KR100886028B1 - Plasma processing apparatus and electrode used therein - Google Patents

Abstract

The nonuniformity of the electric field distribution on the electrode surface is made smaller over a wide range from the center to the periphery, thereby enabling the generation of an extremely uniform plasma. The upper electrode 300 is joined to the electrode plate 310 facing the susceptor 116 constituting the lower electrode, and the electrode support 320 for bonding the electrode plate to the surface on the side opposite to the lower electrode side of the electrode plate. And a cavity portion 330 having a shape different in height from the center portion and the peripheral edge portion was provided on the joining surface with the electrode plate in the electrode support.

Plasma processing apparatus, electrodes, cavities

Description

Plasma processing apparatus and electrode used for it {PLASMA PROCESSING APPARATUS AND ELECTRODE USED THEREIN}

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Sectional drawing which shows the structural example of the plasma processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of an upper electrode according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a cavity shown in FIG. 2. FIG.

4 is a diagram illustrating an upper electrode when no cavity is formed.

5 is a diagram for explaining electric field strengths of an electrode plate and a cavity.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an upper electrode when the cavity portion is one stage. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing a cavity shown in FIG. 6. FIG.

8 is a diagram showing electric field intensity distribution occurring below the upper electrode.

The figure which shows the etching rate distribution at the time of carrying out the etching process with respect to the wafer using the upper electrode in which the one-step cavity part was formed in the electrode plate back surface side.

10 is a diagram showing an etching rate distribution in the case of performing an etching process on a wafer using an upper electrode having a three-stage cavity formed on the back side of the electrode plate.

The figure which shows the electrode support body in the case of forming only the cavity part of the 1st stage | paragraph of the 3-stage cavity part shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a view showing an electrode support in the case where only the first stage and second stage cavities in the three stage cavities shown in FIG. 3 are formed; FIG.

FIG. 13 is a view showing an electrode support in the case where the first stage, second stage and third stage cavity portions of the three stage cavity portions shown in FIG. 3 are formed; FIG.

14 is a diagram showing a relationship between the number of stages of a cavity and an electric field intensity distribution occurring below the upper electrode.

15 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of a plasma processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a gas supply device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

It is sectional drawing which shows the structural example of the upper electrode in 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

18 is a diagram showing a configuration example in the case where the annular partition member for the cavity is made of aluminum of a conductor.

Fig. 19 shows a structural example in the case where the annular partition member for the cavity is composed of a resin ring.

20 is a diagram showing a configuration example in the case where the annular partition member for the cavity is composed of an O-ring.

Fig. 21 is a diagram showing a configuration example in the case where the annular partition member for the cavity is constituted by a partition member formed by spraying a ceramic material on the lower surface of the electrode support;

Fig. 22 is a diagram showing a relationship between high frequency power and discharge applied to the upper electrode and the lower electrode.

23 is a cross-sectional view showing another configuration example of the plasma processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100,101; Plasma processing apparatus 110; Treatment room

111; Grounding conductor 112; Insulation plate

114; Susceptor support 116; Susceptor

118; An electrostatic chuck 120; electrode

122; DC power supply 124; Focus ring

126; Inner wall member 128; Refrigerant chamber

130; Electrode plates 130a and 130b; pipe

132; Gas supply line 146; Matcher

148; Feeding rod (upper feeding rod) 150; connector

152; Feed tube 156; Insulation

170; Feed rod 172; Variable capacitor

174; Exhaust 176; vent pipe

178; Exhaust device 180; Matcher

184; Low pass filter (LPF) 186; High Pass Filter (HPF)

200, 201; Gas supply 202; Process gas supply piping

204; A first branch pipe 206 for the process gas; Second branch piping for process gas

