JP2016119313A - Plasma processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plasma processing apparatus that can perform high-speed processing and stably use plasma.SOLUTION: In an inductively coupled type plasma torch unit T, a coil 3, a first ceramic block 4 and a second ceramic block 5 are arranged in parallel, and an elongated chamber 7 is annular. Plasma P generated in the chamber 7 is jetted from an opening portion 8 of the chamber 7 to a base material 2. The elongated chamber 7 and a base material mount table 1 are relatively moved in a direction vertical to the longitudinal direction of the opening portion 8 to process the base material 2. Discharge suppressing gas is introduced into the space between the inductively coupled type plasma torch unit T and the base material 2 inside the chamber 7 through a discharge suppressing gas supply hole 13 to stably generate elongated plasma.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention includes a thermal plasma process for treating a substrate by irradiating the substrate with thermal plasma, a low-temperature plasma process for treating a substrate by simultaneously irradiating the substrate with plasma by a reactive gas or plasma and a reactive gas flow The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus.

  Conventionally, semiconductor thin films such as polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) are widely used for thin film transistors (TFTs) and solar cells. As a method of forming this inexpensively, there is a method of crystallizing an amorphous silicon film by irradiating a laser beam. The laser process can also be applied to activation of impurity atoms introduced into a semiconductor substrate by ion implantation or plasma doping. However, this laser crystallization technique has problems such as the occurrence of seams, and requires very expensive equipment.

  Therefore, techniques for performing heat treatment seamlessly and inexpensively by generating a long thermal plasma and scanning only in one direction have been studied (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3 and Non-Patent Document 1). reference).

JP 2013-120633 A JP 2013-120684 A JP 2013-120585 A

T.A. Okumura and H.M. Kawaura, Jpn. J. et al. Appl. Phys. 52 (2013) 05EE01

  However, in the technique of generating the thermal plasma in the long shape described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 shown in the conventional example, for applications such as crystallization of semiconductors where the vicinity of the surface of the base material is subjected to high temperature treatment for a very short time. There is a problem that the processing speed (the number of substrates that can be processed per unit time) is small. Also, it is said that the long thermal plasma is far from the base material, or, because of the structure in which only one side of the two long straight portions constituting the base is directly irradiated to the base material, the utilization efficiency of gas and high frequency power is poor. There was a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem. When the high temperature heat treatment is performed uniformly over the surface of the base material for a very short time, or the plasma by the reactive gas or the plasma and the reactive gas flow are simultaneously irradiated onto the base material. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a plasma processing apparatus that can perform high-speed processing and stably use plasma when performing low-temperature plasma processing on a substrate.

  A plasma processing apparatus of the present application includes a chamber surrounded by a first dielectric and communicating with an opening through which plasma is ejected, first gas supply means for introducing a first gas into the chamber, and the vicinity of the chamber A plasma processing apparatus comprising: a high frequency power source connected to the coil; and a substrate mounting table on which the substrate is mounted. The gas supply hole is formed in a region surrounded by the opening in the first dielectric, and the second gas supply for introducing the second gas into the gas supply hole. Means are provided.

  With such a configuration, high-speed processing is possible and plasma can be used stably.

  In the plasma processing apparatus of the present application, preferably, a cooling unit for cooling the chamber is provided, and a second dielectric having a higher thermal conductivity than the first dielectric member is provided between the first dielectric and the cooling unit. It is desirable that

  With such a configuration, higher-speed processing is possible.

  Preferably, the coil is preferably provided along a plane parallel to the plane formed by the substrate mounting table.

  With such a configuration, a plasma processing apparatus can be easily configured.

  Preferably, the opening has at least two long straight portions, and the chamber and the substrate mounting table are relatively movable in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the opening. It is desirable to provide a mechanism.

  With such a configuration, the entire desired region to be treated of the substrate can be efficiently processed in a short time.

  Preferably, the first dielectric is a ceramic mainly composed of silicon nitride, or a ceramic mainly composed of silicon, aluminum, oxygen, and nitrogen.

