JP6064176B2 - Inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus and method - Google Patents

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, and the like The present invention relates to an inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus and method.

  Conventionally, semiconductor thin films such as polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) are widely used for thin film transistors (TFTs) and solar cells. In particular, the poly-Si TFT has a high carrier mobility and can be manufactured on a transparent insulating substrate such as a glass substrate. For example, a pixel circuit such as a liquid crystal display device, a liquid crystal projector, or an organic EL display device can be used. It is widely used as a switching element constituting the circuit or as a circuit element of a liquid crystal driving driver.

  As a method for manufacturing a high-performance TFT on a glass substrate, there is a manufacturing method generally called “high temperature process”. Among TFT manufacturing processes, a process using a high temperature with a maximum temperature of about 1000 ° C. is generally called a “high temperature process”. Features of the high-temperature process are that a relatively good quality polycrystalline silicon can be formed by solid phase growth of silicon, a good quality gate insulating layer can be obtained by thermal oxidation of silicon, and a clean polycrystalline. This is the point that an interface between silicon and the gate insulating layer can be formed. Due to these characteristics, a high-performance TFT having high mobility and high reliability can be stably manufactured in a high-temperature process.

  On the other hand, since the high temperature process is a process of crystallizing a silicon film by solid phase growth, a long-time heat treatment of about 48 hours is required at a temperature of about 600 ° C. This is a very long process, and in order to increase the process throughput, a large number of heat treatment furnaces are inevitably required, and it is difficult to reduce the cost. In addition, quartz glass has to be used as an insulating substrate with high heat resistance, so the cost of the substrate is high and it is said that it is not suitable for large area.

  On the other hand, a technique for lowering the maximum temperature in the process and manufacturing a poly-Si TFT on an inexpensive large-area glass substrate is a technique called “low temperature process”. Among TFT manufacturing processes, a process for manufacturing poly-Si TFTs on a heat-resistant glass substrate that is relatively inexpensive in a temperature environment where the maximum temperature is approximately 600 ° C. or lower is generally called a “low-temperature process”. In a low temperature process, a laser crystallization technique for crystallizing a silicon film using a pulse laser having an extremely short oscillation time is widely used. Laser crystallization is a technique that utilizes the property of crystallizing in the process of solidifying instantaneously by irradiating a silicon thin film on a substrate with high-power pulsed laser light.

  However, this laser crystallization technique has some major problems. One is a large amount of trap levels localized inside the polysilicon film formed by the laser crystallization technique. Due to the presence of the trap level, carriers that are supposed to move in the active layer by the application of voltage are trapped and cannot contribute to electrical conduction, which has adverse effects such as a decrease in TFT mobility and an increase in threshold voltage. Further, there is a problem that the size of the glass substrate is limited due to the limitation of the laser output. In order to improve the throughput of the laser crystallization process, it is necessary to increase the area that can be crystallized at one time. However, since the current laser output is limited, when this crystallization technique is adopted for a large substrate such as the seventh generation (1800 mm × 2100 mm), it takes a long time to crystallize one substrate.

  Laser crystallization technology generally uses a laser shaped in a line, and crystallization is performed by scanning this laser. This line beam is shorter than the width of the substrate because of limited laser output, and it is necessary to scan the laser several times in order to crystallize the entire surface of the substrate. As a result, a line beam seam area is generated in the substrate, and an area that is scanned twice is formed. This region is significantly different in crystallinity from the region crystallized by one scan. For this reason, the element characteristics of the two are greatly different, which causes a large variation in devices. Finally, since the laser crystallization apparatus has a complicated apparatus configuration and a high cost of consumable parts, there are problems that the apparatus cost and running cost are high. As a result, a TFT using a polysilicon film crystallized by a laser crystallization apparatus becomes an element with a high manufacturing cost.

  In order to overcome the problems such as the limitation of the substrate size and the high apparatus cost, a crystallization technique called “thermal plasma jet crystallization method” has been studied (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1). The technology is briefly described below. When a tungsten (W) cathode and a water-cooled copper (Cu) anode are opposed to each other and a DC voltage is applied, an arc discharge occurs between the two electrodes. By flowing argon gas between these electrodes under atmospheric pressure, thermal plasma is ejected from the ejection holes vacated in the copper anode. Thermal plasma is thermal equilibrium plasma, which is an ultra-high temperature heat source having substantially the same temperature of ions, electrons, neutral atoms, etc., and the temperature of which is about 10,000K. Therefore, the thermal plasma can easily heat the object to be heated to a high temperature, and the substrate on which the a-Si film is deposited scans the front surface of the ultra-high temperature thermal plasma at a high speed, thereby crystallizing the a-Si film. Can be

  Thus, since the apparatus configuration is very simple and the crystallization process is performed under atmospheric pressure, it is not necessary to cover the apparatus with an expensive member such as a sealed chamber, and the apparatus cost can be expected to be extremely low. The utilities required for crystallization are argon gas, electric power, and cooling water, which is a crystallization technique with low running costs.

  FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of crystallizing a semiconductor film using this thermal plasma.

