Mounting table, substrate processing apparatus, and substrate processing method

Abstract

The present invention provides a mounting table, a substrate processing apparatus, and a substrate processing method. In a mounting table including a mounting surface for mounting a substrate, the flatness of the mounting surface is improved. A mounting table for mounting a substrate, the mounting table having: an electrostatic chuck having a mounting surface for mounting the substrate; a support member for supporting the electrostatic chuck; and an absorption member disposed between the electrostatic chuck and the support member, an outer edge portion of the absorption member being fastened to the support member by a fastener, a connection region is formed between the electrostatic chuck and the absorption member, the connection region being located at a central portion of the electrostatic chuck and formed by mutual connection of the electrostatic chuck and the absorption member; and a separation region located at a position on an outer edge side of the connection region and formed by mutual separation of the electrostatic chuck and the absorption member.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a mounting table, a substrate processing apparatus, and a substrate processing method. Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a plasma processing apparatus including: a mounting table for mounting a substrate; an annular member disposed so as to surround the periphery of the substrate mounted on the mounting table; and a voltage supply device for supplying high-frequency power to the mounting table, the plasma processing apparatus performing plasma processing on the substrate in a processing chamber. Further, the plasma processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 further includes: an observation device for optically observing the distribution of the plasma; a voltage application device for applying a DC voltage to the annular member; and a control device for setting the value of the applied DC voltage based on the observed plasma distribution.

[0003] Prior Art Documents

[0004] Patent Documents

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-227063 Summary of the Invention

[0006] Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] The present disclosure improves the flatness of a mounting surface of a mounting table including the mounting surface for mounting a substrate.

[0008] Solutions for Solving the Problems

[0009] One aspect of the present disclosure is a mounting table for mounting a substrate, the mounting table including: an electrostatic chuck having a mounting surface for mounting the substrate; a support member for supporting the electrostatic chuck; and an absorption member disposed between the electrostatic chuck and the support member, an outer edge portion of the absorption member being fastened to the support member by a fastener, a connection region located at a central portion of the electrostatic chuck and formed by mutual connection of the electrostatic chuck and the absorption member, and a separation region located at a position closer to the outer edge side than the connection region and formed by mutual separation of the electrostatic chuck and the absorption member being formed between the electrostatic chuck and the absorption member.

[0010] Effects of the Invention

[0011] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the flatness of the mounting surface of a mounting table including the mounting surface for mounting a substrate. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012] Figure 1 This is an explanatory diagram showing a situation where a convex deformation has occurred on a conventional mounting table.

[0013] Figure 2 This is a schematic longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the structure of the plasma processing system according to the present embodiment.

[0014] Figure 3 This is a schematic longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the structure of the mounting table according to the present embodiment.

[0015] Figure 4 This is an explanatory diagram showing a situation where a convex deformation has occurred on the mounting table according to the present embodiment.

[0016] Figure 5 This is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a modified example of the mounting table according to the present embodiment.

[0017] Figure 6 This is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a modified example of the mounting table according to the present embodiment.

[0018] Figure 7 This is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a modified example of the mounting table according to the present embodiment. Detailed Embodiment

[0019] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, in a plasma processing apparatus, a plasma is generated by exciting a processing gas, and the semiconductor substrate (hereinafter referred to as "substrate") placed on a mounting table is processed using this plasma. An electrostatic chuck is provided on the mounting table for mounting the substrate, and this electrostatic chuck adsorbs and holds the substrate on the mounting surface by, for example, Coulomb force or the like.

