JP3301152B2 - Plasma processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the manufacture of devices using semiconductors such as thin film transistors and various sensors utilizing semiconductors, solar cells, and the like. Plasma CVD for etching the formed film according to a predetermined pattern
And a plasma processing apparatus such as a plasma etching apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various types of plasma CVD apparatuses are known. As a representative example, a parallel plate type plasma CVD apparatus shown in FIG. 6 will be described. This apparatus has a vacuum vessel 1, in which an electrode 2 also serving as a substrate holder for installing a film-forming substrate S1 and an electrode 2 Are provided.

[0003] The electrode 2 is usually a ground electrode.
A heater 21 for heating the substrate S1 mounted thereon to a film forming temperature is additionally provided. When the substrate S1 is heated by radiant heat, the heater 21 is separated from the electrode 2. The electrode 3 is a power application electrode for applying high-frequency power or DC power to the film-forming gas introduced between the electrode 3 and the plasma to generate plasma, and in the illustrated example, a high-frequency power source 32 through a matching box 31. Is connected.

In the illustrated example, the electrode 3 is provided with a porous electrode plate 34 at an opening of a gas nozzle 33 constituting a part of the electrode.
In the electrode plate 34, a number of gas supply holes having a diameter of about 0.5 mm are formed, so that the gas supplied from the gas nozzle 33 is discharged from each hole between the electrodes as a whole. It is. Such a configuration is suitable for forming a film on a wide-area substrate.

An exhaust pump 52 is connected to the vacuum vessel 1 via an on-off valve 51, and a gas supply unit 4 is connected to the gas nozzle 33.
One or more mass flow controllers 421, 422,... And on-off valves 431, 432
.. Are supplied through a predetermined amount of gas for film formation.

According to this parallel plate type plasma CVD apparatus, the substrate S1 to be formed is placed on the electrode 2 in the vacuum vessel 1, and the inside of the vessel 1 is formed by opening the valve 51 and operating the exhaust pump 52. The film is maintained at a degree of vacuum, and a film forming gas is introduced from the gas supply unit 4 through the gas supply holes of the nozzle 33 and the electrode plate 34. Further, a high-frequency voltage is applied to the high-frequency electrode 3 from the power supply 32, and the introduced gas is turned into plasma, and a desired film is formed on the surface of the substrate S1 under this plasma.

[0007] Various types of plasma etching apparatuses are also known. As a representative example, a parallel plate type etching apparatus shown in FIG. 7 will be described. This apparatus also includes a vacuum vessel 10, in which an electrode 20 also serving as a substrate holder for installing a substrate S2 on which a film to be etched is formed, and An electrode 30 is provided opposite to the electrode 20.

The electrode 20 is used as a power application electrode for applying a high frequency power or a DC power to the etching gas introduced between the electrode 30 and the plasma to form a plasma. Connected to the high frequency power supply 202. The electrode 30 is a ground electrode, in which a porous electrode plate 302 is provided at an opening of a gas nozzle 301 constituting a part of the electrode. The electrode plate 302 has a large number of gas supply holes having a diameter of about 0.5 mm. In addition, the gas supplied from the gas nozzle 301 is entirely discharged from the hole between the two electrodes.

An exhaust pump 72 is connected to the vacuum vessel 10 via an on-off valve 71, and a gas supply section 6 is connected to the gas nozzle 301. One or more mass flow controllers 621, 622,... And on-off valves 631, 6
32. Gas sources 641, 642,... For supplying a required amount of etching gas via 32.

According to this etching apparatus, the substrate S2 to be etched is placed on the high-frequency electrode 20 in the container 10, and the inside of the container 10 is maintained at a predetermined etching vacuum degree by opening the valve 71 and operating the exhaust pump 72. , Gas supply unit 6
From the nozzle 301 and the electrode plate 302
The gas is introduced through the gas supply holes. Further, a high-frequency voltage is applied to the electrode 20 from the high-frequency power supply 202, and the introduced gas is turned into plasma, and the film on the substrate S2 is etched under the plasma. The electrode 20
May be cooled by the water cooling device 200 or the like as necessary.

