Gas supply system, gas control system, plasma processing apparatus, and gas control method

Abstract

To appropriately evacuate gas from the inside of a flow controller that controls the flow rate of gas to be supplied into a processing chamber.SOLUTION: A gas supply system includes: a plurality of gas supply flow paths configured to be able to supply gas independently to a processing chamber; a flow rate controller disposed in each of the plurality of gas supply flow paths; a primary-side valve disposed upstream of the flow rate controller in the gas supply flow path; a primary-side gas exhaust flow path branching between the flow rate controller and the primary-side valve in the gas supply flow path and connected to a primary-side exhaust mechanism; a primary-side exhaust valve disposed in the primary-side gas exhaust flow path; a secondary-side valve disposed downstream of the flow rate controller in the gas supply flow path; a secondary-side gas exhaust flow path branching between the flow rate controller and the secondary-side valve in the gas supply flow path and connected to a secondary-side exhaust mechanism; and a secondary-side exhaust valve disposed in the secondary-side gas exhaust flow path.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a gas supply system, a gas control system, a plasma processing apparatus, and a gas control method. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a gas supply control method using a pressure-controlled flowmeter provided in a gas supply line, a first valve provided in the gas supply line upstream of the pressure-controlled flowmeter, and a second valve provided in the gas supply line downstream of the pressure-controlled flowmeter. In addition, the pressure-controlled flowmeter described in Patent Document 1 has, as an example, a control valve connected to the first valve and the second valve, and an orifice provided between the control valve and the second valve. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-201530 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technology according to the present disclosure appropriately exhausts gas from inside a flow rate controller that controls the flow rate of gas supplied into a processing chamber. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure is a gas supply system for supplying gas into a processing chamber, the gas supply system comprising: a plurality of gas supply flow paths configured to be able to supply gas independently to the processing chamber; a flow rate controller disposed in each of the plurality of gas supply flow paths; a primary-side valve disposed upstream of the flow rate controller in the gas supply flow path; a primary-side gas exhaust flow path branching between the flow rate controller and the primary-side valve in the gas supply flow path and connected to a primary-side exhaust mechanism; a primary-side exhaust valve disposed in the primary-side gas exhaust flow path; a secondary-side valve disposed downstream of the flow rate controller in the gas supply flow path; a secondary-side gas exhaust flow path branching between the flow rate controller and the secondary-side valve in the gas supply flow path and connected to a secondary-side exhaust mechanism; and a secondary-side exhaust valve disposed in the secondary-side gas exhaust flow path, the flow rate controller comprising a control valve connected to the primary-side valve and the secondary-side valve, and a control-side orifice disposed between the control valve and the secondary-side valve. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the present disclosure, gas can be appropriately exhausted from inside a flow rate controller that controls the flow rate of gas supplied into a processing chamber. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 11 is a graph showing the occurrence of a spike at the start of processing. [Diagram 2] 11 is a graph showing the deterioration of the gas fall at the end of processing. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration example of a plasma processing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of a plasma processing apparatus according to an embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a system diagram showing a configuration example of a gas supply unit according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing another configuration example of the gas supply unit. [Figure 7]FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing another configuration example of the gas supply unit. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is an explanatory view illustrating a schematic view of the inside of a flow rate controller in substrate processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] 4 is a graph showing a pressure inside a flow rate controller in the substrate processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing operation timings of various members in the substrate processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic view of the inside of a flow rate controller during substrate processing according to another embodiment. FIG. [Figure 12] 4 is a graph showing a state inside a chamber at the start of processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 13] 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the evacuation time in the flow rate controller and the internal pressure. [Figure 14] 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the evacuation time in the flow controller and the internal pressure of the plasma processing chamber. [Figure 15] 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic view of the inside of a flow rate controller during substrate processing according to another embodiment. FIG. [Figure 16] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing another configuration example of the gas supply unit. [Figure 17] 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic view of the inside of a flow rate controller during substrate processing according to another embodiment. FIG. [Figure 18] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing another configuration example of the gas supply unit. [Figure 19] FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing operation timings of various members in substrate processing according to a second embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 11 is an explanatory view illustrating a schematic view of the inside of a flow rate controller in substrate processing according to the second embodiment. [Figure 21] 13 is an explanatory diagram showing operation timings of various members in substrate processing according to another embodiment. FIG. [Figure 22] 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic view of the inside of a flow rate controller during substrate processing according to another embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 23]FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing another configuration example of the gas supply unit. [Figure 24] 10 is a graph showing the effect of the control method according to the second embodiment. [Diagram 25] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing another configuration example of the gas supply unit. [Figure 26] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer-based system that functions as a controller for controlling a process according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, various gas processes such as etching, film formation, cleaning, etc. are performed on a semiconductor substrate (hereinafter referred to as "wafer") placed in the internal space of a chamber under a desired gas atmosphere. In these gas processes, it is important to precisely control the flow rate of the gas supplied to the internal space of the chamber in order to obtain the desired gas processing results for the wafer to be processed.

[0009] Patent Document 1 discloses a gas supply control method using a pressure-controlled flowmeter that controls the flow rate of gas supplied to the internal space of a chamber. According to the gas supply control method described in Patent Document 1, as an example, the supply and stop of gas to the internal space of the chamber is repeated by controlling the opening and closing of a first valve and a second valve provided on the upstream side and downstream side, respectively, of the pressure-controlled flowmeter, thereby alternately performing an etching process and a deposition process for a wafer.

[0010] Meanwhile, between the above-mentioned etching process and deposition process, i.e., while the supply of gas to the internal space of the chamber is stopped, the gas supply passage (pressure-controlled flow meter) is evacuated to properly supply gas to the internal space of the chamber in the next process. The gas supply passage is evacuated, for example, by using a vacuum line (see Patent Document 1: Type 1) connected between the orifice of the pressure-controlled flow meter and the first valve, or an exhaust line (Type 2) connected downstream of the chamber.

[0011] However, when the pressure-controlled flowmeter has an orifice as described above, the conventional vacuum drawing method (Type 1, Type 2) may not be able to properly vacuum the supply flow path, which may affect the wafer processing. Specifically, for example, when exhausting from the upstream side of the orifice as in the above-mentioned Type 1, gas may remain in the supply flow path on the downstream side of the orifice, and a spike S may occur at the start of the next process as shown in Figure 1. Also, for example, when exhausting from the downstream side of the orifice as in the above-mentioned Type 2, gas may remain on the upstream side of the orifice, which may deteriorate the falling response when the gas supply is stopped as shown in Figure 2.

[0012] The technology disclosed herein has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and appropriately exhausts gas from inside a flow rate controller that controls the flow rate of gas supplied into a processing chamber. Hereinafter, a plasma processing system including a gas supply system (gas control system) and a plasma processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In this specification and the drawings, elements having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted.

[0013] <Plasma processing system> In one embodiment, the plasma processing system includes a plasma processing device 1 and a control unit 2 as shown in FIG. 3. The plasma processing system is an example of a substrate processing system, and the plasma processing device 1 is an example of a substrate processing device. The plasma processing device 1 includes a plasma processing chamber 10, a substrate support unit 11, and a plasma generation unit 12. The plasma processing chamber 10 has a plasma processing space. The plasma processing chamber 10 also has at least one gas supply port for supplying at least one gas to the plasma processing space, and at least one gas exhaust port for exhausting gas from the plasma processing space. The gas supply port is connected to a gas supply unit 20 described later, and the gas exhaust port is connected to an exhaust system 40 described later. The substrate support unit 11 is disposed in the plasma processing space, and has a substrate support surface for supporting a substrate.

[0014] The plasma generating unit 12 is configured to generate plasma from at least one gas supplied into the plasma processing space. The plasma formed in the plasma processing space may be a capacitively coupled plasma (CCP), an inductively coupled plasma (ICP), an electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma (ECR plasma), a helicon wave plasma (HWP), a surface wave plasma (SWP), or the like. Also, various types of plasma generating units may be used, including an alternating current (AC) plasma generating unit and a direct current (DC) plasma generating unit. In one embodiment, the AC signal (AC power) used in the AC plasma generating unit has a frequency in the range of 100 kHz to 10 GHz. Thus, the AC signal includes a radio frequency (RF) signal and a microwave signal. In one embodiment, the RF signal has a frequency in the range of 100 kHz to 150 MHz.

[0015] The control unit 2 processes computer-executable instructions that cause the plasma processing apparatus 1 to execute various steps described in the present disclosure. The control unit 2 may be configured to control each element of the plasma processing apparatus 1 to execute various steps described herein. In one embodiment, a part or all of the control unit 2 may be included in the plasma processing apparatus 1. The control unit 2 may include, for example, a computer 2a. The computer 2a may include, for example, a processing unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit) 2a1, a storage unit 2a2, and a communication interface 2a3. The processing unit 2a1 may be configured to read a program from the storage unit 2a2 and execute the read program to perform various control operations. This program may be stored in the storage unit 2a2 in advance, or may be acquired via a medium when necessary. The acquired program is stored in the storage unit 2a2, and is read from the storage unit 2a2 by the processing unit 2a1 and executed. The medium may be various storage media readable by the computer 2a, or may be a communication line connected to the communication interface 2a3. The storage unit 2a2 may include a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a combination of these. The communication interface 2a3 may communicate with the plasma processing apparatus 1 via a communication line such as a local area network (LAN). The above program may be recorded in a storage medium readable by the computer 2a and installed in the control unit 2 from the storage medium. The above storage medium may be temporary or non-temporary.

[0016] <Plasma processing equipment> Next, a configuration example of a capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus 1 will be described as an example of the above-mentioned plasma processing apparatus 1. FIG.

[0017] The plasma processing apparatus 1 includes a plasma processing chamber 10, a gas supply 20, a power supply 30, and an exhaust system 40. The plasma processing apparatus 1 also includes a substrate support 11 and a gas inlet. The substrate support 11 is disposed in the plasma processing chamber 10. The gas inlet is configured to introduce at least one gas into the plasma processing chamber 10. The gas inlet includes a shower head 13. The shower head 13 is disposed above the substrate support 11. In one embodiment, the shower head 13 constitutes at least a part of a ceiling of the plasma processing chamber 10. Inside the plasma processing chamber 10, a plasma processing space 10s is formed, which is defined by the shower head 13, a sidewall 10a of the plasma processing chamber 10, and the substrate support 11. The plasma processing chamber 10 has at least one gas inlet for supplying at least one gas to the plasma processing space 10s and at least one gas outlet for exhausting gas from the plasma processing space 10s. The plasma processing chamber 10 is grounded. The showerhead 13 and the substrate support 11 are electrically isolated from the plasma processing chamber 10 .

[0018] The substrate support 11 includes a main body 11a and a ring assembly 11b. The upper surface of the main body 11a has a central region for supporting the substrate W and an annular region for supporting the ring assembly 11b. A wafer is an example of the substrate W. The annular region surrounds the central region in a plan view. The substrate W is disposed on the central region, and the ring assembly 11b is disposed on the annular region so as to surround the substrate W on the central region. Therefore, the central region is also called a substrate support surface for supporting the substrate W, and the annular region is also called a ring support surface for supporting the ring assembly 11b.

[0019] In one embodiment, the main body 11a includes a base and an electrostatic chuck. The base includes a conductive member. The conductive member of the base may function as a lower electrode. The electrostatic chuck is disposed on the base. The electrostatic chuck includes a ceramic member and an electrostatic electrode disposed within the ceramic member. The ceramic member has a central region. In one embodiment, the ceramic member also has an annular region. Note that other members surrounding the electrostatic chuck, such as the annular electrostatic chuck or the annular insulating member, may have an annular region. In this case, the ring assembly 11b may be disposed on the annular electrostatic chuck or the annular insulating member, or may be disposed on both the electrostatic chuck and the annular insulating member. Also, an RF or DC electrode may be disposed within the ceramic member, in which case the RF or DC electrode functions as a lower electrode. When a bias RF signal or DC signal, which will be described later, is connected to the RF or DC electrode, the RF or DC electrode is also referred to as a bias electrode. Note that both the conductive member of the base and the RF or DC electrode may function as lower electrodes.

[0020] The ring assembly 11b includes one or more annular members. In one embodiment, the one or more annular members include one or more edge rings and at least one cover ring. The edge rings are formed of a conductive or insulating material, and the cover rings are formed of an insulating material.

[0021] Although not shown, the substrate support 11 may also include a temperature adjustment module configured to adjust at least one of the ring assembly 11b, the electrostatic chuck, and the substrate W to a target temperature. The temperature adjustment module may include a heater, a heat transfer medium, a flow path, or a combination thereof. A heat transfer fluid such as brine or gas flows through the flow path. In one embodiment, the flow path is formed in the base, and one or more heaters are disposed in a ceramic member of the electrostatic chuck. The substrate support 11 may also include a heat transfer gas supply configured to supply a heat transfer gas (backside gas) between the back surface and a central region of the substrate W.

[0022] The showerhead 13 is configured to introduce at least one gas from the gas supply unit 20 into the plasma processing space 10s. The showerhead 13 includes a conductive member. The conductive member of the showerhead 13 functions as an upper electrode. That is, the showerhead 13 includes an upper electrode.

[0023] The shower head 13 has at least one, in this embodiment three, gas supply ports 14c, 14m, 14e, at least one, in this embodiment three, gas diffusion chambers 15c, 15m, 15e, and a plurality of gas inlets 16. The gas supplied from the gas supply unit 20 to the gas supply port 14c passes through the gas diffusion chamber 15c and is supplied from the plurality of gas inlets 16 toward the center region of the substrate W supported by the substrate support unit 11. The gas supplied from the gas supply unit 20 to the gas supply port 14e passes through the gas diffusion chamber 15e and is supplied from the plurality of gas inlets 16 toward the edge region of the substrate W supported by the substrate support unit 11. The gas supplied from the gas supply unit 20 to the gas supply port 14m passes through the gas diffusion chamber 15m and is supplied from the plurality of gas inlets 16 toward the middle region between the center region and the edge region of the substrate W supported by the substrate support unit 11.

[0024] In addition to the shower head 13, the gas introduction part may include one or more side gas injectors (SGI) attached to one or more openings formed in the side wall 10a.

[0025] FIG. 5 is a system diagram showing a piping system of the gas supply unit 20 as a gas supply system. In the following description, the side of a gas source 100 described later in the gas flow direction may be referred to as the primary side (upstream side), and the side of a shower head 13 in the gas flow direction may be referred to as the secondary side (downstream side). In FIG. 4, in order to prevent the illustration from becoming complicated, only one flow control unit 110 is shown among a plurality of flow control units 110a to 110e described later shown in FIG. 5, and the numbers a to e are omitted. That is, the flow control unit 110 shown in FIG. 4 is assumed to represent any one of the flow control units 110a to 110e. Similarly, in Fig. 4, since the configurations of the various members arranged corresponding to the respective flow control units 110a to 110e are the same, the numbers a to e for the various members are omitted. That is, it is assumed that the various members shown in Fig. 4 are arranged corresponding to at least one of the flow control units 110a to 110e. Similarly, in the following description, the flow rate control units 110a to 110e and the numbers a to e of the various correspondingly arranged members may be omitted.

[0026] 5, the gas supply unit 20 includes at least one, in this embodiment five, gas source 100a-100e, and at least one, in this embodiment five, flow rate control units 110a-110e corresponding to each of the gas sources 100a-100e. In one embodiment, the gas supply unit 20 is configured to supply different types of gases output from the five gas sources 100 to the shower head 13 via the corresponding flow rate control units 110.

