Plasma processing apparatus

Abstract

A plasma processing apparatus includes a vacuum evacuable processing chamber; a first electrode for mounting thereon a substrate to be processed in the processing chamber; a second electrode facing the first electrode in parallel in the processing chamber; and a processing gas supply unit for supplying a processing gas to a processing space between the first and the second electrode. The apparatus further includes a first high frequency power supply for applying a first high frequency power for generating a plasma of the processing gas to at least one of the first and the second electrode; and a cavity plasma generation unit, having a cavity formed in one of the first and the second electrode, for generating a plasma of a discharging gas in the cavity.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to a technique for performing plasma processing on a substrate to be processed; and, more particularly, to a capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus having parallel plate electrodes.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or an FPD (flat panel display), a plasma is often used in processes, e.g., etching, deposition, oxidation, sputtering and the like, in order to make a processing gas react efficiently at a relatively low temperature. Conventionally, a capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus capable of generating a plasma of a large diameter is mainly used for a single-wafer plasma processing apparatus.[0003]Generally, in the capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus, an upper and a lower electrode are disposed in parallel with each other in a processing chamber as a vacuum chamber, and a substrate to be processed (e.g., a semiconductor wafer, a glass subs...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]In view of the above, the present invention provides a capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus capable of easily and freely controlling a plasma density distribution and, therefore, improving a production yield or uniformity of a plasma processing.

[0015]In the present invention, it is possible to control the third high frequency power supplied to the antenna or the third electrode. Besides, the plasma density of the plasma cell can be varied and, further, the dielectric constant of the plasma can be varied.

[0023]In accordance with the capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus having the parallel plate electrodes of the present invention, due to the above-described configuration and operation, the plasma density distribution can be easily and freely controlled and, also, the plasma processing uniformity or the production yield can be improved.

Problems solved by technology

Here, the problem is that it is difficult to have a uniform plasma density in a processing space of the chamber (especially, in a radial direction).

The non-uniformity of the plasma density on the substrate leads to a non-uniformity of the plasma processing.

The technique for inserting a dielectric member in a main surface of an electrode is disadvantageous in that the impedance distribution on the main surface of the electrode is fixed by a profile and a material of the dielectric member.

Further, it is not possible to flexibly cope with various processes or changes of processing conditions.

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