  In FIG. 1, a thermal plasma generator 31 includes a cathode 32 and an anode 33 that is disposed to face the cathode 32 with a predetermined distance therebetween. The cathode 32 is made of a conductor such as tungsten. The anode 33 is made of a conductor such as copper, for example. Further, the anode 33 is formed in a hollow shape, and is configured to be cooled through water through the hollow portion.

  The anode 33 is provided with an ejection hole (nozzle) 34. When a direct current (DC) voltage is applied between the cathode 32 and the anode 33, an arc discharge is generated between the two electrodes. In this state, by flowing a gas such as argon gas between the cathode 32 and the anode 33 under atmospheric pressure, the thermal plasma 35 can be ejected from the ejection hole 34. Here, the “thermal plasma” is a thermal equilibrium plasma, which is an ultra-high temperature heat source having substantially the same temperature of ions, electrons, neutral atoms, etc., and having a temperature of about 10,000K.

  Such thermal plasma can be used for heat treatment for crystallization of a semiconductor film. Specifically, a semiconductor film 37 (for example, an amorphous silicon film) is formed on the substrate 36, and thermal plasma (thermal plasma jet) 35 is applied to the semiconductor film 37. At this time, the thermal plasma 35 is applied to the semiconductor film 37 while relatively moving along a first axis (left and right direction in the illustrated example) parallel to the surface of the semiconductor film 37. That is, the thermal plasma 35 is applied to the semiconductor film 37 while scanning in the first axis direction. Here, “relatively move” refers to relatively moving the semiconductor film 37 (and the substrate 36 supporting the semiconductor film 37) and the thermal plasma 35, and moving only one or both of them. Any of the cases are included. By such scanning of the thermal plasma 35, the semiconductor film 37 is heated by the high temperature of the thermal plasma 35 to obtain a crystallized semiconductor film 38 (polysilicon film in this example) (for example, see Patent Document 1). ).

  FIG. 18 is a conceptual diagram showing the relationship between the depth from the outermost surface and the temperature. As shown in the figure, by moving the thermal plasma 35 at a high speed, only the vicinity of the surface can be processed at a high temperature. After the thermal plasma 35 passes, the heated region is quickly cooled, so that the vicinity of the surface becomes high temperature for a very short time.

  Such a thermal plasma is generally generated in a dotted region. The thermal plasma is maintained by thermionic emission from the cathode 32, and thermionic emission becomes more active at a position where the plasma density is high. Therefore, positive feedback is applied, and the plasma density becomes higher. That is, arc discharge is concentrated on one point of the cathode, and thermal plasma is generated in a dotted region.

  If you want to process a flat substrate uniformly, such as when crystallizing a semiconductor film, it is necessary to scan a dotted thermal plasma over the entire substrate. In order to construct a process that can be processed, it is effective to widen the thermal plasma irradiation area. For this reason, techniques for generating thermal plasma over a large area have been studied for a long time.

  For example, a method for widening a plasma jet by simultaneously jetting a widening gas for widening the plasma jet from two locations in a direction intersecting the central axis of the outer nozzle onto a plasma jet ejected from the outer nozzle of the plasma torch Is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 2). Alternatively, a plasma nozzle characterized in that the mouth portion of the nozzle passage is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the axis of the nozzle passage, and a casing constituting the nozzle passage, or a part of the casing, A method is disclosed in which a plasma nozzle is passed and moved along a workpiece by rotating it around the longitudinal axis at high speed (see, for example, Patent Document 3). Further, there is disclosed one provided with a rotating head having at least one eccentrically arranged plasma nozzle (see, for example, Patent Document 4).

  It is not intended to process a large area in a short time, but as a welding method using thermal plasma, a strip electrode is used and the width direction is arranged to be the weld line direction and welding is performed. A high-speed gas shielded arc welding method is disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 5).

  In addition, an inductively coupled plasma torch having a linear elongated shape using a flat rectangular parallelepiped insulator material is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 6).

  In addition, a method of generating a long and narrow linear plasma using a long electrode has been disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 7). Although described as generating heat plasma, it generates low-temperature plasma and is not suitable for heat treatment. If thermal plasma is generated, it is assumed that it is difficult to generate uniform thermal plasma in the longitudinal direction because arc discharge is concentrated in one place because of the capacitive coupling type using electrodes. On the other hand, the low temperature plasma processing apparatus is an apparatus capable of performing plasma processing such as etching and film formation by converting an etching gas or a gas for CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) into plasma.

  Further, a method for generating a long plasma using a microstrip line is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 8). In this configuration, it is considered that the chamber wall surface in contact with the plasma cannot be completely cooled (not surrounded by the water-cooled flow path), and therefore cannot operate as a thermal plasma source.

  Moreover, what forms a linear elongate plasma torch by arranging a plurality of discharge electrodes in a line is disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 9).

JP 2008-53634 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-118027 JP 2001-68298 A Special Table 2002-500818 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-284974 Special table 2009-545165 gazette JP 2007-287454 A Special table 2010-539336 JP 2009-158251 A

S. Higashi, H .; Kaku, T .; Okada, H .; Murakami and S.M. Miyazaki, Jpn. J. et al. Appl. Phys. 45, 5B (2006) pp. 4313-4320

  However, conventional techniques for generating a large area of thermal plasma have not been effective for applications in which the vicinity of the surface of a substrate is treated at a high temperature for a very short time, such as crystallization of a semiconductor.