[0020] However, in the current electrostatic chuck structure provided on the mounting table as described in Patent Document 1, as Figure 1 shown, for example, under the influence of stress σ1 generated by screw fastening, the upward thrust σ2 of an O - ring (O - shaped seal ring), the atmospheric pressure σ3 acting due to the pressure difference between the atmospheric space and the processing space, etc., the mounting surface of the electrostatic chuck 300 may be deformed into a convex shape. The convex deformation of this mounting surface is difficult to control to be constant due to factors such as component - to - component tolerance deviation and thermal expansion. As a result, it may be difficult to make the mounting surface and the substrate W contact evenly over the entire surface. Moreover, in a situation where the mounting surface and the substrate W cannot be made to contact evenly over the entire surface, it may lead to deterioration of the in - plane uniformity of the substrate temperature during plasma processing, an increase in the leakage amount of the heat transfer gas G (back - side gas), etc., that is, it may not be possible to appropriately perform plasma processing.

[0021] Conventionally, as improvement methods for this problem point, there have been proposed methods such as pre-grinding the mounting surface of an electrostatic chuck to form a concave shape, and methods of increasing the adsorption voltage to improve the adsorption followability of the substrate with respect to the mounting surface. However, in these conventional methods, there remain problems such as a decrease in the withstand voltage margin when RF is applied to the electrostatic chuck, and a change in the flatness of the mounting surface due to component-to-component tolerances and deviations in the thread fastening torque. That is, there is room for improvement in the mounting table having the conventional electrostatic chuck structure.

[0022] The technology related to the present disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances, and appropriately suppresses deterioration of the flatness of the mounting surface in a mounting table including a mounting surface for mounting a substrate. Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a plasma processing system as a substrate processing apparatus including a mounting table according to an embodiment will be described. In addition, in this specification and the drawings, elements having substantially the same functional structure are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0023] <Plasma Processing System>

[0024] First, a plasma processing system as a substrate processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. Figure 2 It is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing the structure of the plasma processing system 1. The plasma processing system 1 has a capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus, and performs plasma processing such as etching, film formation, and diffusion on a substrate W to be processed.

[0025] In one embodiment, the plasma processing system 1 includes a plasma processing apparatus 1a and a control unit 1b. The plasma processing apparatus 1a includes a plasma processing chamber 10, a gas supply unit 20, an RF (Radio Frequency) power supply unit 30, and an exhaust system 40. In addition, the plasma processing apparatus 1a includes a mounting table 11 and an upper electrode showerhead 12 according to the present embodiment. The mounting table 11 is disposed in the lower region of the plasma processing space 10s in the plasma processing chamber 10. The upper electrode showerhead 12 is disposed above the mounting table 11 and can function as a part of the ceiling of the plasma processing chamber 10.

[0026] The mounting table 11 has: an electrostatic chuck 111 having a mounting surface for mounting the substrate W; an absorption plate 112 that absorbs the convex deformation generated in the mounting table 11; and a support plate 113 that supports the electrostatic chuck 111 with the absorption plate 112 interposed therebetween. The mounting table 11 is fixed to the floor of the plasma processing chamber 10 by means of a mounting base 114. In addition, the detailed structure of the mounting table 11 will be described later.

[0027] In addition, an edge ring 13 (also referred to as a "focusing ring") is provided around the mounting surface of the substrate W on the electrostatic chuck 111, which is formed in an annular shape so as to surround the mounting surface in a plan view. The edge ring 13 is provided to improve the uniformity of plasma processing. In addition, the edge ring 13 is made of a material appropriately selected according to the plasma processing to be performed, and can be made of, for example, silicon or quartz.

[0028] The upper electrode showerhead 12 is configured to supply one or more process gases from the gas supply unit 20 to the plasma processing space 10s. In one embodiment, the upper electrode showerhead 12 has a gas inlet 12a, a gas diffusion chamber 12b, and a plurality of gas outlets 12c. The gas inlet 12a is in fluid communication with the gas supply unit 20 and the gas diffusion chamber 12b. The plurality of gas outlets 12c are in fluid communication with the gas diffusion chamber 12b and the plasma processing space 10s. In one embodiment, the upper electrode showerhead 12 is configured to supply one or more process gases from the gas inlet 12a to the plasma processing space 10s via the gas diffusion chamber 12b and the plurality of gas outlets 12c.

