JP2008057012A - Plasma treatment device and plasma treatment method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact and inexpensive plasma treatment device capable of efficiently performing etching to a workpiece, and to provide a plasma treatment method capable of efficiently performing etching. <P>SOLUTION: The plasma treatment device 1 using atmospheric pressure (ordinary pressure) plasma comprises: a treatment chamber 2; a supporting means 3 provided in the treatment chamber 2 and supporting a substrate (workpiece) 10; a plasma feeding means 4 for introducing a treatment gas into flame F, so as to convert the treatment gas (etching gas) into plasma, and feeding the plasma toward the substrate 10; and an exhausting means 5 for exhausting the inside of the treatment chamber 2. In the plasma treatment chamber 1, activated atoms (radicals) in the plasma fed toward the substrate 10 are reacted with the substrate 10, and, by releasing the reactant from the substrate 10, etching can be performed to the substrate 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus and a plasma processing method.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an apparatus that performs plasma processing on the surface of a substrate (workpiece) is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Such a conventional plasma processing apparatus includes a first electrode that supports a substrate, a second electrode that is disposed to face the first electrode through the substrate, and a first electrode and a second electrode. A power supply circuit having a power supply for applying a high-frequency voltage therebetween and a gas supply unit for supplying a predetermined gas between the substrate and the second electrode are included.

  In this apparatus, a gas (for example, a mixed gas of a rare gas and an etching gas) introduced between electrodes to which a high-frequency voltage is applied is ionized to generate discharge plasma, and the plasma treatment is performed by exposing the surface of the substrate to the plasma. Is to be applied. In the substrate in contact with the plasma, the activated atoms (radicals) in the plasma react with the substrate material. Then, when the reactant is detached from the substrate, for example, an etching process for cutting the surface of the workpiece is performed.

By the way, in a conventional plasma processing apparatus, a large amount of rare gas is used as a gas for generating plasma. However, since the rare gas is very expensive, there is a problem that the running cost increases.
In addition, in the conventional plasma processing apparatus, discharge plasma is used. However, depending on the type of the processing gas (etching gas), the discharge plasma may have low efficiency when converting the processing gas into plasma. In this case, since the density of generated plasma (radical density) is lowered, the reaction efficiency between the plasma and the substrate is lowered, and a sufficient processing speed cannot be obtained.
Furthermore, this plasma processing apparatus requires a pair of electrodes and an apparatus that constitutes a power supply circuit such as a power supply and a matching unit. However, since these components and apparatuses are generally large in volume, they are a factor in increasing the size of the plasma processing apparatus. Furthermore, since these parts and apparatuses are very expensive, the cost of the plasma processing apparatus is increased.

JP-A-6-2149

  An object of the present invention is to provide a small and inexpensive plasma processing apparatus that can efficiently perform etching on a workpiece, and a plasma processing method that can efficiently perform etching.

Such an object is achieved by the present invention described below.
The plasma processing apparatus of the present invention has plasma supply means for supplying plasma toward the workpiece,
A plasma processing apparatus that generates a reactant by bringing the plasma into contact with the workpiece, and etches the workpiece by detaching the reactant from the workpiece,
The plasma supply means is characterized in that the processing gas is introduced into a flame to convert the processing gas into plasma to obtain the plasma.
As a result, an etching process can be efficiently performed on the workpiece, and a small and inexpensive plasma processing apparatus can be obtained.

In the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the plasma supply means is configured to radiate the plasma toward the workpiece together with the flame.
Thereby, the number of components of the plasma supply means can be reduced, and the plasma processing apparatus can be further simplified and reduced in cost.
In the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, the flame is emitted from a flame radiator,
It is preferable to adjust the processing amount of the etching process by setting the distance between the flame radiator and the workpiece.
Thereby, the processing amount of the said etching process can be adjusted easily. In addition, when changing the flow rate of the gas that generates the flame or the processing gas, since a change in the flow rate is reflected in the change in the amount of heat of the flame, that is, the processing amount of the etching process, a certain time lag is involved, In the meantime, the machining needs to be interrupted, but according to the method of setting the distance between the flame radiator and the workpiece, the machining amount can be adjusted with a smaller time lag.