  In the technology for generating thermal plasma in a large area described in Patent Document 2 shown in the conventional example, although the width is widened, the temperature distribution in the widened region is 100 ° C. or more and is uniform. Realization of heat treatment is impossible.

  Further, in the techniques described in Patent Documents 3 and 4 shown in the conventional example, the thermal plasma is generated in a large area, and the heat plasma is essentially oscillated. Since the time is shorter than when scanning without rotating, the time for processing a large area is not particularly shortened. Further, for uniform processing, it is necessary to make the rotation speed sufficiently higher than the scanning speed, and it is inevitable that the nozzle configuration becomes complicated.

  Moreover, the technique described in Patent Document 5 shown in the conventional example is a welding technique and is not a configuration for uniformly processing a large area. Even if this is applied to a large area processing application, in this configuration, since a point-like arc vibrates along the strip electrode, plasma is generated uniformly when time averaged, but instantaneously non-uniform plasma is generated. Has occurred. Therefore, it cannot be applied to large area uniform processing.

  Further, the technique described in Patent Document 6 shown in the conventional example is an inductively coupled high-frequency plasma torch, unlike the technique using DC arc discharge disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 1. It is a feature. Since it is an electrodeless discharge, it has the advantages of excellent thermal plasma stability (small time change) and less contamination (contamination) of electrode material into the substrate.

  In an inductively coupled plasma torch, in order to protect the insulator material from high-temperature plasma, a method is generally adopted in which the insulator material is made into a double tube configuration and a coolant is passed therebetween. However, in the technique described in Patent Document 6 shown in the conventional example, since the insulator material has a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape, a refrigerant having a sufficient flow rate can be obtained simply by adopting a double tube configuration. Can't flow. This is because the insulator material is generally inferior in mechanical strength to metal, and if the insulator material is too long in the longitudinal direction, the internal pressure of the double pipe cannot be increased. For this reason, there is a limit to uniformly processing a large area.

  Even in the case of dot-like thermal plasma, if the diameter is large, the number of scans during large area processing can be reduced, so that it can be processed in a short time depending on the application. However, if the diameter of the thermal plasma is large, the time for the thermal plasma to pass over the substrate during scanning becomes substantially longer, so that only the vicinity of the surface of the substrate cannot be treated at a high temperature for a very short time. Even a considerably deep region of the material becomes high temperature, which may cause defects such as cracking of the glass substrate and peeling of the film.

  Further, the technique described in Patent Document 9 shown in the conventional example is inferior in thermal plasma stability (large time change) as compared to the inductively coupled high-frequency plasma torch described above, and is based on the electrode material. There is a disadvantage that there is a lot of contamination (contamination) in the material.

  In addition, in the inductively coupled high-frequency plasma torch found in the technique described in Patent Document 6 shown in the conventional example, a cylindrical type is put to practical use for analysis or spraying, but plasma generation The efficiency is poor, and there is a drawback that the discharge becomes unstable when the gas flow rate is increased.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem. When the high-temperature heat treatment is performed uniformly in the vicinity of the surface of the base material for a very short time, or the base material is irradiated with plasma by the reactive gas or plasma and the reactive gas flow at the same time. Inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus that can generate plasma stably and efficiently when processing a substrate at low temperature plasma and can efficiently process the entire desired region of the substrate in a short time. And to provide a method.

  An inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus according to a first invention of the present application includes an annular chamber surrounded by a continuous string of string-like dielectric members, a linear space forming a part of the annular chamber, and a linear space. Including an inductively coupled plasma torch having a linear opening provided along the gas chamber, a gas supply pipe for introducing gas into the annular chamber, and a coil provided in the vicinity of the annular chamber. It is characterized by comprising a connected high-frequency power source and a base material mounting table that is disposed to face the opening and places the base material.

  With such a configuration, when the high temperature heat treatment is performed uniformly in the vicinity of the surface of the base material for a very short time, or the base material is subjected to low temperature plasma treatment by irradiating the base material with plasma or plasma and a reactive gas flow at the same time. At this time, plasma can be generated stably and efficiently.

  In the inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus according to the first invention of the present application, preferably, the annular chamber has a long shape, the opening has a long and linear shape, and the coil has the opening. A moving mechanism that has a shape that is long in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the substrate and that can move the chamber and the substrate mounting table relatively in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the opening. It is desirable.

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

  Preferably, the length of the opening is shorter than the length of the ring of the annular chamber.

  With such a configuration, plasma can be generated more stably and the uniformity of processing can be improved.

  In this case, it is preferable that a coolant channel be provided in the dielectric member in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the opening. Or the dielectric pipe | tube which is parallel with the longitudinal direction of the said opening part and the inside becomes a refrigerant | coolant flow path may be joined to the said dielectric material member.

  With such a configuration, the dielectric member can be effectively cooled. In the inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus according to the first invention of the present application, it is preferable that the dielectric member is configured by inserting an internal dielectric block into an external dielectric block.

  With such a configuration, a plasma processing apparatus can be realized with a simple configuration.