[0029] The gas supply unit 20 may also include one or more gas sources 21 and one or more flow controllers 22. In one embodiment, the gas supply unit 20 is configured to supply one or more process gases from the respective corresponding gas sources 21 to the gas inlet 12a via the respective corresponding flow controllers 22. Each flow controller 22 may also include, for example, a mass flow controller or a pressure-controlled flow controller. Moreover, the gas supply unit 20 may further include one or more flow modulation devices for modulating or pulsing the flow rate of one or more process gases.

[0030] The RF power supply unit 30 is configured to supply RF power, for example, one or more RF signals, to one or more electrodes such as the support plate 113 that functions as a lower electrode, the upper electrode showerhead 12, or both the support plate 113 and the upper electrode showerhead 12. Thus, plasma is generated from one or more process gases supplied to the plasma processing space 10s. Therefore, the RF power supply unit 30 can function as at least a part of a plasma generation unit configured to generate plasma from one or more process gases in the plasma processing chamber 10. In one embodiment, the RF power supply unit 30 includes two RF generation units 31a, 31b and two matching circuits 32a, 32b. In one embodiment, the RF power supply unit 30 is configured to supply a first RF signal from the first RF generation unit 31a to the support plate 113 via the first matching circuit 32a. For example, the first RF signal may have a frequency in the range of 27 MHz to 100 MHz.

[0031] In addition, in one embodiment, the RF power supply unit 30 is configured to supply a second RF signal to the support plate 113 from the second RF generation unit 31b via the second matching circuit 32b. For example, the second RF signal may also have a frequency in the range of 400 kHz to 13.56 MHz. Alternatively, a DC (Direct Current) pulse generation unit may be used instead of the second RF generation unit 31b.

[0032] Moreover, although not shown in the drawings, other embodiments are contemplated in the present disclosure. For example, in an alternative embodiment, the RF power supply unit 30 may be configured to supply a first RF signal to the support plate 113 from an RF generation unit, supply a second RF signal to the support plate 113 from another RF generation unit, and supply a third RF signal to the support plate 113 from yet another RF generation unit. In addition, in other alternative embodiments, a DC voltage may be applied to the upper electrode showerhead 12.

[0033] In addition, in various embodiments, the amplitude of one or more RF signals (i.e., the first RF signal, the second RF signal, etc.) may be pulsed or modulated. Amplitude modulation may also include cases where the amplitude of the RF signal is pulsed between an on state and an off state, or between two or more different on states.

[0034] The exhaust system 40 can be connected, for example, to an exhaust port 10e provided at the bottom of the plasma processing chamber 10. The exhaust system 40 may also include a pressure valve and a vacuum pump. The vacuum pump may also include a turbo molecular pump, a roughing pump, or a combination thereof.

[0035] In one embodiment, the control unit 1b processes computer-executable commands for causing the plasma processing apparatus 1a to execute various processes described in the present disclosure. The control unit 1b can be configured to control each element of the plasma processing apparatus 1a to execute various processes described herein. In one embodiment, a part or the whole of the control unit 1b may be included in the plasma processing apparatus 1a. The control unit 1b may include, for example, a computer 51. The computer 51 may include, for example, a processing unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit) 511, a storage unit 512, and a communication interface 513. The processing unit 511 can be configured to perform various control operations based on a program stored in the storage unit 512. The storage unit 512 may include a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or a combination thereof. The communication interface 513 may communicate with the plasma processing apparatus 1a via a communication line such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

[0036] <Chuck table>

[0037] Next, the detailed structure of the above-described chuck table 11 will be described. Figure 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the structure of the chuck table 11.

[0038] As Figure 3 shown, the chuck table 11 according to the present embodiment has a structure in which an electrostatic chuck 111, an absorption plate 112, and a support plate 113 are concentrically laminated in this order from above.

