Processing Equipment

Abstract

To provide a processing unit capable of being improved in processing performance.SOLUTION: A plasma generation part 18 can use radiant heat H (See Fig.2) by a plasma discharge to perform heating to remove moisture in a vacuum chamber 10. Thus, the radiant heat H by the plasma discharge at the plasma generation part 18 is used to remove the moisture in the vacuum chamber 10. Consequently, a high degree of vacuum can be reached by lowering ultimate pressure of a vacuum in the vacuum chamber 10. Therefore, when film deposition processing is performed in the vacuum chamber 10, film quality is improved to improve processing performance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] As a processing apparatus for performing a predetermined process on an object, a film forming apparatus that forms a film by adhering particles of a film forming material is known, as shown in Patent Document 1. This processing apparatus uses a plasma gun to generate plasma in a chamber, and evaporates the film forming material in the chamber. The film forming material adheres to a substrate, forming a film on the substrate. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-141856 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Here, in a processing apparatus that generates plasma in a chamber to form a film as described above, it is required to improve the quality of the film on the target object. Also, in a processing apparatus that performs a negative ion irradiation process, it is required to improve the film quality by improving the negative ion irradiation efficiency. As described above, in a processing apparatus that generates plasma in a chamber to perform a predetermined process, it is required to improve the processing performance of the film formation process, the negative ion irradiation process, etc.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT An object of the present invention is to provide a processing device capable of improving processing performance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The processing apparatus of the present invention is a processing apparatus that performs a predetermined processing on an object, and is equipped with a chamber for storing the object and performing the processing therein, and a plasma generation unit that generates plasma in the chamber, and the plasma generation unit performs heating by radiant heat generated by plasma generation so as to remove moisture in the chamber.

[0007] For example, when the chamber is opened to the atmosphere for maintenance or the like, moisture in the atmosphere may be adsorbed in the chamber. The adsorbed moisture may not be completely removed by evacuating the chamber, and may prevent a high degree of vacuum from being reached. In response to this, the plasma generating unit heats the chamber to remove moisture by radiant heat generated by plasma generation. In this way, the moisture in the chamber can be removed by using the radiant heat generated by plasma generation in the plasma generating unit. Therefore, a high degree of vacuum can be reached by lowering the ultimate vacuum pressure in the chamber. Therefore, when a predetermined process such as a film formation process or negative ion irradiation is performed in the chamber, the process performance can be improved by improving the film quality.

[0008] The plasma generating unit may generate plasma based on a dedicated operation mode for removing moisture. In this way, by simply adding a dedicated operation mode, moisture can be removed using the existing plasma generating unit without adding a new heating device.

[0009] The processing apparatus further includes a cooling mechanism for cooling the chamber during processing, and the cooling mechanism may stop cooling when the plasma generating unit is performing heating. In this case, the chamber becomes easier to heat, and moisture in the chamber can be efficiently removed without excessively increasing the generation energy of plasma generation.

[0010] The processing apparatus may further include a cooling mechanism for cooling the chamber during processing, the chamber having an adhesion prevention plate covering the inner wall surface, and the cooling mechanism for cooling the adhesion prevention plate. In this case, the adhesion prevention plate covers the inner wall surface of the chamber, thereby preventing substances from directly adhering to the inner wall surface. Such an adhesion prevention plate is likely to become hot during processing, but the cooling mechanism can cool the adhesion prevention plate to prevent plastic deformation or melting due to the high temperature.

[0011] The plasma generating unit may include a pressure gradient type plasma gun, which makes it easier to heat the material by generating plasma.

[0012] The treatment may be a film formation treatment in which particles of a film formation material are attached to an object to form a film. The plasma generating unit removes moisture from within the chamber, allowing the film formation treatment to be performed at a high degree of vacuum, thereby improving the quality of the film formed on the object.

[0013] The processing apparatus may further include an anode that holds the film forming material at a holding position, and an evacuation mechanism that evacuates the film forming material from the holding position, and the plasma generating unit may generate plasma between the anode and the film forming material to heat the film forming material in a state where the film forming material is evacuated from the holding position by the evacuation mechanism. In this case, when removing moisture, the film forming material can be prevented from being sublimated by the plasma. Therefore, when removing moisture, it is not necessary to divert the plasma from the anode to the auxiliary anode, and therefore the auxiliary anode can be omitted.