  With such a configuration, higher-speed processing is possible.

  Preferably, the second dielectric is a ceramic mainly composed of aluminum nitride or a ceramic mainly composed of boron nitride.

  With such a configuration, higher-speed processing is possible.

  Preferably, it is desirable to provide a refrigerant flow path along the chamber between the coil and the chamber.

  With such a configuration, higher speed processing is possible.

  In this case, preferably, a first gas manifold for storing the first gas is provided, the first gas manifold and the chamber are communicated with each other by the first gas supply pipe, and the gas flowing direction in the first gas supply pipe is set to the chamber. It is desirable to incline with respect to the plane formed by.

  With such a configuration, an apparatus having a simple structure can be realized.

  In addition, it is preferable that a groove provided in either the first dielectric or the second dielectric bonded to the first dielectric constitutes a coolant channel.

  With such a configuration, an apparatus having a simple structure can be realized.

  According to the present invention, when the vicinity of the surface of the substrate is subjected to high-temperature heat treatment uniformly for a very short time, or when the substrate is subjected to plasma treatment by simultaneously irradiating the substrate with plasma or plasma and a reactive gas flow by the reaction gas. High-speed processing is possible and plasma can be used stably.

Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention The perspective view which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 3 of this invention. The perspective view which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 3 of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 4 of this invention. The perspective view which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 4 of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 5 of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 6 of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 7 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a plasma processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a plasma processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of a long inductively coupled plasma torch unit. FIG. 2 is an assembly configuration diagram of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit shown in FIG. 1, in which perspective views of parts (parts) are arranged. 2A is a diagram viewed from the upper oblique side of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a diagram viewed from the lower oblique side of FIG.

  In FIG. 1, a base material 2 is placed on a base material placing table 1. In the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T, the coil 3 made of a conductor is disposed in the vicinity of the first ceramic block 4 and the second ceramic block 5. The coil 3 is bonded to the second ceramic block 5 with an adhesive (not shown). The elongated chamber 7 is defined by a space surrounded by the first ceramic block 4 and the substrate 2.

  The coil 3 and the chamber 7 are arranged along a plane parallel to the plane formed by the substrate mounting table 1. The inner wall surface of the chamber 7 on the side close to the coil 3 is a surface parallel to the coil 3. In such a configuration, since the distance from the coil 3 to the chamber 7 is equal at any part of the coil 3, inductively coupled plasma can be generated with a small high frequency power, and efficient plasma generation can be realized.

  The inductively coupled plasma torch unit T is entirely surrounded by a shield member (not shown) made of a grounded conductor, which can effectively prevent high-frequency leakage (noise) and effectively prevent undesirable abnormal discharge. Can be prevented.

  The chamber 7 is surrounded by an annular groove formed by a series of grooves provided in the first ceramic block 4. That is, the entire chamber 7 is surrounded by a dielectric. The chamber 7 is annular. The term “annular” as used herein means a shape of a series of closed strings, and is not limited to a rectangle as shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the chamber 7 has a racetrack shape (a continuous closed string-like shape formed by connecting two straight lines having two long sides and two straight lines having two short sides at both ends). Is illustrated. The plasma P generated in the chamber 7 is ejected toward the substrate 2 from a plasma ejection port as the opening 8 in the chamber 7. Further, the longitudinal direction of the chamber 7 and the longitudinal direction of the opening 8 serving as the plasma jet outlet are arranged in parallel.

  A rectangular groove provided in the second ceramic block 5 is a plasma gas manifold 9 in which a porous ceramic material is fitted. The gas supplied from the plasma gas supply pipe 10 to the plasma gas manifold 9 is introduced into the chamber 7 through a plasma gas supply hole 11 (through hole) as a gas introduction portion provided in the first ceramic block 4. .