[0039] The electrostatic chuck 111 has: a mounting portion 111a having a mounting surface on the upper surface for electrostatically adsorbing and mounting the substrate W; and a base portion 111b that supports the mounting portion 111a from below. The mounting portion 111a is made of, for example, ceramics or the like. In addition, the base portion 111b is made of, for example, aluminum or the like. In addition, the mounting portion 111a and the base portion 111b are each formed in a substantially circular plate shape having a diameter substantially the same as or smaller than the diameter of the substrate W.

[0040] An electrode 115a is provided inside the mounting portion 111a. The electrode 115a is connected to a DC power supply (not shown) via a switch, for example. Then, in the mounting portion 111a, the substrate W can be adsorbed and held on the mounting surface by the Coulomb force generated by applying a DC voltage from the DC power supply to the electrode 115a.

[0041] Further, a heater 115b serving as a heating element is provided below the electrode 115a. A heater power supply (not shown) is connected to the heater 115b, and a voltage is applied using this heater power supply to heat the stage 11 and the substrate W placed on the stage 11 to a desired temperature. Further, in the present embodiment, a total of four heaters 115b are respectively provided extending in the central region R1 of the stage 11 and the concentric annular regions R2, R3, R4 surrounding the central region R1, and the four heaters 115b are configured to be able to independently control the temperatures of the respective regions R1 to R4.

[0042] In addition, the number and shape of the regions independently heated by the plurality of heaters 115b are not limited to the present embodiment and can be arbitrarily set.

[0043] A refrigerant flow path 115c is formed inside the base portion 111b and below the heater 115b. A cooling unit (not shown) is connected to the refrigerant flow path 115c, and the refrigerant (e.g., cooling water) supplied from the cooling unit is circulated inside to cool the stage 11 and the substrate W placed on the stage 11 to a desired temperature.

[0044] Further, a gas flow path 115d for supplying a heat transfer gas (backside gas) such as helium to the back surface of the substrate W placed on the placement surface is formed in the stage 11. A gas supply source (not shown) is connected to the gas flow path 115d. Using the heat transfer gas from this gas supply source, the substrate W placed on the stage 11 can be controlled to a desired temperature. In addition, in Figure 3 the example, only a part of the gas flow path 115d, that is, the gas flow path 115d in the base portion 111b, is shown.

[0045] The absorption plate 112 serving as an absorption member has a substantially circular plate shape, and this substantially circular plate shape has a diameter larger than the diameter of the electrostatic chuck 111. The absorption plate 112 is made of, for example, aluminum or the like. In addition, in the following description, the annular region exposed from the electrostatic chuck 111 when the absorption plate 112 is viewed from above, that is, the region where the diameter of the absorption plate 112 is larger than the diameter of the electrostatic chuck 111, may be referred to as the outer edge portion of the absorption plate 112.

[0046] A connection region Ac and a separation region Ae are formed at the interface between the electrostatic chuck 111 and the absorption plate 112. The connection region Ac is located at the central portion and is formed by connecting the electrostatic chuck 111 and the absorption plate 112 to each other. The separation region Ae is located at a position closer to the outer edge side than the connection region Ac and is formed by separating the electrostatic chuck 111 and the absorption plate 112 from each other.

[0047] For example, a fastener 116a such as a bolt or a threaded member is threadedly coupled from the side of the suction plate 112 toward the side of the electrostatic chuck 111 to a convex portion formed by protruding from the central portion of the lower surface of the base portion 111b of the electrostatic chuck 111, thereby forming a connection region Ac. That is, the electrostatic chuck 111 and the suction plate 112 are in contact with and fastened to each other in the connection region Ac.

