JP2016139592A - Plasma processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plasma processing device to which a metal window is secured by using a relatively light mechanism while maintaining mechanical strength.SOLUTION: In a plasma processing device 1 for executing plasma processing on a processing target substrate G in an evacuated processing space 100, a metal processing container 10 has a mount table for the processing target substrate G, and an electrically conductive metal window 3 is provided through an insulation member 31 at such a position as to block an opening formed in the upper surface of the processing container 10. The metal window 3 is supported to be suspended by a top e portion 61 disposed at an upper side of a plasma antenna 5 for generating plasma. The top plate portion 61 is supported to be suspended by a top plate support mechanism 7 having a framework structure containing lateral bridge portions 71, 711 and a leg column portion 72 thereof.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus for performing plasma processing on a substrate to be processed by using a plasma processing gas.

  In the manufacturing process of a flat panel display (FPD) such as a liquid crystal display device (LCD), plasma processing such as etching processing or film formation processing is performed by supplying a plasma processing gas to a glass substrate which is a substrate to be processed. There are steps to perform. Various plasma processing apparatuses such as a plasma etching apparatus and a plasma CVD apparatus are used for these plasma processes. In recent years, inductively coupled plasma (ICP), which has the great advantage of being able to obtain high-vacuum and high-density plasma, has attracted attention as a method for converting a processing gas into plasma.

  On the other hand, the size of the glass substrate is increasing. For example, a rectangular glass substrate for LCD requires a plasma processing apparatus capable of processing a size of a short side × long side length of about 2200 mm × about 2400 mm, and further about 2800 mm × about 3000 mm.

  Along with the increase in size of the plasma processing apparatus, the dielectric window disposed on the upper side of the glass substrate and provided facing the plasma antenna that generates the inductively coupled plasma is also increased in size. However, a dielectric material such as quartz constituting the dielectric window is not suitable for upsizing because it has a low mechanical strength and is brittle. Therefore, Patent Document 1 describes a plasma processing apparatus including a metal window made of metal having higher rigidity than quartz.

  Here, in order to generate inductively coupled plasma through the metal window, it is necessary to attach the metal window in a state of being insulated from the metal processing vessel constituting the main body of the plasma processing apparatus. Further, since the atmospheric pressure is applied not only to its own weight but to the metal window that constitutes the processing space serving as a vacuum atmosphere, the metal window must be supported to withstand these forces. For this reason, with the increase in size of the metal window, there is a problem that even the mechanism for attaching the metal window to the processing container is increased in size and weight.

Here, in Patent Document 2, a rib member that reinforces the mechanical strength of an upper lid member of a process chamber in which a modification process for irradiating a glass substrate with laser light is performed is provided to transmit laser light. A laser annealing apparatus that suppresses the occurrence of tilt and distortion is described. Further, Patent Document 3 includes a rib member and a plate-like joining member in which the rib member is joined to an outer wall surface of a chamber portion of a vacuum processing apparatus for processing a glass substrate for FPD. A reinforcing member configured to be detachable from the outer wall surface is described.
However, none of these Patent Documents 2 and 3 discloses a method of installing a large metal window while maintaining a state insulated from the processing container.

JP 2012-227427 A: Paragraph 0018, FIG. Japanese Patent No. 3451478: paragraphs 0002 and 0018, FIGS. Japanese Patent No. 5232801: paragraphs 0028-0029, FIG.

  The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a plasma processing apparatus in which a metal window is attached using a lightweight mechanism while maintaining mechanical strength.

The plasma processing apparatus of the present invention is a plasma processing apparatus that performs plasma processing with a processing gas converted into plasma on a substrate to be processed in a processing space that is evacuated.
A mounting table on which the substrate to be processed is mounted; an upper surface facing the mounting table is opened; and a metal processing container that is electrically grounded;
A conductive metal window disposed in a position that closes the opening of the processing container to form the processing space and insulated from the processing container via an insulating member;
A plasma antenna provided on the upper side of the metal window so as to face the metal window and for converting the processing gas into plasma by inductive coupling;
A top plate portion disposed above the plasma antenna so as to face the metal window, and a plurality of first suspension portions provided on the top plate portion for supporting the metal window in a suspended manner. A metal window support mechanism,
A skeleton structure comprising: a horizontal part provided with a plurality of second suspension parts for supporting the top plate part from above, and a pedestal part for supporting the horizontal part. And a top plate support mechanism.