[0027] 4 and 5, each flow control unit 110 is connected to a corresponding gas source 100 via a primary supply pipe 120 serving as a corresponding gas supply flow path. A corresponding primary valve 121 is disposed in each primary supply pipe 120, and the supply of gas from the gas source 100 to each flow control unit 110 can be arbitrarily switched by opening and closing the primary valve 121. Any type of valve, such as an air-operated valve or an electromagnetic valve, can be used as the primary valve 121. From the viewpoint of improving responsiveness in gas supply, it is preferable to use, for example, an electromagnetic valve.

[0028] Further, between the primary valve 121 and the flow control unit 110, that is, the primary supply pipe 120 downstream of the primary valve 121 and upstream of the flow control unit 110, an exhaust unit 131 is connected via a primary exhaust pipe 130. In one example, the exhaust unit 131 as a primary exhaust mechanism is provided in common to each flow control unit 110. Furthermore, in the primary exhaust pipe 130 as a primary gas exhaust flow path, a primary exhaust valve 132 corresponding to each flow control unit 110 is disposed, and the inside of the flow control unit 110 and the primary supply pipe 120 can be evacuated by opening and closing the primary exhaust valve 132. The exhaust unit 131 may include a vacuum pump. The vacuum pump may include a turbo molecular pump, a dry pump, or a combination thereof. The exhaust unit 131 may be used in common with an exhaust system 40 to be described later and an exhaust unit 151 to be described later, which are connected to the plasma processing chamber 10. Furthermore, any type of valve, such as an air-operated valve or an electromagnetic valve, can be used as the primary side exhaust valve 132. From the viewpoint of improving the responsiveness of gas exhaust, however, it is preferable to use, for example, an electromagnetic valve.

[0029] Each flow control unit 110 includes three pressure-controlled flow controllers 111c, 111m, and 111e (hereinafter, these may be collectively referred to simply as "flow controllers 111") for controlling the flow rates of gases supplied to the three gas supply ports 14c, 14m, and 14e of the shower head 13. The three flow controllers 111 are connected to ends of branched primary-side supply pipes 120 (branched supply pipes). In one example, the primary-side supply pipe 120 is branched into three branched supply pipes downstream of a connection part of the primary-side supply pipe 120 with the primary-side exhaust pipe 130.

[0030] The configuration of the flow rate controller 111 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Since the configurations of the flow rate controllers 111c, 111m, and 111e are the same, in order to prevent the illustration in Fig. 4 from becoming complicated, the numbers of elements having the same functional configuration may be omitted.

[0031] The flow rate controller 111 includes an internal supply pipe 112, an orifice 113, two pressure sensors 114 and 115, a control valve 116, and a control circuit 117. The internal supply pipe 112 as a gas supply flow path includes a primary internal supply pipe 112a on the upstream side and a secondary internal supply pipe 112b on the downstream side, with the orifice 113 as a boundary.

[0032] The primary side of the primary side internal supply pipe 112a is connected to the above-mentioned primary side supply pipe 120, and the secondary side is connected to the orifice 113. The primary side of the secondary side internal supply pipe 112b is connected to the orifice 113, and the secondary side is connected to the below-mentioned secondary side supply pipe 140. In other words, the orifice 113 is provided between the primary side internal supply pipe 112a and the secondary side internal supply pipe 112b.

[0033] The two pressure sensors 114, 115 measure the internal pressures of the primary side internal supply pipe 112a and the secondary side internal supply pipe 112b, i.e., the pressures upstream and downstream of the orifice 113. Hereinafter, the internal pressure of the primary side internal supply pipe 112a measured by the pressure sensor 114 may be referred to as "internal pressure P1," and the internal pressure of the secondary side internal supply pipe 112b measured by the pressure sensor 115 may be referred to as "internal pressure P2."

[0034] The control valve 116, with its opening controlled by the control circuit 117, controls the flow rate of gas flowing through the internal supply pipe 112 and supplied into the plasma processing chamber 10 (shower head 13). More specifically, the control circuit 117 controls the opening of the control valve 116 to adjust the internal pressure P1 of the primary side internal supply pipe 112a, thereby controlling the flow rate of gas flowing downstream of the orifice 113 (secondary side internal supply pipe 112b) to be maintained at a desired value determined according to the purpose of substrate processing in the plasma processing chamber 10.

[0035] Additionally, the control valve 116 may function as a flow rate modulation device that modulates or pulses the flow rate of at least one gas under the control of the control circuit 117 .

[0036] Returning to the description of the gas supply unit 20, As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, each of the flow rate controllers 111c, 111m, and 111e is connected to one of the gas supply ports 14c, 14m, and 14e of the corresponding shower head 13 via secondary side supply pipes 140c, 140m, and 140e as corresponding gas supply passages. In addition, a corresponding secondary side valve 141 is arranged in the secondary side supply pipe 140, and the supply of gas from each of the flow rate controllers 111 to the shower head 13 can be arbitrarily switched by opening and closing the secondary side valve 141. Note that, as the secondary side valve 141, any type of valve such as an air operated valve or an electromagnetic valve can be used, but from the viewpoint of improving the responsiveness of the gas supply, it is preferable to use, for example, an electromagnetic valve. In the plasma processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, other valves (for example, the primary side valve 121, the primary side exhaust valve 132, or the secondary side exhaust valve 152 described later) can also be electromagnetic valves, but by making the secondary side valve 141 an electromagnetic valve in this way, the responsiveness of the gas supply can be particularly suitably improved.

[0037] Furthermore, the secondary-side supply pipes 140 join downstream of the corresponding secondary-side valves 141, and are then connected to the shower head 13. This allows different types of gases to be mixed as desired and supplied to the shower head 13 as a mixed gas by switching the gas supply from each flow rate controller 111 by opening and closing the secondary-side valves 141.

[0038] Further, between the flow rate controller 111 and the secondary side valve 141, that is, the secondary side supply pipe 140 on the upstream side of the secondary side valve 141 and downstream side of the flow rate controller 111, an exhaust unit 151 is connected via a secondary side exhaust pipe 150. In one example, the exhaust unit 151 as a secondary side exhaust mechanism is provided in common to each of the flow rate controllers 111. Further, in the secondary side exhaust pipe 150 as a secondary side gas exhaust flow path, a secondary side exhaust valve 152 corresponding to each of the flow rate controllers 111 is arranged, and the inside of the flow rate controller 111 (flow rate control unit 110) and the secondary side supply pipe 140 can be evacuated by opening and closing the secondary side exhaust valve 152. The exhaust unit 151 may include a vacuum pump. The vacuum pump may include a turbo molecular pump, a dry pump, or a combination thereof. The exhaust unit 151 may be used in common with an exhaust system 40 and an exhaust unit 131, which will be described later, connected to the plasma processing chamber 10. Furthermore, any type of valve, such as an air-operated valve or an electromagnetic valve, can be used as the secondary exhaust valve 152. From the viewpoint of improving the responsiveness of gas exhaust, however, it is preferable to use, for example, an electromagnetic valve.

[0039] In addition, in one embodiment, the secondary-side supply pipes 140 may be connected to other gas supply parts 160 downstream of the corresponding secondary-side valves 141. In other words, the gas supplied from the gas supply part 20 to the shower head 13 via each flow rate control unit 110 may be further mixed with other gases supplied from other gas supply parts 160.

[0040] The other gas supply 160 may include at least one gas source 161 and at least one flow controller 162. In one embodiment, the gas supply 160 is configured to supply at least one gas from a respective gas source 161 through a respective flow controller 162 to the showerhead 13. Each flow controller 162 may include, for example, a mass flow controller or a pressure-controlled flow controller.

[0041] In one embodiment, the other gas supply unit 160 may be configured to be able to supply a larger flow rate of gas to the shower head 13 than the gas supply unit 20. In other words, the gas supply unit 20 may be configured to be able to supply a small flow rate of gas (e.g., 0.1 to 10 sccm, preferably 0.5 to 2 sccm) to the shower head 13.

[0042] In one embodiment, the operation of the gas supply unit 20 is controlled by the aforementioned control unit 2. Specifically, for example, the control unit 2 is configured to be able to independently control the opening degree of various valves (primary side valve 121, primary side exhaust valve 132, secondary side valve 141, and secondary side exhaust valve 152) included in the gas supply unit 20. As a result, the gas supply unit 20 independently controls the gas supply from each of the multiple flow rate control units 110 to the plasma processing chamber 10, and independently controls the exhaust inside the supply pipe in each of the multiple flow rate control units 110.

[0043] Returning to the explanation of the plasma processing apparatus 1 in FIG. The power source 30 includes an RF power source 31 coupled to the plasma processing chamber 10 via at least one impedance matching circuit. The RF power source 31 is configured to supply at least one RF signal (RF power), such as a source RF signal and a bias RF signal, to a conductive member (lower electrode) of the substrate support 11 and / or a conductive member (upper electrode) of the showerhead 13. This causes a plasma to be formed from at least one processing gas supplied to the plasma processing space 10s. Thus, the RF power source 31 can function as at least a part of the plasma generating unit 12. In addition, a bias potential is generated on the substrate W by supplying a bias RF signal to the lower electrode, and ion components in the formed plasma can be attracted to the substrate W.

[0044] In one embodiment, the RF power supply 31 includes a first RF generating unit 31a and a second RF generating unit 31b. The first RF generating unit 31a is coupled to the lower electrode and / or the upper electrode via at least one impedance matching circuit and configured to generate a source RF signal (source RF power) for plasma generation. In one embodiment, the source RF signal has a frequency in the range of 10 MHz to 150 MHz. In one embodiment, the first RF generating unit 31a may be configured to generate a plurality of source RF signals having different frequencies. The generated one or more source RF signals are supplied to the lower electrode and / or the upper electrode.

[0045] The second RF generating unit 31b is coupled to the lower electrode via at least one impedance matching circuit and configured to generate a bias RF signal (bias RF power). The frequency of the bias RF signal may be the same as or different from the frequency of the source RF signal. In one embodiment, the bias RF signal has a frequency lower than the frequency of the source RF signal. In one embodiment, the bias RF signal has a frequency in the range of 100 kHz to 60 MHz. In one embodiment, the second RF generating unit 31b may be configured to generate a plurality of bias RF signals having different frequencies. The generated one or more bias RF signals are provided to the lower electrode. Also, in various embodiments, at least one of the source RF signal and the bias RF signal may be pulsed.

[0046] The power supply 30 may also include a DC power supply 32 coupled to the plasma processing chamber 10. The DC power supply 32 includes a first DC generator 32a and a second DC generator 32b. In one embodiment, the first DC generator 32a is connected to the lower electrode and configured to generate a first DC signal. The generated first bias DC signal is applied to the lower electrode. In one embodiment, the first DC signal may be applied to another electrode, such as a clamping electrode in an electrostatic chuck. In one embodiment, the second DC generator 32b is connected to the upper electrode and configured to generate a second DC signal. The generated second DC signal is applied to the upper electrode.

[0047] In various embodiments, at least one of the first and second DC signals may be pulsed. In this case, a sequence of DC-based voltage pulses is applied to the lower electrode and / or the upper electrode. The voltage pulses may have a rectangular, trapezoidal, triangular or combination of these pulse waveforms. In one embodiment, a waveform generator for generating a sequence of voltage pulses from the DC signal is connected between the first DC generator 32a and the lower electrode. Thus, the first DC generator 32a and the waveform generator constitute a voltage pulse generator. When the second DC generator 32b and the waveform generator constitute a voltage pulse generator, the voltage pulse generator is connected to the upper electrode. The voltage pulses may have a positive polarity or a negative polarity. Also, the sequence of voltage pulses may include one or more positive polarity voltage pulses and one or more negative polarity voltage pulses in one period. The first and second DC generating units 32a, 32b may be provided in addition to the RF power supply 31, or the first DC generating unit 32a may be provided in place of the second RF generating unit 31b.

[0048] The exhaust system 40 may be connected to, for example, a gas exhaust port 10e provided at the bottom of the plasma processing chamber 10. The exhaust system 40 may include a pressure regulating valve and a vacuum pump. The pressure regulating valve regulates the internal pressure of the plasma processing space 10s. The vacuum pump may include a turbomolecular pump, a dry pump, or a combination thereof.

[0049] Although various exemplary embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described exemplary embodiments, and various additions, omissions, substitutions, and modifications may be made. In addition, elements in different embodiments can be combined to form other embodiments.

[0050] For example, in the above embodiment, the gas supply unit 20 is provided with five flow rate control units 110a-110e corresponding to the five gas sources 100a-100e, respectively. In other words, the gas supply unit 20 has a configuration of one system in which one type of gas is supplied to one flow rate control unit 110. However, the configuration of the gas supply unit 20 is not limited to this, and may have a configuration of two or more systems in which multiple types of gas (two types in the example of FIG. 6) are supplied to one flow rate control unit 110, as shown in FIG. 6.

[0051] In the above embodiment, in the gas supply unit 20, various members (primary side valve 121, primary side exhaust valve 132, orifice 113, secondary side exhaust valve 152, and secondary side valve 141) are independently connected to various supply pipes (primary side supply pipe 120, internal supply pipe 112, and secondary side supply pipe 140) as shown in FIG. 4. However, the configuration of the gas supply unit 20 is not limited to this, and it is preferable that various members are integrally connected to various supply pipes from the viewpoint of improving the maintainability of the gas supply unit 20. Specifically, as shown as an example in the schematic diagram of FIG. 7, various members (primary side valve 121, primary side exhaust valve 132, orifice 113, secondary side exhaust valve 152, and secondary side valve 141) connected to various supply pipes may be integrally configured by being fixed to a mounting plate 170 as a mounting member.

[0052] <Substrate Processing Method (First Embodiment)> Next, a substrate processing method as a gas supply method (gas control method) according to the first embodiment performed using the plasma processing system configured as above will be described. In the following description, an example will be described in which an etching process (ALE: Atomic Layer Etching) is performed on a substrate W to be processed in the plasma processing chamber 10, but the type of gas processing performed on the substrate W is not limited to the following example. For example, in the plasma processing chamber 10, instead of an etching process, any gas processing such as a film formation process or a cleaning process can be performed as described above.

[0053] In this embodiment, an example will be described in which an etching process is performed on a substrate W using three types of gas, for example, a CF-based gas (e.g., C4F6, C4F8, etc.) supplied from a gas source 100a, an oxygen (O2) gas supplied from a gas source 100b, and an argon (Ar) gas supplied from a gas source 100c. The supply flow rate of the CF-based gas supplied from the gas source 100a is controlled by a flow rate control unit 110a. The supply flow rate of the oxygen gas supplied from the gas source 100b is controlled by a flow rate control unit 110b. The supply flow rate of the argon gas supplied from the gas source 100c is controlled by a flow rate control unit 110c.

[0054] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the flow rate controller 111 in the main process of the substrate processing. FIG. 9 is a graph showing the measured values ​​of the pressure sensors 114 and 115 in the main process shown in FIG. 8, that is, the internal pressures of the primary side internal supply pipe 112a and the secondary side internal supply pipe 112b. FIG. 10 is a timing chart of the substrate processing according to one embodiment. In FIG. 8, the three flow rate controllers 111c, 111m, and 111e included in the flow rate control unit 110 are illustrated as the flow rate controller 111. That is, the flow rate controller 111 shown in FIG. 8 indicates any one of the flow rate controllers 111c, 111m, and 111e. The operations of these flow rate controllers 111c, 111m, and 111e are all similar.

[0055] When starting the etching process for the substrate W in the plasma processing chamber 10, first, the primary valve 121c and the secondary valve 141c of the flow rate control unit 110c are opened to start the supply of Ar gas to the plasma processing chamber 10 (step St0 in FIG. 10). The Ar gas acts as a carrier gas in the etching process, and is constantly supplied in a series of the etching process.