[0048] Here, the size of the connection region Ac formed at the interface between the electrostatic chuck 111 and the suction plate 112 is preferably, for example, 20% to 50% of the size of the electrostatic chuck 111. In other words, in the case where the electrostatic chuck 111 and the suction plate 112 are configured in a substantially circular plate shape as in the present embodiment, the radius r1 of the convex portion formed on the lower surface of the electrostatic chuck 111 (the radius of the contact surface between the electrostatic chuck 111 and the suction plate 112) is preferably 20% to 50% of the radius r2 of the electrostatic chuck 111. When the radius r1 is less than 20% of the radius r2, the connection region Ac is too small, so that the outer peripheral portion of the electrostatic chuck 111 may be deflected downward under the action of the self-weight of the electrostatic chuck 111, resulting in a convex shape of the mounting surface. In addition, when the radius r1 exceeds 50% of the radius r2, the connection region Ac is too large, so that the suction plate 112 may not be able to perform the functions described later. More specifically, as shown in the present embodiment, in the case where the suction plate 112 is formed of an aluminum circular plate, it is desirable that the radius of the connection region Ac is about 1 / 3 of the radius of the electrostatic chuck 111. As long as the connection region Ac is within such a range, deformation caused by the self-weight of the electrostatic chuck 111 can be suppressed, and the suction plate 112 can sufficiently perform its functions.

[0049] In addition, in the present embodiment, as described above, a convex portion is formed on the lower surface of the electrostatic chuck 111, and the fastener 116a is threadedly coupled to the convex portion, thereby forming the connection region Ac. However, the method of forming the connection region Ac is not limited thereto. For example, in the above example, a convex portion is formed on the lower surface of the electrostatic chuck 111, but a convex portion may also be formed on the upper surface of the suction plate 112. In addition, for example, in the above example, a convex portion is formed on the electrostatic chuck 111 or the suction plate 112 as described above, but a plate for forming the connection region may be provided at the interface instead of forming a convex portion. In addition, for example, in the above example, the electrostatic chuck 111 and the suction plate 112 are fastened using the fastener 116a, but the electrostatic chuck 111 and the suction plate 112 may also be fixed to each other using an adhesive or the like.

[0050] On the outer edge side of the convex portion forming the connection region Ac, the electrostatic chuck 111 and the absorption plate 112 are separated from each other, thereby forming a separation region Ae. In other words, by providing the convex portion forming the connection region Ac at the interface between the electrostatic chuck 111 and the absorption plate 112, a gap is formed on the outer edge side of the convex portion where the electrostatic chuck 111 and the absorption plate 112 do not contact each other, thereby forming the separation region Ae.

[0051] In the separation region Ae, a gap is formed at the interface between the electrostatic chuck 111 and the absorption plate 112 in this way, thereby disconnecting the electrostatic chuck 111 and the absorption plate 112. Thus, for example, even when the absorption plate 112 and the support plate 113 described later are convexly deformed, the convex deformation can be suppressed from occurring in the electrostatic chuck 111. That is, the convex deformation generated in the mounting table 11 is absorbed by the absorption plate 112.

[0052] In addition, an elastic body 117 (such as silicon, rubber, etc.) as a filling material can be filled in the gap forming the separation region Ae.

[0053] In addition, the upper surface of the outer edge portion of the absorption plate 112 is formed as an edge ring mounting portion 112e for mounting the edge ring 13. The edge ring 13 is mounted on the edge ring mounting portion 112e with a spacer member S therebetween coaxially with the electrostatic chuck 111.

[0054] The support plate 113 as a support member has a substantially circular plate shape with a diameter substantially the same as that of the absorption plate 112. The support plate 113 is made of, for example, aluminum, ceramic, etc., and has the function of the lower electrode in the plasma processing system 1. The absorption plate 112 and the support plate 113 are connected to each other by screwing fasteners 116b such as bolts and threaded members from the side of the absorption plate 112 toward the side of the support plate 113 at the outer edge portion of the absorption plate 112.

[0055] In addition, the fastener 116b screwed from the side of the absorption plate 112 toward the side of the support plate 113 penetrates the support plate 113 and is screwed to a substantially cylindrical mounting base 114 disposed below the support plate 113. Thus, the support plate 113 (mounting table 11) is fixed to the floor of the plasma processing chamber 10 by means of the mounting base 114.