[0011]

However, in such a plasma processing apparatus, fine particles generated by a gas phase reaction in plasma adhere to a film formed on the substrate surface or mix into the film. There is a problem that the film quality is deteriorated, and there is a problem that the generated fine particles adhere to and contaminate each part in the vacuum vessel. Fine particles adhering to various parts in the vacuum vessel may eventually peel off and adhere to the substrate to be processed.

In particular, fine particles are formed by a gas phase reaction,
It is highly likely that the film will grow greatly, for example, an amorphous silicon (a-Si) film made of silane (SiH ₄ ) and hydrogen (H ₂ ), and an amorphous silicon nitride (a) made of silane and ammonia (NH ₃ ). In the case where an amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiO ₂ ) film is formed from silane and dinitrogen monoxide (nitrous oxide) (N ₂ O), a film formed on the surface of the substrate is used. When the size of the fine particles adhering to or mixed into the film is larger than the thickness of the film to be formed, as a result, when the film is an insulating film, when the cleaning process is performed after the film formation, the fine particle portion is removed. If the film becomes a pinhole and insulation failure occurs, or if the film is a semiconductor film, there is a problem that the semiconductor characteristics are deteriorated.

Also, in the plasma etching apparatus, similarly, there is a problem that fine particles are formed by a gas phase reaction and adhere to a surface to be etched or to various parts in a vacuum vessel. For example, in the case where a wiring pattern is formed by etching, such fine particles cause deterioration in patterning accuracy, and may cause disconnection in the formation of fine lines.

Further, such a problem hinders high-speed film formation and high-speed etching in which generation of fine particles increases.
The fine particles hinder stable plasma generation, and may cause poor film formation and poor etching. Therefore, the present invention can efficiently remove fine particles generated by a gas phase reaction in plasma, thereby suppressing the fine particles from adhering to a substrate to be processed or various parts in a vacuum vessel, and enabling a higher-speed plasma processing than before. It is another object of the present invention to provide a plasma processing apparatus capable of stabilizing plasma and suppressing occurrence of plasma processing failure. The term “adhesion” referred to here and “adhesion” described later in the “Effects of the Invention” include not only adhesion to various parts in a vacuum vessel, but also direct deposition to a substrate surface in film formation. In the case of etching, it includes direct adhesion to the substrate surface, adhesion and mixing of the film to be etched, and the like.

[0015]

According to the present invention, there is provided a plasma processing apparatus comprising: an electrode for applying power for generating plasma; A ground electrode is provided to face the electrode, and a processing gas introduced between the two electrodes is applied to the power application electrode to generate plasma, and the processing gas is installed on any one of the electrodes under the plasma. A plasma processing apparatus for performing a target plasma processing on a target substrate ,
A fine particle discharge duct surrounding the periphery and the back of the ground electrode and having an opening at a portion adjacent to the periphery of the electrode is provided, and exhaust means is provided in the duct at a position corresponding to the center on the back side of the ground electrode. And connect the particulate
The outlet duct charges the duct independently of the ground electrode.
Formed separately from the ground electrode so that it can be set to the potential for particle collection
Characterized in that it was.

The means for evacuating from the duct may utilize the above-described evacuating device for bringing the inside of the vacuum vessel to a predetermined processing vacuum degree, or may be prepared separately therefrom. The opening for sucking the fine particles of the duct may be, for example, substantially the same size and shape, a large number of holes formed at equal intervals, intermittently, or a slit provided continuously. May be used, and there is no particular limitation. However, in order to be able to efficiently suck the fine particles from each part of the plasma generation area as efficiently as possible, and particularly to efficiently suck the fine particles concentrated on the edge of the ground electrode, the ducts should be equally exhausted as much as possible from the entirety of the duct. Preferably, it is formed.

Further, in order to be able to suck fine particles from the whole of the plasma generation region as much as possible, the duct is extended so as to surround the plasma generation region between the two electrodes, and the duct opening is formed in the plasma generation region. It is also conceivable to extend it so as to face. Further, in order to prevent the particles deposited in the duct from back-diffusing into the vacuum vessel, a heater is attached to the duct so that the particles can be captured like a film attached to the duct. You may make it heatable.