208; Additional gas supply pipe 210; Process gas supply means

212a, 212b, 212c; Gas sources 214a to 214c; Massflow Controller

220; Additional gas supply means 222a, 222b; Gas supply

224a, 224b; Massflow controller 230; Classification amount adjusting means

232, 234; Pressure adjusting sections 232a and 234a; Pressure sensor

232b, 234b; Valve 234; Pressure controller

240; Pressure controller 254; First branch piping for additional gas

256; Second branch pipes 264 and 266 for additional gas; Valve

300, 301; Upper electrode 302; Inner upper electrode

304; An outer upper electrode 306; dielectric

308; Insulating shielding member 310; Electrode plate

312; Gas blowing holes 320; Electrode support

322; Buffer chamber 323; Annular bulkhead member for buffer room

324; Upper member 326c; Cooling plate

330; Cavity 332; First disc-shaped cavity

334; Second disc-shaped cavity 336; Third disc-shaped cavity

340; Annular partition member 342 for a cavity; septum

344; Resin ring 346; O ring

348; Bulkheads 350, 360; Gas introduction part

352, 362; Buffer chamber 400; Control

(Patent Document 1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-298015

The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus and an electrode used therein.

For example, in the semiconductor device manufacturing process, plasma processing such as etching, sputtering, CVD (chemical vapor growth), etc. are frequently used for a substrate to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to simply as "wafer"). . As a plasma processing apparatus for carrying out such plasma processing, a capacitively coupled parallel plate plasma processing apparatus is widely used.

This type of plasma processing apparatus arranges a pair of parallel plate electrodes (upper electrode and lower electrode) in a chamber, introduces a processing gas into the processing chamber, and applies a high frequency to at least one of the electrodes to generate a high frequency electric field between the electrodes. The plasma of the processing gas is formed by the high frequency electric field, and the plasma processing is performed on the wafer.

By the way, in recent years, the refinement | miniaturization of the design rule in ULSI advances gradually, and it is calculated | required that it is higher than the hole-shaped aspect ratio. In view of such a situation, it has been attempted to form a high density plasma while maintaining a good dissociation state of the plasma by raising the frequency of the high frequency power to be applied more than conventionally. This makes it possible to form an appropriate plasma further under low pressure conditions, and therefore it becomes possible to cope with further miniaturization of design rules.

However, in the above-described plasma processing apparatus, since the upper electrode is the whole island or the semiconductor, it is impossible to ignore the inductance of the surface of the electrode to which high frequency is applied if the frequency of application is raised to form a high density plasma. There is a problem that the electric field in the center of the electrode becomes strong and the electric field distribution in the radial direction becomes uneven. If the electric field distribution is uneven, the plasma density becomes uneven, which affects the uniformity of etching and the like.

In this regard, for example, Patent Literature 1 provides a disc-shaped cavity in the central portion of the back surface side of the electrode plate of the upper electrode, causes resonance inside the cavity by high frequency power supplied to the upper electrode, The technique of controlling the electric field just below the cavity part, ie, the electrode center part, in an electrode plate is produced by producing the electric field orthogonal to the. According to this, the nonuniformity of the electric field of the electrode center part just under the cavity part can be made small compared with the case where a cavity part is not provided in the back surface side of the electrode plate of an upper electrode.

In the case of providing the cavity at the first stage in the center of the rear surface side of the electrode plate in this way, the uniformity of the electric field of the electrode center can be greatly improved. There was a limit. For example, in order to further improve the uniformity of the electric field at the periphery of the electrode by adjusting the dimensions (diameter and height) of the cavity of the l-stage, the uniformity of the electric field at the center of the electrode tends to be lowered. For this reason, it is difficult to further improve the uniformity of the electric field of the electrode peripheral part while maintaining the uniformity of the electrode center part.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a plasma processing apparatus and an electrode used therein, which can further reduce the nonuniformity of the electric field distribution on the electrode surface over a wide range from the center portion to the periphery portion, thereby producing an extremely uniform plasma. To provide. In order to solve the said subject, according to the arbitrary viewpoint of this invention, the said 1st electrode and the 2nd electrode are arrange | positioned in a process chamber, and the said process gas is introduced on the to-be-processed substrate supported by the said 2nd electrode, A plasma is generated by supplying high frequency power to one or both of the electrodes to generate a plasma, the electrode being used as the first electrode of the plasma processing apparatus for performing a predetermined plasma treatment on the substrate to be opposed to the second electrode. The center plate and the periphery of the electrode plate, the support plate which is joined to the surface opposite to the second electrode side of the electrode plate to support the electrode plate, and the joining surface of the electrode plate of the support plate. An electrode is provided which comprises a dielectric part having a shape different in height.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, the first electrode and the second electrode are disposed in the processing chamber so as to face each other, and the processing gas is introduced onto the substrate to be supported by the second electrode. A plasma processing apparatus for performing a predetermined plasma treatment on a substrate to be processed by supplying high frequency power to one or both electrodes, wherein the first electrode comprises: an electrode plate facing the second electrode; And a support surface bonded to the surface opposite to the second electrode side of the electrode plate to support the electrode plate, and provided at a bonding surface between the support plate and the electrode plate in the support, and different in height from the center portion and the peripheral portion. Provided is a plasma processing apparatus comprising a dielectric portion having a shape.