  With such a configuration, a uniform gas flow in the longitudinal direction can be easily realized. The flow rate of the gas introduced into the plasma gas supply pipe 10 is controlled by providing a flow rate control device such as a mass flow controller upstream thereof. Further, by forming the inside of the plasma gas manifold 9 with a porous ceramic material, it is possible to realize a uniform gas flow and prevent abnormal discharge in the vicinity of the plasma gas manifold 9.

  The plasma gas supply hole 11 is provided with a plurality of round holes in the longitudinal direction, but may be provided with long slit-like holes in the longitudinal direction.

  A line-shaped groove provided in the second ceramic block 5 is a discharge suppressing gas manifold 12, and a porous ceramic material is fitted therein. The gas supplied to the discharge suppression gas manifold 12 from the discharge suppression gas supply pipe 14 passes through the discharge suppression gas supply hole 13 (through hole) serving as a gas introduction portion provided in the first ceramic block 4. It is introduced into an inner space between the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T and the substrate 2.

  The discharge suppression gas supply hole 13 is provided with a plurality of round holes in the longitudinal direction, but may be provided with long slit-like holes in the longitudinal direction.

  Although not shown, a shield gas nozzle as a shield gas supply port may be disposed in a portion close to the substrate mounting table 1. By supplying a shielding gas separately from the plasma gas suitable for plasma generation, it is also possible to reduce contamination of the plasma irradiation surface with gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that are unnecessary or have an adverse effect on the processing. . The shield gas supply port may be a slit having a shape that is long in a direction parallel to the long direction of the opening 8 or may be arranged in a direction parallel to the long direction of the opening 8. There may be multiple holes.

  The coil 3 is formed by bonding a copper tube having a circular cross section to a copper block having a rectangular cross section. The coil 3 is a hollow tube, and the inside is a refrigerant flow path. That is, cooling is possible by flowing a coolant such as water. Further, the first ceramic block 4 and the second ceramic block 5 may be provided with a coolant channel in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the opening 8.

  Moreover, the 1st ceramic block 4 and the 2nd ceramic block 5 and the 2nd ceramic block 5 and the coil 3 are each joined by an adhesive agent, By the adhesive agent, the 1st ceramic block 4 and the 2nd ceramic block 5 cooling is possible. Here, the cooling unit for cooling the chamber is the coil 3, and the second ceramic block 5 having a higher thermal conductivity than the first ceramic block 4 is provided between the first ceramic block 4 and the coil 3. Yes. That is, the first ceramic block 4 is silicon nitride and the second ceramic block 5 is aluminum nitride.

  With such a configuration, the first ceramic block 4 can be cooled more effectively than in the case where the second ceramic block 5 is also made of silicon nitride, so that a higher high-frequency power can be supplied and a higher speed can be achieved. Processing becomes possible. Since the first ceramic block 4 is required to have excellent heat resistance, a ceramic mainly composed of silicon nitride or a ceramic mainly composed of silicon, aluminum, oxygen, and nitrogen is suitable.

  On the other hand, since the second ceramic block 5 does not directly contact thermal plasma of several thousand ° C. to 10,000 ° C., thermal conductivity superior to heat resistance is required, and therefore, the main component is aluminum nitride. Ceramics or ceramics mainly composed of boron nitride are suitable.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the coil 3 has a flat spiral shape that is rectangular as a whole, and is provided with a refrigerant supply / exhaust port 15 at the end.

  A rectangular opening 8 is provided, and the substrate mounting table 1 (or the substrate 2 on the substrate mounting table 1) is disposed to face the opening 8. In this state, the plasma gas is supplied into the chamber 7 and the high frequency power is supplied from the high frequency power source (not shown) to the coil 3 while jetting the gas from the opening 8 toward the base material 2. 7 is generated, and the thin film 22 on the substrate 2 can be plasma-treated by irradiating the substrate 2 with plasma from the opening 8. The substrate 2 is processed by relatively moving the chamber 7 and the substrate mounting table 1 in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the opening 8. That is, the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T or the substrate mounting table 1 is moved in the left-right direction in FIG.