It is also conceivable to connect a means for applying a potential for collecting charged fine particles to the opening of the duct to the duct. In this case, as the potential applying means,
Depending on the charged state of the fine particles, various methods are conceivable, such as a method of using a grounding means, a method of applying a predetermined potential other than the ground potential. In addition, in order to generate stable plasma and avoid non-uniformity of electric field in the duct opening, a conductive member with a hole that can make the duct opening the same potential as the duct body is provided in the duct opening. You may. As such a member, a plate-like member provided with a number of holes,
Various things, such as a net-like member, a lattice-like member, and a combination thereof, can be considered.

The edge of the peripheral portion of the ground electrode on the side of the plasma generation region may be chamfered along the direction of suction of the fine particles by the duct, or the edge of the opening of the duct adjacent to the peripheral portion of the ground electrode may be removed. The duct may be chamfered along the direction in which the particulates are sucked, and the gradient of the electric field intensity may facilitate the suction of the particulates into the duct. The chamfer is not limited to a flat one, but may be rounded or the like.

[0020]

According to the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, the particulate discharge duct is evacuated by the exhaust means connected thereto, so that the particulates generated by the gas phase reaction during the plasma processing, in particular, are generated near the ground electrode. The fine particles which tend to be concentrated at the edge of the duct are efficiently sucked from the opening of the duct and discharged out of the plasma generation region. Also,
The particulate discharge duct separates the duct from the ground electrode.
Separately from the ground electrode
Since it is formed on the body, if necessary,
A potential for collecting particles can be applied.

When the duct extends so as to surround the plasma generating region between the two electrodes, and when the duct opening is extended so as to face the plasma generating region, the duct opening extends to that extent. Fine particles are sucked and discharged from the whole. When a heater is attached to the duct, the operation of the heater causes fine particles to adhere to the duct, thereby suppressing the backward diffusion of the fine particles into the vacuum vessel.

When means for applying a potential for collecting charged fine particles to the opening of the duct is connected to the duct,
In accordance with the charged state of the fine particles, the opening is set to a potential at which the fine particles can be easily collected by the means, and the fine particles are efficiently discharged. When a perforated conductive member is attached to the opening of the duct, this stabilizes the plasma and avoids non-uniformity of the electric field at the opening of the duct.

The edge of the ground electrode on the side of the plasma generation region may be chamfered along the direction of suction of the fine particles by the duct, or the edge of the opening of the duct adjacent to the peripheral edge of the ground electrode may be defined by the duct. When chamfering is performed along the direction in which the particles are sucked, the particles are efficiently sucked into the duct by the gradient of the electric field intensity formed by the chamfering.

[0024]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a plasma CVD apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a cross section of a ground electrode of a plasma CVD apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention and a particulate discharge duct surrounding the ground electrode. FIG. 3 shows a part of a plasma CVD apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 shows a cross section of a ground electrode of a plasma CVD apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention and a particulate discharge duct surrounding the ground electrode. FIG. 5 shows a plasma etching apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

The plasma CVD apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is different from the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 6 in that a dust discharge duct 8 surrounding the ground electrode 2 is provided for the ground electrode 2 and an exhaust device 80 is connected to the duct. The duct 8 has a potential application unit 80 including a voltage variable DC power supply 8a for setting this to a ground potential or applying an appropriate bias voltage according to the charged state of the fine particles.
0 is connected. The configuration is the same as that of the apparatus in FIG. 6 except that the duct 8, the exhaust device 80, and the potential application section 800 are adopted, and the entire film forming operation is also the same. Parts that are the same as the parts in the apparatus of FIG. 6 are given the same reference numerals.

As shown, the duct 8 is formed separately from the ground electrode 2 for mounting the substrate S1.
The peripheral portion 25 and the back surface portion 26 of the ground electrode are integrally surrounded, and an opening 81 is formed in the peripheral portion of the electrode, more specifically, in a portion of the peripheral portion 25 adjacent to the electrode edge 27 facing the plasma generation region P. have. More specifically, the duct opening 81 is formed in a slit shape, is arranged on the surface of the electrode 2 on the side of the plasma generation region P or substantially the same as the electrode edge 27, and surrounds the electrode 2. Also,
The duct 8 has a connection port 82 of the exhaust device 80 at a position corresponding to the central portion on the back side of the electrode 2.