In the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, the plasma supply means includes a combustion chamber isolated from a space where the workpiece is located,
It is preferable that the plasma is generated by bringing the processing gas and a flame into contact with each other in the combustion chamber, and the generated plasma is supplied toward the workpiece.
Thereby, since a high-temperature flame does not contact the said workpiece | work directly, the effect of preventing reliably that the said workpiece | work changes and deteriorates with the said flame is acquired. Thereby, since the heat resistance is lower, the etching process can be performed also on the workpiece made of a material that cannot be directly exposed to the flame.

In the plasma processing apparatus of this invention, it is preferable that the said workpiece | work is comprised with the glass material.
Since the flame is not in direct contact with the workpiece, the effect is particularly exerted when the etching process is performed on the workpiece having relatively low heat resistance.
In the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, the flame is preferably generated by burning a mixed gas of a combustible gas and an auxiliary combustible gas.
Thereby, the said combustible gas can be burned efficiently and a flame of higher energy can be generated.

In the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, the processing gas and the combustible gas are mixed to generate a mixed gas, and these gases are burned at a position where the mixed gas and the auxiliary combustible gas merge. preferable.
Thereby, since the combustible gas and the processing gas sufficiently diffuse to each other before combustion, the energy generated when the combustible gas is combusted can be efficiently imparted to the processing gas. As a result, gas molecules in the processing gas can be reliably pyrolyzed. Further, since the combustion is performed at the position where the combustible gas and the auxiliary combustibility merge, it is possible to reliably prevent the flame from flowing backward toward the supply direction of the combustible gas.

In the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the combustible gas is mainly composed of hydrogen gas and the auxiliary combustible gas is mainly composed of oxygen gas.
Hydrogen gas does not generate carbon that can cause contamination for the workpiece when it burns. For this reason, a favorable plasma process is attained, maintaining the said workpiece | work in a clean state.
Further, when hydrogen gas and oxygen gas react with each other, water is generated. However, even if the water adheres to the workpiece, it is difficult to cause alteration or deterioration, and further, there is an advantage that there is no burden on the environment.

In the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the plasma processing apparatus has gas generating means for electrolyzing water to generate hydrogen gas and oxygen gas and introducing the generated gas into the plasma supply means.
Thereby, the gas required for flame generation can be obtained efficiently at low cost.
In the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to adjust a processing amount of the etching process by setting a flow rate of the mixed gas.
Thereby, the processing amount of the said etching process can be adjusted easily.

The plasma processing apparatus of the present invention preferably includes heating means for heating the workpiece in advance before supplying the plasma toward the workpiece.
This prevents a sudden temperature change (thermal shock) from being applied to the work when high temperature plasma comes into contact with the work, thereby preventing the work from being cracked or warped. it can.

The plasma processing method of the present invention is a plasma processing method for etching a workpiece,
A first step of bringing the processing gas into plasma by bringing the processing gas into contact with a flame;
A second step of generating a reactant by bringing the plasma into contact with the workpiece and desorbing the reactant from the workpiece.
Thereby, the said etching process can be efficiently performed with respect to the said workpiece | work.

Hereinafter, the plasma processing apparatus and the plasma processing method of the present invention will be described in detail based on the illustrated preferred embodiments.
<First Embodiment>
First, a first embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram (longitudinal sectional view) showing a first embodiment of a plasma processing apparatus of the present invention. In the following description, the upper side in FIG. 1 is referred to as “upper” and the lower side is referred to as “lower”.

A plasma processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a plasma processing apparatus using so-called atmospheric pressure (normal pressure) plasma, and is provided in the processing chamber 2 and the processing chamber 2 and supports the substrate (workpiece) 10. Means 3, plasma supply means 4 for converting the processing gas (etching gas) into plasma by introducing the processing gas into the flame F, and supplying the plasma toward the substrate 10, and exhaust means for exhausting the inside of the processing chamber 2 And 5.
In the plasma processing apparatus 1, activated atoms (radicals) in the plasma supplied toward the substrate 10 react with the substrate 10, and the reactants are desorbed from the substrate 10, whereby the substrate (work) 10. Can be etched.

Here, conventionally, when a processing gas (etching gas) is converted to plasma in a plasma processing apparatus, a rare gas atom (plasma gas) and a processing gas are mixed, and a high frequency voltage is applied to the mixed gas to thereby generate a rare gas atom. The processing gas was turned into plasma with the excitation of.
However, such an apparatus consumes a large amount of expensive noble gas, and an increase in running cost has been a problem.