[0014] The processing apparatus may further include an anode that holds the film-forming material at the holding position, and the plasma generating unit may generate plasma between the anode and the film-forming material with a generation energy that does not sublimate the film-forming material to perform heating. In this case, when removing moisture, the film-forming material can be prevented from being sublimated by the plasma. Therefore, when removing moisture, it is not necessary to divert the plasma from the anode to the auxiliary anode, and therefore the auxiliary anode can be omitted.

[0015] The processing apparatus may further include an anode that holds the film forming material at a holding position and an auxiliary anode that is provided to surround the anode, and the plasma generating unit may generate plasma between the auxiliary anode and the film forming material to heat the film. In this case, even if the film forming material is not evacuated from the anode, the film forming material can be prevented from being sublimated by the plasma when moisture is removed.

[0016] The treatment may be a negative ion irradiation treatment in which the negative ions generated in the chamber are irradiated to the target object. The plasma generating unit removes moisture in the chamber, so that the negative ion irradiation treatment can be performed at a high degree of vacuum, thereby improving the efficiency of the negative ion irradiation. As a result, the quality of the film of the target object irradiated with the negative ions can be improved. Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a processing device capable of improving processing performance. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a film forming apparatus as a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view showing a main hearth, an annular hearth, and plasma. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view showing a film forming apparatus according to a modified example. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view showing a negative ion irradiation device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Hereinafter, a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated description will be omitted.

[0020] First, the configuration of a processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a film forming apparatus 100 as the processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that performs a predetermined process on a substrate 11 (object). In this embodiment, the predetermined process is a film forming process in which particles Mb of a film forming material Ma are attached to the substrate 11 to form a film. That is, the processing apparatus 1 is composed of a film forming apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the film forming apparatus 100 of this embodiment is an ion plating apparatus used in a so-called ion plating method. For convenience of explanation, an XYZ coordinate system is shown in FIG. 1. The Y-axis direction is the direction in which the substrate 11 is transported. The Z-axis direction is the position where the substrate 11 faces a hearth mechanism described later. The X-axis direction is a direction perpendicular to the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction.

[0021] The film forming apparatus 100 is a so-called horizontal type film forming apparatus in which the substrate 11 is placed and transported in the vacuum chamber 10 so that the thickness direction of the substrate 11 is approximately vertical. In this case, the X-axis and Y-axis directions are horizontal, and the Z-axis direction is vertical and the thickness direction. The film forming apparatus 100 may be a so-called vertical type film forming apparatus in which the substrate 11 is placed and transported in the vacuum chamber 10 with the substrate 11 standing upright or tilted from the upright state so that the thickness direction of the substrate 11 is horizontal (Z-axis direction in Figs. 1 and 2). In this case, the Z-axis direction is horizontal and the thickness direction of the substrate 11, the Y-axis direction is horizontal, and the X-axis direction is vertical.

[0022] The film forming apparatus 100 forms a film on the surface of the substrate 11 by supplying particles Mb of a film forming material Ma to the substrate 11. The film forming apparatus 100 includes a vacuum chamber 10 (chamber), a transfer mechanism 3, a film forming mechanism 14, a cooling mechanism 30, a gas supply unit 40, a current supply unit 80, and a control unit 90.

[0023] The vacuum chamber 10 is a member for storing the substrate 11 and performing a film formation process. The vacuum chamber 10 has a transfer chamber 10a for transferring the substrate 11 on which a film of the film formation material Ma is formed, a film formation chamber 10b for diffusing the film formation material Ma, and a plasma port 10c for receiving the plasma P irradiated in a beam form from the plasma gun 7 into the vacuum chamber 10. The transfer chamber 10a, the film formation chamber 10b, and the plasma port 10c are mutually connected. The transfer chamber 10a is set along the Y axis in a predetermined transfer direction (arrow A in the figure). The transfer chamber 10a has long walls 10d and 10e facing each other in the Z axis direction, and walls facing each other in the X axis direction. The vacuum chamber 10 is made of a conductive material and is connected to a ground potential.