The plasma processing apparatus may have the following configuration.
(A) The metal window is divided into a plurality of partial windows, and adjacent partial windows are insulated from each other via an insulating member. The insulating member that insulates the processing vessel from the metal window and the insulating member that insulates the adjacent partial windows of the metal window are supported by the processing vessel.
(B) The pedestal portion is provided on a processing container around the opening.
(C) The top plate portion is made of an electrically grounded metal, and the first hanging portion includes an insulating member that insulates the metal window and the top plate portion. The horizontal portion and the pedestal portion of the top plate support mechanism are made of metal having lower electrical conductivity and higher mechanical strength than the top plate portion.
(D) The horizontal portion is formed in an arch shape.
(E) The metal window also serves as a gas shower head for supplying a processing gas to the processing space.

  In the present invention, the metal window constituting the processing space is suspended and supported on the top plate portion, and this top plate portion is suspended and supported by the top plate support mechanism of the frame structure, so that the load applied from the metal window is dispersed. In addition, it is possible to reduce the weight of the mechanism that supports the metal window while maintaining the mechanical strength necessary to attach the metal window to the processing container.

It is a vertical side view of the plasma processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a partially broken top view of the said plasma processing apparatus. It is a vertical side view which shows the attachment state of the metal window provided in the said plasma processing apparatus. It is a vertical side view of the plasma processing apparatus which concerns on a comparative example. It is a partially broken top view which shows the modification of the top-plate support mechanism provided in the plasma processing apparatus. It is a vertical side view which shows the other modification of the said top-plate support mechanism. It is a vertical side view which shows the other modification of the said top-plate support mechanism.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The plasma processing apparatus 1 is a film processing for forming a metal film, an ITO film, an oxide film or the like when forming a thin film transistor on a rectangular substrate which is a substrate to be processed, for example, an FPD substrate G, and etching these films. It can be used for various plasma treatments such as etching treatment and resist film ashing treatment. Here, as FPD, a liquid crystal display (LCD), an electroluminescence (Electro Luminescence; EL) display, a plasma display panel (PDP), etc. are illustrated. Moreover, the plasma processing apparatus 1 can be used not only for the substrate G for FPD but also for the various plasma processes described above for the substrate G for a solar cell panel.

  As shown in the longitudinal side view of FIG. 1, the plasma processing apparatus 1 includes a rectangular tube-shaped container body 10 made of a conductive material, for example, aluminum whose inner wall surface is anodized, and the container body 10 is electrically Grounded. An opening is formed on the upper surface of the container main body 10, and the opening is hermetically closed by a rectangular metal window 3 that is insulated from the container main body 10. A space surrounded by the container body 10 and the metal window 3 is a processing space 100 of the substrate G, and a space above the metal window 3 is an antenna chamber 50 in which a high-frequency antenna (plasma antenna) 5 is disposed. Further, on the side wall of the processing space 100, a loading / unloading port 101 for loading / unloading a glass substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as a substrate) G and a gate valve 102 for opening / closing the loading / unloading port 101 are provided.

  A mounting table 13 for mounting the substrate G is provided on the lower side of the processing space 100 so as to face the metal window 3. The mounting table 13 is made of a conductive material, for example, aluminum whose surface is anodized. The substrate G mounted on the mounting table 13 is attracted and held by an electrostatic chuck (not shown). The mounting table 13 is housed in an insulator frame 14 and is installed on the bottom surface of the container body 10 via the insulator frame 14.

A second high-frequency power source 152 is connected to the mounting table 13 via a matching unit 151. The second high frequency power source 152 applies high frequency power for bias, for example, high frequency power having a frequency of 3.2 MHz to the mounting table 13. The ions in the plasma generated in the processing space 100 can be drawn into the substrate G by the self-bias generated by the bias high-frequency power.
In the mounting table 13, in order to control the temperature of the substrate G, a temperature control mechanism comprising a heating means such as a ceramic heater and a refrigerant flow path, a temperature sensor, and He gas for heat transfer to the back surface of the substrate G Is provided with a gas flow path (both not shown).