  In the inductively coupled plasma processing method of the second invention of the present application, a high frequency power is supplied to a coil while supplying a gas into an annular chamber surrounded by a series of closed string-like dielectric members. A plasma is generated by generating a high-frequency electromagnetic field in the chamber, and the opening is placed in close proximity to a linear opening provided along a linear space forming a part of the annular chamber. Treating the surface of the substrate by exposing it to plasma in the vicinity of.

  With such a configuration, when the high temperature heat treatment is performed uniformly in the vicinity of the surface of the base material for a very short time, or the base material is subjected to low temperature plasma treatment by irradiating the base material with plasma or plasma and a reactive gas flow at the same time. At this time, plasma can be generated stably and efficiently.

  In the inductively coupled plasma processing method of the second invention of the present application, it is preferable that the surface of the base material is processed after an insulating film is formed on the surface of the base material.

  With such a configuration, more stable plasma processing can be performed.

  According to the present invention, when a high temperature heat treatment is performed uniformly in the vicinity of the surface of the base material for a very short time, or the base material is subjected to low temperature plasma treatment by simultaneously irradiating the base material with plasma or plasma and a reactive gas flow. At this time, plasma can be generated stably and efficiently, and the entire desired region to be treated of the substrate can be efficiently treated in a short time.

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 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. Sectional drawing 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. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 8 of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 9 of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 10 of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 11 of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 11 of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 12 of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 13 of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus in a prior art example Conceptual diagram showing the relationship between the depth from the outermost surface and the temperature in the conventional example

  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 FIGS.

  FIG. 1A shows the configuration of the 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 an inductively coupled plasma torch unit. FIGS. 1B, 1C, and 1D are cross-sectional views taken along a plane that is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit and perpendicular to the substrate. FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view taken along the broken line A-A ′ in FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along a broken line BB ′ in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view taken along a broken line CC ′ in FIG. FIG. 2D is a cross-sectional view taken along the broken line DD ′ in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 2 is an assembly configuration diagram of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit shown in FIG. Part) are arranged in perspective view.

  1 and 2, the base material 2 is placed on the base material placing table 1. In the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T, a conductor solenoid coil 3 is disposed in the vicinity of the first quartz block 4 and the second quartz block 5. The long chamber made of a dielectric is defined by a space surrounded by the surfaces of the first quartz block 4, the second quartz block 5 and the substrate 2 (space 7 inside the long chamber). The inner wall surface of the long chamber close to the solenoid coil 3 is a curved surface parallel to the solenoid coil 3. In such a configuration, since the distance from the solenoid coil 3 to the long chamber becomes equal at any part of the solenoid coil 3, inductively coupled plasma can be generated with a small high-frequency power, and efficient plasma generation can be achieved. realizable.

  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 space 7 inside the long chamber is surrounded by the outer wall surface of the second quartz block 5 as an internal dielectric block and the inner wall surface of the first quartz block 4 as an external dielectric block into which the space is inserted. That is, the long chamber has a configuration in which the portion other than the opening 8 is surrounded by the dielectric. The space 7 inside the long chamber is annular. The term “annular” as used herein means a shape that forms a continuous string of strings, and is not limited to a circle.

  In the present embodiment, a racetrack shape (a series of closed string-like shapes formed by connecting a straight line portion having two long sides and a circle, an ellipse, or a straight line having two short sides at both ends thereof. (Shape) is illustrated. The plasma P generated in the space 7 inside the long chamber contacts the substrate 2 at the long and linear opening 8 in the long chamber. The longitudinal direction of the long chamber and the longitudinal direction of the opening 8 are arranged in parallel. Further, the opening width of the opening 8 is equal to the thickness of the annular chamber (the thickness of a series of closed strings constituting the annular chamber, the dimension d in FIG. 1A).

  In the present embodiment, the long and linear opening 8 is arranged at only one position at a position corresponding to the long side of the long chamber. L1 = L2 × 2 + L3 where L1 is the length of the race track constituting the long chamber, L2 is the length of the straight line portion forming the long side, and L3 is the length of the circle, ellipse, or straight line forming the short side. There is a relationship of × 2. When the length of the opening 8 is L4, since L4≈L2, there is a relationship of L4 <L1. That is, the length of the long and linear opening 8 is configured to be shorter than the length of the ring of the annular chamber. This contributes to improving the stability of the plasma by configuring the plasma P so as to reduce the area of the plasma P that is generally in contact with the base material 2 made of a different material. In addition, by irradiating the base material 2 with only the long-side plasma P having good uniformity without exposing the short-side plasma P, which is a singular point, to the base material 2, it contributes to the improvement of the processing uniformity. ing.

  A plasma gas manifold 9 is provided inside the second quartz block 5. The gas supplied to the plasma gas manifold 9 from the plasma gas supply pipe 10 passes through a plasma gas supply hole 11 (through hole) as a gas introduction part provided in the second quartz block 5 and is a space inside the long chamber. 7 is introduced. 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.

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

  The solenoid coil 3 is made of a hollow copper tube, and the inside is a refrigerant flow path. That is, cooling is possible by flowing a coolant such as water. The first quartz block 4 and the second quartz block 5 are provided with a coolant channel 15 in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the opening 8. The first quartz block 4 is also provided with a coolant channel 15 in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the opening 8, and is three-dimensionally connected to the coolant channel 15 parallel to the longitudinal direction of the opening 8. The refrigerant is supplied and drained to and from the outside.