According to this invention, by providing a dielectric part (for example, a cavity part) in the joining surface with the electrode plate in a support body, resonance occurs in a dielectric part by supplying high frequency electric power to an electrode, When an electric field orthogonal to the electrode plate is generated inside, the electric field of the dielectric part and the electric field of the electrode are coupled. In this case, since the dielectric part has a shape different in height from the center part and the periphery part, the electric field generated by the dielectric part can control the electric field strength in the electrode plate, that is, the electric field in a wide range from the electrode center part to the electrode periphery part. Can be. This makes it possible to further reduce the nonuniformity of the electric field distribution on the electrode surface over a wide range from the center portion to the periphery portion, thereby generating an extremely uniform plasma.

In addition, it is preferable that the height of the center portion of the dielectric portion is higher than the height of the peripheral portion. For example, the dielectric portion is formed by stacking a plurality of disc-shaped dielectric portions having different diameters, and the diameter of the disc-shaped dielectric portion is formed to be smaller as the diameter of the stage farther from the electrode plate side. According to this, since a dielectric part can be formed in the said electrode plate side of a support body, the process at the time of forming a dielectric part can be made easy.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, the first electrode and the second electrode are disposed in the processing chamber so as to face each other, and the processing gas is introduced onto the substrate to be supported by the second electrode. A plasma is generated by supplying high frequency power to one or both of the electrodes to generate a plasma, the electrode being used as the first electrode of the plasma processing apparatus for performing a predetermined plasma treatment on the substrate to be opposed to the second electrode. An electrode plate, a support body bonded to a surface on the side opposite to the second electrode side of the electrode plate to support the electrode plate, and a dielectric part provided on a bonding surface of the electrode plate in the support body; The dielectric portion has a diameter of the first, second, and third disc-shaped dielectric portions of the support such that the height of the center portion of the dielectric portion is higher than the height of the peripheral portion. An electrode is provided which is shaped to be stacked on the opposite side from the electrode plate side.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, the first electrode and the second electrode are disposed in the processing chamber so as to face each other, and the processing gas is introduced onto the substrate to be supported by the second electrode. A plasma processing apparatus for performing a predetermined plasma treatment on a substrate to be processed by supplying high frequency power to one or both electrodes, wherein the first electrode comprises: an electrode plate facing the second electrode; And a support for bonding the surface of the electrode plate on the side opposite to the second electrode side to support the electrode plate, and a dielectric portion provided on the bonding surface of the support with the electrode plate. On the electrode plate side of the support, the first, second and third disc-shaped dielectric parts having different diameters are arranged so that the height of the center portion of the dielectric portion is higher than the height of the peripheral portion. In that a laminated shape toward the side opposite to the plasma processing apparatus according to claim is provided.

The diameter of the first disc-shaped dielectric part is 80% to 120% of the diameter of the substrate, and the diameter of the second disc-shaped dielectric part is 60% to 80% of the diameter of the substrate. It is preferable that the diameter of a three disk shaped dielectric part is 40%-60% of the diameter of the said to-be-processed substrate.

A plurality of gas ejection holes for supplying gas toward the substrate to be processed may be provided in the electrode plate, and the largest diameter among the disc-shaped dielectric portions may be at least larger than a range in which the gas ejection holes are formed. According to this, the uniformity of the electric field on the electrode surface can be improved over a wide range from the center to the periphery, and at the same time, the abnormal discharge that can occur at the interface between the support and the electrode plate in the gas ejection hole is suppressed. can do.