[0056] The flow rates of the Ar gas supplied into the plasma processing chamber 10 to the gas supply ports 14c, 14m, and 14e of the shower head 13 are individually controlled by three flow rate controllers 111c, 111m, and 111e of the flow rate control unit 110c. The Ar gas supplied into the plasma processing chamber 10 may be supplied from another gas supply unit 160. In addition, in one example, the supply flow rate of the argon gas supplied into the plasma processing chamber 10 is greater than the supply flow rates of the CF-based gas supplied from the gas source 100a and the oxygen gas supplied from the gas source 100b.

[0057] Next, as shown in Fig. 8(a), the primary valve 121a and the secondary valve 141a of the flow rate control unit 110a are opened to start supplying the CF-based gas into the plasma processing chamber 10 (step St1 in Figs. 9 and 10). In step St1, the gas introduced from the gas source 100a to the flow rate controller 111 is supplied to the plasma processing chamber 10 after its flow rate is reduced by the orifice 113. In other words, the internal pressure of the secondary internal supply pipe 112b is lower than the internal pressure of the primary internal supply pipe 112a. In step St1, a CF-based deposit is formed on the substrate W by a CF-based gas supplied into the plasma processing chamber 10 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as a "deposition step").

[0058] The CF-based gas supplied into the plasma processing chamber 10 is controlled by three flow rate controllers 111c, 111m, and 111e of the flow rate control unit 110a, so that the flow rates of the CF-based gas supplied to the center region, middle region, and edge region of the substrate W are individually controlled, thereby controlling the amount of CF-based deposits formed in each of the center region, middle region, and edge region.

[0059] After the CF-based deposit is formed on the substrate W, the primary side valve 121a and the secondary side valve 141a of the flow control unit 110a are closed as shown in FIG. 8(b) to stop the supply of the CF-based gas into the plasma processing chamber 10 (FIGS. 9 and 10, step St2). In step St2, the primary side valve 121a and the secondary side valve 141a are closed, thereby isolating the inside of the flow rate controller 111, the primary side supply pipe 120, and the secondary side supply pipe 140 from the outside. As a result, the gas in the primary side supply pipe 120 moves into the secondary side supply pipe 140 through the orifice, and the internal pressures of the primary side supply pipe 120 and the secondary side supply pipe 140 approximately match and reach an equilibrium state.

[0060] Next, as shown in Fig. 8(c), the primary side exhaust valve 132a and the secondary side exhaust valve 152a of the flow control unit 110a are opened to exhaust the inside of the flow control unit 110a (flow controller 111) that has supplied the CF-based gas (step St3 in Figs. 9 and 10: hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the "first exhaust step"). More specifically, the primary side exhaust valve 132a is opened to exhaust the inside of the primary side supply pipe 120 and the primary side internal supply pipe 112a by the exhaust unit 131, and the secondary side exhaust valve 152a is opened to exhaust the inside of the secondary side supply pipe 140 and the secondary side internal supply pipe 112b by the exhaust unit 151. In addition, in order to appropriately suppress the occurrence of spike S shown in FIG. 1, it is desirable that the exhaust of the flow control unit 110a (flow controller 111) by the exhaust unit 151 is continued until, for example, the pressure within the flow control unit 110a becomes less than the internal pressure during flow control (during the deposition process), preferably until the gas within the flow control unit 110a is completely exhausted.

[0061] In this embodiment, the inside of the flow rate controller 111 is exhausted using the exhaust unit 131 and the exhaust unit 151 connected to the upstream side and downstream side, respectively, of the flow rate controller 111. As a result, even if the flow rate controller 111 includes the orifice 113, the time required for exhausting the primary side internal supply pipe 112a on the upstream side of the orifice 113 and the secondary side internal supply pipe 112b on the downstream side can be appropriately shortened, and gas can be appropriately prevented from remaining in the primary side internal supply pipe 112a and the secondary side internal supply pipe 112b.

[0062] Next, as shown in FIG. 8(d), the control valve 116, the primary side exhaust valve 132a, and the secondary side exhaust valve 152a of the flow rate control unit 110a are closed to stop exhausting the flow rate control unit 110a (step St4 in FIGS. 9 and 10). In step St4, the primary side valve 121a and the secondary side valve 141a are closed, thereby isolating the inside of the flow rate controller 111, the primary side supply pipe 120, and the secondary side supply pipe 140 from the outside. As a result, the gas in the primary side supply pipe 120 moves into the secondary side supply pipe 140 through the orifice, and the internal pressures of the primary side supply pipe 120 and the secondary side supply pipe 140 approximately match and reach an equilibrium state.

[0063] After the first exhaust process (step St4) is completed, it may be confirmed that the residual gas in the flow controller 111a has been properly exhausted by opening the control valve 116 of the flow controller 111a and the secondary valve 141a of the flow control unit 110a as shown in FIG. 8(e) (step St5 in FIGS. 9 and 10).

[0064] In the following description, steps St1 to St5, in other words the deposition process and the first exhaust process, may be referred to as a "deposition process (first process)."

[0065] Next, the primary valve 121b and the secondary valve 141b of the flow rate control unit 110b are opened to start supplying O2 gas into the plasma processing chamber 10 (see FIG. 8(a)). At the same time, the RF power source 31 starts supplying an RF signal (RF power) to the conductive member (lower electrode) of the substrate support 11 and / or the conductive member (upper electrode) of the shower head 13 (step St6 in FIGS. 9 and 10). In step St6, the gas introduced from the gas source 100b to the flow rate controller 111 is supplied to the plasma processing chamber 10 after its flow rate is reduced by the orifice 113. In other words, the internal pressure of the secondary internal supply pipe 112b is lower than the internal pressure of the primary internal supply pipe 112a. In step St6, plasma is generated from the O2 gas supplied into the plasma processing chamber 10, and the substrate W is etched (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as an "etching step").

[0066] The flow rates of the O2 gas supplied into the plasma processing chamber 10 to the gas supply ports 14c, 14m, and 14e of the shower head 13 are individually controlled by three flow rate controllers 111c, 111m, and 111e of the flow rate control unit 110b. In other words, the supply flow rates of the O2 gas to the center region, middle region, and edge region of the substrate W are individually controlled, thereby individually controlling the etching amounts of the substrate W in the center region, middle region, and edge region.

[0067] When etching of the substrate W is completed, the primary side valve 121b and the secondary side valve 141b of the flow control unit 110b are then closed to stop the supply of O2 gas into the plasma processing chamber 10 (see step St7 in Figures 9 and 10: Figure 8(b)). In step St7, the primary side valve 121b and the secondary side valve 141b are closed, thereby isolating the inside of the flow rate controller 111, the primary side supply pipe 120, and the secondary side supply pipe 140 from the outside. As a result, the gas in the primary side supply pipe 120 moves into the secondary side supply pipe 140 through the orifice, and the internal pressures of the primary side supply pipe 120 and the secondary side supply pipe 140 approximately match and reach an equilibrium state.

[0068] Next, the primary side exhaust valve 132b and the secondary side exhaust valve 152b of the flow control unit 110b are opened (see FIG. 8(c)), and the inside of the flow control unit 110b (flow controller 111) that has supplied O2 gas is exhausted (step St8 in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10: hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the "second exhaust step"). More specifically, the primary side exhaust valve 132b is opened to exhaust the inside of the primary side supply pipe 120 and the primary side internal supply pipe 112a by the exhaust unit 131, and the secondary side exhaust valve 152a is opened to exhaust the inside of the secondary side supply pipe 140 and the secondary side internal supply pipe 112b by the exhaust unit 151. Note that the detailed exhaust method of the flow control unit 110b is the same as the exhaust method of the flow control unit 110a in step St3. In addition, in order to appropriately suppress the occurrence of the spike S shown in FIG. 1, it is desirable that the exhaust of the flow control unit 110b (flow controller 111) by the exhaust unit 151 is continued until, for example, the pressure within the flow control unit 110b becomes less than the internal pressure during flow control (during the etching process), preferably until the gas within the flow control unit 110b is completely exhausted.

[0069] Next, the control valve 116, the primary side exhaust valve 132b and the secondary side exhaust valve 152b of the flow rate control unit 110b are closed to stop exhausting the flow rate control unit 110b (step St9 in FIGS. 9 and 10: see FIG. 8(d)). In step St9, the primary side valve 121b and the secondary side valve 141b are closed, thereby isolating the inside of the flow rate controller 111, the primary side supply pipe 120, and the secondary side supply pipe 140 from the outside. As a result, the gas in the primary side supply pipe 120 moves into the secondary side supply pipe 140 through the orifice, and the internal pressures of the primary side supply pipe 120 and the secondary side supply pipe 140 approximately match and reach an equilibrium state.

[0070] After the second exhaust process (step St9) is completed, the control valve 116 of the flow controller 111a and the secondary valve 141a of the flow control unit 110a may be opened (see FIG. 8(e)) to confirm that the residual gas in the flow controller 111a has been properly exhausted (step St10 in FIGS. 9 and 10).

[0071] In the following description, steps St6 to St10, in other words the etching process and the second exhaust process, may be referred to as the "etching process (second process)".

[0072] In this embodiment, a process cycle including the first process (steps St1 to St5) as the deposition process and the second process (steps St6 to St10) as the etching process is repeatedly executed until a desired etching amount is obtained for the substrate W, as shown in Fig. 10. In one example, the time required for one cycle is, for example, 1 to 10 seconds, preferably 0.5 to 3 seconds for the deposition process and 0.5 to 7 seconds for the etching process, and more preferably 1 to 2 seconds for the deposition process and 3 to 5 seconds for the etching process.

[0073] Thereafter, when the cycle is repeated one or more times as desired, it is determined whether a further etching cycle (a deposition process (first process) and an etching process (second process)) is necessary, and if it is determined that a further etching cycle is necessary, the process returns to step St1 as shown in Fig. 10, and the first process and the second process are repeated. If it is determined that a further etching cycle is not necessary, the etching process for the substrate W is terminated.

[0074] If it is determined that a further etching process cycle is required, the CF-based gas and O2 gas are supplied again from the flow rate control units 110a and 110b to the plasma processing chamber 10 as shown in Fig. 10. At this time, it is necessary to start the gas supply from the gas sources 100a and 100b again. However, if the gas supply is started from a state in which the inside of the flow rate control unit 110 is evacuated as shown in Fig. 8(d), it is necessary to fill the flow rate control unit 110 with gas before starting the gas supply to the plasma processing chamber 10, which requires time to restart the process.

[0075] In the plasma processing according to the present embodiment, when the etching process cycle is repeated in this manner, and particularly when the gas supply unit 20 has a single system configuration for supplying one type of gas to one flow rate control unit 110, a pre-control preparation may be performed prior to resumption of gas supply to the plasma processing chamber 10. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 11(e), the primary side valve 121 of the flow rate control unit 110 is opened to fill the inside of the primary side supply pipe 120 with gas, and the secondary side valve 141 is opened to balance the internal pressures of the internal supply pipe 112 and the secondary side supply pipe 140 with the internal pressure of the plasma processing chamber 10. This shortens the time required to refill the gas from the gas source 100 when the process is restarted, and also prevents gas from flowing suddenly into the plasma processing chamber 10, thereby more appropriately suppressing the occurrence of the spike S shown in FIG. 1.

[0076] The steps shown in (a) to (d) of Fig. 11 are the same as those shown in (a) to (d) of Fig. 8. In this case, the confirmation step (steps St5 and St10) of whether the residual gas in the flow rate controller 111a corresponding to Fig. 8(e) has been properly exhausted may be omitted as shown in Fig. 11, or, although not shown, the primary side valve 121 and the secondary side valve 141 shown in Fig. 11(e) may be opened after the confirmation step (steps St5 and St10).

[0077] <Effects of the substrate processing according to the first embodiment> 12 is a graph showing a comparison result for examining the effect of the plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment, and shows a comparison result with a case where exhaust was performed using only the exhaust unit 131 connected to the upstream side of the orifice 113 (Type 1 shown in FIG. 1). Note that in both the comparative example (Type 1) and the example shown in FIG. 12, a vacuum was drawn to the flow rate controller 111 for a short period of time (for example, about 1 sec).

[0078] 12, when exhaust is performed using only the exhaust unit 131 connected to the upstream side of the orifice 113, there is a concern that a spike S will occur due to gas remaining in the secondary-side internal supply pipe 112b when the secondary-side valve 141 is subsequently opened. The concern of the occurrence of such a spike S becomes greater particularly when the evacuation time of the flow rate controller 111 is short. In this embodiment, it has been found that by further using the exhaust unit 151 connected downstream of the orifice 113 to perform exhaust, the occurrence of spikes S can be suppressed even when the vacuum pumping time of the flow controller 111 is short (approximately 1 sec in this embodiment).

[0079] 13 is a graph showing the relationship between the evacuation time and the internal pressure of the flow controller 111 in the first evacuation step (step St3) and the second evacuation step (step St9) described above. In order to appropriately suppress the occurrence of the spike S when the process is restarted, it is necessary to lower the internal pressure of the flow controller 111 during evacuation compared to the pressure during flow control (process). In this regard, as shown in FIG. 13, it has been found that by providing an exhaust line between the orifice 113 of the flow controller 111 and the secondary valve 141 as described above, the inside of the flow controller 111 can be depressurized to a pressure lower than the pressure during flow control even when the evacuation time is set to 2 seconds or less, more specifically, 0.5 seconds. That is, the present inventors have found that the time required for evacuation in the above-mentioned first evacuation step (step St3) and second evacuation step (step St9) can be shortened to 0.5 seconds or less.

[0080] Thus, according to the plasma processing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, in the gas supply unit 20 that supplies gas into the inside of the plasma processing chamber 10, an exhaust line (secondary exhaust pipe 150, exhaust unit 151, and secondary exhaust valve 152) is provided between the orifice 113 of the flow rate controller 111 and the secondary side valve 141. This makes it possible to evacuate the inside of the flow rate controller 111 in a short time between processes in the plasma processing (between the deposition step and the etching step according to the above embodiment), and appropriately suppress the occurrence of spikes S when the process is restarted.

[0081] 11(e), prior to resuming the gas supply to the plasma processing chamber 10, the inside of the primary supply pipe 120 is filled with gas, and the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112 and the secondary supply pipe 140 is equilibrated with the internal pressure of the plasma processing chamber 10. This makes it possible to appropriately shorten the time required to fill the flow rate controller 111 with gas when the process is resumed, and further appropriately suppress the occurrence of a spike S when the process is resumed.

[0082] In the above embodiment, the flow control unit 110 (flow controller 111) is evacuated until the pressure inside the flow control unit 110 becomes less than the internal pressure during flow control (during the deposition process or the etching process), preferably until the gas inside the flow control unit 110b is completely exhausted. However, the pressure reached after the flow control unit 110 (flow controller 111) is evacuated is not limited to this.

[0083] Specifically, as described above, particularly when the gas supply unit 20 has a single-system configuration that supplies one type of gas to one flow control unit 110, mixing of multiple types of gas is suppressed inside the flow control unit 110. For this reason, when the flow control unit 110 (flow controller 111) is configured with a single system in this manner, the gas inside the flow control unit 110 may not be completely exhausted during evacuation, and some of it may remain.

[0084] As described above, the occurrence of spike S at the time of restarting the process can be appropriately suppressed by making the pressure in the flow rate control unit 110 lower than the internal pressure during flow rate control. On the other hand, it is important to shorten the plasma start-up time inside the plasma processing chamber (increasing the slope of the graph shown in FIG. 1) particularly in the etching process of the substrate W. The present inventors have found that such plasma start-up time can be shortened by causing the gas remaining in the flow rate control unit 110 (flow rate controller 111) to flow into the plasma processing chamber 10 at the time of restarting the process. In other words, the present inventors have found that in the evacuation of the flow rate control unit 110 (flow rate controller 111), the occurrence of spike S at the time of restarting the process can be suppressed and the etching process of the substrate W can be more suitably performed by performing evacuation to a pressure that can shorten the plasma start-up time.