The duct 8 is provided with a heater 83, which extends to the duct opening 81, which can also be heated. The exhaust device 80 includes an exhaust adjusting valve 80.
1 and an exhaust pump 802, and a pump 802 is connected to a connection port 82 of the duct 8 via a valve 801. According to this plasma CVD apparatus, the film formation target substrate S
1 is placed on the electrode 2, and the target film is formed on the substrate surface in the same procedure as described for the apparatus of FIG.

However, in this apparatus, during the film formation, the potential of the duct 8 is set so that the generated fine particles are easily collected.
And the duct 8 surrounding the ground electrode 2 is exhausted by the exhaust device 80. Therefore, during film formation,
The fine particles generated by the gas phase reaction in the plasma, particularly the fine particles generated near the ground electrode 2 and concentrated near the electrode edge 27 are efficiently sucked into the duct from the opening 81 of the duct 8 and removed to the outside of the plasma region. Is done. Therefore, the adhesion of the fine particles to the substrate S1 to be processed and each part in the vacuum vessel 1 is suppressed accordingly, the defects of the formed film are greatly reduced, and the number of maintenance such as the fine particle removal cleaning of each part in the vacuum vessel is reduced. As a result, the throughput can be increased. Furthermore, high-speed film formation processing involving generation of a large amount of fine particles is possible, and plasma is stabilized by efficiently removing fine particles, thereby suppressing the occurrence of processing defects that are likely to occur when the plasma is unstable.

Further, the heater 83 is operated as required,
Fine particles can be made to adhere to the duct opening 81 and the duct 8 to suppress the back diffusion of the fine particles into the plasma region. According to another plasma CVD apparatus according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the edge 27 of the ground electrode 2 is chamfered obliquely in the direction of suction of fine particles by the duct 8, and the duct opening 81 adjacent to the edge is formed. Edge 811 of
Are chamfered in the same direction, and the double-sided chamfers are disposed in substantially the same plane. The duct opening 81 is provided with a mesh-shaped conductive member 84. This member 84 is also disposed on substantially the same plane as the double-sided portion. The other points are the same as those of the apparatus shown in FIG.

According to this apparatus, the fine particles are efficiently sucked into the duct by the gradient of the electric field intensity formed by chamfering the electrode edge 27 and the duct opening edge 811. Further, the mesh-shaped conductive member 8 is formed in the duct opening 81.
Due to the provision of 4, it stabilizes the plasma and avoids non-uniformity of the electric field at the duct opening.

As shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, the outer wall 85 of the duct 8 may be extended so as to surround the plasma region P, so that the suction of fine particles can be further smoothed.
According to another plasma CVD apparatus according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, the duct 8 extends so as to cylindrically surround the plasma generation region P between the ground electrode 2 and the high-frequency electrode 3, The duct opening 86 also extends so as to face the plasma generation region. A mesh-shaped conductive member 87 is provided in the duct opening portion 86. The feature of the method is that the surface of the member 87 and the surface of the duct main body are placed at substantially the same plane position, and a step is generated as little as possible. It has been like that. Further, the heater 83 also extends to a portion extending so as to surround the plasma generation region P. The other points are the same as those of the apparatus shown in FIG.

According to this device, since the duct body and the opening thereof extend so as to surround the plasma generation region P, the fine particles are efficiently sucked into the duct 8 from the entire plasma generation region and discharged therefrom. You. Further, since the mesh-shaped conductive member 87 is attached to the duct opening 86, the potential of the opening 86 becomes the same as that of the duct main body, thereby stabilizing the plasma, and further reducing the electric field at the duct opening 86. Non-uniformities are avoided.

According to still another plasma CVD apparatus according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, the electrode edge 27 in the apparatus shown in FIG. The edge 861 of the duct opening 86 adjacent to the edge is also chamfered in the same direction, and the double-sided chamfers are disposed in substantially the same plane. The other points are the same as those of the apparatus shown in FIG.

According to this apparatus, fine particles are efficiently sucked into the duct by the gradient of the electric field intensity formed by chamfering the electrode edge 27 and the duct opening edge 861. Of the devices described above, the device of FIG.
An example in which an i: H film is formed will be described. Film forming conditions Substrate: 5 inch silicon wafer Gas: SiH ₄ 100 sccm H ₂ 400 sccm Film forming temperature: 230 ° C. Film forming gas pressure: 0.4 Torr High frequency power: 200 W Electrode size: 360 mm × 360 mm □ Electrode interval: 45 mm (electrode 3- Exhaust ratio: Exhaust device (51, 52): Exhaust device 80 =
10: 1 Duct temperature: about 200 ° C. Duct opening conductive member 87: Stainless steel mesh plate member with 70% aperture ratio Duct potential: ground In this film formation, fine particles adhered to the formed a-Si: H film The number was 5 or less with a size of 0.3 μm or more, the film formation rate was 300 ° / min, and the required number of maintenance of a vacuum vessel or the like was 50 batches (total 50 μm film formation).