[0024] The film formation chamber 10b has, as wall portion 10W, a pair of side walls arranged along the transport direction (arrow A), a pair of side walls 10h, 10i arranged along a direction (Z-axis direction) intersecting the transport direction (arrow A), and a bottom wall 10j arranged along the X-axis direction.

[0025] The transport mechanism 3 transports a substrate holding member 16, which holds the substrate 11 while facing the film forming material Ma, in a transport direction (arrow A). For example, the substrate holding member 16 is a frame that holds the outer periphery of the substrate 11. The transport mechanism 3 is composed of a plurality of transport rollers 15 installed in the transport chamber 10a. The transport rollers 15 are arranged at equal intervals along the transport direction (arrow A) and transport the substrate holding member 16 in the transport direction (arrow A) while supporting it. The substrate 11 is, for example, a plate-like member such as a glass substrate or a plastic substrate.

[0026] Next, a detailed description will be given of the configuration of the film formation mechanism 14. The film formation mechanism 14 adheres particles of the film formation material Ma to the substrate 11 by ion plating. The film formation mechanism 14 has a plasma generation unit 18, a steering coil 5, a hearth mechanism 2, and a circular hearth 6.

[0027] The plasma generating unit 18 generates plasma in the vacuum chamber 10. The plasma generating unit 18 has, for example, a pressure gradient type plasma gun 7. The main body of the plasma gun 7 is connected to the film formation chamber 10b via a plasma port 10c provided on the side wall of the film formation chamber 10b. The plasma gun 7 generates plasma P in the vacuum chamber 10. The plasma P generated in the plasma gun 7 is emitted in the form of a beam from the plasma port 10c into the film formation chamber 10b. This generates plasma P in the film formation chamber 10b.

[0028] One end of the plasma gun 7 is closed by a cathode 60. A first intermediate electrode (grid) 61 and a second intermediate electrode (grid) 62 are concentrically arranged between the cathode 60 and the plasma port 10c. An annular permanent magnet 61a for converging the plasma P is built into the first intermediate electrode 61. An electromagnetic coil 62a for converging the plasma P is also built into the second intermediate electrode 62.

[0029] The steering coil 5 is provided around the plasma port 10c to which the plasma gun is attached. The steering coil 5 guides the plasma P into the film forming chamber 10b. The steering coil 5 is excited by a power supply (not shown) for the steering coil.

[0030] The hearth mechanism 2 holds the film forming material Ma. The hearth mechanism 2 is provided in the film forming chamber 10b of the vacuum chamber 10, and is disposed in the negative direction of the Z axis as viewed from the transfer mechanism 3. The hearth mechanism 2 has a main hearth 17 (anode) which is a main anode that guides the plasma P emitted from the plasma gun 7 to the film forming material Ma, or a main anode to which the plasma P emitted from the plasma gun 7 is guided.

[0031] The main hearth 17 has a cylindrical filling portion 17a filled with the film forming material Ma and extending in the positive direction of the Z-axis, and a flange portion 17b protruding from the filling portion 17a. Since the main hearth 17 is maintained at a positive potential with respect to the ground potential of the vacuum chamber 10, the main hearth 17 serves as an anode in the discharge and draws in the plasma P. A through hole 17c for filling the film forming material Ma is formed in the filling portion 17a of the main hearth 17 into which the plasma P is incident. A tip portion of the film forming material Ma is exposed to the film forming chamber 10b at one end of the through hole 17c. In this way, the main hearth 17 can hold the film forming material Ma by filling the filling portion 17a with the film forming material Ma. Also, one end of the through hole 17c serves as a holding position for holding the film forming material Ma in order to sublimate the film forming material Ma.