In order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, a first electrode and a second electrode are disposed in the processing chamber so as to face each other, the first electrode is divided into a plurality of gas introduction portions, and each gas introduction portion has a plurality of gases. By forming a blowing hole and supplying a high frequency power to one or both of the electrodes while generating a processing gas from the respective gas introduction portions toward the target substrate supported by the second electrode, thereby generating plasma; An electrode used as the first electrode of a plasma processing apparatus that performs a predetermined plasma treatment on the substrate to be processed, the electrode plate facing the second electrode and a side opposite to the second electrode side of the electrode plate. It is provided in the bonding surface of the support body which adheres to a surface, and supports the said electrode plate, and the said electrode plate in the said support body, and is high in a center part and a periphery part. An electrode is provided, which comprises a cavity having a different shape and a partition member for partitioning the cavity into a plurality of regions belonging to one of the plurality of gas introduction portions, respectively.

In order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, a first electrode and a second electrode are disposed in the processing chamber so as to face each other, the first electrode is divided into a plurality of gas introduction portions, and each gas introduction portion has a plurality of gases. Forming a jet hole and supplying a high frequency power to one or both of the electrodes while generating a processing gas from the respective gas introduction portions toward the target substrate supported by the second electrode to generate plasma; A plasma processing apparatus for performing a predetermined plasma treatment on a substrate to be processed, wherein the first electrode is bonded to an electrode plate facing the second electrode and a surface opposite to the second electrode side of the electrode plate. The cavity part of the shape which is provided in the joining surface of the support body which supports an electrode plate, and the said electrode plate in the said support body, and differs in height from a center part and a periphery part. And a partition member for partitioning the cavity portion for each of the gas introduction portions.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a first electrode (for example, an upper electrode) applicable to a plasma processing apparatus for introducing gas into two systems into a processing chamber. In this case, even in the case of the cavity part which is large in diameter and provided in the support body over a some gas introduction part, since the partition member which partitions a cavity part is provided for every gas introduction part, the gas supplied to each gas introduction part can be prevented from mixing.

In addition, it is preferable that the partition member for partitioning the cavity is made of an insulator, not a conductor such as metal. Thereby, when high frequency electric power is applied to an electrode, it can prevent that an electric field concentrates in the part of the partition member, and abnormal discharge generate | occur | produces.

The partition member may be formed of a resin ring having a tapered surface having a substantially V-shaped cross section as a side surface. Thus, by forming the partition member from resin, abnormal discharge can be prevented, and the partition ring is formed into a ring shape with the tapered surface having a substantially V-shaped cross section on the side, so that the resin ring is elastic. Since it is easy to deform | transform and its repulsive force is weak, even if the fastening force of a support body and an electrode plate is weak, for example, an electrode plate can be reliably attached to a support body. The partition member may be formed by spraying a ceramic material. This also prevents abnormal discharge.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, the first electrode and the second electrode are disposed in the processing chamber so as to face each other, and the first electrode is divided into the first and second gas introduction portions, and each gas introduction portion is provided. Forming a plurality of gas ejection holes and supplying a high frequency power to one or both of the electrodes while generating a plasma from each of the gas introduction portions toward the substrate to be supported by the second electrode to generate plasma; A plasma processing apparatus for performing a predetermined plasma processing on the substrate to be processed, comprising: processing gas supply means for supplying a processing gas for processing the substrate and a processing gas for flowing the processing gas from the processing gas supply means 1st and 2nd branches which branch off from a supply flow path and the said process gas supply flow path, and are connected to the said 1st, 2nd gas introduction part, respectively. A fractionation amount adjusting means for adjusting a fractionation amount of the processing gas classified into the furnace and the first and second branch passages from the process gas supply passage on the basis of the pressure in the first and second branch passages; An additional gas supply passage for supplying a gas, and an additional gas supply passage for joining the additional gas from the additional gas supply means to the first branch channel or the second branch channel downstream from the fractionation amount adjusting means; And the first electrode is an electrode plate facing the second electrode, a support body bonded to a surface on the side opposite to the second electrode side of the electrode plate to support the electrode plate, and the electrode in the support body. It is provided in the joining surface with a board, Comprising: It is provided with the cavity part of the shape which differs in height from a center part and the periphery part, and the partition member which partitions the said cavity part for every said gas introduction part. The plasma processing apparatus to be provided.