[0085] After careful investigation, the present inventors discovered that by setting the internal pressure of the flow control unit 110 (flow controller 111) after evacuation to, for example, 100 Torr or less, preferably 50 Torr or less, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of spike S when the process is restarted and to suitably shorten the plasma start-up time.

[0086] Furthermore, since the technology disclosed herein can properly evacuate the inside of the flow rate controller 111 even when the vacuum pumping time is shortened in this manner, it is particularly suitable for use when the gas supply unit 20 has a configuration of two or more systems (see FIG. 6).

[0087] Specifically, when the gas supply unit 20 has a configuration of two or more systems, that is, when two or more types of gas are supplied to one flow rate controller 111, it is necessary to suppress mixing of different types of gas inside the flow rate controller 111. In other words, before switching the supply of one gas to the flow rate controller 111 to the supply of another gas, it is necessary to sufficiently exhaust the one gas as a residual gas from inside the flow rate controller 111.

[0088] In this regard, the inventors have discovered that in conventional exhaust methods (e.g., Type 1 shown in FIG. 1), in order to exhaust residual gas from the flow controller 111 to a degree that can suppress the effects of the residual gas in the plasma processing chamber 10, a vacuum of about 60 seconds is required as shown in FIG. 14, whereas according to this embodiment, the effects of the residual gas can be sufficiently suppressed even with a vacuum of about 2 seconds. That is, in order to suppress mixing of the one gas with the other gas inside the flow rate controller 111, it was conventionally necessary to exhaust the one gas for about 60 seconds, but it was found that the exhaust time of the one gas can be shortened to about 2 seconds by further performing vacuum drawing on the downstream side of the orifice 113. In other words, it was found that the fall response of the vacuum drawing of the flow rate controller 111 can be improved.

[0089] As described above, according to this embodiment, particularly when the gas supply unit 20 has a configuration of two or more systems, it becomes possible to instantly switch the gas supply from different gas sources 100 to one flow rate controller 111.

[0090] The operation of the flow rate controller 111 in the substrate processing is not limited to the embodiment shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 11. Fig. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the flow rate controller 111 in the main steps of the substrate processing according to another embodiment. In Fig. 15, similarly to Fig. 8 and Fig. 11, the three flow rate controllers 111c, 111m, and 111e included in the flow rate control unit 110 are illustrated as the flow rate controller 111. That is, the flow rate controller 111 shown in Fig. 15 includes the flow rate controllers 111c, 111m, and 111e.

[0091] First, the primary valve 121c and the secondary valve 141c of the flow rate control unit 110c are opened to start supplying Ar gas to the plasma processing chamber 10. The Ar gas acts as a carrier gas in the etching process, and is constantly supplied throughout the series of etching processes.

[0092] 15(a), the primary valve 121a and the secondary valve 141a of the flow rate control unit 110a are opened to start supplying the CF-based gas into the plasma processing chamber 10. That is, the above-mentioned deposition process is started to form a CF-based deposit on the substrate W.

[0093] Next, as shown in FIG. 15(b), the primary valve 121a, the control valve 116, and the secondary valve 141a of the flow rate control unit 110a are closed to stop the supply of the CF-based gas into the plasma processing chamber 10.

[0094] 15(c), taking into consideration the responsiveness of the primary exhaust valve 132a of the flow control unit 110a, the primary exhaust valve 132a is opened after a predetermined delay. At this time, the secondary exhaust valve 152a is also opened. Then, the inside of the flow control unit 110a (flow controller 111) that has supplied the CF-based gas is evacuated (first evacuation step).

[0095] 15(d), taking into consideration the responsiveness of the control valve 116 of the flow rate control unit 110a, the control valve 116 is opened after a predetermined delay. Then, residual gases in the primary side internal supply pipe 112a and the secondary side internal supply pipe 112b are exhausted.

[0096] Next, as shown in FIG. 15(e), the primary side exhaust valve 132a and the secondary side exhaust valve 152a of the flow rate control unit 110a are closed to stop exhausting the flow rate control unit 110a.

[0097] After the first exhaust step is completed, the control valve 116 of the flow rate controller 111a and the secondary exhaust valve 152a may be opened to confirm that the residual gas in the flow rate controller 111a has been properly exhausted, as shown in Fig. 15(f). At this time, the secondary exhaust valve 152a is opened after a predetermined delay, taking into account the responsiveness of the secondary exhaust valve 152a.

[0098] The deposition process is carried out as described above. In the subsequent etching process, although the gas species used is different, the operation of the flow rate controller 111 is similar to that shown in Figures 15(a) to 15(f), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0099] This embodiment can also provide the same effects as the above embodiment, that is, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of spikes S when the process is restarted, and to suitably shorten the plasma start-up time.

[0100] In the above embodiment, as shown in Fig. 4 to Fig. 7, the flow control unit 110 can be evacuated from both the upstream side and the downstream side of the flow control unit 110. In this regard, in this embodiment (first embodiment), the flow control unit 110 may be evacuated from only the upstream side of the flow control unit 110. In other words, particularly according to this embodiment (first embodiment), the flow control unit 110 according to the technique of the present disclosure may include only the primary side exhaust pipe 130, the exhaust unit 131, and the primary side exhaust valve 132, and may not include the secondary side exhaust pipe 150, the exhaust unit 151, and the secondary side exhaust valve 152, as shown in Fig. 16.

[0101] Fig. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the flow rate controller 111 shown in Fig. 16. In Fig. 17, similarly to Figs. 8, 11, and 15, the three flow rate controllers 111c, 111m, and 111e provided in the flow rate control unit 110 are illustrated as the flow rate controller 111. That is, the flow rate controller 111 shown in Fig. 17 includes the flow rate controllers 111c, 111m, and 111e.

[0102] First, the primary valve 121c and the secondary valve 141c of the flow rate control unit 110c are opened to start supplying Ar gas to the plasma processing chamber 10. The Ar gas acts as a carrier gas in the etching process, and is constantly supplied throughout the series of etching processes.

[0103] 17(a), the primary valve 121a and the secondary valve 141a of the flow rate control unit 110a are opened to start supplying the CF-based gas into the plasma processing chamber 10. That is, the above-mentioned deposition process is started to form a CF-based deposit on the substrate W.

[0104] Next, as shown in FIG. 17(b), the primary valve 121a, the control valve 116, and the secondary valve 141a of the flow rate control unit 110a are closed to stop the supply of the CF-based gas into the plasma processing chamber 10.

[0105] 17(c), taking into consideration the responsiveness of the primary exhaust valve 132a of the flow control unit 110a, the primary exhaust valve 132a is opened after a predetermined delay, and the inside of the flow control unit 110a (flow controller 111) that has supplied the CF-based gas is evacuated.

[0106] 17(d), taking into consideration the responsiveness of the control valve 116 of the flow rate control unit 110a, the control valve 116 is opened after a predetermined delay. Then, residual gas in the primary side internal supply pipe 112a and the secondary side internal supply pipe 112b is exhausted.

[0107] Next, as shown in FIG. 17(e), the primary side exhaust valve 132a of the flow rate control unit 110a is closed to stop exhausting the flow rate control unit 110a.

[0108] The deposition process is carried out as described above. In the subsequent etching process, although the gas species used is different, the operation of the flow rate controller 111 is similar to that shown in Figures 17(a) to 17(e), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0109] This embodiment can also provide the same effects as the above embodiment, that is, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of spikes S when the process is restarted, and to suitably shorten the plasma start-up time.

[0110] In the above embodiment, the flow control unit 110 is configured to be able to be evacuated from both the upstream side and the downstream side of the flow control unit 110 as shown in Figs. 4 to 7, or the flow control unit 110 is configured to be able to be evacuated only from the upstream side of the flow control unit 110 as shown in Fig. 16. In this respect, in this embodiment (first embodiment), the flow control unit 110 may be configured to be able to be evacuated only from the downstream side of the flow control unit 110. In other words, particularly according to this embodiment (first embodiment), the flow control unit 110 according to the technology disclosed herein may include only the secondary side exhaust pipe 150, the exhaust unit 151, and the secondary side exhaust valve 152, and may not include the primary side exhaust pipe 130, the exhaust unit 131, and the primary side exhaust valve 132. Even in such a case, the above-mentioned effects can be enjoyed.

[0111] In the above embodiment, the flow control unit 110 includes the pressure-controlled flow controllers 111c, 111m, and 111e, but the number of the flow controllers 111 is not limited to this. For example, one flow controller 111 may be provided as shown in FIG. 18. The illustrated example is an example in which the flow control unit 110 can be evacuated only from the upstream side of the flow control unit 110, but the number of the flow controllers 111 is not limited even in a configuration in which the flow control unit 110 can be evacuated only from the downstream side of the flow control unit 110 or a configuration in which the flow control unit 110 can be evacuated from both the upstream side and the downstream side of the flow control unit 110.

[0112] <Substrate Processing Method (Second Embodiment)> Here, as described above, it is important to shorten the plasma start-up time (hereinafter referred to as "improving start-up response") inside the plasma processing chamber in the etching process of the substrate W. However, as shown in the above embodiment, when the flow rate controller 111 is evacuated (first exhaust step and second exhaust step) when the process is restarted, if the secondary side valve 141 is opened in a state where there is a difference in the internal pressure between the internal supply pipe 112 and the secondary side supply pipe 140, for example, an inflow of Ar gas from the secondary side supply pipe 140 to the internal supply pipe 112 occurs, causing a delay in the supply of the CF-based gas from the flow rate controller 111 to the plasma processing chamber 10, which may deteriorate the start-up response of the etching process. As described above, the supply flow rate of the argon gas supplied into the plasma processing chamber 10 is set to be larger than the supply flow rates of the CF gas supplied from the gas source 100a and the oxygen gas supplied from the gas source 100b. Therefore, the internal pressure of the secondary supply pipe 140, which is the destination of the opening of the secondary valve 141, is increased, and this deterioration of the rise response is of particular concern.

[0113] Therefore, in the plasma processing according to the technique of the present disclosure, in order to suppress such deterioration of the start-up response, the flow rate controller 111 may be filled with gas and the internal supply pipe 112 may be pressurized (hereinafter referred to as a "pre-charge process") prior to the supply of a CF-based gas or the like to the plasma processing chamber 10. Hereinafter, the substrate processing method according to the second embodiment, including the precharge process, will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, detailed description of operations (steps) that are substantially the same as those in the above embodiment will be omitted.

[0114] Fig. 19 is a timing chart of the substrate processing according to one embodiment. Fig. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the flow rate controller 111 in the main steps of the substrate processing. In Fig. 20, the three flow rate controllers 111c, 111m, and 111e included in the flow rate control unit 110 are illustrated as the flow rate controller 111. In other words, the flow rate controller 111 illustrated in Fig. 20 includes the flow rate controllers 111c, 111m, and 111e. Similarly, the primary side valve 121, the primary side exhaust valve 132, the secondary side valve 141, and the secondary side exhaust valve 152 shown in FIG. 20 include primary side valves 121a and 121b, primary side exhaust valves 132a and 132b, and secondary side valves 141a and 141b corresponding to the gas sources 100a and 100b, respectively.

[0115] 20(a), before starting the etching process on the substrate W in the plasma processing chamber 10, the primary side valve 121, the primary side exhaust valve 132, the control valve 116, the secondary side valve 141, and the secondary side exhaust valve 152 are all closed to stop the gas supply to the plasma processing chamber 10. Also, the inside of the flow rate controller 111 is evacuated to a vacuum.

[0116] When starting the etching process for the substrate W in the plasma processing chamber 10, first, the supply of Ar gas from the other gas supply unit 160 to the plasma processing chamber 10 is started (step Sp0 in FIG. 19). The Ar gas acts as a carrier gas in the etching process, and is constantly supplied in the series of the etching process. The Ar gas supplied into the plasma processing chamber 10 may be supplied from the gas source 100c instead of the other gas supply unit 160, as in the above embodiment.

[0117] 20(b), only the primary valve 121a and the control valve 116 of the flow control unit 110a are opened (the secondary valve 141a is not opened), and the supply of the CF-based gas to the flow controller 111 of the flow control unit 110a is started (step Sp1 in FIG. 19). In step Sp1, the CF-based gas is filled into the flow controller 111 prior to the supply of the CF-based gas to the plasma processing chamber 10, and the pressure in the internal supply pipe 112 is increased (first precharge process).

[0118] Here, the internal pressure inside the secondary-side supply pipe 140 to which the secondary-side valve 141a is opened rises with the supply of Ar gas to the plasma processing chamber 10 in step Sp0. As a result, if the secondary-side valve 141a is opened in a state in which there is a difference in internal pressure between the internal supply pipe 112 and the secondary-side supply pipe 140, for example, an inflow of Ar gas from the secondary-side supply pipe 140 to the internal supply pipe 112 occurs, causing a delay in the supply of the CF-based gas from the flow rate controller 111 to the plasma processing chamber 10, which may deteriorate the start-up response of the etching process.

[0119] Therefore, in this embodiment, the flow rate controller 111 is filled with the CF-based gas prior to the supply of the CF-based gas, and the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112 (more specifically, the internal pressure P2 of the secondary side internal supply pipe 112b) is increased. This reduces the difference in internal pressure between the internal supply pipe 112 and the secondary side supply pipe 140, and suppresses deterioration of the start-up response of the etching process.

[0120] It is desirable to increase the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112 to a level that is approximately equal to the internal pressure of the secondary supply pipe 140. Specifically, it is desirable to increase the internal pressure to approximately 80 to 120% of the internal pressure of the secondary supply pipe 140. If the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112 is less than 80% of the internal pressure of the secondary supply pipe 140, the start-up response of the etching process may deteriorate as described above. Furthermore, if the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112 exceeds 120% of the internal pressure of the secondary supply pipe 140, the CF-based gas may suddenly flow from the internal supply pipe 112 into the plasma processing chamber 10, which may cause the above-mentioned spike S.

[0121] It is preferable that the flow rate controller 111 is filled with the CF-based gas at a flow rate smaller than the supply flow rate of the CF-based gas in the deposition step (step Sp2) described later. More specifically, as shown in Fig. 19, the opening degree of the control valve 116 when filling the flow rate controller 111 with the CF-based gas is preferably controlled to be smaller than the opening degree of the control valve 116 in the deposition step (step Sp2).

[0122] When the pressure inside the internal supply pipe 112 is increased to a desired pressure, the secondary valve 141a is then opened as shown in FIG. 20(c) to supply the CF-based gas into the plasma processing chamber 10, i.e., the deposition process described above is started (Step Sp2 in FIG. 19).

[0123] After the CF-based deposit is formed on the substrate W, the primary side valve 121a, the control valve 116, and the secondary side valve 141a of the flow rate control unit 110a are then closed as shown in FIG. 20(d), and the supply of the CF-based gas into the plasma processing chamber 10 is stopped (step Sp3 in FIG. 19).

[0124] Next, as shown in FIG. 20(e), the primary side exhaust valve 132a and the secondary side exhaust valve 152a of the flow control unit 110a are opened, and the inside of the flow control unit 110a (flow controller 111) that has supplied the CF-based gas is evacuated (first exhaust process: step Sp4 in FIG. 19).

[0125] Next, as shown in FIG. 20(f), the primary side exhaust valve 132a and the secondary side exhaust valve 152a are closed to stop exhausting the flow rate control unit 110a (step Sp5 in FIG. 19). After the first exhaust process (step Sp4) is completed, the control valve 116 of the flow controller 111a and the secondary valve 141a of the flow control unit 110a may be opened to confirm that the residual gas in the flow controller 111a has been properly exhausted.