Further, in the conventional plasma processing apparatus, depending on the type (composition) of the processing gas, the plasma density (radical density) obtained even when the processing gas is turned into plasma is insufficient. For this reason, there is a problem that the reaction efficiency between the radical and the material constituting the object to be processed is lowered, and a sufficient processing speed cannot be obtained.
Furthermore, since such a plasma processing apparatus requires an expensive and large-sized apparatus that constitutes a power circuit such as an electrode, a power supply, and a matching unit, it has been a factor in increasing the size and cost of the plasma processing apparatus. .

  On the other hand, in the plasma processing apparatus 1 (plasma processing apparatus of the present invention) 1 shown in FIG. 1, the processing gas is brought into contact with the flame F to thermally decompose the processing gas to generate plasma.

Since such a plasma processing apparatus 1 does not require an expensive rare gas, the running cost is suppressed and a power supply circuit is not required, so that the apparatus can be reduced in size and cost.
In addition, since the flame F has a relatively high efficiency of thermally decomposing (dissociating) the processing gas, the density of the generated plasma can be increased. Thereby, the density of radicals in the plasma is also increased, and the workpiece can be efficiently etched. For this reason, according to such a plasma processing apparatus 1, the processing speed of an etching process can be raised.

Hereinafter, each part of the plasma processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail.
Here, prior to the description of the plasma processing apparatus 1, the substrate (work) 10 to be etched by the plasma processing apparatus 1 will be described.
The substrate 10 is subjected to etching processing on the processing surface (upper surface) by the plasma processing apparatus 1.

Examples of the material constituting the substrate 10 include a material capable of reacting with activated atoms (radicals) contained in plasma, which will be described in detail later.
Examples of such a material include silicon-based materials such as Si, SiO ₂ , SiN, and Si ₃ N ₄ , Al, Au, Cr, Cu, Ga, Mo, Nb, Ta, Ti, V, W, and these Examples thereof include various metal materials such as alloys containing metals, organic materials such as polyolefin and polyimide, glass materials such as quartz glass and borosilicate glass, C, GaAs, and GaN.

The processing chamber 2 is placed on a gantry and includes a processing chamber 21 inside. The processing chamber 21 is a closed space. Thereby, the gas and the flame F supplied to the process chamber 21 are prevented from leaking outside. As a result, the safety of the plasma processing apparatus 1 can be improved.
Further, an exhaust port 22 is provided below the processing chamber 2. An exhaust unit 5 is connected to the exhaust port 22, and the gas in the processing chamber 21 can be exhausted by the exhaust unit 5.
Such a processing chamber 2 is made of a material that can withstand a high temperature caused by a flame. Examples of such materials include metal materials such as steel and stainless steel, ceramic materials such as alumina, and composites of these materials.

As shown in FIG. 1, the support unit 3 includes a stage 31 that supports the lower surface of the substrate 10 and a moving unit 32 that moves the stage 31 relative to the plasma supply unit 4.
The stage 31 shown in FIG. 1 incorporates a heater (heating means) 311 therein. The heater 311 can heat the substrate 10 placed on the stage 31. Accordingly, when a high temperature plasma comes into contact with the substrate 10, it is possible to prevent a sudden temperature change (thermal shock) from being applied to the substrate 10 and prevent the substrate 10 from being cracked or warped. it can.
The heating means may be any means that can heat the substrate 10 and is not limited to a heater.

Further, the stage 31 may include an adsorption mechanism that adsorbs the substrate 10 to the upper surface of the stage 31. Thereby, even if the stage 31 is moved at a high speed by the moving means 32, the substrate 10 is difficult to be displaced with respect to the stage 31. As a result, it is possible to prevent a reduction in processing accuracy when etching the substrate 10.
Examples of such an adsorption mechanism include an electrostatic chuck and a vacuum chuck.
The moving means 32 is a mechanism that moves the stage 31 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. For example, the moving means 32 includes a mechanism that includes a track on which the stage 31 travels and a wire that pulls the stage 31, a linear guide, and the like. . Further, the moving means 32 may include a mechanism for rotating the stage 31.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the plasma supply means 4 stores a gas generation device (gas generation means) 41 for generating a gas necessary for generating a flame (hereinafter also referred to as “flame gas”), and a processing gas. A gas storage section 42, a flame nozzle 43 that emits plasma together with the flame F toward the substrate 10 in the processing chamber 21, a pipe 44 that connects the gas generator 41 and the flame nozzle 43, A pipe 45 that connects the flame nozzle 43 and the gas reservoir 42 is provided.