  Further, in the second quartz block 5, as shown in FIG. 1 (c), the refrigerant flow paths are merged and bundled to supply and discharge the refrigerant to and from the outside. Since these refrigerant flow paths have a circular cross section, even when a large amount of refrigerant is flowed, deformation of the constituent members hardly occurs due to the internal pressure. In other words, in the present embodiment, a much larger amount of refrigerant can be allowed to flow than in the case of water-cooling as a double-pipe structure in the technique described in Patent Document 6 shown in the conventional example, and effective cooling is achieved. Is possible.

  A rectangular linear opening 8 is provided, and the substrate mounting table 1 (or the substrate 2 on the substrate mounting table 1) is arranged to face the opening 8. In this state, by supplying high-frequency power to the solenoid coil 3 from a high-frequency power source (not shown) while supplying gas into the long chamber and spouting gas from the opening 8 toward the base material 2, By generating plasma P in the space 7 inside the long chamber and exposing the plasma in the vicinity of the opening 8 to the base material 2, the thin film 22 on the base material 2 can be subjected to plasma treatment. The base material 2 is processed by relatively moving the long chamber and the base material 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. 1A and in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIGS. 1B, 1C, and 1D.

  Various gases can be used as the gas supplied into the long chamber. However, considering the stability of the plasma, the ignitability, the life of the member exposed to the plasma, etc., it is desirable that the main gas is an inert gas. 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).

In such a plasma processing apparatus, an Ar or Ar + H ₂ gas is supplied into the long chamber from the plasma gas supply hole 11 and a gas is ejected from the opening 8 toward the base material 2 while a high frequency (not shown) is used. By supplying high frequency power of 13.56 MHz from the power source to the solenoid coil 3, a plasma P is generated by generating a high frequency electromagnetic field in the space 7 inside the long chamber, and the plasma in the vicinity of the opening 8 is formed as a base material. By performing exposure and scanning, heat treatment such as crystallization of the semiconductor film can be performed.

As conditions for plasma generation, scanning speed = 50 to 3000 mm / s, total plasma gas flow rate = 1 to 100 SLM, H ₂ concentration in Ar + H ₂ gas = 0 to 10%, high frequency power = 0.5 to 10 kW Is 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.

  In this manner, the long chamber and the substrate mounting table 1 are placed 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. Since they move relatively, it is possible to configure so that the length of the plasma to be generated is substantially equal to the processing length of the substrate 2.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, the space 7 inside a long chamber is cyclic | annular. The distance between the bottom surface of the first quartz block 4 constituting the opening 8 and the surface of the substrate 2 (dimension g in FIG. 1A) is set to 0.5 mm. The effects brought about by such a long chamber structure will be described below.

  Although the internal structure of the plasma torch is not disclosed in detail in Patent Document 6 shown in the conventional example, it is inferred that it is a block of rectangular parallelepiped space like a general cylindrical inductively coupled plasma torch. Is done. When atmospheric pressure inductively coupled plasma is generated in such a space, an annular (doughnut-shaped) plasma is likely to be generated in the chamber. That is, since an annular plasma is generated in a rectangular parallelepiped chamber, only a part of the chamber becomes a very high-density plasma, and it is difficult to perform uniform processing in the longitudinal direction.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since a long annular chamber is formed, a long and narrow plasma P having a racetrack shape is generated along the shape. Therefore, it is possible to perform processing that is much more uniform in the longitudinal direction than in the conventional example. Further, since the volume of the chamber is smaller than that of the conventional example, the high frequency power acting per unit volume is increased, and there is an advantage that the plasma generation efficiency is improved.

In addition, it has been pointed out that in a conventional general inductively coupled plasma torch, the discharge becomes unstable when the gas flow rate is increased (for example, Hironobu Yabuta et al., “Design and evaluation of dual int ICP torque”). for low gas consumption ", Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry,
17 (2002) 1090-1095). This is presumably because when the annular plasma oscillates in the chamber, the distance between the annular plasma and the coil is too far away in the downstream region of the gas flow, so that inductive coupling cannot be maintained, and the plasma misfires.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the distance g between the lowermost surface of the first quartz block 4 constituting the opening 8 and the surface of the substrate 2 is very narrow as 0.5 mm, the annular plasma P Cannot enter the gap between the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T and the base material 2, and remains in the annular chamber (a region upstream of the gap). Therefore, even if the gas flow rate is increased, the annular plasma P does not fluctuate, and an extremely stable long annular plasma P is maintained. Therefore, it is possible to generate plasma that is much more stable than the conventional example.

  Moreover, since the part with high electron density and active particle density in plasma P is exposed to the surface of the base material 2, a high-speed process or a high temperature process is attained.

  When the distance g between the lowermost surface of the first quartz block 4 constituting the opening 8 and the surface of the substrate 2 was examined in detail, the oscillation of the annular plasma P was suppressed when g was 1 mm or less. I knew it was possible. If g is too small, the influence of parts processing and assembly accuracy in the longitudinal direction increases, and the plasma flow that reaches the base material 2 through the passage is weakened. Therefore, it is 0.1 mm or more, preferably 0.3 mm or more. It is desirable to configure.