In order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, in the process chamber, the first electrode and the second electrode are disposed to face each other, and the first electrode is divided into the first and second gas introduction portions, and each gas introduction portion is provided. Forming a plurality of gas ejection holes and supplying a high frequency power to one or both of the electrodes while generating a plasma from each of the gas introduction portions toward the substrate to be supported by the second electrode to generate plasma; A plasma processing apparatus which performs a predetermined plasma processing on the substrate to be processed, comprising: processing gas supply means for supplying a processing gas for processing the substrate to be processed and a processing gas for flowing the processing gas from the processing gas supply means Process gas agent branched from a supply passage and the process gas supply passage and connected to the first and second gas introduction portions, respectively. The flow rate of the process gas classified into the 1st, 2nd branch flow path and the said 1st, 2nd branch flow path for each process gas from the said process gas supply path is made into the pressure in the 1st, 2nd branch flow path for each process gas. The flow rate adjustment means for adjusting based on the flow rate, the additional gas supply means for supplying a predetermined additional gas, the additional gas supply passage through which the additional gas from the additional gas supply means flows, and branched from the additional gas supply path, the classification is performed. The first branch flow path for the additional gas connected to the first branch flow path for the processing gas downstream from the amount adjusting means, and the second gas for the processing gas branched from the additional gas supply path and downstream from the flow rate adjusting means. From the additional gas supply among the second branch flow path for the additional gas connected to the branch flow path, the first branch flow path for the additional gas, and the second branch flow path for the additional gas. Flow path switching means for switching a flow path through which additional gas flows, wherein the first electrode is bonded to an electrode plate facing the second electrode and a surface opposite to the second electrode side of the electrode plate; It is provided with the support body which supports an electrode plate, the joint part of the shape which differs in height from a center part and the periphery part, and the partition member which partitions the said cavity part for every said gas introduction part provided in the joining surface with the said electrode plate in the said support body. A plasma processing apparatus is provided.

In order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, a first electrode and a second electrode are disposed in the processing chamber so as to face each other, the first electrode is divided into a plurality of gas introduction portions, and each gas introduction portion has a plurality of gases. Forming a jet hole and supplying a high frequency power to one or both of the electrodes while generating a processing gas from the respective gas introduction portions toward the target substrate supported by the second electrode to generate plasma; A plasma processing apparatus for performing a predetermined plasma treatment on a substrate to be processed, comprising: processing gas supply means for supplying a processing gas for processing the substrate, a processing gas supply flow path for flowing a processing gas from the processing gas supply means; And a plurality of branch passages branched from the processing gas supply passage and connected to the plurality of gas introduction portions, respectively. Fractionation amount adjusting means for adjusting a fractionation amount of the processing gas classified into the branch passages from the process gas supply passage on the basis of the pressure in the branch passages, and a plurality of additional gas supply means for supplying a predetermined additional gas; And an additional gas supply passage for joining the additional gas from each of the additional gas supply means to the respective branch flow paths downstream from the flow rate adjusting means, wherein the first electrode is an electrode facing the second electrode. It is provided in the joining surface of a board, the support body which joins to the surface on the opposite side to the said 2nd electrode side of the said electrode plate, and supports the said electrode plate, and the said electrode plate in the said support body, and heights in the center part and the peripheral part. A cavity having a different shape and a partition member for partitioning the cavity for each of the gas introduction portions. It is provided.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a first electrode which is classified into a plurality from the processing gas supply means in the processing chamber and is applicable to the plasma processing apparatus for introducing gas from the plurality of gas introduction portions, respectively.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Preferred embodiment of this invention is described in detail, referring an accompanying drawing below. In addition, in this specification and drawing, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol about the component which has a substantially same functional structure.