  An exhaust port 103 is formed on the bottom surface of the container body 10, and a vacuum exhaust unit 12 including a vacuum pump is connected to the exhaust port 103. The inside of the processing space 100 is evacuated to a pressure during plasma processing by the evacuation unit 12.

  The metal window 3 is made of, for example, a nonmagnetic and conductive metal, aluminum, an alloy containing aluminum, or the like. In order to improve the plasma resistance of the metal window 3, a dielectric film or a dielectric cover may be provided on the surface of the metal window 3 on the processing space 100 side. Examples of the dielectric film include an anodized film and a sprayed ceramic film. Examples of the dielectric cover include those made of quartz or ceramics.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a metal frame 11 that is a rectangular frame made of a metal such as aluminum is provided on the upper surface side of the side wall of the container body 10. A seal member 110 is provided between the container body 10 and the metal frame 11 to keep the processing space 100 airtight. Here, the container main body 10 and the metal frame 11 constitute the processing container of the present embodiment.

  Furthermore, the metal window 3 of this example is divided into a plurality of partial windows 30, and these partial windows 30 are arranged inside the metal frame 11, thereby forming a rectangular metal window 3 as a whole. The divided partial windows 30 are electrically insulated from the metal frame 11 and the container body 10 on the lower side thereof by the insulating member 31, and the adjacent partial windows 30 are also insulated from each other by the insulating member 31.

The insulating member 31 is supported by the metal frame 11, for example. On the other hand, each partial window 30 insulated from the metal frame 11 and the adjacent partial window 30 by the insulating member 31 is suspended and supported from the top plate portion 61 independently of the insulating member 31. A mechanism for hanging and supporting the metal window 3 (partial window 30) will be described in detail later.
The divided shape of the partial window 30 is not limited to a rectangular shape. Further, in order to reinforce the insulating member 31, a metal beam may be provided so as to divide the inner surface of the metal frame 11 when viewed from the upper surface side, and the insulating member 31 may be supported by the metal frame.

  Furthermore, the partial window 30 of this example also serves as a shower head for supplying a processing gas. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a processing gas diffusion chamber 301 for diffusing a processing gas is formed inside each partial window 30. A plurality of processing gas discharge holes 302 for supplying processing gas from the processing gas diffusion chamber 301 to the processing space 100 are formed on the lower surface of each partial window 30. As shown in FIG. 1, the processing gas diffusion chamber 301 of each partial window 30 is connected to a processing gas supply unit 42 via a gas supply pipe 41. From the processing gas supply unit 42, processing gas necessary for the above-described film forming process, etching process, ashing process, and the like is supplied. For convenience of illustration, FIG. 1 shows a state in which the processing gas supply unit 42 is connected to one partial window 30, but the processing gas diffusion chamber 301 of each partial window 30 actually has the processing gas supply unit 42. Connected to.

  Further, the high frequency antenna 5 is disposed inside the antenna chamber 50 so as to face the partial window 30. For example, the high-frequency antenna 5 is disposed apart from the partial window 30 via a spacer made of an insulating member (not shown). For example, the high frequency antenna 5 is formed in a spiral shape so as to circulate along the circumferential direction of the rectangular metal window 3 in a plane corresponding to each partial window 30. The shape of the high-frequency antenna 5 is not limited to a spiral, but may be an annular antenna in which one or a plurality of antenna wires are annular. Furthermore, a multiple antenna may be employed in which a plurality of antenna wires are wound while the angle is shifted so that the whole is spiral. Thus, if the antenna wire is provided so as to circulate along the circumferential direction in a plane corresponding to the metal window 3 and each partial window 30 constituting the metal window 3, the structure of the high-frequency antenna 5 is as follows. It doesn't matter.