[0126] In the above description, the control valve 116 is closed in step Sp3 (see FIGS. 19 and 20). However, the timing of closing the control valve 116 is not limited to this, and from the viewpoint of appropriately exhausting the inside of the flow rate controller 111 shown in the first embodiment, it is desirable to close the control valve 116 after the first exhaust step (step Sp4).

[0127] Next, the primary side valve 121b and the control valve 116 of the flow control unit 110b are opened (see FIG. 20(b)), and the supply of O2 gas to the flow controller 111 of the flow control unit 110b is started (step Sp6 in FIG. 19). In step Sp6, prior to the supply of O2 gas to the plasma processing chamber 10, the flow controller 111 is filled with O2 gas, and the internal supply pipe 112 is pressurized (second pre-charge process).

[0128] It is desirable to increase the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112 (more specifically, the internal pressure P2 of the secondary side internal supply pipe 112b) to a level that is approximately equal to the internal pressure of the secondary side supply pipe 140. Specifically, it is desirable to increase the internal pressure to approximately 80 to 120% of the internal pressure of the secondary side supply pipe 140. If the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112 is less than 80% of the internal pressure of the secondary supply pipe 140, the start-up response of the etching process may deteriorate as described above. Furthermore, if the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112 exceeds 120% compared to the internal pressure of the secondary supply pipe 140, O2 gas may suddenly flow from the internal supply pipe 112 into the plasma processing chamber 10, which may cause the above-mentioned spike S to occur.

[0129] It is preferable that the flow rate controller 111 is filled with O2 gas at a flow rate smaller than the flow rate of O2 gas supplied in an etching process (step Sp7) described later. More specifically, as shown in Fig. 19, it is preferable that the opening of the control valve 116 when filling the flow rate controller 111 with O2 gas is controlled to be smaller than the opening of the control valve 116 in the etching process (step Sp7).

[0130] When the pressure inside the internal supply pipe 112 is increased to a desired pressure, the secondary valve 141b is then opened (see FIG. 20(c)) to start the supply of O2 gas into the plasma processing chamber 10. At the same time, the RF power supply 31 starts supplying an RF signal (RF power) to the lower electrode and / or upper electrode of the substrate support 11, starting the above-mentioned etching process (step Sp7 in FIG. 19).

[0131] 19, the supply of O2 gas into the plasma processing chamber 10 (opening of the secondary side valve 141a) and the supply of the RF signal (RF power) from the RF power supply 31 are performed substantially simultaneously. However, it takes time for the O2 gas to actually reach the inside of the plasma processing chamber 10 after the secondary side valve 141a is opened. In view of this, it is desirable to supply the RF signal (RF power) at a timing shifted from the opening of the secondary side valve 141a.

[0132] When etching of the substrate W is completed, the primary side valve 121b, the control valve 116, and the secondary side valve 141b of the flow control unit 110b are then closed to stop the supply of O2 gas into the plasma processing chamber 10 (step Sp8 in Figure 19: see Figure 20(d)).

[0133] Next, as shown in FIG. 20(e), the primary side exhaust valve 132b and the secondary side exhaust valve 152b of the flow control unit 110b are opened, and the inside of the flow control unit 110b (flow controller 111) that has supplied O2 gas is evacuated (second exhaust process: step Sp9 in FIG. 19).

[0134] Next, as shown in FIG. 20(f), the primary side exhaust valve 132b and the secondary side exhaust valve 152b of the flow rate control unit 110b are closed to stop exhausting from the flow rate control unit 110b (step Sp10 in FIG. 19). After the second exhaust process (step Sp9) is completed, the control valve 116 of the flow controller 111b and the secondary valve 141b of the flow control unit 110b may be opened to confirm that the residual gas in the flow controller 111b has been properly exhausted.

[0135] In the above description, the control valve 116 is closed in step Sp8 (see FIGS. 19 and 20). However, the timing of closing the control valve 116 is not limited to this, and from the viewpoint of appropriately evacuating the inside of the flow rate controller 111 shown in the first embodiment, it is desirable to close the control valve 116 after the second evacuation step (step Sp9).

[0136] In this embodiment, a cycle including the above-mentioned deposition process (first process: steps Sp1 to Sp5) and etching process (second process: steps Sp6 to Sp10) is repeatedly executed until a desired etching amount is obtained for the substrate W.

[0137] After that, when the cycle is repeated a desired number of times, it is determined whether further cycles of the etching process (deposition process and etching process) are necessary, and if it is determined that further cycles of the etching process are necessary, the process returns to step Sp1 as shown in Fig. 19, and the first and second processes are repeated. If it is determined that further cycles of the etching process are not necessary, the series of etching processes is terminated.

[0138] In the above embodiment, the first pre-charge process (step Sp1), the deposition process (step Sp2), the first exhaust process (step Sp4), the second pre-charge process (step Sp6), the etching process (step Sp7) and the second exhaust process (step Sp10) are performed sequentially in one cycle, but the etching process method is not limited to this.

[0139] 21, the second exhaust step (internal exhaust of the flow rate control unit 110b) may be performed during the deposition step (supply of CF-based gas from the flow rate control unit 110a). Similarly, the first exhaust step (internal exhaust of the flow rate control unit 110a) may be performed during the etching step (supply of O2 gas from the flow rate control unit 110b). In this way, while one flow rate control unit 110 is supplying gas, the exhaust process of the other flow rate control units 110 that are not supplying gas is simultaneously performed, thereby improving the throughput of the etching process.

[0140] In addition, in the above embodiment, while the gas supply to the plasma processing chamber 10 in one flow control unit 110 is stopped (during the first process or the second process), the one flow control unit 110 is sequentially exhausted (first exhaust process or second exhaust process) and filled with gas (pre-charge process), but these exhaust processes and pre-charge processes may be omitted as appropriate. 22, for example, when only one type of gas is supplied to one flow control unit 110 (having a single system structure), the exhaust process may be omitted and the precharge process may be performed immediately after the completion of the first process or the second process depending on the internal pressure of the flow control unit 110. More specifically, for example, when the internal pressure of the flow control unit 110 is approximately the same as the internal pressure of the secondary side supply pipe 140 and it is determined that the supply of gas can be started appropriately at the start of the next process, the exhaust process may be omitted. Also, for example, as shown in FIG. 22, when the flow rate of the Ar gas supplied from another gas supply unit 160 is small and the internal pressure of the secondary side supply pipe 140 is low, the treatment process may be started after the exhaust process is completed without omitting the precharge process.

[0141] In the above embodiment, as shown in Figs. 4 to 7, the flow control unit 110 can be evacuated from both the upstream side and the downstream side of the flow control unit 110. In this embodiment (second embodiment), at least one exhaust unit (exhaust unit 131 or exhaust unit 151 in the illustrated example) on either the upstream side or the downstream side of the flow control unit 110 may be connected. In other words, according to this embodiment (second embodiment), the flow control unit 110 according to the technology of the present disclosure may include only the primary side exhaust pipe 130, the exhaust unit 131, and the primary side exhaust valve 132 as shown in Fig. 16, and may not include the secondary side exhaust pipe 150, the exhaust unit 151, and the secondary side exhaust valve 152. Alternatively, the flow control unit 110 may include only the secondary side exhaust pipe 150, the exhaust unit 151, and the secondary side exhaust valve 152 as shown in Fig. 23, and may not include the primary side exhaust pipe 130, the exhaust unit 131, and the primary side exhaust valve 132. In either case, the effects described below can be enjoyed.

[0142] <Effects of the substrate processing according to the second embodiment> As described above, according to the plasma processing apparatus 1 of the second embodiment, the flow rate controller 111 is filled with gas and the internal supply pipe 112 is pressurized (pre-charge process) prior to supplying gas to the plasma processing chamber 10. The internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112 (more specifically, the internal pressure P2 of the secondary side internal supply pipe 112b) after the pre-charge process is, for example, a pressure that is substantially equal to the internal pressure of the secondary side supply pipe 140, and preferably is about 80 to 120% of the internal pressure of the secondary side supply pipe 140. This reduces the difference in internal pressure between the internal supply pipe 112 and the secondary supply pipe 140, suppresses the inflow of argon gas and the occurrence of spikes S when the secondary valve 141 is opened, and suppresses deterioration of the startup response during etching processing.

[0143] FIG. 24 is a graph showing the results of an investigation into gas response in plasma processing in the processing method according to this embodiment. In the figure, the solid line shows the result when precharging was performed with 0.9 sccm O2 gas for 0.5 seconds (Example 1), the dashed line shows the result when precharging was performed with 0.9 sccm O2 gas for 0.2 seconds (Example 2), and the dashed line shows the result when precharging was not performed (Comparative Example). In this study, in all cases of Examples 1 and 2 and the Comparative Example, the supply of Ar gas from the other gas supply unit 160 was continued at 950 sccm.

[0144] As shown in FIG. 24, it can be seen that the rise responsiveness can be improved by filling the flow rate controller 111 with gas prior to supplying the gas to the plasma processing chamber 10 (i.e., it can be seen that the slope of the graph shown in FIG. 24 can be made steeper). It was also found that the longer the pre-charge process time, the more the rise responsiveness can be improved (i.e., the greater the slope of the graph shown in FIG. 24). This is believed to be because, when gas is supplied at a constant flow rate, the longer the pre-charge process time, the smaller the difference in internal pressure between the internal supply pipe 112 and the secondary supply pipe 140 becomes.

[0145] In the pre-charge process according to this embodiment, it is desirable to determine the time of the pre-charge process so that the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112 is approximately equal to the internal pressure of the secondary side supply pipe 140 (approximately 80 to 120% of the internal pressure of the secondary side supply pipe 140).

[0146] In the above embodiment, after the inside of the internal supply pipe 112 is pressurized to the desired pressure in the pre-charge process, the secondary side valve 141 is opened to start various treatment processes. However, the start conditions of the treatment processes (the opening conditions of the secondary side valve 141) are not limited to the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112.

[0147] For example, in the above embodiment, the timing for opening the secondary side valve 141 is determined by measuring the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112. However, conversely, the timing for opening the secondary side valve 141 may be determined in advance and the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112 may be adjusted accordingly. In this case, the timing of opening the secondary side valve 141 may be determined based on the timing of the start of the supply of Ar gas from the other gas supply unit 160 in step Sp0, for example.

[0148] In the pre-charge process prior to various treatment processes, the opening of the control valve 116 is appropriately adjusted so that the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112 becomes the desired value at the timing of opening the secondary side valve 141 determined in this manner. That is, for example, when it is predicted that the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112 will be greater than the desired value at the timing of opening of the secondary side valve 141, the opening degree of the control valve 116 is controlled to be smaller. Also, when it is predicted that the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112 will be smaller than the desired value at the timing of opening of the secondary side valve 141, the opening degree of the control valve 116 is controlled to be larger.

[0149] In the above embodiment, the timing of opening the secondary side valve 141 is determined based on the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112 where the precharge process has been performed. However, other parameters may be set as conditions instead of or in addition to the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112. Specifically, for example, instead of or in addition to the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112, the conditions may be set using parameters such as the flow rate of the gas supplied from the flow rate controller 111, the gas supply time, the internal temperature of the flow rate controller 111, the flow rate of the Ar gas flowing through the secondary side supply pipe 140, the mechanical error of the control valve 116, etc.

[0150] In addition, the flow rate of the gas supplied from the flow rate controller 111, the internal temperature of the flow rate controller 111, the flow rate of the Ar gas flowing through the secondary side supply pipe 140, etc. may be used as parameters to further adjust the opening degree of the control valve 116 in addition to the timing of opening the secondary side valve 141.

[0151] The precharge process performed as described above can be applied in various aspects shown in the following phases.

[0152] Phase 1 The precharge process may be performed according to a predetermined model recipe prior to the start of plasma processing. Specifically, the conditions for the precharge process, such as the gas supply flow rate and supply time, may be determined in advance as described above, and the precharge process may be performed according to the determined conditions (e.g., gas supply flow rate). According to Phase 1, the rise response is improved in advance, and conditions that prevent spikes from occurring are set, and the precharge process is performed, so that the plasma processing on the substrate W can be performed appropriately.

[0153] Phase 2 The precharge process can be automatically performed under appropriate conditions (e.g., gas supply flow rate, filling amount) by calculating from the flow rate of Ar gas as a carrier gas, the temperature of the shower head 13, or the flow rate ratio of the gases supplied to each gas supply port 14c, 14m, and 14e of the shower head 13, or by measuring the internal pressure P2 with the pressure sensor 115. According to Phase 2, the precharge process is appropriately controlled based on various measurement results and calculation results. This allows the precharge process to be appropriately changed in accordance with the internal state of the flow rate controller 111 and the plasma processing chamber 10, thereby obtaining more appropriate plasma processing results compared to Phase 1.

[0154] Phase 3 The above precharge process can be performed using a flow control unit 110 or a flow controller 111 having a mechanism for controlling the internal pressure of the internal supply pipe 112 (more specifically, the internal pressure P2 of the secondary side internal supply pipe 112b). Phase 3 has the advantage that it is not necessary to strictly control the filling amount before opening the valve. In addition, since the control can be unified by the internal pressure control mechanism, it is possible to mitigate the influence of individual differences in the flow control unit 110 or the flow controller 111 and the influence of variations in the reproduction of control.

[0155] <Other effects of the technology disclosed herein> Here, in the plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the technique of the present disclosure, as described above, a cycle including the first process and the second process is repeatedly and alternately performed on the substrate W. Therefore, in each flow rate controller 111, supply and stop of gas to the plasma processing chamber 10 (exhaust by the exhaust unit 151) is repeatedly performed.

[0156] At this time, in a conventional plasma processing apparatus in which an exhaust line (secondary exhaust pipe 150 and exhaust unit 151) is not connected downstream of the orifice 113, it was necessary to stop the supply of gas from the gas source 100 each time (close the primary valve 121 each time) so that the internal pressure of the flow controller 111 would not rise and cause a spike S. In other words, it was necessary to control the gas flow rate by the flow controller 111 for each cycle that was repeatedly executed, and it took time to switch between supplying and stopping the gas to the plasma processing chamber 10.

[0157] In this regard, in the plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, an exhaust line (secondary exhaust pipe 150 and exhaust unit 151) is connected downstream of the orifice 113. Therefore, when stopping the gas supply to the plasma processing chamber 10, it is not necessary to stop the gas supply from the gas source 100 (close the primary valve 121), and it is sufficient to open the secondary exhaust valve 152 and continue exhausting at a constant flow rate (supply flow rate to the plasma processing chamber 10). In other words, the supply of gas to the plasma processing chamber 10 can be switched on and off only by repeatedly opening and closing the secondary valve 141 and the secondary exhaust valve 152, respectively, and at this time, it is not necessary to intervene in the control of the gas flow rate by the flow rate controller 111. In other words, it is possible to omit the control of the gas flow rate by the flow rate controller 111, which was conventionally performed for each repeated cycle, and it is possible to instantly resume the supply of gas to the plasma processing chamber 10 at the desired constant flow rate.

[0158] In the above embodiment, the orifice 113 as a control side orifice for controlling the gas flow rate in the gas supply unit 20 is arranged only inside the flow rate controller 111, but another orifice for controlling the gas flow rate may be further provided in the gas supply flow path.

[0159] Here, there is a minimum processing limit for the hole diameter of the orifice provided in the gas supply flow path, and as a result, in principle, gas cannot be made to flow through the gas supply flow path at an extremely small flow rate below the flow rate that can be controlled by the hole diameter of the minimum processing limit. However, after investigations, the inventors have found that it may be possible to supply gas at an extremely small flow rate by providing orifice 180 as a chamber side orifice and orifice 181 as an exhaust side orifice respectively between the connection part of secondary side supply pipe 140 with secondary side exhaust pipe 150 and secondary side valve 141, and on the upstream side of secondary side exhaust valve 152 in secondary side exhaust pipe 150, as shown in FIG. 25 .