(Configuration example of plasma processing apparatus according to the first embodiment)

First, the plasma processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a plasma processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The plasma processing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 is a parallel plate type plasma etching apparatus having an upper electrode for introducing gas into one system in a processing chamber.

The plasma processing apparatus 100 has a processing chamber 110 constituted by a substantially cylindrical processing vessel. The treatment vessel is made of, for example, aluminum alloy and is electrically grounded. The inner wall surface of the processing vessel is covered with an alumina film (A1 ₂ O ₃ ) or yttria (Y ₂ O ₃ ).

In the processing chamber 110, a susceptor 116 constituting a lower electrode as an example of a second electrode serving as a mounting table on which a wafer W as a substrate is mounted is disposed. Specifically, the susceptor 116 is supported on the cylindrical susceptor support 114 provided via the insulating plate 112 at the center of the bottom of the processing chamber 110. The susceptor 116 is formed of, for example, aluminum alloy.

The electrostatic chuck 118 holding the wafer W is provided on the susceptor 116. The electrostatic chuck 118 has an electrode 120 therein. The DC power supply 122 is electrically connected to this electrode 120. The electrostatic chuck 118 is able to adsorb the wafer W on its upper surface by a Coulomb force generated by applying a DC voltage from the DC power supply 122 to the electrode 120.

In addition, a focus ring 124 is provided on the upper surface of the susceptor 116 to surround the electrostatic chuck 118. In addition, a cylindrical inner wall member 126 made of, for example, quartz is attached to the outer peripheral surfaces of the susceptor 116 and the susceptor support 114.

A ring-shaped refrigerant chamber 128 is formed inside the susceptor support 114. The coolant chamber 128 communicates with a chiller unit (not shown) installed outside the processing chamber 110 via pipes 130a and 130b, for example. The coolant (refrigerant or cooling water) is circulated and supplied to the coolant chamber 128 through the pipes 130a and 130b. Thereby, the temperature of the wafer W on the susceptor 116 can be controlled.

On the upper surface of the electrostatic chuck 118 is a gas supply line 132 passing through the susceptor 116 and the susceptor support 114. The heat transfer gas (backside gas) such as He gas can be supplied between the wafer W and the electrostatic chuck 118 via the gas supply line 132.

Above the susceptor 116, an upper electrode 300 as an example of the first electrode facing in parallel with the susceptor 116 constituting the lower electrode is provided. The plasma generation space PS is formed between the susceptor 116 and the upper electrode 300.

The upper electrode 300 includes a disk-shaped inner upper electrode 302 and a ring-shaped outer upper electrode 304 surrounding the outer side of the inner upper electrode 302. The inner upper electrode 302 also has a function as a processing gas introduction unit that ejects a predetermined gas toward the plasma generation space PS on the wafer W mounted on the susceptor 116 and constitutes a so-called shower head.

Specifically, the inner upper electrode 302 includes a circular electrode plate 310 having a plurality of gas ejection holes 312 and an electrode support 320 that freely supports the upper surface side of the electrode plate 310. do. The electrode support 320 is formed in a disk shape having a diameter substantially the same as that of the electrode plate 310. The electrode support 320 is made of, for example, aluminum, and a buffer chamber 322 for gas diffusion formed in a disk-shaped space is formed therein. The processing gas of the gas supply device 200 is introduced into the buffer chamber 322. In addition, a gas ejection hole 312 communicates with the lower surface of the buffer chamber 322. In addition, the structural example of the upper electrode 300 is mentioned later.

A ring-shaped dielectric 306 is interposed between the inner upper electrode 302 and the outer upper electrode 304. A ring-shaped insulating shielding member 308 made of, for example, alumina is hermetically interposed between the outer upper electrode 304 and the inner circumferential wall of the processing chamber 110.

The first high frequency power supply 154 is electrically connected to the outer upper electrode 304 via a power supply (electric supply) cylinder 152, a connector 150, an upper power supply rod 148, and a matching unit 146. The first high frequency power supply 154 may output a high frequency voltage having a frequency of 40 MHz or more (for example, 60 MHz).