  In addition, in FIG. 1A, the thickness d of the annular chamber (the thickness of the continuous closed string constituting the annular chamber) and the inner wall surface of the first quartz block 4 in the annular chamber, This is expressed as a distance d between the outer wall surface of the two-quartz block 5. If the outer diameter of the annular chamber (the overall size of the annular chamber) is e, in FIG. 1 (a), it is represented as the distance e between the inner wall surfaces of the first quartz block 4 facing each other. Since the annular chamber is long, the outer diameter e of the annular chamber is different between the long side portion and the short side portion, and the outer diameter e of the annular chamber at the long side portion is smaller.

  When these dimensions d (the thickness of the annular chamber) and e (the outer diameter of the annular chamber) were examined in detail experimentally, if d was less than 1 mm, a high-density thermal plasma was extremely generated in the annular chamber. It has been found that it is less likely to occur. It has also been found that even when e is less than 10 mm, high-density thermal plasma is hardly generated in the annular chamber. From these experiments, it was found that the thickness of the annular chamber is preferably 1 mm or more, and the outer diameter of the annular chamber is preferably 10 mm or more.

  Moreover, since plasma generation efficiency will fall if d is too thick, it is desirable that the thickness d of the annular chamber be 10 mm or less.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, it may be possible to configure the opening width f of the opening to be different from the thickness of the annular chamber, but in order to expose the plasma in the vicinity of the opening 8 to the substrate 2. The opening width f needs to be larger than 1 mm.

  This is based on the same mechanism as described above that the oscillation of the annular plasma P can be suppressed when the distance g between the lowermost surface of the first quartz block 4 and the surface of the substrate 2 is 1 mm or less. Yes. If g is 1 mm or less, the annular plasma P cannot enter the gap between the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T and the substrate 2 and stays in the annular chamber (region upstream from the gap). . Similarly, if f is 1 mm or less, the annular plasma P cannot enter the opening, and the substrate 2 cannot be exposed to plasma.

  In other words, in order to obtain a state in which plasma emission can be observed between the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T and the substrate 2 when viewed from the left in the drawing in a direction parallel to the surface formed by the substrate mounting table 1. Needs to have an opening width f larger than 1 mm.

(Embodiment 2)
Hereinafter, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to Embodiment 2 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. To do.

  In the second embodiment, two long and linear openings 8 are arranged at positions corresponding to the long sides of the long chamber.

  In such a configuration, an arbitrary place on the surface of the substrate 2 is exposed to the plasma twice by one scan (moving the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T and the substrate mounting table 1 relatively). Will be. Therefore, higher-speed or high-temperature plasma processing becomes possible.

(Embodiment 3)
Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, which is a cross-sectional view of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit taken along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and corresponds to FIG. To do.

  In the third embodiment, the height of the first quartz block 4 and the second quartz block 5 is configured to be small.

  With such a configuration, the torch unit becomes very small.

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

  FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention, which is a cross-sectional view of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit cut along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and corresponds to FIG. To do.

  In the fourth embodiment, as in the third embodiment, the heights of the first quartz block 4 and the second quartz block 5 are configured to be small. Furthermore, instead of the solenoid coil 3, a planar spiral coil 21 is provided above the second quartz block 5.

  With such a configuration, the torch unit becomes very small.

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

  FIG. 7 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, which is a cross-sectional view of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit cut along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and corresponds to FIG. To do.

  In the fifth embodiment, the lower part of the second quartz block 5 is configured so that the cross-section cut by a plane parallel to the substrate mounting table 1 has the same shape, and the intermediate part of the first quartz block 4 is placed outside. Grooves are formed toward the left side (the long side on the left side of the figure), and concave portions are formed on the lower side of the first quartz block 4 toward the outside (the long side on the right side of the figure). A space 7 inside the long chamber is formed between the outer wall surface of the two-quartz block 5.

(Embodiment 6)
The sixth 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 6 of the present invention, which is a cross-sectional view of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit cut along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and corresponds to FIG. .

  In FIG. 8, a copper tube 12, the inside of which forms a coolant channel, is joined by an adhesive 14 in a recess provided inside the second quartz block 5. The copper tube 12 is grounded and contributes to improving the ignitability of the plasma. A quartz tube 13 as a dielectric tube is bonded to the first quartz block 4 by an adhesive 14 on its outer wall surface. In addition, the solenoid coil 3 is bonded to the outer wall surface of the first quartz block 4 with an adhesive 14 so that both the solenoid coil 3 itself and the first quartz block 4 can be cooled.

  Further, in the recess of the second quartz block 5, the coolant is allowed to flow into the copper tube 12, thereby effectively cooling the recess and the outer wall surface of the second quartz block 5 in contact with the plasma P (inside the long chamber). Wall surface) can be effectively cooled.

  Further, since the concave portion is formed in the second quartz block 5 from above, two plasma gas manifolds 9 and two plasma gas supply pipes 10 are provided in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the torch unit. Such a configuration also has an advantage that the gas flow rate balance of the two gas supply systems (plasma gas manifold 9 and plasma gas supply pipe 10) can be controlled.

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

  FIG. 9 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to Embodiment 7 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, an overhanging portion 4 a is provided at the lowermost part of the first quartz block 4 so that a space mainly composed of plasma gas is not formed between the solenoid coil 3 and the substrate 2.