[0056] In addition, the inside of the mounting base 114 to which the mounting table 11 is fastened, that is, the lower part of the mounting table 11, is set to an atmospheric pressure atmosphere. Then, it is preferable to dispose an O-ring 118 or the like for ensuring airtightness between the atmospheric pressure atmosphere below the support plate 113 and the plasma processing space 10s at the interface inside the mounting table 11, for example, between the absorption plate 112 and the support plate 113, as Figure 3 shown.

[0057] As described above, various exemplary embodiments have been described, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described exemplary embodiments, and various additions, omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made. In addition, other embodiments can be formed by combining elements in different embodiments.

[0058] <Effect of the mounting table according to the present embodiment>

[0059] According to the mounting table 11 according to the present embodiment, a separation region Ae is formed at the interface between the electrostatic chuck 111 and the absorption plate 112, and the electrostatic chuck 111 and the absorption plate 112 are disconnected. Thus, even when, for example, Figure 1 as shown, a protrusion deformation is generated in the mounting table 11 under the action of stress generated by the fastening of the fastener 116b, the upward thrust of the O-ring 118, or the atmospheric pressure of the normal pressure atmosphere from the lower part of the mounting table 11, the protrusion deformation is absorbed by the absorption plate 112. Specifically, as Figure 4 shown, even when the absorption plate 112 and the support plate 113 are deformed in a convex shape, it is possible to suppress the convex deformation of the electrostatic chuck 111 disconnected from the absorption plate 112 by the separation region Ae. As a result, the substrate W can be uniformly adsorbed and held on the entire mounting surface of the electrostatic chuck 111.

[0060] Moreover, since the substrate W can be uniformly adsorbed and held on the entire surface of the electrostatic chuck 111 in this way, the in-plane temperature uniformity of the substrate W in plasma processing can be improved, and the leakage amount of the heat transfer gas (back gas) supplied to the back surface of the substrate W can be reduced. That is, the plasma processing can be appropriately performed on the substrate W.

[0061] In addition, according to the present embodiment, the absorption plate 112 provided between the electrostatic chuck 111 and the support plate 113 can also absorb the dimensional tolerance between the components of the mounting table 11. Therefore, the temperature deviation of the mounting table 11 caused by individual differences in plasma processing can be suppressed, and the plasma processing can be more appropriately performed on the substrate W.

[0062] Moreover, according to the present embodiment, since the absorption plate 112 absorbs the protrusion deformation generated in the mounting table 11 in this way, it is not necessary to perform concave processing on the mounting surface of the electrostatic chuck 111 in advance as in the past. In this way, the substrate W can be uniformly brought into contact with the mounting surface of the electrostatic chuck 111 without applying concave processing, and thus the decrease in the withstand voltage margin when the RF is applied to the electrostatic chuck 111 can be appropriately suppressed.

[0063] In addition, according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to increase the adsorption voltage as in the past to improve the adsorption followability of the substrate W with respect to the mounting surface. Therefore, the generation of fine particles due to the friction between the substrate W and the mounting surface of the electrostatic chuck 111 can be suppressed, and thus the plasma treatment of the substrate W can be more appropriately performed.

[0064] In addition, in the above embodiment, as Figure 3 shown, an elastomer such as silicon or rubber is filled in the separation region Ae to disconnect between the electrostatic chuck 111 and the absorption plate 112, and the generation of abnormal discharge in the mounting table 11 is suppressed. However, the filling material filled in the separation region Ae is not limited to an elastomer. As Figure 5 shown, a gas supply source 215 capable of supplying an inert gas may be connected to the separation region Ae, and the inert gas may be used as the filling material. In this way, even when the inert gas is used as the filling material, the disconnection between the electrostatic chuck 111 and the absorption plate 112 and the suppression of the generation of abnormal discharge in the mounting table 11 can be achieved.