  Various plasma gases can be used as the plasma gas supplied into the chamber 7, but considering the stability of the plasma, the ignitability, the life of the member exposed to the plasma, etc., it may be mainly composed of an inert gas, particularly a rare gas. desirable. Among these, Ar gas is typically used. When plasma is generated only by Ar, the plasma becomes considerably high temperature (10,000 K or more).

  On the other hand, the discharge suppression gas introduced into the space between the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T and the substrate 2 inside the chamber 7 is preferably a gas mainly composed of a gas other than a rare gas. For example, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, etc. can be used as a relatively safe and inexpensive gas. Since these gases are less likely to be converted into thermal plasma than rare gases, annular thermal plasmas are positioned on the left and right sides in FIG. 1 in the space between the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T and the base material 2 inside the chamber 7. It is possible to effectively suppress the generation of a small circular plasma instead of a long thermal plasma.

  Among the rare gases, Ar is particularly suitable for thermal plasma, so Ar may be used as the plasma gas and another rare gas may be used as the discharge suppression gas. Or even if it is a gas mainly composed of Ar, if it is mixed with other gas of several percent or more, it is difficult to form a thermal plasma. Therefore, Ar or other rare gas is mainly used as a discharge suppressing gas. However, a mixed gas containing a gas other than Ar by several% or more may be used.

  In the present configuration, the length of the opening 8 in the longitudinal direction is equal to or greater than the width of the substrate 2. Therefore, the entire thin film 22 in the vicinity of the surface of the substrate 2 can be processed by a single scan (moving the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T and the substrate mounting table 1 relatively). Further, with such a configuration, since the substrate is not irradiated with plasma on the short side of the opening 8 that is rectangular as a whole, uniform processing is possible.

In such a plasma processing apparatus, while supplying Ar or Ar + H ₂ gas as plasma gas into the chamber 7, gas is ejected from the opening 8 toward the base material 2, and a 13. By supplying a high frequency power of 56 MHz to the coil 3, a plasma P is generated by generating a high frequency electromagnetic field in the chamber 7, and the substrate 2 is irradiated with the plasma from the opening 8 and scanned, thereby producing a semiconductor. Heat treatment such as crystallization of the film can be performed.

As conditions for plasma generation, the distance between the opening 8 and the substrate 2 is 0.1 to 5 mm, the scanning speed is 20 to 3000 mm / s, the total plasma gas flow rate is 1 to 100 SLM, and the H ₂ concentration in Ar + H ₂ gas. Appropriate values of = 0 to 10%, discharge suppression gas (N ₂ ) flow rate = 1 to 100 SLM, and high frequency power = 0.5 to 10 kW are appropriate. However, among these quantities, the gas flow rate and power are values per 100 mm of the length of the opening 8. This is because it is considered appropriate to input parameters proportional to the length of the opening 8 for parameters such as gas flow rate and electric power.

  Thus, the long chamber 7 and the substrate mounting table 1 are oriented in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the opening 8 while the longitudinal direction of the opening 8 and the substrate mounting table 1 are arranged in parallel. Therefore, the length of the plasma to be generated and the processing length of the substrate 2 can be configured to be substantially equal.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the base material 2 is close to the long thermal plasma, and the plasma is directly applied to the base material 2 using both sides of the two long straight portions constituting the long chamber 7. Is excellent in the utilization efficiency of gas and high-frequency power. In other words, when performing high temperature heat treatment in the vicinity of the surface of the substrate uniformly for a very short time, or when performing low temperature plasma treatment of the substrate by simultaneously irradiating the substrate with plasma or plasma and a reactive gas flow by a reactive gas. Processing is possible and plasma can be used stably.

(Embodiment 2)
The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, which is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit, and corresponds to FIG.

  In the second embodiment, the first ceramic block 4 and the second ceramic block 5 are made of the same material (silicon nitride). Moreover, the plasma gas manifold 9 and the discharge suppression gas manifold 12 are configured with grooves provided in the first ceramic block 4, and the second ceramic block 5 is a simple flat plate.