The feed cylinder 152 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape with a lower surface open, for example, and has a lower end connected to the outer upper electrode 304. The lower end of the upper feed rod 148 is electrically connected to the center of the upper surface of the feed tube 152 by the connector 150. The upper end of the upper feed rod 148 is connected to the output side of the matching unit 146. The matcher 146 is connected to the first high frequency power supply 154, and may match the internal impedance of the first high frequency power supply 154 with the load impedance.

The outer side of the feed cylinder 152 is covered by a cylindrical ground conductor 111 having sidewalls of approximately the same diameter as the processing chamber 110. The lower end portion of the ground conductor 111 is connected to the upper sidewall of the processing chamber 110. The upper feed rod 148 is penetrated through the center of the upper surface of the ground conductor 111, and the insulating member 156 is interposed between the ground conductor 111 and the contact portion of the upper feed rod 148.

The lower feed rod 170 is electrically connected to the upper surface of the electrode support 320. The lower feed rod 170 is connected to the upper feed rod 148 via the connector 150. The lower feed rod 170 and the upper feed rod 148 constitute a feed rod for supplying the high frequency power from the first high frequency power source 154 to the upper electrode 300 (hereinafter, simply referred to as the “feed rod 170”). "Sam Browne). The variable capacitor 172 is provided in the middle of the lower feed rod 170. By adjusting the capacitance of the variable capacitor 172, when the high frequency voltage is applied from the first high frequency power supply 154, the electric field strength formed directly below the outer upper electrode 304 and the inner upper electrode 302. You can adjust the relative proportion of the field strength that is formed just below.

An exhaust port 174 is formed at the bottom of the process chamber 110. The exhaust port 174 is connected to an exhaust device 178 provided with a vacuum pump or the like via the exhaust pipe 176. By evacuating the inside of the process chamber 110 by the exhaust device 178, the inside of the process chamber 110 can be reduced in a desired vacuum degree.

The second high frequency power supply 182 is electrically connected to the susceptor 116 via a matcher 180. The second high frequency power supply 182 may output a high frequency voltage in a range of, for example, 2 MHz to 20 MHz, for example, a frequency of 2 MHz.

A low pass filter (LPF) 184 is electrically connected to the inner upper electrode 302 of the upper electrode 300. The low pass filter 184 cuts the high frequency from the first high frequency power source 154 and passes the high frequency from the second high frequency power source 182 to ground. On the other hand, a high pass filter (HPF) 186 is electrically connected to the susceptor 116 constituting the lower electrode. The high pass filter 186 is for passing high frequency from the first high frequency power supply 154 to ground.

The gas supply device 200 for supplying gas to the upper electrode 300 is, for example, a processing gas supply means for supplying a processing gas for performing a predetermined process such as film formation or etching on a wafer as shown in FIG. 1. 210 is provided. The process gas supply means 210 is connected to a process gas supply pipe 202 constituting the process gas supply path, and the process gas supply pipe 202 is connected to the buffer chamber 322 of the inner upper electrode 302.

The plasma processing apparatus 100 is connected to a control unit 400 for controlling each unit. By the control unit 400, the DC power source 122, the first high frequency power source 154, and the second high frequency power source 182, for example, in addition to the processing gas supply means 210 and the like in the gas supply device 200, for example. And the like are controlled.

(Configuration example of upper electrode)

Here, the specific structural example of the upper electrode 300 is demonstrated in detail, referring drawings. FIG. 2: is a schematic diagram which shows the structural example of the inner upper electrode 302 of the upper electrode 300 which concerns on this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the inner upper electrode 302 is opposite to the electrode plate 310 provided to face the susceptor 116 constituting the lower electrode, and the susceptor 116 side of the electrode plate 310. It is provided with the electrode support body 320 which attaches to the surface (here back surface of an electrode plate), and supports the electrode plate 310 detachably.

In addition, the electrode support 320 may be divided into an upper member 324 and a cooling plate 326 provided below, for example, as shown in FIG. 2. In this case, for example, the upper member 324 may be configured to provide a cooling jacket (not shown) through which the refrigerant circulates, and to control the electrode plate 310 to a desired temperature via the cooling plate 326. good. In addition, the electrode support 320 may be integrally formed.