[0032] The film forming material Ma is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected according to the desired film, and examples thereof include transparent conductive materials such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) and ZnO, metal materials, and insulating sealing materials such as SiON. When the film forming material Ma is made of an insulating material, when the main hearth 17 is irradiated with a beam of plasma P, the main hearth 17 is heated by the current from the beam of plasma P, the tip of the film forming material Ma evaporates, and the particles Mb ionized by the beam of plasma P diffuse into the film forming chamber 10b. When the film forming material Ma is made of a conductive material, when the main hearth 17 is irradiated with a beam of plasma P, the beam of plasma P directly enters the film forming material Ma, the tip of the film forming material Ma is heated and evaporated, and the particles Mb ionized by the beam of plasma P diffuse into the film forming chamber 10b. The particles Mb diffused into the film forming chamber 10b move in the positive direction of the Z axis of the film forming chamber 10b and adhere to the surface of the substrate 11 in the transfer chamber 10a. The film forming material Ma is a solid object formed into a cylindrical shape of a predetermined length, and a plurality of film forming materials Ma are loaded into the hearth mechanism 2 at one time. Then, as the film forming material Ma is consumed, the film forming material Ma is successively pushed out from the negative Z direction side of the hearth mechanism 2 so that the tip end portion of the film forming material Ma on the most forward side maintains a predetermined positional relationship with the upper end of the main hearth 17.

[0033] The annular hearth 6 (auxiliary anode) is an auxiliary anode having an electromagnet for inducing the plasma P. The annular hearth 6 is provided so as to surround the main hearth 17. The annular hearth 6 is arranged around the filling section 17a of the main hearth 17 that holds the film forming material Ma. The annular hearth 6 has an annular coil 9, an annular permanent magnet section 20, and an annular container 12, and the coil 9 and the permanent magnet section 20 are housed in the container 12. In this embodiment, the coil 9 and the permanent magnet section 20 are installed in the Z negative direction as viewed from the transport mechanism 3, but the permanent magnet section 20 and the coil 9 may be installed in the Z negative direction. The annular hearth 6 controls the direction of the plasma P incident on the film forming material Ma or the direction of the plasma P incident on the main hearth 17 according to the magnitude of the current flowing through the coil 9. The potentials of the main hearth 17 and the annular hearth 6 are controlled based on a control signal from the control unit 90.

[0034] The cooling mechanism 30 is a mechanism for cooling the vacuum chamber 10 during the film formation process. In this embodiment, the chamber 10 has an adhesion prevention plate 35 that covers the inner wall surface 10k. The adhesion prevention plate 35 is a plate member that prevents particles Mb from adhering to the inner wall surface 10k by adhering the particles Mb. The adhesion prevention plate 35 covers the side walls 10h, 10i facing each other in the Y-axis direction and the side wall facing each other in the X-axis direction. The adhesion prevention plate 35 covering the side wall 10h is open at the positions corresponding to the plasma gun 7 and the gas supply port 41.

[0035] The cooling mechanism 30 cools the adhesion prevention plate 35. The cooling mechanism 30 includes a cooling pipe 31 and a cooling plate 32. The cooling plate 32 is provided on the back side (the inner wall surface 10k side) of the adhesion prevention plate 35. The cooling plate 32 has approximately the same shape as the adhesion prevention plate 35. The cooling pipe 31 is provided on the back side (the inner wall surface 10k side) of the cooling plate 32. The cooling pipe 31 is arranged so as to be stretched over the entire back surface of the cooling plate 32. The cooling pipe 31 is a pipe for flowing a cooling medium such as cooling water. The cooling pipe 31 can cool the cooling plate 32 by thermal conduction and thermal radiation by the cooling medium. Thus, the adhesion prevention plate 35 is cooled by the cooling pipe 31 via the cooling plate 32.

[0036] The gas supply unit 40 supplies a carrier gas and oxygen gas into the vacuum chamber 10. For example, a rare gas such as argon or helium is used as the substance contained in the carrier gas. The gas supply unit 40 is disposed outside the vacuum chamber 10, and supplies a source gas into the vacuum chamber 10 through a gas supply port 41 provided in a side wall (for example, the side wall 10h) of the film formation chamber 10b. The gas supply unit 40 supplies the carrier gas and oxygen gas at flow rates based on a control signal from the control unit 90.

[0037] The current supply unit 80 supplies a current for ionizing the film forming material to the plasma gun 7. The current supply unit 80 supplies a current to the cathode 60 of the plasma gun 7. This causes the plasma gun 7 to discharge at a predetermined discharge current. The current supply unit 80 supplies a current with a current value based on a control signal from the control unit 90.