  With such a configuration, the occurrence of arc discharge between the plasma P and the solenoid coil 3 can be effectively suppressed.

(Embodiment 8)
Hereinafter, an eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

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

  In FIG. 10, the solenoid coil 3 is inserted into a recess provided inside the second quartz block 5. The central axis of the solenoid coil 3 is the vertical direction on the drawing sheet.

  With such a configuration, the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T can be reduced in size. Moreover, since the visibility in the discharge in the annular chamber and the surface of the base material 2 immediately below the opening 8 is enhanced, various monitoring such as light emission monitoring and temperature monitoring can be easily performed. Moreover, since the plasma P and the solenoid coil 3 are spatially separated, it is possible to effectively suppress the occurrence of arc discharge between the plasma P and the solenoid coil 3.

(Embodiment 9)
Embodiment 9 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 11 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to the ninth 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. 11, the solenoid coil 3 is inserted into a recess provided inside the second quartz block 5. The central axis of the solenoid coil 3 is the left-right direction on the drawing sheet. Further, in the first to eighth embodiments, the central axis of the solenoid coil 3 is perpendicular to the base material 2 and the surface formed by the annular chamber is substantially parallel to the base material 2. In the embodiment, the central axis of the solenoid coil 3 is parallel to the substrate 2 and the surface formed by the annular chamber is perpendicular to the substrate 2.

  With such a configuration, the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T can be reduced in size. Moreover, since the visibility in the discharge in the annular chamber and the surface of the base material 2 immediately below the opening 8 is enhanced, various monitoring such as light emission monitoring and temperature monitoring can be easily performed. Moreover, since the plasma P and the solenoid coil 3 are spatially separated, it is possible to effectively suppress the occurrence of arc discharge between the plasma P and the solenoid coil 3.

(Embodiment 10)
Embodiment 10 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 12 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to the tenth embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit. FIG. 12A shows a preparatory stage for performing the ignition sequence / acceleration of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T, FIG. 12B shows a stage during the plasma processing, and FIG. 12C shows the completion of the plasma processing. After that, the stage of deceleration and misfire is shown.

  In FIG. 12, a flat cover 16 is provided on both sides of the substrate mounting table 1. The cover 16 is provided around the substrate mounting table 1 so as to surround the edge of the substrate 2 when the substrate 2 is disposed. Further, the surface of the cover 16 and the surface of the substrate 2 are configured to be located on the same plane. A coolant channel 17 for cooling the cover 16 is provided inside the cover 16. The cover 16 has a function of protecting the apparatus from plasma and a function of keeping the shape of the annular chamber constant so that plasma can be ignited and misfired smoothly. It is preferable that the gap w generated between the cover 16 and the base material 2 when the base material 2 is placed on the base material mounting table 1 is as small as possible.

  Note that at least the surface of the cover 16 is preferably made of an insulating material. With such a configuration, it is possible to effectively suppress the occurrence of arc discharge between the plasma and the cover 16. When at least the surface of the cover 16 is made of an insulating material, the entire cover 16 may be made of an insulator such as quartz or ceramic, or sprayed, CVD, coating, etc. on a metal (conductor) such as stainless steel or aluminum. You may use what formed the insulating film by.

(Embodiment 11)
Hereinafter, an eleventh embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 13 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to the eleventh embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit. FIG. 13 shows a preparatory stage in which the ignition sequence / acceleration of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T is performed. FIG. 14 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to the eleventh embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross section cut by a plane parallel to the longitudinal direction of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit and perpendicular to the substrate. FIG. 6 corresponds to FIG.

  In the tenth embodiment, the case where the gap w is generated between the cover 16 and the base material 2 when the base material 2 is placed on the base material placing table 1 is illustrated. However, in the present embodiment, As shown in FIG. 13, the gap is not formed. In the tenth embodiment, when the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T passes near the gap w, the plasma may fluctuate or misfire, but this embodiment can effectively suppress this. In order to realize such a configuration, the cover 16 is kept movable, and after the base material 2 is placed on the base material placing table 1, a motor driving mechanism, an air driving mechanism, a spring driving mechanism, or the like is used as appropriate. A method of approaching and pressing the cover 16 toward the base material 2 slowly can be considered.

  In FIG. 14, the length of the opening 8 is equal to or greater than the width of the base material 2, so that one-time scanning (relative movement of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T and the base material mounting table 1 is performed). ), The entire thin film 22 near the surface of the substrate 2 can be processed. A flat cover 16 is provided on both sides of the substrate mounting table 1. The cover 16 has a function of protecting the apparatus from plasma and a function of keeping the shape of the annular chamber constant so that plasma destabilization / misfire can be suppressed.

  In FIG. 14, the refrigerant flow path is not provided inside the cover 16, but this is because the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T passes over the cover 16 in a short time, so that the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T This is because the heat energy flowing into the cover 16 is relatively small. Depending on the nature of the treatment, it may be preferable to provide a coolant channel and cool with water.

(Embodiment 12)
Hereinafter, a twelfth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 15 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to the twelfth embodiment of the present invention, which is a cross-sectional view of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit cut along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and corresponds to FIG. .