According to the conventional apparatus shown in FIG.
Other than the above, the film formation conditions were the same except that the number of adhered fine particles was about 50, the film formation rate was 100 ° / min, and the required number of maintenances such as vacuum vessels was 10 batches (total 10 μm film formation). Next, a description will be given of a plasma etching apparatus shown in FIG. 5, which is still another embodiment of the present invention. This device is different from the conventional device shown in FIG. 7 in that a dust discharge duct 9 surrounding the ground electrode 30 is provided for the ground electrode 30, and an exhaust device 90 is connected thereto. Further, the duct 9 is connected to a potential applying unit 900 including a variable voltage DC power supply 9a for applying a proper bias voltage according to the charged state of the fine particles, or the like. Duct 9, exhaust device 90, and potential applying unit 90
The configuration is the same as that of the apparatus in FIG. 7 except that 0 is adopted, and the entire etching operation is also the same. Components that are the same as those in the apparatus of FIG. 7 are given the same reference numerals.

The duct 9 has a ground electrode 30 as shown in FIG.
And a peripheral portion 303 of the ground electrode .
And the back surface portion 304, and has an opening 91 at a peripheral portion of the electrode, more specifically, at a portion of the peripheral portion 303 adjacent to the electrode edge 305 facing the plasma generation region P. More specifically, the duct opening 91 is formed in a slit shape, and the electrode plate 302 of the electrode 30 is formed.
And is arranged on substantially the same plane as the edge 305, and surrounds the electrode 30. Further, the duct 9 is provided at a position corresponding to the central portion on the back side of the electrode 30 at the connection port 92 of the exhaust device 90.
The that has.

The duct 9 is provided with a heater 93, which extends to the duct opening 91, which can also be heated. The exhaust device 90 includes an exhaust adjusting valve 90.
1 and an exhaust pump 902, and a pump 902 is connected to a connection port 92 of the duct 9 via a valve 901. According to this plasma etching apparatus, the substrate S2 to be etched is placed on the high-frequency electrode 20, and thereafter, the film on the substrate surface is etched by the same procedure as described for the apparatus in FIG.

However, in this apparatus, during etching, the potential of the duct 9 is set to an appropriate potential by the potential applying section 900 so that generated fine particles are easily collected, and the duct 9 surrounding the ground electrode 30 is exhausted by the exhaust device 90. Exhausted. Therefore,
During etching, fine particles generated by a gas phase reaction in plasma, particularly generated near the electrode plate 302,
The fine particles that gather in the vicinity are efficiently sucked into the duct from the opening 91 of the duct 9 and are excluded to the outside of the plasma region. Therefore, the adhesion of the fine particles to the substrate S2 to be processed and each part in the vacuum vessel 1 is suppressed accordingly, and the etching failure is greatly reduced, and the number of maintenances such as the fine particle removal cleaning of each part in the vacuum vessel can be reduced as compared with the related art. As a result, high throughput is achieved. Further, a high-speed etching process involving generation of a large amount of fine particles can be performed, and plasma can be stabilized by removing fine particles, thereby suppressing generation of an etching defect which is likely to occur when the plasma is unstable.

The heater 93 is operated as required,
The particles are made to adhere to the opening portion 91 of the duct 9 and the inside of the duct 9 so that the diffusion of the particles to the plasma region can be suppressed. In this etching apparatus, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the electrode edge 305 and the edge of the duct opening are chamfered, the mesh opening is provided with a mesh-like conductive member, By extending the duct so as to surround the plasma generation region, the same effect as in the case of the plasma CVD apparatus can be obtained.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention, fine particles generated by a gas phase reaction in plasma can be efficiently eliminated, thereby suppressing the fine particles from adhering to a substrate to be processed or various parts in a vacuum vessel. In addition, it is possible to provide a plasma processing apparatus capable of performing high-speed plasma processing as compared with the related art, stabilizing plasma, and suppressing occurrence of plasma processing failure.