  In such a configuration, although the cooling capacity of the first ceramic block 4 is inferior, there is an advantage that complicated processing may be performed only on the first ceramic block 4.

(Embodiment 3)
Hereinafter, Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG.

  FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, which is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit, and corresponds to FIG. FIG. 5 is an assembly configuration diagram of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit shown in FIG. 4, in which perspective views of parts (parts) are arranged. FIG. 5A is a diagram seen from the upper side of FIG. 4, and FIG. 5B is a diagram seen from the lower side of FIG.

  In FIG. 4, a refrigerant flow path 16 is provided along the chamber 7 between the coil 3 and the chamber 7. The refrigerant flow path 16 is configured by a groove provided in the first ceramic block 4 and a second ceramic block 5 bonded to the groove. The refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant flow path 16 directly contacts the first ceramic block 4, and the chamber 7 can be effectively kept at a low temperature. In order to give priority to maximizing the cooling efficiency and arrange the refrigerant flow path 16 along the chamber 7, the plasma gas manifold 9 for storing the plasma gas is arranged outside the refrigerant flow path 16 and the plasma gas supply hole 11. Are arranged diagonally. That is, the gas flow direction in the plasma gas supply hole 11 is inclined with respect to the plane formed by the chamber 7.

  As shown in FIG. 5, for example, cooling water is supplied to and discharged from the refrigerant flow path 16 through a water supply / drain pipe 17. In the present embodiment, two grooves are formed in the second ceramic block 5 so that the refrigerant flow path 16 and the plasma gas manifold 9 do not interfere with each other.

(Embodiment 4)
Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, which is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit, and corresponds to FIG. FIG. 7 is an assembly configuration diagram of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit shown in FIG. 6, in which perspective views of parts (parts) are arranged. FIG. 7A is a diagram seen from the upper oblique side of FIG. 6, and FIG. 7B is a diagram seen from the lower oblique side of FIG.

  6 and 7, the refrigerant flow path 16 is on the lower surface of the second ceramic block 5 (the surface facing the substrate mounting table 1), and the plasma gas manifold 9 and the discharge suppression gas manifold 12 are on the opposite surfaces. In other words, the second ceramic block 5 is different from the third embodiment in that the second ceramic block 5 is provided on the upper surface (the surface opposite to the substrate mounting table 1). The refrigerant flow path 16 is configured by a groove provided in the second ceramic block 5 and the first ceramic block 4 bonded thereto, and the plasma gas manifolds 9 and 12 are provided with grooves provided in the second ceramic block 5; It is comprised by the ceramic board 25 affixed on this.

  The plasma gas manifold 9 and the plasma gas supply hole 11 are connected by a pipe 18 constituted by a through hole communicating with the plasma gas manifold 9 made of a porous ceramic material fitted in a groove provided in the second ceramic block 5. ing. Similarly, the discharge suppression gas manifold 12 and the discharge suppression gas supply hole 13 are configured by through holes that communicate with the discharge suppression gas manifold 12 made of a porous ceramic material fitted in a groove provided in the second ceramic block 5. The pipes 19 are connected.

  In Embodiment 3 described above, the first ceramic block 4 and the second ceramic block 5 are bonded with an adhesive so that the refrigerant does not leak from the refrigerant flow path 16. In the form, the refrigerant flow path 16 is sealed by the O-ring 21. Thus, the refrigerant flow path 16 and the plasma gas manifolds 9 and 12 are configured by grooves provided on the other surface of the second ceramic block 5, so that the refrigerant flow path 16 is formed as shown in FIG. A simple annular shape can be formed, and the O-ring 21 can be easily sealed.

  Although the 1st ceramic block 4 and the 2nd ceramic block 5 may adhere | attach, it can also be set as the structure fastened with the volt | bolt nut which is not shown in figure, without adhering. This has the advantage that maintenance such as disassembly and cleaning can be performed.

(Embodiment 5)
The fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention, which is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit, and corresponds to FIG.