The plasma supply means 4 shown in FIG. 1 generates plasma by thermally decomposing the processing gas by bringing the processing gas into contact with the flame F as described above, and supplies this plasma to the substrate 10 together with the flame F. It is like that.
The gas generator 41 is configured by, for example, a device that performs electrolysis of water. By performing electrolysis of water, hydrogen gas and oxygen gas capable of generating a flame can be generated.

Here, the flame gas only needs to contain a combustible gas, but is particularly preferably composed of a mixed gas of a combustible gas and an auxiliary combustible gas. Thereby, combustible gas can be burned efficiently and the flame F of higher energy can be generated.
Examples of the combination of the combustible gas and the auxiliary combustible gas include hydrogen gas and oxygen gas, methane gas and oxygen gas, city gas and air, and the like. Is preferred. Hydrogen gas does not generate carbon that can cause contamination for the substrate 10 when it is burned. For this reason, it is possible to perform good plasma processing while maintaining the substrate 10 in a clean state.

Further, when hydrogen gas and oxygen gas react, water is generated. Even if water adheres to the substrate 10, it is unlikely to cause alteration or deterioration, and has the advantage that there is no environmental load.
Furthermore, as described above, hydrogen gas and oxygen gas are obtained simultaneously by electrolysis of water. For this reason, if the apparatus which electrolyzes water is provided like this embodiment, the gas for flames can be obtained efficiently at low cost.
The gas generator 41 can be replaced with a container or the like for storing flame gas.

The gas storage part 42 is comprised by the container etc. which store process gas (etching gas), for example.
The processing gas is a gas that generates plasma due to thermal decomposition of contained gas molecules by contact with a flame.
As such a processing gas, different types of gases are used depending on the constituent material of the substrate 10 to be etched.

Specifically, when the constituent material of the substrate 10 is a silicon-based material or a glass material as described above, examples of the processing gas include CF ₄ , CHF ₃ , CH ₂ F ₂ , C ₂ F ₆ , and C _4. Examples thereof include a gas containing a halogen-based gas such as F ₈ , C ₃ F ₆ , CBrF ₃ , SF ₆ , NF ₃ , Cl ₂ , CCl ₄ , SiCl ₂ , and HBr.
Further, when the constituent material of the substrate 10 is a metal material as described above, examples of the processing gas include CF, CF ₄ , C ₂ F ₆ , CCl ₂ F ₂ , CCl ₂ F ₄ , SF ₆ , Cl ₂ , a gas containing a halogen-based gas such as BCl ₃ , SiCl ₄ , CCl ₄ , BBr ₃ , HBr ₃ , HI, and HBr.
Further, when the constituent material of the substrate 10 is an organic material as described above, examples of the processing gas include an oxygen-based gas such as O ₂ and a gas containing a halogen-based gas such as CF ₄ and SF _6. Is mentioned.

In the present embodiment, hydrogen gas (combustible gas) supplied through the pipe 44, oxygen gas (combustible gas) supplied through the pipe 45, and CF ₄ gas supplied through the pipe 46. (Processing gas) is mixed in the flame nozzle 43 and the mixed gas is burned to generate a flame F. The flame F is radiated from the flame nozzle 43 toward the substrate 10 by combustion energy.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, hydrogen gas and CF ₄ gas are mixed, and these gases are burned in a flame nozzle 43 where the mixed gas and oxygen gas merge. By mixing and burning each gas in this way, hydrogen gas (combustible gas) and CF ₄ gas (processing gas) diffuse sufficiently before each other, so they are generated when hydrogen gas burns. Energy can be efficiently applied to the CF ₄ gas. As a result, CF ₄ molecules can be reliably pyrolyzed. Moreover, since it is made to burn at the position where hydrogen gas and oxygen gas merge, it can prevent reliably that a flame flows back through the piping 44. FIG.