[0065] In addition, in this way, when an inert gas is supplied to the separation region Ae as the filling material, as Figure 6 shown, a partition member 215a that divides the separation region Ae into a plurality of partitions Z (the illustrated example is three partitions Z1 to Z3 in the radial direction) may be provided, and it may be configured to be able to supply the inert gas to each of these partitions Z independently. In this case, it is desirable to further provide a pressure regulating unit 215b for independently controlling the pressure of each partition Z. As the partition member 215a, a member capable of ensuring airtightness between the partitions Z can be used, such as an O-ring or an X-ring, but it is more preferably a member with a smaller reaction force with respect to the electrostatic chuck 111 and the absorption plate 112, such as an X-ring or the like.

[0066] In this way, the separation region Ae is divided into a plurality of partitions Z, and it is configured to be able to supply an inert gas to each of these partitions Z, so that the surface profile of the mounting surface of the electrostatic chuck 111 can be controlled for each partition Z. In other words, for example, when the flatness of the mounting table 11 and the substrate W mounted on the mounting table 11 deteriorates due to various conditions, the flatness of the mounting surface and the mounted substrate W can also be adjusted by controlling the supply pressure of the inert gas for each partition Z. Thus, thereby, it is possible to easily bring the substrate W into uniform contact with the mounting surface of the electrostatic chuck 111, and more appropriately perform the plasma treatment of the substrate W.

[0067] In addition, the control of the supply amount of the inert gas for each partition Z can be performed, for example, based on the amount of change in the flatness of the mounting surface of the mounting stage 11 or the substrate W being mounted detected by a displacement meter or the like during plasma processing. However, the method for controlling the supply amount of the inert gas is not limited thereto, and any method can be used for control. Specifically, for example, the in-plane temperature distribution of the substrate W mounted on the mounting stage 11 can also be measured, and the supply amount of the inert gas (the surface profile of the mounting surface) can be controlled based on this temperature distribution. Additionally, for example, the leakage amount of the heat transfer gas (backside gas) supplied to the backside of the substrate W mounted on the mounting stage 11 can be detected, and the supply amount of the inert gas (the surface profile of the mounting surface) can be controlled based on the distribution of this leakage amount.

[0068] Furthermore, the number and shape of the partitions Z formed by the partition member 215a can be arbitrarily set. By appropriately setting the number and shape of the partitions Z, the surface profile (flatness) of the mounting surface can be improved more appropriately. At this time, by setting the number and shape of the partitions Z to be the same as the number and shape of the regions (the annular regions R2 to R4 in the present embodiment) that are independently temperature-controlled by the heater 115b, the temperature and flatness can be adjusted for each partition Z (each region R), and the plasma processing of the substrate W can be performed more appropriately.

[0069] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the edge ring 13 is provided with an edge ring mounting portion 112e formed at the outer edge portion of the absorption plate 112 with an intervening spacer member S, but the formation position of the edge ring mounting portion 112e is not limited to this embodiment. For example, as Figure 7 shown, the radius of the base portion 111b of the electrostatic chuck 111 can also be formed to be larger than the radius of the mounting portion 111a, and the outer edge portion of the base portion 111b can be configured as an edge ring mounting portion 111e.

[0070] It should be considered that the embodiments disclosed this time are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The above-described embodiments can also be omitted, replaced, and changed in various forms without departing from the scope of the appended claims and their gist.

[0071] For example, the plasma processing system of the above-described embodiment has a capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus, but the plasma processing system to which the present disclosure is applicable is not limited thereto. For example, the plasma processing system can also have an inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus. Regardless of the system structure of the plasma processing system, as long as the mounting stage of the present embodiment is used, the above-described effects can be enjoyed.

[0072] In addition, for example, in the above-described embodiments, the mounting table related to the technology of the present disclosure is provided inside the plasma processing apparatus, but the type of the substrate processing apparatus on which the mounting table is provided is not limited thereto. For example, the mounting table related to the technology of the present disclosure can be appropriately applied to any substrate processing apparatus in which the substrate mounted on the mounting table may cause convex deformation, such as a vacuum processing apparatus, a grinding apparatus, and the like.