[0038] The control unit 90 is a device that controls the entire film forming apparatus 100, and is composed of a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, an input / output interface, and the like. The control unit 90 is disposed outside the vacuum chamber 10. When performing a film forming process, the control unit 90 controls the film forming apparatus 100 with control contents for performing the film forming process. When performing maintenance on the film forming apparatus 100, the control unit 90 controls the film forming apparatus 100 with control contents for performing the maintenance. During the film forming process, the control unit 90 controls the film forming apparatus 100 based on the film forming conditions. The control unit 90 controls the flow rate of gas by the gas supply unit 40 and the current by the current supply unit 80. The control unit 90 also adjusts the potential of the main hearth 17 to control discharge between the plasma gun 7 and the main hearth 17. At this time, the control unit 90 sets the output of the plasma gun so that enough discharge energy (generation energy) to sublimate the film forming material Ma is obtained. Furthermore, when performing a film forming process, the control unit 90 performs cooling by the cooling mechanism 30. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the adhesion-prevention plate 35 from being plastically deformed or melted by radiant heat due to the discharge energy of the plasma discharge (plasma generation) during film formation.

[0039] During maintenance, the vacuum chamber 10 is opened to the atmosphere. At this time, moisture in the atmosphere is adsorbed onto the adhesion prevention plate 35. After the vacuum chamber 10 is sealed, the vacuum chamber 10 is evacuated. At this time, the plasma gun 7 heats the vacuum chamber 10 by radiant heat due to plasma discharge (plasma generation) so as to remove moisture from within the vacuum chamber 10. The control unit 90 performs control with different control contents from those when performing the film formation process. Therefore, the plasma gun 7 generates plasma P based on an operation mode dedicated to removing moisture.

[0040] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the main hearth 17, the annular hearth 6, and the plasma P. As shown in FIG. 2, when heating for removing moisture is performed, the control unit 90 controls the plasma P to be introduced to the annular hearth 6. The plasma gun 7 discharges (generates plasma) between the annular hearth 6 and performs heating for removing moisture. At this time, the control unit 90 controls the plasma P not to be introduced to the main hearth 17. This prevents the film-forming material Ma from being sublimated. When heating for removing moisture is performed, the control unit 90 controls the supply of the cooling medium to the cooling pipe 31 to be stopped. This causes the cooling mechanism 30 to stop cooling when the plasma gun 7 is performing heating. At this time, the control unit 90 sets the output of the plasma gun 7 so that the adhesion prevention plate 35 is not plastically deformed or melted by the radiant heat due to the discharge energy of the plasma discharge even when the cooling mechanism 30 is stopped cooling. The control unit 90 adjusts the output of the plasma gun 7 so that the heating temperature is suitable for removing moisture.

[0041] The operation and effect of the processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment will be described.

[0042] For example, when the vacuum chamber 10 is opened to the atmosphere for maintenance or the like, moisture in the atmosphere may be adsorbed inside the vacuum chamber 10 (for example, the adhesion prevention plate 35). The moisture adsorbed in this way may not be completely removed by simply evacuating the vacuum chamber 10, and a high degree of vacuum may not be achieved. In response to this, the plasma generating unit 18 performs heating so as to remove moisture inside the vacuum chamber 10 by using radiant heat H (see FIG. 2) due to plasma discharge. At this time, the moisture adsorbed on the adhesion prevention plate 35 is evaporated by the radiant heat H, and is removed from the vacuum chamber 10 by evacuating. In this way, the moisture inside the vacuum chamber 10 can be removed by using the radiant heat H due to the plasma discharge in the plasma generating unit 18. Therefore, a high degree of vacuum can be achieved by lowering the ultimate vacuum pressure inside the vacuum chamber 10. Therefore, when a film formation process is performed inside the vacuum chamber 10, the processing performance can be improved by improving the film quality.

[0043] The plasma generating unit 18 may generate the plasma P based on a dedicated operation mode for removing moisture. In this way, by simply adding a dedicated operation mode, moisture can be removed using the existing plasma generating unit 18 without adding a new heating device.