Here, the processing gas is thermally decomposed into a plasma in the flame F. And the radical which is the activated atom contained in plasma and plasma will be radiated | emitted to the board | substrate 10 with the flame F. FIG.
When the plasma supply means 4 has such a configuration, the flame nozzle 43 can perform from the generation to the supply of plasma. For this reason, the number of components of the plasma supply means 4 can be reduced, and the plasma processing apparatus 1 can be further simplified and reduced in cost.

A valve 47 that opens and closes the pipe 44 is provided in the middle of the pipe 44, and a valve 48 that opens and closes the pipe 45 is provided in the middle of the pipe 45, and the pipe 46 is opened and closed in the middle of the pipe 46. A valve 49 is provided.
The flame nozzle 43 may include an ignition means (not shown) for igniting the flame gas.
Further, the flame nozzle 43 may be movable relative to the processing chamber 21.
Moreover, the flame nozzle 43 can also be comprised by what is called a "gas burner" etc., Furthermore, it may be what kind of shape, for example, it is set as a cylinder shape and a cone shape.

Here, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing another configuration example of the flame nozzle (flame radiator).
In the flame nozzle 43 shown in FIG. 2, the openings for radiating the flame F are arranged in a line along the longitudinal direction of the flame nozzle 43. According to such a flame nozzle 43, by moving the substrate 10 in the longitudinal direction, the flame F and radicals contained in the flame F can be brought into uniform contact with the substrate 10. As a result, the processing surface of the substrate 10 can be etched more uniformly.
The width of the flame nozzle 43 is preferably equal to or greater than the width of the substrate 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, the exhaust means 5 includes an exhaust pump 51 that exhausts the gas in the processing chamber 21, and a pipe 52 that connects the exhaust port 22 and the exhaust pump 51.
By operating the exhaust pump 51 to discharge the gas in the processing chamber 21, it is possible to reliably prevent the reactants generated and desorbed by the reaction between the substrate 10 and radicals from reattaching to the substrate 10. Can do. As a result, the processing surface of the substrate 10 can be reliably and appropriately etched.

Next, a method for etching the substrate 10 using the plasma processing apparatus 1, that is, a plasma processing method of the present invention will be described.
First, the substrate 10 is placed on the stage 31. Then, the heater 311 is operated. Thereby, the heater 311 is heated to a predetermined temperature.
The heating temperature of the substrate 10 varies depending on the material constituting the substrate 10 and is preferably as high as possible below the heat-resistant temperature of the substrate 10.
Further, the exhaust means 5 is operated to exhaust the gas in the processing chamber 21.

On the other hand, the gas generator 41 is operated and the valves 47 and 48 are opened to supply hydrogen gas and oxygen gas (flame gas) to the flame nozzle 43, respectively.
Further, the processing gas is supplied to the flame nozzle 43 by opening the valve 49.
Here, the mixing ratio of the processing gas to the flame gas is not particularly limited, but is preferably about 1 to 50 vol%, and more preferably about 1 to 10 vol%. As a result, the processing gas can be reliably converted to plasma while suppressing the amount of excess processing gas that is not converted to plasma as much as possible.

The flow rate of the flame gas is slightly different depending on the size of the flame nozzle 43 and is not particularly limited, but is preferably about 5 to 300 L / min, more preferably about 20 to 200 L / min. By setting the flow rate of the flame gas within the above range, it is possible to generate a flame F having a calorific value that can reliably convert the process gas into plasma, and to improve the safety of the plasma processing apparatus 1.
Also, the flow rate of the processing gas varies slightly depending on the size of the flame nozzle 43 and the like, but is preferably about 0.05 to 150 L / min, and more preferably about 0.2 to 20 L / min.

The flame gas supplied to the flame nozzle 43 burns when ignited by the igniting means, becomes flame F, and is emitted to the substrate 10.
In this embodiment, since the flame gas and the processing gas are mixed and ignited by this gas, the flame F is generated and the flame F and the processing gas are in contact with each other. As a result, the energy of the flame F is imparted to the processing gas, and the processing gas is thermally decomposed to generate plasma (first step).