[0160] Specifically, the hole diameter of the orifice 113 disposed inside the flow rate controller 111 is set to the minimum processing limit, and the orifices 180 and 181 provided downstream of the orifice 113 are each configured to have a different hole diameter.

[0161] As a result, the gas supplied from the gas source 100 to the flow rate controller 111 is first introduced into the secondary supply pipe 140 at the minimum flow rate that can be controlled by the orifice 113 with the minimum processing limit hole diameter. The gas introduced into the secondary supply pipe 140 branches at the connection with the secondary exhaust pipe 150. At this time, since the orifices 180 and 181 are configured with different hole diameters, the flow rate ratio of the gas flowing to the orifice 180 (plasma processing chamber 10) side and the orifice 181 (exhaust unit 151) side changes according to the ratio of the hole diameters. That is, for example, if the ratio of the hole diameters of the orifices 180 and 181 is 1:4, 20% of the gas introduced into the secondary supply pipe 140 at the minimum flow rate flows to the plasma processing chamber 10 side, and the remaining 80% flows to the exhaust unit 151 side.

[0162] As described above, according to this embodiment, by providing other orifices 180, 181 for controlling the gas flow rate in the gas supply passage, gas can be supplied to the plasma processing chamber 10 at an extremely small flow rate that is equal to or less than the flow rate that can be controlled by the minimum processing limit hole diameter of the orifice 113. At this time, the hole diameter ratio of the orifices 180, 181 is determined based on the ratio of the target gas flow rate to be supplied to the plasma processing chamber 10 to the minimum gas flow rate output from the orifice 113. This makes it possible to more precisely control the processing of the substrate W in the plasma processing chamber 10.

[0163] 25, the flow rate ratio of the gases flowing to the plasma processing chamber 10 side and the exhaust unit 151 side is controlled by providing orifices 180 and 181 with different hole diameters, but the method of controlling the flow rate ratio is not limited to this. Specifically, the flow rate ratio of the gases can be controlled if the sizes of the flow paths of the secondary exhaust pipe 150 and the secondary supply pipe 140 downstream of the connection part with the secondary exhaust pipe 150 are different. For example, instead of providing the orifices 180 and 181, the secondary valve 141 and the secondary exhaust valve 152 may each be configured as a valve whose opening degree is adjustable, such as a needle valve.

[0164] In addition, in a plasma processing apparatus, the gas flow rate flowing through a gas supply flow passage is calculated using an orifice provided in a flow rate controller, but if impurities or the like adhere to or accumulate in the hole of the orifice, the gas flow rate may not be calculated properly. For this reason, in the plasma processing apparatus, a self-diagnosis (confirmation of the validity of the calculated gas flow rate) using the drop characteristic of the orifice has been conventionally performed.

[0165] Conventionally, in the self-diagnosis of an orifice, the gas filled inside the flow controller is exhausted from the plasma processing chamber side by closing the primary side valve and the primary side exhaust valve and opening the secondary side valve. At this time, the exhaust characteristics, which are the pressure drop rate of the flow controller with respect to the exhaust time, are checked to see if they are appropriate (for example, if there is any change from the state at the time of shipment), and it is judged (self-diagnosis) whether the calculated gas flow rate is valid. However, when performing self-diagnosis using such a conventional method, exhaust of the flow rate controller is performed from the plasma processing chamber side, so that self-diagnosis of the orifice and processing of the substrate W in the plasma processing chamber cannot be performed in parallel.

[0166] However, in this regard, according to the plasma processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, exhaust of the flow rate controller 111 can be performed using the exhaust unit 151 connected to the secondary supply pipe 140, instead of the exhaust system 40 connected to the plasma processing chamber 10. In other words, self-diagnosis of the orifice 113 can be performed independently of the processing of the substrate W in the plasma processing chamber 10 (in parallel with the processing of the substrate W). Therefore, it is not necessary to stop the processing of the substrate W when performing the self-diagnosis of the orifice 113, thereby improving the productivity of the plasma processing apparatus 1. Furthermore, since the self-diagnosis can be performed in this manner independent of the processing of the substrate W, the self-diagnosis can be performed at any timing, such as after each processing of a single substrate W in the plasma processing chamber 10 or after each step of the processing of the substrate W shown in Fig. 9 and the like, and the number of scrapped substrates W caused by improper calculation of the gas flow rate can be appropriately reduced.

[0167] In the plasma processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, similar to the self-diagnosis of the orifice described above, the self-diagnosis of the two pressure sensors 114, 115 provided in the flow controller can be performed independently of the processing of the substrate W (in parallel with the processing of the substrate W).

[0168] Specifically, the gas filled inside the flow rate controller 111 is exhausted by the exhaust unit 151 by closing the primary side valve 121 and the primary side exhaust valve 132 and opening the secondary side exhaust valve 152. At this time, the internal pressure of the flow rate controller 111 is measured by the two pressure sensors 114, 115, and by comparing the measurement results with each other, it can be confirmed whether or not a zero point shift or span shift has occurred in these two pressure sensors 114, 115.

[0169] More specifically, by comparing the measurement results of the two pressure sensors 114, 115 with each other when the gas is filled inside the flow controller 111 and the gas is exhausted by the exhaust unit 151, it is possible to determine whether or not span misalignment has occurred between these two pressure sensors 114, 115. In addition, after the gas inside the flow controller 111 has been sufficiently evacuated and the inside of the flow controller 111 has been evacuated, the measurement results from the two pressure sensors 114, 115 can be compared with each other to confirm whether or not there is a zero point deviation in these two pressure sensors 114, 115.

[0170] The self-diagnosis of these pressure sensors 114, 115 may be performed in parallel with the self-diagnosis of the orifice 113 described above. That is, for example, prior to the self-diagnosis of the orifice 113, the span misalignment of the pressure sensors 114, 115 may be confirmed when the inside of the flow controller 111 is filled with gas, and then the filled gas may be exhausted and the self-diagnosis of the orifice 113 may be performed, after which the internal pressure of the flow controller 111 after evacuation is measured to confirm the zero point misalignment of the pressure sensors 114, 115.

[0171] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, in the gas supply unit 20 according to the above embodiment, the secondary exhaust pipes 150 connected to the respective flow rate controllers 111 join downstream of the secondary exhaust valves 152 and are then exhausted by the exhaust unit 151.

[0172] In consideration of this, when the gases exhausted simultaneously from the respective secondary-side exhaust pipes 150 contain an unmixable gas, it is desirable to control the opening and closing of the respective secondary-side exhaust valves 152 so that the unmixable gases do not mix with each other in the exhaust line. More specifically, when exhausting two or more types of gases that are dangerous to mix, it is desirable to individually exhaust one gas, empty the exhaust line for a predetermined delay time (e.g., 100 msec), and then individually exhaust the other gases.

[0173] Combinations of gases that are prohibited from being mixed include a combination of hydrogen (H2) gas and oxygen (O2) gas, a combination of hydrogen bromide (HBr) gas and chlorine (Cl2) gas, or a combination of ammonia (NH3) gas and chlorine (Cl2) gas.

[0174] 26 illustrates a block diagram of a computer (a type of circuit) capable of implementing various control aspects described herein. Furthermore, the control aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied as a system, a method, and / or a computer program product. The computer program product may include a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions recorded thereon that cause one or more processing devices to perform aspects of the present embodiments.

[0175] A computer-readable storage medium may be a tangible device that can store instructions for use by an instruction execution device (processor). A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of these devices. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a solid-state drive (SSD), a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash), a static random access memory (SRAM), a compact disk (CD or CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory card or a memory stick (and suitable combinations thereof). In this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium should not be construed as a transitory signal itself, such as, for example, an electric wave or other freely propagating electromagnetic wave, an electromagnetic wave propagating through a wave guide or other transmission medium (e.g., a light pulse passing through a fiber optic cable), or an electric signal transmitted through an electric wire.

[0176] The computer readable program instructions described in this disclosure can be downloaded from a computer readable storage medium into an appropriate computing or processing device, or can be downloaded to an external computer or external storage device via a global network (i.e., the Internet), a local area network, a wide area network, and / or a wireless network. Networks include copper transmission wires, fiber optics, wireless communications, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers, and / or edge servers, etc. A network adapter card or network interface of each computing or processing device can receive the computer readable program instructions from the network and transfer the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the computing or processing device.

[0177] The computer readable program instructions for carrying out the operations of the present disclosure may include machine language instructions and / or microcode. These instructions may be compiled or interpreted from source code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including assembly language, Basic, Fortran, Java, Python, R, C, C++, C#, etc. The computer readable program instructions may be executed entirely on the user's personal computer, notebook computer, tablet, or smartphone, or entirely on a remote computer or computer server. Or may be executed on any combination of these computing devices. The remote computer or computer server may be connected to the user's device or devices via a computer network, including a local area network, a wide area network, or a global network (i.e., the Internet). Alternatively, the electronic circuitry may be configured or customized to use information from the computer readable program instructions to execute the computer readable program instructions to carry out aspects of the present disclosure, for example, by programmable logic circuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or programmable logic arrays (PLAs).

[0178] Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to flowcharts and block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be understood by one skilled in the art that each block of the flowcharts and block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowcharts and block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions.

[0179] Computer-readable program instructions that can implement the systems and methods described in this disclosure may be provided to one or more processors (and / or one or more cores within a processor) of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable device. This can create a machine that implements a system for implementing the functions embodied in the flowcharts and block diagrams of this disclosure, by instructions executed via the processor of the computer or other programmable device. These computer-readable program instructions may also be stored on a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer, programmable device, and / or other device to function in a particular manner. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon is an article of manufacture that includes instructions that implement aspects of the functions embodied in the flowcharts and block diagrams of this disclosure.

[0180] The computer-readable program instructions may also be loaded into a computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device and cause the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device to execute a series of operating steps to realize a computer-implemented process. Thus, the instructions executed on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device may realize the functions specifically illustrated in the flowcharts and block diagrams of this disclosure.

[0181] 26 is a functional block diagram illustrating a network system 800 in which one or more computers and servers are networked. In one embodiment, the hardware and software environment illustrated in FIG. 26 may be an exemplary platform for implementing the software and / or methods of the present disclosure.

[0182] 26, a network system 800 may include, but is not limited to, a computer 805, a network 810, a remote computer 815, a web server 820, a cloud storage server 825, and a computer server 830. In some embodiments, multiple instances of one or more of the functional blocks illustrated in FIG.

[0183] Further details of computer 805 are shown in Figure 26. The functional blocks illustrated in computer 805 are merely shown to illustrate exemplary functionality and are not intended to be exhaustive. Also, details are not shown for remote computer 815, web server 820, cloud storage server 825, and computer server 830, but these computers and devices may also include functionality similar to that shown with respect to computer 805.

[0184] The computer 805 may be a personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a netbook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, or other programmable electronic device capable of communicating with other devices on the network 810.

[0185] Computer 805 may include a processing unit 835, a bus 837, memory 840, non-volatile storage 845, a network interface 850, a peripherals interface 855, and a display interface 865. In some embodiments, these functions may be implemented as individual electronic subsystems (integrated circuit chips or a combination of chips and related devices), while in other embodiments, some combinations of functions may be implemented on a single chip (also called a system-on-chip or SoC).

[0186] Processing unit 835 may be one or more single-chip or multi-chip microprocessors, such as those designed and / or manufactured by Intel Corporation, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), Arm Holdings, Apple Computer, etc. Example microprocessors include Intel's Celeron, Pentium, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, AMD's Opteron, Phenom, Athlon, Turion, Ryzen, Arm's Cortex-A, Cortex-R, Cortex-M, etc.

[0187] Bus 837 may be a proprietary or industry standard high speed parallel or serial peripheral interconnect bus such as ISA, PCI, PCI Express (PCI-e), AGP, etc.

[0188] The memory 840 and the non-volatile storage 845 may be computer readable storage media. The memory 840 may include any suitable volatile storage device, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and static random access memory (SRAM). The non-volatile storage 845 may include one or more of a floppy disk, a hard disk, a solid state drive (SSD), a read only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM or Flash), a compact disk (CD or CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory card, or a memory stick.

[0189] The program 848 may be a collection of machine-readable instructions and / or machine-readable data stored in at least one memory, such as the non-volatile storage 845, and used to create, manage, and control certain software functions as detailed herein and illustrated in the figures. In some embodiments, the memory 840 may be much faster than the non-volatile storage 845. In that case, the program 848 may be transferred from the non-volatile storage 845 to the memory 840 and then executed by the processing unit 835. The program 848 includes computer program code. In one implementation, the at least one memory containing the computer program code is configured with at least one processing unit (such as the processing circuitry described below) for implementing the control processes and the claimed developments of the present disclosure.

[0190] Computer 805 may be able to communicate and interact with other computers over network 810 using network interface 850. Network 810 may be, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, or a combination thereof, and may include wired, wireless, or fiber optic connections. In general, network 810 may be any combination of connections and protocols that support communication between two or more computers and related devices.

[0191] The peripheral interface 855 may allow input and output of data via other devices that may be locally connected to the computer 805. For example, the peripheral interface 855 may allow connection to external devices 860. The external devices 860 may include devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a keypad, a touch screen, and / or other suitable input devices. The external devices 860 may also include portable computer-readable storage media, such as thumb drives, portable optical or magnetic disks, and memory cards. Software and data (e.g., program 848) used to implement embodiments of the present disclosure may be stored on such portable computer-readable storage media. In that case, the software may be loaded into the non-volatile storage 845 or directly into the memory 840 via the peripheral interface 855. The peripheral interface 855 may use an industry standard connection, such as RS-232 or Universal Serial Bus (USB), to connect to the external devices 860.

[0192] Display interface 865 may connect computer 805 to display device 870. In some embodiments, display device 870 may be used to present a command line or graphical user interface to a user of computer 805. Display interface 865 may connect to display device 870 using one or more proprietary or industry standard connections, such as VGA, DVI, DisplayPort, HDMI®, etc.

[0193] As mentioned above, the network interface 850 provides for communication with other computing or storage systems or devices external to the computer 805. The software programs and data described herein may be downloaded to the non-volatile storage 845 from, for example, the remote computer 815, the web server 820, the cloud storage server 825, the computer server 830 via the network interface 850 and the network 810. Additionally, the systems and methods described in this disclosure may be implemented by one or more computers connected to the computer 805 via the network interface 850 and the network 810. For example, in an embodiment, the systems and methods described in this disclosure may be implemented by the remote computer 815, the computer server 830, or a combination of computers interconnected over the network 810.

[0194] Data, datasets, and / or databases used in embodiments of the systems and methods described in this disclosure may be stored on or downloaded from a remote computer 815, a web server 820, a cloud storage server 825, a computer server 830.