[0044] The processing apparatus 1 further includes a cooling mechanism 30 for cooling the vacuum chamber 10 during processing, and the cooling mechanism 30 may stop cooling when the plasma generating unit 18 is performing heating. In this case, the vacuum chamber 10 becomes easier to heat, and moisture in the vacuum chamber 10 can be efficiently removed without excessively increasing the discharge energy of the plasma discharge.

[0045] The processing apparatus 1 further includes a cooling mechanism 30 for cooling the vacuum chamber 10 during processing, the vacuum chamber 10 having an adhesion prevention plate 35 covering the inner wall surface 10k, and the cooling mechanism 30 may cool the adhesion prevention plate 35. In this case, the adhesion prevention plate 35 covers the inner wall surface 10k of the vacuum chamber 10, thereby preventing substances such as particles Mb from adhering directly to the inner wall surface 10k. Such an adhesion prevention plate 35 is likely to become hot during processing, but by cooling the adhesion prevention plate 35 with the cooling mechanism 30, plastic deformation or melting due to the high temperature can be suppressed.

[0046] The plasma generating unit 18 may include a pressure gradient type plasma gun 7. In this case, heating by plasma discharge becomes easier.

[0047] The treatment may be a film formation treatment in which particles Mb of a film formation material Ma are attached to the substrate 11 to form a film. The plasma generating unit 18 removes moisture from within the vacuum chamber 10, thereby enabling the film formation treatment to be performed at a high degree of vacuum, thereby improving the quality of the film formed on the substrate 11.

[0048] The processing apparatus 1 further includes a main hearth 17 for holding the film formation material Ma at a holding position, and an annular hearth 6 provided so as to surround the main hearth 17, and the plasma generating unit 18 may perform heating by discharging between the main hearth 17 and the annular hearth 6. In this case, even if the film formation material Ma is not evacuated from the main hearth 17, the film formation material Ma can be prevented from being sublimated by the plasma P when moisture is removed.

[0049] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

[0050] In the above embodiment, the annular hearth 6 is provided, but as shown in FIG. 3, the annular hearth 6 may be omitted. In this case, the processing apparatus 1 may further include a main hearth 17 that holds the film forming material Ma at a holding position at the tip of the filling section 17a, and an evacuation mechanism 50 that evacuates the film forming material Ma from the holding position. At this time, the plasma generating section 18 may perform heating by discharging between the main hearth 17 and the film forming material Ma in a state in which the film forming material Ma is evacuated from the holding position by the evacuation mechanism 50. The evacuation mechanism 50 includes an evacuation section 51, an operation section 52, and a drive section 53. The evacuation section 51 is a section that stores the film forming material Ma at the evacuation position below the filling section 17a. The filling section 17a and the evacuation section 51 have a through hole 17c that communicates with each other. The operation section 52 is a section that operates the position of the film forming material Ma in the through hole 17c. The operation unit 52 is a pin-shaped member that expands and contracts to operate the film forming material Ma from below. The drive unit 53 is a part that applies a driving force to expand and contract the operation unit 52. The retraction mechanism 50 retracts the film forming material Ma to the retraction unit 51 when removing moisture. The retraction mechanism 50 moves the film forming material Ma to the tip of the filling unit 17a when performing a film formation process.

[0051] 3, when moisture is removed, the film forming material Ma is retracted from the tip of the filling portion 17a, and therefore, it is possible to prevent the film forming material Ma from being sublimated by the plasma P. Therefore, when moisture is removed, it is not necessary to divert the plasma P from the main hearth 17 to the annular hearth 6, and therefore the annular hearth 6 can be omitted.

[0052] The processing apparatus 1 further includes a main hearth 17 that holds the film forming material Ma at a holding position at the tip of the filling section 17a, and the plasma generating section 18 may perform heating to remove moisture by discharging between the main hearth and the film forming material Ma with discharge energy that does not sublimate the film forming material Ma. In this case, when removing moisture, the film forming material Ma can be prevented from being sublimated by the plasma. Therefore, since it is not necessary to divert the plasma P from the main hearth 17 to the annular hearth 6 when removing moisture, the annular hearth 6 and the evacuation mechanism 50 can be omitted.