  In FIG. 8, the refrigerant flow path 16 and the plasma gas manifold 9 are different from the third embodiment in that they are provided on the upper surface of the first ceramic block 4 (the surface opposite to the substrate mounting table 1). Such a configuration is also possible.

(Embodiment 6)
Hereinafter, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 9 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention, which is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit, and corresponds to FIG.

  In FIG. 9, the shield plate 23 made of silicon is different from the third embodiment in that it is provided on the lower surface of the first ceramic block 4 (the surface facing the substrate mounting table 1). With such a configuration, since the high frequency electromagnetic field generated by the coil 3 is effectively shielded by the shield plate 23, the high frequency electromagnetic field in the vicinity of the base 2 is considerably weakened. There is an advantage that almost no destruction or deterioration of electronic devices such as transistors formed on the substrate occurs.

(Embodiment 7)
Embodiment 7 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 10 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention, which is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit, and corresponds to FIG.

  In FIG. 10, a shield plate 23 made of metal is disposed in a recess provided on the lower surface of the first ceramic block 4 (a surface facing the substrate mounting table 1), and a shield plate cover 24 that covers the shield plate 23 is further provided. Is provided. With such a configuration, as in the sixth embodiment, electrostatic damage can be suppressed, and the advantage that an abnormal discharge such as an arc that may occur on the surface of the shield plate 23 in the sixth embodiment hardly occurs. There is.

  The plasma processing apparatus and method described above merely exemplify typical examples of the scope of application of the present invention.

  For example, the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T may be scanned with respect to the fixed substrate mounting table 1, but the substrate mounting table 1 is scanned with respect to the fixed inductively coupled plasma torch unit T. May be.

  Moreover, it becomes possible by the various structure of this invention to process the surface vicinity of the base material 2 at high temperature. As a result, it can be applied to the crystallization of TFT semiconductor films and the modification of semiconductor films for solar cells as described in the prior art, as well as annealing, plasma activation, activation of silicon semiconductor integrated circuits, silicide formation, etc. Display panel protective layer cleaning and degassing reduction, dielectric layer composed of aggregates of silica particles, surface flattening and degassing reduction, reflow of various electronic devices, plasma doping using solid impurity source, etc. Applicable to various surface treatments. Moreover, as a manufacturing method of a solar cell, it can apply also to the method of apply | coating the powder obtained by grind | pulverizing a silicon ingot on a base material, and irradiating this with a plasma and fuse | melting it, and obtaining a polycrystalline silicon film.

  It is also possible to use an ignition source in order to facilitate plasma ignition. As an ignition source, an ignition spark device used for a gas water heater or the like can be used.

  In the description, the term “thermal plasma” is used for simplicity. However, it is difficult to distinguish between thermal plasma and low temperature plasma. For example, Tanaka Yasunori “Non-equilibrium in thermal plasma” plasma nucleus Journal of Fusion Society, Vol. 82, no. 8 (2006) p. As described in 479-483, it is also difficult to classify plasma types based on thermal equilibrium alone. The present invention has an object of heat-treating a substrate, and can be applied to a technique for irradiating high-temperature plasma without being bound by terms such as thermal plasma, thermal equilibrium plasma, and high-temperature plasma.

  In addition, the case where high-temperature heat treatment is uniformly performed in the vicinity of the surface of the base material for a very short time has been illustrated in detail. However, when the base material is subjected to low-temperature plasma processing by irradiating the base material with plasma or plasma and reactive gas flow at the same time. The present invention can also be applied. By mixing the reaction gas with the plasma gas, the plasma by the reaction gas is irradiated onto the substrate, and etching and CVD can be realized.

Alternatively, by using a rare gas or a gas obtained by adding a small amount of H ₂ gas to a rare gas as a plasma gas, by supplying a gas containing a reactive gas as a shielding gas, the plasma and the reactive gas flow are simultaneously irradiated onto the substrate. In addition, plasma processing such as etching, CVD, and doping can be realized. When a gas containing argon as a main component is used as the plasma gas, thermal plasma is generated as exemplified in detail in the embodiment.

