Plasma processing apparatus having an evacuating arrangement to evacuate gas from a gas-introducing part of a process chamber

Abstract

A plasma processing apparatus can apply a high-quality process to an object to be processed by removing impurities from a gas-introducing part of a process chamber. The gas-introducing part connected to the process chamber so as to introduce a reactant gas into the process chamber. A first vacuum pump is connected to the process chamber so as to evacuate gas from the process chamber so that the process chamber is maintained at a negative pressure. A gas-evacuating arrangement is connected to the gas-introducing part so as to exclusively evacuate the reactant gas from the gas-introducing part. The gas-evacuating arrangement includes a second vacuum pump directly connected to the gas introducing part or a bypass passage connecting the gas-introducing par to the first vacuum pump by bypassing the process chamber.

Description

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention[0002] The present invention relates to plasma processing apparatuses and, more particularly, to a plasma processing apparatus having a gas-introducing part, which introduces a reactant gas into a process chamber.[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art[0004] In recent years, a plasma processing apparatus is used to perform a film deposition process, an etching process or an ashing process in a manufacturing process of semiconductor devices since the semiconductor devices have become more densified and a finer structure. For example, in a typical microwave plasma processing apparatus, a 2.45 GHz microwave is introduced into a process chamber through a slot electrode. An object to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer or an LCD substrate is placed inside the process chamber, which is maintained under a negative pressure environment by a vacuum pump. Additionally, a reactant gas is also introduced into the process chamber so that the process gas is...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, there is a problem in the conventional plasma processing apparatus in that residual impurities such as a water component cannot be completely removed from inside the process chamber.

However, since the gas-introducing part provided to the process chamber has gas-introducing holes (nozzles) each having a very small diameter, a removal speed of the water component remaining inside the gas-introducing part is low.

The water component remaining inside the gas-introducing part may enter and close the gas-introducing holes, which interrupts the introduction o

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