When the particle discharge duct extends so as to surround the plasma generation region and the duct opening extends so as to face the plasma generation region, the fine particles are efficiently sucked from the entire plasma generation region. , Can be discharged. When a heater is attached to the duct, the operation can keep the fine particles sucked into the duct in a state of adhering to the duct, thereby suppressing the reverse diffusion of the fine particles from the duct.

When a means for applying a potential for collecting charged fine particles to the opening of the duct is connected to the duct,
According to the charged state of the fine particles, the means can efficiently discharge the fine particles by setting the opening to a potential at which the fine particles can be easily collected. When attaching a perforated conductive member to the opening of the duct, thereby stabilizing the plasma,
Non-uniformity of the electric field at the duct opening can be avoided.

The edge of the peripheral edge of the ground electrode on the side of the plasma generation area is chamfered along the direction of suction of the fine particles by the duct, and the edge of the opening of the duct adjacent to the peripheral edge of the ground electrode is defined by the duct. When chamfering along the fine particle suction direction, the fine particles can be efficiently sucked into the duct by the gradient of the electric field intensity formed by the chamfering.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a plasma CVD apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a ground electrode of a plasma CVD apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention and a particulate discharge duct surrounding the ground electrode.

FIG. 3 shows a plasma CV according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure which shows a part of D apparatus.

FIG. 4 shows a plasma CV according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
It is sectional drawing of the ground electrode of D apparatus, and the fine particle discharge duct which surrounds it.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a plasma etching apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a conventional plasma CVD apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a conventional plasma etching apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 10 Vacuum container 2, 30 Ground electrode 20, 3 High-frequency electrode 201, 31 Matching box 202, 32 High-frequency power supply 33, 301 Gas nozzle 34, 302 Plate body with gas supply hole 25, 303 Electrode rim 26, 304 Electrode back 27, 305 Electrode edge 21 Heater 51, 71 Open / close valve 52, 72 Exhaust pump 4, 6 Gas supply unit 8, 9 Particle discharge duct 81, 86, 91 Duct opening 811, 861 Duct opening edge 82, 92 Exhaust duct Device connection port 83, 93 Heater with duct 84, 87 Mesh-shaped conductive member 85 Extension of outer wall of duct 80, 90 Exhaust device 801, 901 Exhaust amount adjustment valve 802, 902 Exhaust pump 800, 900 Potential application to duct Section S1 Film formation target substrate S2 Etching target substrate

Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takahiro Middle East 47, Umezu Takaune-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto-shi Within Nissin Electric Machinery Co., Ltd. References JP-A-59-43880 (JP, A) JP-A-1-100432 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/205 C23C 16/50 H01L 21/3065

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] An electrode for applying electric power for plasma generation and a ground electrode arranged opposite to the electrode are provided in a vacuum vessel which can be brought into a predetermined processing vacuum state by an exhaust device, and a process introduced between the two electrodes is provided. In a plasma processing apparatus for applying a power to the power application electrode to generate a plasma by applying power to the power application electrode and performing a target plasma process on a substrate to be processed installed on any of the electrodes under the plasma, A fine particle discharge duct surrounding the periphery and the back of the electrode and having an opening in a portion adjacent to the periphery of the electrode is provided, and an exhaust means is connected to the duct at a position corresponding to a center of the back side of the ground electrode. And the particulate discharge duct
Collects the charged particles independently of the ground electrode
A plasma processing apparatus characterized by being formed separately from the ground electrode so as to be set to a potential for use . 2. The plasma according to claim 1, wherein the duct extends so as to surround a plasma generation region between the two electrodes, and the duct opening extends so as to face the plasma generation region. Processing equipment. 3. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a heater is attached to the duct. 4. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein means for applying a potential for collecting charged fine particles to an opening of said duct is connected to said duct. 5. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a perforated conductive member is provided at an opening of the duct. 6. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an edge of the peripheral portion of the ground electrode on the side of the plasma generation region is chamfered along a direction in which the duct sucks fine particles. 7. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an edge of the opening of the duct adjacent to a peripheral edge of the ground electrode is chamfered along a direction in which the duct sucks the fine particles.