On the other hand, when a gas containing helium as a main component is used as the plasma gas, a relatively low temperature plasma can be generated. By such a method, processing such as etching and film formation can be performed without heating the substrate too much. Examples of the reactive gas used for etching include a halogen-containing gas such as C _x F _y (x and y are natural numbers), SF _{6 and the} like, and silicon, silicon compounds, and the like can be etched. If O ₂ is used as the reaction gas, it is possible to remove organic substances, resist ashing, and the like. The reactive gas used for CVD includes monosilane, disilane, and the like, and silicon or silicon compound can be formed.

Alternatively, a silicon oxide film can be formed by using a mixed gas of O ₂ and an organic gas containing silicon typified by TEOS (Tetraethoxysilane). In addition, various low-temperature plasma treatments such as surface treatment for modifying water repellency and hydrophilicity are possible. Compared to the conventional technology using capacitively coupled atmospheric pressure plasma, it is inductively coupled, so even if a high power density per unit volume is applied, it is difficult to shift to arc discharge, and higher density plasma can be generated. As a result, a high reaction rate is obtained, and the entire desired region to be treated of the substrate can be efficiently processed in a short time.

  As described above, the present invention can be applied to crystallization of a TFT semiconductor film and modification of a solar cell semiconductor film. Of course, cleaning and degassing of the protective layer of the plasma display panel, surface flattening and degassing reduction of the dielectric layer composed of aggregates of silica fine particles, reflow of various electronic devices, plasma doping using a solid impurity source In various surface treatments, the present invention is a useful invention that enables high-speed treatment and stable use of plasma when performing high-temperature heat treatment uniformly in the vicinity of the surface of the substrate for a very short time.

  In addition, the invention is useful for efficiently treating the entire desired region of the substrate in a short time in low temperature plasma processing such as etching, film formation, doping, and surface modification in the manufacture of various electronic devices. It is.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Base material mounting stand 2 Base material T Inductive coupling type plasma torch unit 3 Coil 4 1st ceramic block 5 2nd ceramic block 7 Chamber 8 Opening part 9 Plasma gas manifold 11 Plasma gas supply hole 12 Discharge suppression gas manifold 13 Discharge suppression gas Supply hole P Plasma 22 thin film

Claims (9)

A chamber surrounded by a first dielectric and in communication with an opening through which plasma is ejected;
First gas supply means for introducing a first gas into the chamber;
A high frequency power source connected to the coil, including an inductively coupled plasma torch unit comprising a coil provided in the vicinity of the chamber;
A plasma processing apparatus comprising a substrate mounting table for mounting a substrate;
The chamber and the opening are both a series of closed annular shapes;
A gas supply hole is formed in a region surrounded by the opening in the first dielectric, and second gas supply means for introducing a second gas into the gas supply hole is provided;
A plasma processing apparatus. A cooling unit for cooling the chamber;
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a second dielectric having a higher thermal conductivity than the first dielectric is provided between the first dielectric and the cooling unit. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coil is provided along a plane parallel to a plane formed by the substrate mounting table. The opening has at least two long straight portions,
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a moving mechanism that allows the chamber and the substrate mounting table to move relatively in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the opening. The first dielectric is a ceramic mainly composed of silicon nitride, or a ceramic mainly composed of silicon, aluminum, oxygen, and nitrogen.
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 2. The second dielectric is a ceramic mainly composed of aluminum nitride, or a ceramic mainly composed of boron nitride.
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 2. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a coolant channel along the chamber between the coil and the chamber. A first gas manifold for storing a first gas, wherein the first gas manifold and the chamber are communicated by the first gas supply means, and a gas flow direction in the first gas supply means is a plane formed by the chamber; Inclined against
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 7. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a groove provided in any of the first dielectric and the second dielectric bonded to the first dielectric constitutes the refrigerant flow path.