vacuum pump which discharges gas within the cavity such that a pressure detected by the pressure detecting unit becomes equal to or more than a saturated vapor pressure related to the temperature of the temperature adjustment medium jetted from the nozzle and equal to or less than a saturated vapor pressure related to the targeted temperature.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a process gas containing a fluorocarbon-based gas being an etch gas having a deposition property and SF6 gas as an additional gas are introduced into a process chamber, a plasma is generated in the process chamber, and an etching is performed on a silicon-containing oxide film formed on a substrate by using a resist pattern as a mask through the plasma. At this time, based on a relationship between an etch rate and a resist selectivity that is changed with respect to a change in a flow rate of the additional gas, the flow rate of the additional gas is set to a range of the flow rate in which changes in the etch rate and the resist selectivity accompanying an increase in the flow rate of the additional gas tend to increase.

Abstract: Provided is a technique capable of ascertaining the process condition of the boundary between electrically positive and negative plasma regions. In a vacuum chamber, one of the parameters of process conditions is stepwisely changed to generate a plasma under at least three process conditions. The parameters include a flow rate ratio between an electrically negative gas and an electrically positive gas, a pressure in the vacuum chamber and the magnitude of an energy supplied to the gases. Next, a voltage is applied to a Langmuir probe positioned in that plasma, and a current-voltage curve indicating the relationship between the applied voltage and the electric current to flow through the probe is acquired for each of the process conditions. On the basis of the current-voltage curve group acquired, the process conditions are determined for the boundary between the electrically positive and negative plasma regions.

Abstract: A vaporizing unit, in supplying a gas material produced by vaporizing a liquid material onto a substrate to conduct a film forming process, can vaporize the liquid material with high efficiency to suppress generation of particles. With the vaporizing unit, positively or negatively charged bubbles, which have a diameter of 1000 nm or less, are produced in the liquid material, and the liquid material is atomized to form a mist of the liquid material. Further, the mist of the liquid material is heated and vaporized. The fine bubbles are uniformly dispersed in advance in the liquid material, so that very fine and uniform mist particles of the liquid material are produced when the liquid material is atomized, which makes heat exchange readily conducted. By vaporizing the mist of the liquid material, vaporization efficiency is enhanced, and generation of particles can be suppressed.

Abstract: In the plasma processing by an electrically negative gas, the in-plane uniformity of plasma processing is enhanced compared to the conventional case by controlling the ion density in the plasma. Not only is a processing gas being an electrically negative gas introduced from a processing gas source 170 into a processing chamber 102 but also an electrically negative gas having electron attachment coefficient greater than that of the processing gas is introduced as an additional gas from an additional gas source 180 to thereby form a plasma. In the plasma formation, the ion density in the plasma is controlled by regulating the flow rate of the additional gas relative to that of the processing gas.

Abstract: Provided is a method for performing etching process or film forming process to a substrate W whereupon a prescribed pattern is formed with an opening. The method is provided with a step of mixing a liquid and a gas, at least one of which contains a component that contributes to the etching process or the film forming process, and generating charged nano-bubbles 85 having a diameter smaller than that of the opening formed on the semiconductor substrate W; a step of forming an electric field to attract the nano-bubbles onto the surface of the substrate W; and a step of performing the process by supplying the substrate with the liquid containing the nano-bubbles 85 while forming the electric field.