[0195] A circuit, as used herein, may be defined as one or more of an electronic component (such as a semiconductor device), multiple electronic components connected directly to each other or interconnected via electronic communication, a computer, a network of computer devices, a remote computer, a web server, a cloud storage server, a computer server. For example, one or more of a computer, a remote computer, a web server, a cloud storage server, a computer server may each be included as a component thereof in a circuit or may include a circuit. In some embodiments, multiple instances of one or more of these components may be used, and each of multiple instances of one or more of these components may also be included in a circuit or may include a circuit. In some embodiments, a circuit represented by a network system may include a serverless computing system that supports virtualized hardware resources. A circuit represented by a computer may be a personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a netbook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, or other programmable electronic device capable of communicating with other devices on a network. A circuit may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or other programmable device described herein that includes one or more processing units. Each processing unit may be one or more single-chip microprocessors or multi-chip microprocessors. The one or more processing units may be considered processing circuits or circuits since they incorporate transistors and other circuitry. The circuitry may implement the systems and methods described in this disclosure based on computer-readable program instructions that are provided to one or more processing units (and / or one or more cores within a processing unit) of one or more general-purpose computers, special-purpose computers, or other programmable devices described herein. This may create a machine-implemented system for implementing the functions embodied in the flowcharts and block diagrams of this disclosure by instructions contained within the circuitry or executed via one or more processing units of a programmable device that includes the circuitry.Alternatively, a circuit may be a preprogrammed structure, such as a programmable logic device or an application specific integrated circuit. A circuit is considered a circuit whether it is used alone or in combination with other circuitry that is programmable or preprogrammed.

[0196] Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.

[0197] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The above-described embodiments may be omitted, substituted, or modified in various forms without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

[0198] The following configurations also belong to the technical features of the present disclosure. (1) a primary-side valve disposed upstream of the flow rate controller in the gas supply flow path; a primary-side gas exhaust flow path branching between the flow rate controller and the primary-side valve in the gas supply flow path and connected to a primary-side exhaust mechanism; a primary-side exhaust valve disposed in the primary-side gas exhaust flow path; a secondary-side valve disposed downstream of the flow rate controller in the gas supply flow path; a secondary-side gas exhaust flow path branching between the flow rate controller and the secondary-side valve in the gas supply flow path and connected to a secondary-side exhaust mechanism; and a secondary-side exhaust valve disposed in the secondary-side gas exhaust flow path, (2) The gas supply system described in (1) above, further comprising: an exhaust-side orifice arranged upstream of the secondary-side exhaust valve in the secondary-side gas exhaust flow path; and a chamber-side orifice arranged between a connection portion of the gas supply flow path with the secondary-side gas exhaust flow path and the secondary-side valve, wherein the control-side orifice has a minimum processing limit hole diameter, and the hole diameters of the exhaust-side orifice and the chamber-side orifice are different from each other. (3) The gas supply system described in (2) above, wherein the ratio of the hole diameters of the exhaust side orifice and the chamber side orifice is determined based on the ratio of a target flow rate to be supplied to the processing chamber to the flow rate of gas output from the control side orifice. (4) The gas supply system according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the gas supply passages join together downstream of the secondary valve and are then connected to the processing chamber. (5) The gas supply system according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the gas supply flow path has a plurality of branch supply pipes that independently supply gas to a plurality of different positions inside the processing chamber, and each of the plurality of branch supply pipes is independently connected to the flow rate controller, the secondary side valve, the secondary side gas exhaust flow path, and the secondary side exhaust valve. (6) The gas supply system according to (5), wherein the gas supply flow path branches into a plurality of the branch supply pipes between a connection portion with the primary gas exhaust flow path and the flow rate controller. (7) The gas supply system according to (5) or (6), wherein the plurality of branch supply pipes are configured to be able to independently supply the gas to at least an edge region and a center region of a substrate introduced inside the processing chamber. (8) A plasma processing apparatus for processing a substrate, comprising: a processing chamber; a substrate support disposed inside the processing chamber; a gas supply system according to any one of (1) to (7) that supplies gas into the processing chamber; and a plasma generating unit configured to generate plasma from the gas in the processing chamber. (9) a primary-side valve arranged upstream of the flow rate controller in the gas supply flow path; a primary-side gas exhaust flow path branching between the flow rate controller and the primary-side valve in the gas supply flow path and connected to a primary-side exhaust mechanism; a primary-side exhaust valve arranged in the primary-side gas exhaust flow path; a secondary-side valve arranged downstream of the flow rate controller in the gas supply flow path; a secondary-side gas exhaust flow path branching between the flow rate controller and the secondary-side valve in the gas supply flow path and connected to a secondary-side exhaust mechanism; and a secondary-side exhaust valve arranged in the secondary-side gas exhaust flow path; the amount controller has a control valve connected to the primary side valve and the secondary side valve, and a control side orifice disposed between the control valve and the secondary side valve, and the gas supply method includes the steps of: (A) opening the primary side valve and the secondary side valve of at least one of the gas supply passages to supply gas into the interior of the processing chamber; (B) closing the primary side valve and the secondary side valve opened in the step (A); (C) opening the primary side exhaust valve and the secondary side exhaust valve of the at least one gas supply passage that supplied gas into the interior of the processing chamber in the step (A) to exhaust gas from the at least one gas supply passage; and (D) closing the primary side exhaust valve and the secondary side exhaust valve opened in the step (C). (10) (E) the gas supply method according to (9), further comprising the step of opening the secondary side valve after closing the primary side exhaust valve and the secondary side exhaust valve, and checking for gas remaining inside the flow rate controller. (11) The gas supply method according to (9) or (10), wherein a cycle including at least the steps (A) to (D) is repeatedly performed. (12) A gas supply method using a gas supply system, the gas supply system including: a plurality of gas supply flow paths configured to be able to supply gas independently to a processing chamber; flow rate controllers arranged in each of the plurality of gas supply flow paths; a primary-side valve arranged upstream of the flow rate controller in the gas supply flow paths; a primary-side gas exhaust flow path that branches between the flow rate controller and the primary-side valve in the gas supply flow path and is connected to a primary-side exhaust mechanism; a primary-side exhaust valve arranged in the primary-side gas exhaust flow path; a secondary-side valve arranged downstream of the flow rate controller in the gas supply flow path; and a secondary-side gas exhaust flow path that branches between the flow rate controller and the secondary-side valve in the gas supply flow path and is connected to a secondary-side exhaust mechanism. the flow rate controller has a control valve connected to the primary side valve and the secondary side valve, and a control side orifice disposed between the control valve and the secondary side valve, and the gas supply method alternately and repeatedly performs the steps of (A) opening the primary side valve and the secondary side valve of the gas supply flow path and closing the primary side exhaust valve and the secondary side exhaust valve to supply gas into the processing chamber, and (B) opening the primary side valve and the secondary side exhaust valve of the gas supply flow path and closing the primary side exhaust valve and the secondary side valve to exhaust gas from the gas supply flow path. (13) The gas supply method according to any one of (9) to (12), wherein the flow rate controller has at least one pressure sensor, and includes supplying gas from at least one of the plurality of gas supply flow paths to an inside of the processing chamber, and performing a self-diagnosis of the flow rate controller arranged in another of the plurality of gas supply flow paths, wherein, during the self-diagnosis of the flow rate controller, the flow rate controller arranged in the other of the gas supply flow paths is filled with gas, the secondary-side exhaust valve of the other of the gas supply flow paths is opened to exhaust the gas filled in the inside of the flow rate controller, and an actual measurement value of the drop characteristic of the internal pressure of the flow rate controller when the filled gas is exhausted is compared with the drop characteristic at the time of shipment of the flow rate controller. (14) The gas supply method according to (13), wherein the flow controller has a plurality of pressure sensors, and during self-diagnosis of the flow controller, the internal pressure of the flow controller after the gas is filled and the internal pressure of the flow controller after the filled gas is exhausted are measured by the plurality of pressure sensors, and the measured values ​​of the internal pressure measured by each of the plurality of pressure sensors are compared with each other.

[0199] (15) A gas control system for controlling supply of gas into a processing chamber, the system comprising: a plurality of gas supply flow paths configured to be able to supply gas independently to the processing chamber; an orifice disposed in each of the plurality of gas supply flow paths; a primary-side valve disposed upstream of the orifice in the gas supply flow paths; a primary-side gas exhaust flow path branching between the orifice in the gas supply flow path and the primary-side valve and connected to a primary-side exhaust mechanism; a primary-side exhaust valve disposed in the primary-side gas exhaust flow path; a secondary-side valve disposed downstream of the orifice in the gas supply flow path; a secondary-side gas exhaust flow path branching between the orifice in the gas supply flow path and the secondary-side valve and connected to a secondary-side exhaust mechanism; and a control unit that independently controls opening of the primary side valve, the primary side exhaust valve, the secondary side valve, and the secondary side exhaust valve, wherein the control unit executes control to alternately and repeatedly execute a step of supplying gas into the processing chamber by opening the primary side valve and the secondary side valve and closing the primary side exhaust valve and the secondary side exhaust valve, and a step of evacuating the inside of the gas supply flow path by closing the primary side valve and the secondary side valve and opening the primary side exhaust valve and the secondary side exhaust valve, and control to operate the primary side exhaust mechanism and the secondary side exhaust mechanism when evacuating the inside of the gas supply flow path so that the internal pressure of the gas supply flow path is at least lower than the internal pressure of the processing chamber. (16) A gas control system for controlling a supply of gas into a processing chamber, the system comprising: a gas supply flow path configured to be able to supply gas to the processing chamber, an orifice disposed in the gas supply flow path, a primary-side valve disposed upstream of the orifice in the gas supply flow path, a primary-side gas exhaust flow path branching between the orifice and the primary-side valve in the gas supply flow path and connected to a primary-side exhaust mechanism, a primary-side exhaust valve disposed in the primary-side gas exhaust flow path, a secondary-side valve disposed downstream of the orifice in the gas supply flow path, a secondary-side gas exhaust flow path branching between the orifice and the secondary-side valve in the gas supply flow path and connected to a secondary-side exhaust mechanism, a secondary-side exhaust valve disposed in the secondary-side gas exhaust flow path, and a control unit that independently controls opening of a primary-side exhaust valve, the secondary-side valve, and the secondary-side exhaust valve, wherein the control unit executes control to alternately execute a step of supplying gas into the processing chamber by opening the primary-side valve and the secondary-side valve and closing the primary-side exhaust valve and the secondary-side exhaust valve, and a step of exhausting the inside of the gas supply flow path by closing the primary-side valve and the secondary-side valve and opening the primary-side exhaust valve and the secondary-side exhaust valve, and control to operate the primary-side exhaust mechanism and the secondary-side exhaust mechanism when exhausting the inside of the gas supply flow path so that at least the gas remains inside the gas supply flow path, and an internal pressure of the gas supply flow path after exhaust is 100 Torr or less. (17) The gas control system according to (16), further comprising a plurality of gas supply flow paths configured to be able to independently supply gas to the processing chamber, wherein the orifice, the primary side valve, the primary side exhaust valve, the secondary side valve and the secondary side exhaust valve are disposed in each of the plurality of gas supply flow paths. (18) The gas control system according to (15) or (17), wherein the plurality of gas supply passages are joined downstream of the secondary valve and then connected to the processing chamber. (19) The gas control system according to any one of (15) to (18), wherein the gas supply flow path has a plurality of branch supply pipes that independently supply the gas to a plurality of different positions inside the processing chamber, and each of the plurality of branch supply pipes is independently connected to the secondary side valve, the secondary side gas exhaust flow path, and the secondary side exhaust valve. (20) The gas control system according to (19), wherein the gas supply flow path branches into a plurality of the branch supply pipes downstream of a connection portion with the primary gas exhaust flow path. (twenty one) The gas control system according to (19) or (20), wherein the plurality of branch supply pipes are configured to be able to independently supply the gas to at least an edge region and a center region of a substrate introduced inside the processing chamber. (twenty two) a flow rate controller for controlling a flow rate of the gas supplied into the processing chamber; The gas control system according to any one of (15) to (21), wherein the orifice is disposed inside the flow controller, and the primary side valve, the primary side exhaust valve, the secondary side valve and the secondary side exhaust valve are disposed outside the flow controller. (twenty three) The gas control system according to (22), wherein the flow rate controller further includes an aperture adjustment valve disposed upstream of the orifice in the gas supply flow path. (twenty four) The gas control system according to any one of (15) to (23), further comprising a mounting member that connects the orifice, the primary side valve, the primary side exhaust valve, the secondary side valve, and the secondary side exhaust valve together. (twenty five) The gas control system according to any one of (15) to (24), wherein a flow rate of the gas supplied into the processing chamber is 0.1 sccm to 10 sccm. (26) The gas control system according to any one of (15) to (25), wherein the control unit executes control to alternately and repeatedly execute a deposition process for forming a deposit on a substrate introduced into the processing chamber and an etching process for etching the substrate, the deposition process and the etching process each having a step of supplying a gas into the processing chamber and a step of evacuating the inside of the gas supply passage, and the processing time of one cycle including the deposition process and the etching process is 1 second to 10 seconds. (27) a gas supply unit configured to supply gas to the inside of the processing chamber; a high frequency power supply connected to at least the substrate support unit; and a control unit, wherein the gas supply unit includes a plurality of gas supply flow paths configured to be able to supply gas independently to the processing chamber; an orifice disposed in each of the plurality of gas supply flow paths; a primary side valve disposed upstream of the orifice in the gas supply flow path; a primary side gas exhaust flow path branched between the orifice in the gas supply flow path and the primary side valve and connected to a primary side exhaust mechanism; a primary side exhaust valve disposed in the primary side gas exhaust flow path; a secondary side valve disposed downstream of the orifice in the gas supply flow path; a gas control system including a secondary gas exhaust flow path branching off between the secondary valve and the secondary valve and connected to a secondary exhaust mechanism, and a secondary exhaust valve arranged in the secondary gas exhaust flow path, wherein the control unit executes control to alternately and repeatedly execute a step of supplying gas into the processing chamber by opening the primary side valve and the secondary side valve and closing the primary side exhaust valve and the secondary side exhaust valve, and a step of exhausting the inside of the gas supply flow path by closing the primary side valve and the secondary side valve and opening the primary side exhaust valve and the secondary side exhaust valve, and control to operate the primary side exhaust mechanism and the secondary side exhaust mechanism when exhausting the inside of the gas supply flow path so that the internal pressure of the gas supply flow path is at least lower than the internal pressure of the processing chamber. (28) A gas control method using a gas control system, the gas control system including: a plurality of gas supply flow paths configured to be able to supply gas independently to a processing chamber; an orifice disposed in each of the plurality of gas supply flow paths; a primary-side valve disposed upstream of the orifice in the gas supply flow path; and a primary-side gas exhaust flow path branched between the orifice in the gas supply flow path and the primary-side valve and connected to a primary-side exhaust mechanism; a secondary-side valve arranged in the primary-side gas exhaust flow path, a secondary-side valve arranged downstream of the orifice in the gas supply flow path, a secondary-side gas exhaust flow path branched between the orifice in the gas supply flow path and the secondary-side valve and connected to a secondary-side exhaust mechanism, and a secondary-side exhaust valve arranged in the secondary-side gas exhaust flow path, (A) opening the primary-side valve and the secondary-side valve of a first gas supply flow path group, at least one of which is selected from a plurality of the gas supply flow paths, and exhausting the primary-side exhaust valve and the secondary-side exhaust valve of the first gas supply flow path group, and the primary-side valve, the secondary valve, the primary-side exhaust valve and the secondary-side exhaust valve of another gas supply flow path, (B) closing the primary side valve and the secondary side valve in the first gas supply flow path group, and then opening the primary side exhaust valve and the secondary side exhaust valve of the first gas supply flow path group; (C) closing the primary side exhaust valve and the secondary side exhaust valve in the first gas supply flow path group, and then opening the primary side valve and the secondary side valve of a second gas supply flow path group, at least one of which is selected from the other gas supply flow paths; and (D) closing the primary side valve and the secondary side valve in the second gas supply flow path group, and then opening the primary side exhaust valve and the secondary side exhaust valve of the second gas supply flow path group. (29) The gas control method according to (28), wherein a first process including the step (A) and the step (B) and a second process including the step (C) and the step (D) are alternately and repeatedly performed.