Claims

1. A mounting table for mounting a substrate, wherein, The mounting stage has: An electrostatic chuck having a mounting surface for mounting a substrate; A support member for supporting the electrostatic chuck; And An absorption member disposed between the electrostatic chuck and the support member, and an outer edge portion of the absorption member is fastened to the support member by a fastener. A connection region and a separation region are formed between the electrostatic chuck and the absorption member. The connection region is located at a central portion of the electrostatic chuck and is formed by connecting the electrostatic chuck and the absorption member to each other; and The separation region is located at a position on an outer edge side with respect to the connection region and is formed by separating the electrostatic chuck and the absorption member from each other. The absorption member is configured to absorb deformation of the mounting stage or tolerances between components of the mounting stage.

2. The mounting table according to claim 1, wherein, The electrostatic chuck and the absorption member have a cylindrical shape. The connection region is formed in a circular shape that is concentric with the electrostatic chuck in a plan view. A radius of the circular shape forming the connection region is sized to be 20% to 50% of a radius of the electrostatic chuck.

3. The mounting table according to claim 2, wherein, The absorption member is formed of aluminum. A radius of the circular shape forming the connection region is sized to be 1 / 3 of a radius of the electrostatic chuck.

4. The mounting table according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, An elastomer is filled in the separation region.

5. The mounting table according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The mounting stage has an inert gas supply unit that supplies an inert gas to the separation region.

6. The mounting table according to claim 5, wherein, A partition member is provided in the separation region, and the partition member divides the separation region into a plurality of partitions. The inert gas supply unit is configured to be able to supply the inert gas to the plurality of partitions independently.

7. The mounting table according to claim 6, wherein, The inert gas supply unit includes a pressure regulating unit that can independently regulate a supply pressure of the inert gas supplied to the plurality of partitions.

8. The mounting table according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The mounting stage has a mounting portion for an edge ring disposed around a substrate mounted on the mounting surface.

9. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, wherein, The substrate processing apparatus includes: A processing chamber in which the substrate is processed inside; and A mounting stage which is the mounting stage according to any one of claims 1 to 8 and is disposed inside the processing chamber.

10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein, The substrate processing apparatus includes a heat transfer gas supply unit that supplies a heat transfer gas to a gap between the mounting surface of the mounting stage and a substrate mounted on the mounting stage.

11. A substrate processing method, which is a method for processing a substrate in a substrate processing apparatus, wherein, The substrate processing apparatus has: A processing chamber in which the substrate is processed inside; And A mounting stage that is disposed inside the processing chamber and is used for mounting the substrate. The mounting stage includes: An electrostatic chuck having a mounting surface for mounting a substrate; A support member for supporting the electrostatic chuck; An absorption member located between the electrostatic chuck and the support member, a central portion of the absorption member is connected to the electrostatic chuck, and an outer edge portion of the absorption member is fastened to the support member by a fastener; An elastomer located on an outer edge side of a connection portion between the electrostatic chuck and the absorption member, and divides a separation region formed by separating the electrostatic chuck and the absorption member from each other into a plurality of partitions; An inert gas supply unit that can independently supply the inert gas to the plurality of partitions; and A pressure regulating unit that can independently regulate the supply pressure of the inert gas supplied to a plurality of the partitions respectively. Wherein, the absorption member is used to absorb the deformation of the stage or the tolerance between components of the stage. The processing method of the substrate adjusts the supply pressure of the inert gas to a plurality of the partitions respectively according to the change in the flatness of the surface of the substrate placed on the placement surface, so as to change the flatness of the placement surface.

12. The substrate processing method according to claim 11, wherein, Based on the surface temperature distribution of the substrate placed on the placement surface, the supply pressure of the inert gas is adjusted to a plurality of the partitions respectively.

13. The substrate processing method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein, The substrate processing apparatus includes a heat transfer gas supply unit that supplies heat transfer gas to the gap between the placement surface of the stage and the substrate placed on the stage. Based on the leakage amount of the heat transfer gas from the gap, the supply pressure of the inert gas is adjusted to a plurality of the partitions respectively.

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