  In FIG. 15, a third quartz block 18 and a fourth quartz block 19 are provided at the lowermost part of the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T with a linear gap constituting the long and linear opening 8 interposed therebetween. A space inside the annular chamber is formed between the first quartz block 4 and the second quartz block 5. At least one of the third quartz block 18 and the fourth quartz block 19 is configured to be slidable in the horizontal direction in the figure, and the opening width of the opening 8 is variable.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to control processing parameters such as the intensity of plasma exposure to the substrate 2 and the time of exposure to plasma.

(Embodiment 13)
Hereinafter, a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 16 shows the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to the thirteenth 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. 16, the central axis of the solenoid coil 3 is the left-right direction on the drawing sheet. As in the ninth embodiment, the central axis of the solenoid coil 3 is parallel to the base material 2 and the surface formed by the annular chamber is perpendicular to the base material 2. The solenoid coil 3 is disposed slightly inclined with respect to the central axis, but is sufficiently close to the annular chamber, so that high-density plasma can be generated in the space inside the annular chamber. A dielectric block 20 is provided between the solenoid coil 3 and the substrate 2 so that charged particles supplied from plasma do not reach the solenoid coil 3.

  With such a configuration, the inductively coupled plasma torch unit T can be reduced in size. Moreover, since the visibility in the discharge in the annular chamber and the surface of the base material 2 immediately below the opening 8 is enhanced, various monitoring such as light emission monitoring and temperature monitoring can be easily performed. Moreover, since the plasma P and the solenoid coil 3 are spatially separated, it is possible to effectively suppress the occurrence of arc discharge between the plasma P and the solenoid coil 3.

  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. In addition, it can be applied to the crystallization of TFT semiconductor films and the modification of semiconductor films for solar cells, which have been described in detail in the prior art, as well as cleaning and reducing degassing of plasma display panel protective layers, silica fine particles The present invention can be applied to various surface treatments such as surface flattening and reduction of degassing of a dielectric layer made of an assembly of various materials, reflow of various electronic devices, and plasma doping using a solid impurity source. 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.

  It is also conceivable to use a cylindrical torch unit by using a cylindrical quartz block, a solenoid coil 3 made of a conductor formed into a cylindrical shape, etc., instead of constituting a long annular chamber.

  When the insulating base material 2 is used, the present invention is relatively easy to apply. However, when the base material 2 is a conductor or a semiconductor, or when the thin film 22 is a conductor or a semiconductor, Arc discharge is likely to occur on the surface of the material 2. In order to prevent this, a method of treating the surface of the substrate 2 after forming an insulating film on the surface of the substrate 2 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, the plasma and the reactive gas flow are simultaneously irradiated onto the substrate by supplying a gas containing a reactive gas as a shielding gas while using a rare gas or a gas obtained by adding a small amount of H ₂ gas to the rare gas as the plasma gas. 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 and silicon compounds 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 prior art (for example, described in Patent Document 7), since it is an inductive coupling type, even if a high power density per unit volume is applied, it is difficult to shift to arc discharge, so a higher density plasma is generated. As a result, a high reaction rate can be obtained, and the entire desired region to be treated of the substrate can be efficiently treated 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, plasma is generated stably and efficiently in the vicinity of the surface of the base material for high-temperature heat treatment uniformly for a short time, and the entire desired area of the base material is efficiently processed in a short time. It is an invention useful for processing well.

  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 base 2 Base material T Inductive coupling type plasma torch unit 3 Solenoid coil 4 1st quartz block 5 2nd quartz block 7 Space inside long chamber 8 Opening 9 Plasma gas manifold 10 Plasma gas supply piping 11 Plasma gas Supply hole 15, 17 Refrigerant flow path P Plasma 22 Thin film

Claims (7)

An annular chamber surrounded by a dielectric member and having a continuous closed string-like shape ;
A linear space that forms a part of the annular chamber; and a linear opening provided along the linear space;
A gas supply pipe for introducing gas into the annular chamber;
An inductively coupled plasma torch having a coil provided in the vicinity of the annular chamber;
A high-frequency power source connected to the coil;
A substrate mounting table disposed opposite to the opening and for mounting a substrate,
The Bei example, to have the inductively coupled plasma torch and the mechanism for the substrate mounting table in one direction and linearly moved relative,
An inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus. The annular chamber has an elongated shape,
The opening is long and linear,
The coil has a long shape in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the opening,
The inductively coupled 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 inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a length of the opening is shorter than a ring length of the annular chamber.   The inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a coolant channel is provided in the dielectric member in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the opening.   The inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dielectric member is configured by inserting an internal dielectric block into an external dielectric block. A high-frequency electromagnetic field is generated in the annular chamber by supplying high-frequency power to the coil while supplying gas into the annular chamber surrounded by a dielectric member and having a continuous string-like shape. The annular chamber and the base material are placed in close proximity to a linear opening provided along a linear space that forms a part of the annular chamber. Treating the surface of the substrate by exposing it to plasma in the vicinity of the opening , while relatively moving in one direction and linearly ;
An inductively coupled plasma processing method.   The inductively coupled plasma processing method according to claim 6, wherein the surface of the substrate is treated after forming an insulating film on the surface of the substrate.

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