[0053] The processing apparatus 1 is not limited to the film forming apparatus 100 as described above. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a negative ion irradiation apparatus 200 may be adopted as the processing apparatus 1. At this time, a negative ion irradiation process is performed in which the negative ions generated in the vacuum chamber 10 are irradiated onto the substrate 11. As shown in FIG. 4, the negative ion irradiation apparatus 200 includes a plasma generating unit 18, an anode 201, and a substrate placement unit 202. The anode 201 is provided on the side wall 10i facing the plasma generating unit 18. The plasma generating unit 18 performs plasma discharge between the anode 201 and the plasma generating unit 18. The substrate placement unit 202 is a portion for placing the substrate 11 on which a film has been formed. The substrate placement unit 202 is provided on the bottom wall 10j. In addition, a cooling mechanism 30 and an adhesion prevention plate 35 are provided on the side walls 10h and 10i. The adhesion prevention plate 35 may be omitted. In this case, the cooling mechanism 30 may be provided for each wall of the vacuum chamber 10 to cool those walls.

[0054] As a result, negative ions are generated by the plasma P in the vacuum chamber 10, and the negative ions are irradiated onto the film on the substrate 11. The plasma generating unit 18 also performs plasma discharge with the anode 201, and heats the vacuum chamber 10 by radiant heat from the plasma discharge to remove moisture. By the plasma generating unit 18 removing moisture from the vacuum chamber 10, it becomes possible to perform the negative ion irradiation process at a high degree of vacuum, and therefore the efficiency of the negative ion irradiation can be improved. As a result, the quality of the film on the substrate 11 irradiated with the negative ions can be improved.

[0055] In the above-described embodiment and modified example, the adhesion prevention plate 35 is provided, but may be omitted. The cooling mechanism 30 may also be omitted. In addition, the pressure gradient type plasma gun 7 is used as the plasma generating unit 18, but there is no particular limitation as long as it is a mechanism that can generate plasma.

[0056] The film formation method using plasma is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and a film formation apparatus such as plasma CVD, e.g., ECR plasma CVD, inductively coupled plasma CVD, surface wave plasma CVD, and helicon wave plasma CVD, may be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] Reference Signs List: 1... processing device, 6... ring hearth (auxiliary anode), 7... plasma gun, 10... vacuum chamber (chamber), 11... substrate (object), 18... plasma generation section, 17... main hearth (anode), 30... cooling mechanism, 35... adhesion protection plate, Ma... film formation material, Mb... particles.

Claims

1. A processing device that performs a predetermined process on an object, a chamber for containing the object and for carrying out the processing therein; a plasma generating unit that generates plasma in the chamber, the plasma generating unit performs heating so as to remove moisture in the chamber by radiant heat generated by plasma generation; a cooling mechanism for cooling the chamber during the processing; The cooling mechanism stops cooling when the plasma generating unit is performing the heating.

2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the plasma generating unit generates plasma based on an operation mode dedicated to removing moisture.

3. a cooling mechanism for cooling the chamber during the processing; The chamber has an adhesion prevention plate covering an inner wall surface, The processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling mechanism cools the adhesion prevention plate.

4. 4. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plasma generating unit has a pressure gradient type plasma gun.

5. 5. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing is a film forming process in which particles of a film forming material are attached to the object to form a film.

6. an anode that holds the film forming material at a holding position; a retraction mechanism for retracting the film forming material from the holding position, The processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the plasma generating unit generates plasma between the anode and the film forming material, in a state in which the film forming material is retracted from the holding position by the retraction mechanism, to perform the heating.

7. The film forming apparatus further includes an anode that holds the film forming material at a holding position, The processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the plasma generating unit performs the heating by generating plasma between the anode and the film forming material with a generation energy that does not sublimate the film forming material.

8. an anode that holds the film forming material at a holding position; An auxiliary anode provided so as to surround the anode, The processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the plasma generating unit generates plasma between the auxiliary anode and the processing apparatus to perform the heating.

9. A processing device for performing a predetermined process on an object, a chamber for containing the object and for carrying out the processing therein; a plasma generating unit that generates plasma in the chamber, the plasma generating unit performs heating so as to remove moisture in the chamber by radiant heat generated by plasma generation; The processing apparatus, wherein the processing is a negative ion irradiation processing in which the object is irradiated with negative ions generated in the chamber.

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