The generated plasma and radicals are radiated to the substrate 10 together with the flame F. The radicals in contact with the substrate 10 react with the constituent material of the substrate 10 to generate a reactant. The reactant is desorbed from the substrate 10, whereby the substrate 10 is etched (second step).
The desorbed reactant is discharged out of the processing chamber 21 by the exhaust means 5.
At this time, since the amount of etching processing changes according to the amount of heat of the flame F, it can be adjusted by setting this amount of heat.

For example, the amount of heat of the flame F, that is, the density of the plasma generated by the flame F and the density of radicals in the plasma are determined depending on the type (composition) of the flame gas, the flow rate of the flame gas, the type (composition) of the processing gas, It can be adjusted by setting various processing conditions such as the flow rate of the processing gas and the distance between the flame nozzle 43 and the substrate 10.
Among these, it is preferable to set the flow rate of the flame gas. Thereby, the density of plasma (radical) can be adjusted more easily without the complicated work of changing the type of flame gas or processing gas. As a result, the amount of etching can be easily adjusted.

Moreover, you may adjust by setting the distance of the flame nozzle 43 and the board | substrate 10. FIG. In this method, if the moving direction and the moving distance of the substrate 10 by the moving means 32 are set, the processing position and the processing amount on the processing surface can be adjusted, so that the processing amount of the etching processing can be easily adjusted. Can do.
Furthermore, when changing the flow rate of the flame gas or processing gas, the change in flow rate is reflected in the change in the amount of heat of the flame F, that is, the amount of etching processing, so there is a certain time lag. However, according to the method of setting the distance between the flame nozzle 43 and the substrate 10, the amount of processing can be adjusted with a smaller time lag.
According to the plasma processing apparatus 1 as described above, the etching process can be efficiently performed on the substrate 10. In addition, the plasma processing apparatus 1 is small and inexpensive.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view (longitudinal sectional view) showing a second embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention. In the following description, the upper side in FIG. 3 is referred to as “upper” and the lower side is referred to as “lower”.
Hereinafter, although the second embodiment will be described, the description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment, and the description of the same matters will be omitted.
The plasma processing apparatus according to this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment except that the configuration of the plasma supply means is different.

  The plasma supply means 4 shown in FIG. 3 includes a combustion chamber 40 above the processing chamber 2. The combustion chamber 40 is made of a material that can withstand a high temperature caused by a flame, like the processing chamber 2 described above. The combustion chamber 40 includes a combustion chamber 401 therein. The combustion chamber 401 is configured as a closed space, and the gas supplied to the combustion chamber 401 is prevented from leaking outside.

Further, a flame nozzle 43 is provided on the side wall of the combustion chamber 40 so that the flame F is emitted toward the combustion chamber 401.
That is, in this embodiment, the hydrogen gas supplied through the pipe 44, the oxygen gas supplied through the pipe 45, and the processing gas supplied through the pipe 46 are mixed in the flame nozzle 43. Then, this mixed gas is burned to generate a flame F. The flame F is radiated from the flame nozzle 43 toward the combustion chamber 401 by the energy of combustion.

A cooling pipe 402 is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the combustion chamber 40 along the outer peripheral surface. Both ends of the cooling pipe 402 are connected to a chiller 403 via a pipe 404 and a pipe 405.
Further, a valve 406 for opening and closing the pipe 404 is provided in the middle of the pipe 404, and a valve 407 for opening and closing the pipe 405 is provided in the middle of the pipe 405.

A coolant (refrigerant) is circulated through the flow path constituted by the cooling pipe 402, the pipe 404 and the pipe 405, and the chiller 403 circulates the coolant in this flow path to cool the combustion chamber 40. Yes.
Further, the plasma supply unit 4 according to the present embodiment includes a reactive gas supply nozzle 408 between the processing chamber 2 and the combustion chamber 40.
One end of the reactive gas supply nozzle 408 opens into the processing chamber 21 and the other end opens into the combustion chamber 401, whereby the processing chamber 21 and the combustion chamber 401 communicate with each other.

In such a plasma supply means 4, in the combustion chamber 401 in the combustion chamber 40, the processing gas and the flame F come into contact with each other, and the processing gas is thermally decomposed into plasma. Then, a reactive gas containing plasma and radicals is generated in the combustion chamber 401.
This reaction gas is supplied toward the substrate 10 in the processing chamber 21 via the reaction gas supply nozzle 408.