  Each high-frequency antenna 5 is connected to a first high-frequency power source 512 via a matching unit 511. Each high-frequency antenna 5 is supplied with high-frequency power of 13.56 MHz, for example, from the first high-frequency power supply 512 via the matching unit 511. Thus, eddy currents are induced on the surfaces of the partial windows 30 during the plasma processing, and an induced electric field is formed in the processing space 100 by the eddy currents. The processing gas discharged from the gas discharge holes 302 is turned into plasma inside the processing space 100 by an induced electric field.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the plasma processing apparatus 1 is provided with a control unit 8. The control unit 8 includes a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown) and a storage unit. The storage unit 100 evacuates the processing space 100 in which the substrate G is disposed, and uses the high-frequency antenna 5. A program in which a group of steps (commands) for outputting a control signal for executing an operation of processing the substrate G by converting the processing gas into plasma is recorded. This program is stored in a storage medium such as a hard disk, a compact disk, a magnetic optical disk, or a memory card, and installed in the storage unit.

  In the plasma processing apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration, the mechanism that supports the metal window 3 needs to be capable of withstanding the atmospheric pressure applied to the metal window 3 in addition to the weight of the metal window 3. However, for example, the insulating member 31 arranged around each partial window 30 is not suitable as a mechanism for supporting a member to which such a large force is applied because it has a small mechanical strength and is brittle. On the other hand, if the insulating member 31 is reinforced by using a metal beam or the like so that the partial window 30 can be supported by the insulating member 31, not only does the area of the metal beam not contributing to the formation of plasma increase, but also plasma is generated. It has been found that the induction electric field for forming is weakened.

  As a support mechanism for the metal window 3, for example, as shown in the plasma processing apparatus 1 a of FIG. 4, the antenna chamber 50 is surrounded by a side wall portion 63, and a top plate portion 61 a is disposed on the upper surface side to A mechanism is conceivable in which the top plate portion 61a is vertically opposed to each other and the partial windows 30 are suspended and supported by the top plate portion 61a via the metal window suspension portion 62. Here, the top plate portion 61a is made of highly conductive aluminum or the like. Therefore, when the strength design is performed on the premise that the support mechanism is constituted by the aluminum top plate 61a, the metal window is used in the plasma processing apparatus 1a for processing the substrate G having a size of about 2200 mm × about 2400 mm as described above. In order to support the load applied from the 3rd side, the thickness of the top plate portion 61a became 10 cm or more. In order to support such a thick top plate portion 61a, it has been found that the thickness of the side wall portion 63 also increases, and the support mechanism for the metal window 3 becomes larger and heavier.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment maintains the method of hanging and supporting the metal window 3 using the top plate portion 61 as shown in FIG. It has a structure in which a top plate support mechanism 7 having a framework structure for reinforcing and supporting the frame is provided. The top plate portion 61 is reinforced by the top plate support mechanism 7 to reduce the thickness of the top plate portion 61 to 10 cm or less, and the top plate support mechanism 7 has a skeleton structure, whereby the plasma processing apparatus of FIG. The side wall 63 shown in 1a is omitted.
Hereinafter, the structure of the support mechanism of the metal window 3 will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 1, for example, the top plate portion 61 is made of an aluminum plate material that is approximately the same size as the metal window 3, and is arranged so that its lower surface faces the metal window 3 across the antenna chamber 50. Yes. As shown in FIG. 1, the top plate portion 61 is electrically grounded. In addition, a plurality of metal window suspending portions 62 as first suspending portions are attached between the lower surface of the top plate portion 61 and the upper surface of the partial window 30. The window 3 (partial window 30) is suspended and supported. Here, the partial window 30 is insulated from the metal window suspension 62 so as to be in an electrically floating state with respect to the metal window suspension 62. The top plate portion 61 and the metal window suspending portion 62 correspond to the metal window support mechanism of the present embodiment.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the metal window suspending portion 62 is a metal bar-like member having a flange portion 621 formed at the upper end. The flange portion 621 of the metal window hanging portion 62 is fastened to the lower surface of the top plate portion 61 by a bolt 622.

  Further, each metal window suspension 62 is disposed at the boundary between adjacent partial windows 30, and the two partial windows 30 are suspended and supported by one metal window suspension 62, thereby installing the metal window suspension 62. The increase in the number may be suppressed. Further, the above-described gas supply pipe 41 that supplies the processing gas to the processing gas diffusion chamber 301 of the partial window 30 may be formed in the metal window suspension 62.