[0200] (30) 1. A gas control system for controlling a supply of gas into a processing chamber, the system comprising: a gas supply flow path configured to be able to supply a gas to the processing chamber, an orifice disposed in the gas supply flow path, a flow control valve disposed upstream of the orifice in the gas supply flow path, a primary-side valve disposed upstream of the flow control valve in the gas supply flow path, a secondary-side valve disposed downstream of the orifice in the gas supply flow path, a secondary-side gas exhaust flow path branched between the orifice in the gas supply flow path and the secondary-side valve and connected to a secondary-side exhaust mechanism, a secondary-side exhaust valve disposed in the secondary-side gas exhaust flow path, and a flow control valve, the primary-side valve, the secondary-side valve, and the secondary-side exhaust mechanism. and a control unit which independently controls the opening of the valves, wherein the control unit executes control to alternately and repeatedly execute a step of supplying gas into the processing chamber by opening the flow control valve, the primary side valve, and the secondary side valve, and closing the primary side exhaust valve and the secondary side exhaust valve, and a step of exhausting the inside of the gas supply flow path by closing the flow control valve, the primary side valve, and the secondary side valve, and opening the primary side exhaust valve and the secondary side exhaust valve, and a control to open the flow control valve and the primary side valve before the secondary side valve, and to fill the downstream side of the orifice with gas, and then open the secondary side valve. (31) The gas control system according to (30), wherein, during the gas supplying step, the control unit opens the secondary side valve after the pressure downstream of the orifice is increased to a predetermined reference pressure. (32) The gas control system according to (31), wherein the reference pressure is 80% or more and 120% or less of the pressure downstream of the secondary valve. (33) The gas control system according to (30), wherein the control unit determines the timing to open the secondary side valve using at least one parameter among a pressure downstream of the orifice, a gas flow rate through the gas supply flow path, a gas supply time, an internal temperature of the gas supply flow path, and a flow rate of another gas flowing downstream of the secondary side valve. (34) The gas control system according to any one of (30) to (33), wherein the control unit executes filling of the gas at a supply flow rate determined prior to filling of the gas downstream of the orifice. (35) The gas control system according to any one of (30) to (33), wherein the gas supply passage is configured to be able to supply gas independently to different regions in the processing chamber, and the control unit executes filling of the gas at a supply flow rate determined using at least one parameter among a flow rate of another gas flowing downstream of the secondary side valve, a temperature of the processing chamber, a flow rate ratio of gases supplied to each of the different regions, or a pressure downstream of the orifice. (36) The gas control system according to any one of (30) to (33), further comprising a flow rate controller that controls a pressure downstream of the orifice and controls a flow rate of the gas supplied into the processing chamber. (37) The gas control system of claim 36, wherein the orifice is disposed within the flow controller. (38) The gas control system according to any one of (30) to (37), comprising: a primary-side gas exhaust flow path branching between the orifice in the gas supply flow path and the primary-side valve and connected to a primary-side exhaust mechanism; and a primary-side exhaust valve arranged in the primary-side gas exhaust flow path. (39) The gas control system according to any one of (30) to (38), further comprising a plurality of the gas supply flow paths configured to be able to independently supply gas to the processing chamber. (40) A gas control system as described in (39), wherein a different type of gas is independently supplied to each of the plurality of gas supply flow paths, and the control unit executes control to omit a process of evacuating the inside of the gas supply flow path according to an internal pressure of the gas supply flow path. (41) A plasma processing apparatus comprising: a processing chamber; a substrate support part disposed inside the processing chamber; a gas supply part that supplies a gas into the processing chamber; a high frequency power supply connected to at least the substrate support part; and a control part, the plasma processing apparatus comprising: a gas supply flow path configured to be able to supply a gas to the processing chamber; an orifice disposed in the gas supply flow path; a flow rate control valve disposed upstream of the orifice in the gas supply flow path; a primary side valve disposed upstream of the flow rate control valve in the gas supply flow path; a secondary side valve disposed downstream of the orifice in the gas supply flow path; and a secondary side gas exhaust flow path that branches between the orifice and the secondary side valve in the gas supply flow path and is connected to a secondary side exhaust mechanism. and a secondary-side exhaust valve disposed in the secondary-side gas exhaust flow path, wherein the control unit executes control to alternately and repeatedly execute a step of supplying gas into the processing chamber by opening the flow control valve, the primary-side valve, and the secondary-side valve, and closing the primary-side exhaust valve and the secondary-side exhaust valve, and a step of exhausting the inside of the gas supply flow path by closing the flow control valve, the primary-side valve, and the secondary-side valve, and opening the primary-side exhaust valve and the secondary-side exhaust valve, and a control to open the flow control valve and the primary-side valve before the secondary-side valve, and to fill a downstream side of the orifice with gas, and then open the secondary-side valve. (42) A method for plasma processing a substrate using a gas control system, the gas control system including a gas supply flow path configured to be able to supply gas to a processing chamber accommodating the substrate, an orifice disposed in the gas supply flow path, a flow control valve disposed upstream of the orifice in the gas supply flow path, a primary-side valve disposed upstream of the flow control valve in the gas supply flow path, a secondary-side valve disposed downstream of the orifice in the gas supply flow path, a secondary-side gas exhaust flow path branched between the orifice and the secondary-side valve in the gas supply flow path and connected to a secondary-side exhaust mechanism, and a secondary gas exhaust valve disposed in the secondary-side gas exhaust flow path. and a secondary-side exhaust valve, the method alternately and repeatedly performing the steps of (A) supplying gas into the processing chamber by opening the flow control valve, the primary-side valve, and the secondary-side valve, and closing the primary-side exhaust valve and the secondary-side exhaust valve, and (B) evacuating the inside of the gas supply flow path by closing the flow control valve, the primary-side valve, and the secondary-side valve, and opening the primary-side exhaust valve and the secondary-side exhaust valve, wherein in the step (B), the flow control valve and the primary-side valve are opened before the secondary-side valve, and after filling the downstream side of the orifice with gas, the secondary-side valve is opened.

[0201] Although the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications and combinations of the exemplary embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the present invention, will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the description. For example, the embodiments of Figures 3-18 may be combined with Figures 19-25 unless inconsistent. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to encompass any such modifications or embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0202] 10 Plasma Processing Chamber 20 Gas supply section 111 Flow Controller 112 Internal supply pipe 113 Orifice 116 Control valve 120 Primary side supply pipe 121 Primary valve 130 Primary exhaust pipe 131 Exhaust unit 132 Primary exhaust valve 140 Secondary supply pipe 141 Secondary valve 150 Secondary exhaust pipe 151 Exhaust unit 152 Secondary exhaust valve

Claims

1. 1. A gas delivery system for delivering gas into a processing chamber, comprising: a plurality of gas supply passages configured to be able to independently supply gas to the processing chamber; a flow rate controller disposed in each of the plurality of gas supply passages; a primary valve disposed upstream of the flow rate controller in the gas supply flow path; a primary-side gas exhaust flow path that branches off between the flow rate controller and the primary-side valve in the gas supply flow path and is connected to a primary-side exhaust mechanism; A primary-side exhaust valve disposed in the primary-side gas exhaust flow path; a secondary valve disposed downstream of the flow rate controller in the gas supply flow path; a secondary gas exhaust flow path that branches off between the flow rate controller and the secondary valve in the gas supply flow path and is connected to a secondary exhaust mechanism; a secondary exhaust valve disposed in the secondary gas exhaust flow path, The flow rate controller includes: a control valve connected to the primary valve and the secondary valve; a control side orifice disposed between the control valve and the secondary side valve.

2. an exhaust-side orifice disposed upstream of the secondary-side exhaust valve in the secondary-side gas exhaust flow path; a chamber-side orifice disposed between a connection portion of the gas supply passage with the secondary gas exhaust passage and the secondary valve, The control orifice has a hole diameter that is the minimum machining limit, The gas supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the exhaust orifice and the chamber orifice have different hole diameters.

3. 3. The gas supply system of claim 2, wherein a ratio of hole diameters of the exhaust side orifice and the chamber side orifice is determined based on a ratio of a target flow rate to be supplied to the processing chamber to a flow rate of gas output from the control side orifice.

4. The gas supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the gas supply passages are joined downstream of the secondary valve and then connected to the processing chamber.

5. the gas supply passage has a plurality of branch supply pipes that independently supply gas to a plurality of different positions within the processing chamber; The gas supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the flow rate controller, the secondary side valve, the secondary side gas exhaust passage, and the secondary side exhaust valve are independently connected to each of the plurality of branch supply pipes.

6. The gas supply system according to claim 5 , wherein the gas supply flow path branches into a plurality of the branch supply pipes between a connection portion with the primary gas exhaust flow path and the flow rate controller.

7. 6. The gas supply system according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of branch supply pipes are configured to be able to supply the gas independently to at least an edge region and a center region of a substrate introduced inside the processing chamber.

8. 1. A gas delivery system for delivering gas into a processing chamber, comprising: a plurality of gas supply passages configured to be able to independently supply gas to the processing chamber; a flow rate controller disposed in each of the plurality of gas supply passages; a primary valve disposed upstream of the flow rate controller in the gas supply flow path; a primary-side gas exhaust flow path that branches off between the flow rate controller and the primary-side valve in the gas supply flow path and is connected to a primary-side exhaust mechanism; A primary-side exhaust valve disposed in the primary-side gas exhaust flow path; a secondary valve disposed downstream of the flow rate controller in the gas supply flow path, The flow rate controller includes: a control valve connected to the primary valve and the secondary valve; a control side orifice disposed between the control valve and the secondary side valve.

9. A plasma processing apparatus for processing a substrate, comprising: a processing chamber; a substrate support disposed within the processing chamber; A gas supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, which supplies gas to the interior of the processing chamber; a plasma generating unit configured to generate a plasma from a gas in the processing chamber.

10. 1. A gas control system for controlling a supply of gas into a processing chamber, comprising: a gas supply passage configured to be able to supply a gas to the processing chamber; an orifice disposed in the gas supply channel; a primary valve disposed upstream of the orifice in the gas supply passage; a primary gas exhaust flow path that branches between the orifice in the gas supply flow path and the primary valve and is connected to a primary exhaust mechanism; A primary-side exhaust valve disposed in the primary-side gas exhaust flow path; a secondary valve disposed downstream of the orifice in the gas supply passage; a secondary gas exhaust flow path that branches between the orifice in the gas supply flow path and the secondary valve and is connected to a secondary exhaust mechanism; A secondary exhaust valve disposed in the secondary gas exhaust passage; a control unit that independently controls the opening degrees of the primary side valve, the primary side exhaust valve, the secondary side valve, and the secondary side exhaust valve, The control unit is supplying gas into the processing chamber by opening the primary side valve and the secondary side valve and closing the primary side exhaust valve and the secondary side exhaust valve; a step of alternately and repeatedly performing a step of closing the primary side valve and the secondary side valve and exhausting the inside of the gas supply passage by opening the primary side exhaust valve and the secondary side exhaust valve; and When exhausting the inside of the gas supply flow path, control is executed to operate the primary exhaust mechanism and the secondary exhaust mechanism so that at least the gas remains inside the gas supply flow path; The gas supply passage has an internal pressure of 100 Torr or less after evacuation.

11. a plurality of gas supply passages configured to be able to independently supply gas to the processing chamber; The gas control system of claim 10 , wherein the orifice, the primary side valve, the primary side exhaust valve, the secondary side valve, and the secondary side exhaust valve are disposed in each of a plurality of the gas supply flow paths.

12. a flow rate controller for controlling a flow rate of the gas supplied into the processing chamber; the orifice is disposed within the flow controller; 11. The gas control system of claim 10, wherein the primary side valve, the primary side exhaust valve, the secondary side valve, and the secondary side exhaust valve are located external to the flow controller.

13. 13. The gas control system according to claim 12, wherein the flow rate controller further comprises an aperture adjustment valve disposed upstream of the orifice in the gas supply flow path.

14. 11. The gas control system of claim 10, further comprising a mounting member connecting together the orifice, the primary side valve, the primary side exhaust valve, the secondary side valve, and the secondary side exhaust valve.

15. 11. The gas control system of claim 10, wherein a flow rate of the gas supplied into the processing chamber is between 0.1 sccm and 10 sccm.

16. The control unit is a deposition process for forming a deposit on a substrate introduced into the processing chamber; and an etching process for etching the substrate. The deposition process and the etching process each include a step of supplying a gas into the processing chamber and a step of evacuating the inside of the gas supply passage; 11. The gas control system of claim 10, wherein a processing time for one cycle including the deposition process and the etching process is 1 to 10 seconds.

17. A gas control method using a gas control system, comprising: The gas control system comprises: A plurality of gas supply passages configured to be able to independently supply gas to the processing chamber; an orifice disposed in each of the plurality of gas supply passages; a primary valve disposed upstream of the orifice in the gas supply passage; a primary gas exhaust flow path that branches between the orifice in the gas supply flow path and the primary valve and is connected to a primary exhaust mechanism; A primary-side exhaust valve disposed in the primary-side gas exhaust flow path; a secondary valve disposed downstream of the orifice in the gas supply passage; a secondary gas exhaust flow path that branches between the orifice in the gas supply flow path and the secondary valve and is connected to a secondary exhaust mechanism; a secondary exhaust valve disposed in the secondary gas exhaust flow path, (A) opening the primary side valve and the secondary side valve of a first gas supply flow path group, at least one of the gas supply flow paths being selected, and closing the primary side exhaust valve, the secondary side exhaust valve of the first gas supply flow path group, and the primary side valve, the secondary side valve, the primary side exhaust valve, and the secondary side exhaust valve of another gas supply flow path; (B) closing the primary side valves and the secondary side valves in the first gas supply flow path group, and then opening the primary side exhaust valves and the secondary side exhaust valves in the first gas supply flow path group; (C) closing the primary exhaust valve and the secondary exhaust valve in the first gas supply flow path group, and then opening the primary valve and the secondary valve of a second gas supply flow path group, at least one of which is selected from the other gas supply flow paths; (D) closing the primary side valves and the secondary side valves in the second gas supply flow path group, and then opening the primary side exhaust valves and the secondary side exhaust valves of the second gas supply flow path group.

18. 18. The gas control method according to claim 17, wherein a first process including the steps (A) and (B) and a second process including the steps (C) and (D) are alternately and repeatedly performed.

19. 1. A gas control system for controlling a supply of gas into a processing chamber, comprising: a gas supply passage configured to be able to supply a gas to the processing chamber; an orifice disposed in the gas supply channel; a flow control valve disposed upstream of the orifice in the gas supply passage; a primary valve disposed upstream of the flow control valve in the gas supply flow path; a secondary valve disposed downstream of the orifice in the gas supply passage; a secondary gas exhaust flow path that branches between the orifice in the gas supply flow path and the secondary valve and is connected to a secondary exhaust mechanism; A secondary exhaust valve disposed in the secondary gas exhaust passage; a control unit that independently controls the opening degrees of the flow control valve, the primary side valve, the secondary side valve, and the secondary side exhaust valve, The control unit is supplying gas into the processing chamber by opening the flow control valve, the primary valve, and the secondary valve and closing the secondary exhaust valve; a step of alternately and repeatedly performing a step of closing the flow rate control valve, the primary side valve, and the secondary side valve, and exhausting the inside of the gas supply passage by opening the secondary side exhaust valve; and during the step of supplying the gas, the flow rate control valve and the primary side valve are opened prior to the secondary side valve, and after gas is filled on the downstream side of the orifice, the secondary side valve is opened.

20. 20. The gas control system according to claim 19, wherein, during the step of supplying gas, the control unit opens the secondary side valve after a pressure downstream of the orifice is increased to a predetermined reference pressure.

21. 21. The gas control system of claim 20, wherein the reference pressure is greater than or equal to 80% and less than or equal to 120% of the pressure downstream of the secondary valve.

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