When the reactive gas comes into contact with the substrate 10, the constituent material of the substrate 10 reacts with the radicals in the reactive gas to generate a reactant. The reactant is desorbed from the substrate 10, whereby the substrate 10 is etched.
In the first embodiment, as one of the processing conditions set for adjusting the plasma density and the radical density, the distance between the flame nozzle and the substrate can be mentioned. In this embodiment, the reactive gas supply is performed. The distance between the nozzle 408 and the substrate 10 may be set. Thereby, like the said 1st Embodiment, the processing amount of an etching process can be adjusted easily, and a processing amount can be adjusted with a less time lag.
In the first embodiment, plasma and radicals are supplied to the substrate 10 together with the flame, but in this embodiment, a reactive gas containing plasma and radicals is supplied to the substrate 10. ing.

The plasma supply means 4 having such a configuration has the advantage that a high-temperature flame does not directly contact the substrate 10 in addition to the same operations and effects as those of the first embodiment, so that the substrate 10 is altered and deteriorated by the flame. The effect of reliably preventing this can be obtained. Accordingly, since the heat resistance is lower, the substrate 10 made of a material that cannot be used in the plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment can be etched.
Therefore, the plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is particularly effective when the etching process is performed on the substrate 10 made of a glass material and having relatively low heat resistance.

As described above, the plasma processing apparatus and the plasma processing method of the present invention have been described based on the illustrated embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and each part constituting the plasma processing apparatus has the same function. Can be replaced with an arbitrary configuration that can exhibit the above, or an arbitrary configuration can be added.
In addition, the plasma processing method according to each of the embodiments can add an arbitrary step.

It is a schematic diagram (longitudinal sectional view) showing a first embodiment of a plasma processing apparatus of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other structural example of a flame nozzle (flame radiator). It is a schematic diagram (longitudinal sectional view) showing a second embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Plasma processing apparatus 10 ... Substrate 2 ... Processing chamber 21 ... Processing chamber 22 ... Exhaust port 3 ... Support means 31 ... Stage 311 ... Heater 32 ... Moving means 4 ... Plasma supply means 40 ... Combustion chamber 401 ... Combustion chamber 402 ... Cooling pipe 403 ... Chillers 404 and 405 ... Piping 406 and 407 ... Valve 408 ... Reactive gas supply nozzle 41 ... Gas generator 42 ... Gas reservoir 43 ... Flame nozzle 44, 45, 46 ... Piping 47, 48, 49 ... Valve 5 ... Exhaust means 51 ... Exhaust pump 52 ... Piping F ... Flame

Claims (12)

Having plasma supply means for supplying plasma toward the workpiece;
A plasma processing apparatus that generates a reactant by bringing the plasma into contact with the workpiece, and etches the workpiece by detaching the reactant from the workpiece,
The plasma supply device is characterized in that the processing gas is introduced into a flame to convert the processing gas into plasma to obtain the plasma.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plasma supply unit is configured to radiate the plasma together with the flame toward the workpiece. The flame is emitted from a flamethrower,
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a processing amount of the etching process is adjusted by setting a distance between the flame radiator and the workpiece. The plasma supply means includes a combustion chamber isolated from a space where the workpiece is located,
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plasma is generated by bringing the processing gas into contact with a flame in the combustion chamber, and the generated plasma is supplied toward the workpiece.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the workpiece is made of a glass material.   6. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flame is generated by burning a mixed gas of a combustible gas and an auxiliary combustible gas.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the processing gas and the combustible gas are mixed to generate a mixed gas, and these gases are burned at a position where the mixed gas and the auxiliary combustible gas merge.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the combustible gas contains hydrogen gas as a main component, and the auxiliary combustible gas contains oxygen gas as a main component.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a gas generation unit that electrolyzes water to generate hydrogen gas and oxygen gas, and introduces the generated gas into the plasma supply unit.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a processing amount of the etching processing is adjusted by setting a flow rate of the mixed gas.   The said plasma processing apparatus is a plasma processing apparatus in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 10 provided with the heating means which heats the said workpiece | work beforehand before supplying the said plasma toward the said workpiece | work. A plasma processing method for etching a workpiece,
A first step of bringing the processing gas into plasma by bringing the processing gas into contact with a flame;
And a second step of generating a reactant by bringing the plasma into contact with the workpiece and desorbing the reactant from the workpiece.

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