  As explained using the plasma processing apparatus 1a of FIG. 4, if the metal window 3 to which a strong tensile load is applied over the entire surface is supported only by the top plate portion 61a, a thick plate material must be used, and the metal window 3 This increases the weight of the support mechanism. Therefore, in the plasma processing apparatus 1 of this example, a configuration is used in which the top plate portion 61 is further suspended and supported using the top plate support mechanism 7 having a framework structure.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the top plate support mechanism 7 includes a plurality of horizontal bar portions 71 spanned on the upper surface side of the top plate portion 61, and a pedestal column portion 72 that supports each horizontal bar portion 71. It has a skeleton structure. For example, each pedestal 72 is a rod-shaped member arranged so as to extend upward, and is made of iron having higher mechanical strength (bending strength and tensile strength) than aluminum. Each pedestal 72 is fastened to the upper surface side of the metal frame 11 via a flange 720 formed at the lower end thereof.

  A bar-like horizontal bar portion 71 extending in the horizontal direction is connected to the upper end of the pedestal column portion 72 via an inclined portion 711 bent obliquely upward toward the inside of the container body 10 when viewed from the upper surface side. These horizontal bar portions 71 and inclined portions 711 at both ends thereof are also made of iron members. Further, the horizontal bar portion 71 and the inclined portion 711 form an arch structure composed of a plurality of straight lines, thereby improving the strength of the top plate support mechanism 7. The horizontal bar portion 71 and the inclined portion 711 correspond to the horizontal portion of the present embodiment. Of course, the horizontal portion may be constituted by a curved arch.

  As shown in FIG. 2, each horizontal bar portion 71 extends from the central portion of each side of the metal frame 11 (side wall of the container body 10) and the four corners of the metal frame 11 to the central portion on the upper side of the top plate portion 61. They extend toward each other and are connected to each other via a connecting portion 712 made of a metal rectangular frame. The opening 710 of the connecting portion 712 passes the power supply line to the high frequency antenna 5 and the gas supply pipe 41, and the distributor and matching unit 511 (not shown) that distributes the electrodes to the high frequency antennas 5 are provided on the upper surface of the connecting portion 712. Etc. are arranged.

  A plurality of top plate suspension portions 73 as second suspension portions are attached to the lower surfaces of the horizontal bar portion 71 and the inclined portion 711, and the top plate portion 61 is suspended and supported by these top plate suspension portions 73. ing. In this example, the rod-shaped pillar member 73a that extends downward from the lower surface of the horizontal bar portion 71 and the plate-shaped rib member 73b that extends downward from the lower surface of the inclined portion 711 are two. A kind of top board suspension 73 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pillar member 73 a is an iron rod-like member having a flange portion 731 at the upper end portion and the lower end portion. ing. Further, the flange portion 731 on the lower end side of the pillar member 73 a is fastened to the upper surface of the top plate portion 61 by a bolt 732. The rib member 73b is also the same in that it is fastened to the lower surface of the inclined portion 711 and the upper surface of the top plate portion 61 via a flange portion or the like, and thus illustration is omitted. The pillar members 73a and 73b may be configured to be integrated with the horizontal bar portion 71 and the inclined portion 711 by welding or the like.
With the configuration described above, the top plate portion 61 that supports the metal window 3 (partial window 30) is further suspended by the top plate support mechanism 7 (the horizontal bar portion 71, the inclined portion 711, the pedestal portion 72). It has a supported structure.

Hereinafter, the operation of the plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the above-described embodiment will be described.
First, the gate valve 102 is opened, and the substrate G is loaded into the processing space 100 via the loading / unloading port 101 by a transfer mechanism (none of which is shown) from the adjacent vacuum transfer chamber. Next, the substrate G is mounted on the mounting table 13 and fixed by an electrostatic chuck (not shown), while the transfer mechanism is retracted from the processing space 100 and the gate valve 102 is closed.

  Thereafter, the processing gas is supplied from the processing gas supply unit 42 into the processing space 100 via the processing gas diffusion chamber 301 of each partial window 30, while the processing space 100 is evacuated from the vacuum exhaust unit 12. The inside of the processing space 100 is adjusted to a pressure atmosphere of about 0.66 to 26.6 Pa, for example. Further, He gas for heat transfer is supplied to the substrate G from a gas flow path (not shown).

Next, high frequency power is applied from the first high frequency power supply 512 to the high frequency antenna 5, thereby generating a uniform induction electric field in the processing space 100 through the metal window 3. As a result, the processing gas is converted into plasma in the processing space 100 by the induction electric field, and high-density inductively coupled plasma is generated. Then, ions in the plasma are drawn toward the substrate G by the high frequency power for bias applied to the mounting table 13 from the second high frequency power source 152, and the plasma processing of the substrate G is performed.
When the plasma processing is performed for a preset time, the power supply from each of the high-frequency power sources 512 and 152, the processing gas supply from the processing gas supply unit 42, and the evacuation of the processing space 100 are stopped. Unloads the substrate G in the reverse order.

  The inside of the processing space 100 for which the operation has been described above is evacuated to a high vacuum state as described above, and the metal window 3 (partial window 30) disposed on the upper surface side of the processing space 100 has its In addition to its own weight, atmospheric pressure is applied. The metal window 3 is suspended and supported by the top plate portion 61 against these forces, and maintains the state in which the processing space 100 is formed with the container body 10.

  Here, the top plate portion 61 for hanging and supporting the metal window 3 is further suspended and supported and reinforced by the top plate support mechanism 7 having a frame structure made of a member having higher mechanical strength than the top plate portion 61. ing. On the other hand, since the leg column portion 72 of the top plate support mechanism 7 is attached to the upper surface side of the metal frame 11, the suspension load of the metal window 3 is applied to the leg column portion 72 via the top plate support mechanism 7. And is converted into a force for pressing the metal frame 11 (that is, the side wall of the container body 10). The container body 10 having a pressure resistance against a vacuum atmosphere in the processing space 100 has sufficient strength to stably support the top plate support mechanism 7 against the pressing force.

  The plasma processing apparatus 1 of the present invention has the following effects. The metal window 3 constituting the processing space 100 is suspended and supported by the top plate portion 61, and this top plate portion 61 is suspended and supported by a top plate support mechanism 7 having a frame structure made of a member having high mechanical strength. Therefore, the hanging load of the metal window 3 can be dispersed.

As a result, the metal window 3 is compared with the case where the metal window 3 is suspended and supported by the aluminum top plate 61a shown in the plasma processing apparatus 1a of FIG. 4 and the side wall 63 provided on the peripheral edge thereof. It is possible to reduce the weight of the mechanism that supports the metal window 3 while maintaining the mechanical strength necessary for attaching the metal window 3.
In addition, when compared with the side wall part 63 of FIG. 4, the “frame structure” of the top plate support mechanism 7 of the present invention is respectively shorter than the short side and the long side of the metal frame 11 (side wall of the container body 10). The case where the top-plate support mechanism 7 is comprised by the member with a short lateral width is said. For example, a member having a lateral width of about several centimeters to several tens of centimeters is used as a member having a frame structure.

Here, the structure of the top-plate support mechanism 7 is not limited to the example shown using FIGS. 1-3, A various variation is employable.
5 to 7 to be described below, the same reference numerals as those shown in these drawings are attached to the same components as those shown in FIGS. is there.

  The planar shape of the top plate support mechanism 7 is not limited to the case where the horizontal bar portions 71 are arranged so as to extend radially from the center side of the container body 10 as shown in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of horizontal bar portions 71 may be arranged in parallel with each other along the short side direction of the container body 10.

  Moreover, the method of supporting the top plate part 61 is not limited to the case where the entire surface is supported only by the suspension support. For example, like the top plate support mechanism 7 a of the plasma processing apparatus 1 b shown in FIG. 6, the peripheral portion of the top plate portion 61 is supported from the lower surface side by the top plate support portion 721 provided on the side surface of the pedestal column 72. Also good.

  Furthermore, it is not essential to install the top plate support mechanism 7 on the upper surface of the metal frame 11 (on the side wall of the container body 10). For example, like the top plate support mechanism 7b of the plasma processing apparatus 1c shown in FIG. 7, the pedestal 72 may be installed on the floor surface or pedestal surface where the plasma processing apparatus 1c is disposed. Here, the height position of the floor surface or the pedestal surface to which the pedestal column portion 72 is fixed is not necessarily lower than the top plate portion 61. If the pedestal 72 can be stably fixed, the pedestal 72 may be fixed to the floor surface or the pedestal surface at the same height as the top plate 61 or higher.

  And it is not essential for the top-plate support mechanisms 7, 7 a, 7 b to be provided with the rod-like leg pillars 72 extending in the vertical direction. For example, the lower end portion of the arch-shaped horizontal portion (the horizontal rod portion 71 and the inclined portion 711 shown in FIG. 1 or the horizontal portion made of a curved arch) may be directly fixed to the upper surface of the metal frame 11 or the like. . In this case, the base end part of these arches becomes a pedestal part.

  In addition, various variations can be given to the configuration of the metal window 3. For example, the metal window 3 may be provided with a flow path through which a temperature adjusting fluid is passed to adjust the temperature of the metal window 3. In this case, a channel for allowing the temperature adjusting fluid to flow through the metal window suspension 62 may be provided.

And the top-plate part 61 is not limited to when comprised with one board | plate material, You may be divided | segmented into the some board | plate material. The plurality of top plate portions 61 may be supported by being suspended by a common top plate support mechanism 7, or each top plate portion 61 may be supported by a plurality of different top plate support mechanisms 7.
In addition, there exists an effect that the static elimination of the grounded top-plate part 61 becomes easy by comprising the top-plate part 61 with the sheet | seat made from aluminum whose electrical conductivity is higher than iron.

  Furthermore, although an example in which an FPD substrate is used as the substrate to be processed has been shown, a rectangular substrate can be applied to plasma processing for other types of substrates such as a substrate for a solar cell panel.

G Glass substrate 1, 1a-1c
Plasma processing apparatus 10 Container body 100 Processing space 11 Metal frame 13 Mounting table 3 Metal window 30 Partial window 31 Insulating member 5 High-frequency antennas 61 and 61a
Top plate part 62 Metal window hanging part 7, 7a-7c
Top plate support mechanism 71 Horizontal bar portion 711 Inclined portion 72 Leg column portion 721 Top plate support portion 73 Top plate suspension portion 8 Control portion

Claims (8)

In a plasma processing apparatus for performing plasma processing with a plasma processing gas on a substrate to be processed in a processing space that has been evacuated,
A mounting table on which the substrate to be processed is mounted; an upper surface facing the mounting table is opened; and a metal processing container that is electrically grounded;
A conductive metal window disposed in a position that closes the opening of the processing container to form the processing space and insulated from the processing container via an insulating member;
A plasma antenna provided on the upper side of the metal window so as to face the metal window and for converting the processing gas into plasma by inductive coupling;
A top plate portion disposed above the plasma antenna so as to face the metal window, and a plurality of first suspension portions provided on the top plate portion for supporting the metal window in a suspended manner. A metal window support mechanism,
A skeleton structure comprising: a horizontal part provided with a plurality of second suspension parts for supporting the top plate part from above, and a pedestal part for supporting the horizontal part. And a top plate support mechanism.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the metal window is divided into a plurality of partial windows, and adjacent partial windows are insulated from each other via an insulating member.   3. The plasma according to claim 2, wherein an insulating member that insulates the processing vessel from the metal window and an insulating member that insulates adjacent partial windows of the metal window are supported by the processing vessel. Processing equipment.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pedestal portion is provided on a processing container around the opening.   The said top plate part is metal which was electrically grounded, The said 1st suspension part is provided with the insulating member which insulates the said metal window and a top plate part. 5. The plasma processing apparatus according to any one of 4.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the horizontal portion and the pedestal portion of the top plate support mechanism are made of metal having lower conductivity and higher mechanical strength than the top plate portion.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the horizontal portion is formed in an arch shape. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the metal window also serves as a gas shower head that supplies a processing gas to the processing space.

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