The electrode support 320 has a cavity (relative permittivity = 1) 330 as an example of a dielectric part having a shape different in height (thickness) at the center and the periphery thereof so as to contact the electrode plate 310 on the back side of the electrode plate 310. Is provided. The cavity 330 is configured to gradually increase in height from its periphery toward the center. For example, a plurality of (eg three) disk-shaped cavity portions having different diameters are stacked in multiple stages, and the diameter of the disk-shaped cavity portion is opposite from the electrode plate 310 side of the electrode support 320 (in this case, the back surface). Toward the side).

3 schematically shows the cavity 330 taken out. The cavity part 330 is comprised, for example in the shape which laminated | stacked three disk-shaped cavity parts 332, 334, 336 as shown in FIG. Here, the first disc-shaped cavity 332, the second disc-shaped cavity 334, and the third disc-shaped cavity 336 are arranged in this order from the position located on the electrode plate 310 side. When the diameter of each disk-shaped cavity part 332, 334, 336 is set to dl, d2, and d3, it is d1> d2> d3. The thickness (height) of the disk-shaped cavity portions 332, 334, and 336 is t1, t2, and t3, respectively. Since the cavity 330 functions as a dielectric (relative permittivity = 1), t1, t2, and t3 may be represented by, for example, multiples of the dielectric constant?.

That is, the cavity 330 functions as a dielectric (relative permittivity = 1), and resonance occurs at a frequency of high frequency power supplied to the upper electrode 300, and is perpendicular to the electrode plate 310. The dimensions (diameter and height) of each disc-shaped cavity 332, 334, 336 are determined so that an electric field is generated. As described above, when resonance occurs in the cavity 330 to generate an electric field perpendicular to the electrode plate 310, the electric field of the cavity 330 and the electric field of the electrode plate 310 are coupled to each other. ), The electric field just below the cavity 330 in the electrode plate 310 (for example, from the electrode center to the periphery of the electrode) can be controlled.

Further, a dielectric member having the same shape as that in the cavity 330 may be embedded to constitute the dielectric portion. According to this, since the dielectric constant of the dielectric part is determined by the dielectric constant of the dielectric member, the dielectric constant of the dielectric part can be made desired by selecting the dielectric member. The dielectric member preferably has a relative dielectric constant of 1 to 10. As the relative dielectric constant of this range, quartz (relative dielectric constant = 3-10), ceramics such as alumina or aluminum nitride (relative dielectric constant = 5-10), resins such as Teflon (registered trademark) or polyimide (relative dielectric constant = 2) to 3). Moreover, the said dielectric member may be comprised integrally, for example, you may laminate | stack and comprise the several disk-shaped dielectric member matching the dimension of each disk-shaped cavity part 332, 334, 336, for example.

As the electrode plate 310, as described above, in order to combine the electric field of the dielectric part composed of the cavity 330 or the dielectric member and the electric field of the electrode plate 310, high frequency power is applied to the electrode plate 310. It is preferable that the thickness from the surface of the electrode plate (lower surface of the electrode plate) of the portion to be supplied, that is, the skin depth δ represented by Equation 1 below, is larger than the thickness of the electrode plate 310.

δ = (2ρ / ωμ) ^{l / 2}

In Equation 1,? Is each frequency (= 2? F (f: frequency)) of high frequency power,? Is the resistivity of the electrode plate, and? Is the permeability of the electrode plate.

The electrode plate 310 is composed of a conductor or a semiconductor such as Si, SiC, etc., while the skin depth δ increases as the resistance of the electrode plate 310 increases, so that the skin depth δ is greater than the thickness of the electrode plate 310. For example, when the frequency of the high frequency power is 60 MHz, the specific resistance of the electrode plate 310 is preferably 0.5 Ω · m or more, more preferably 0.75 Ω · m. Thus, in order to make the electrode plate 310 relatively high resistance, when the electrode plate 310 is made of Si, for example, the dopant amount of B is adjusted, and when made of SiC, for example, the pressure at the time of sintering is adjusted.

When the skin depth δ is larger than the thickness of the electrode plate 310, the electric field passes through the electrode plate 310. For example, when the frequency of the high frequency power is 60 MHz and the thickness of the electrode plate 310 is 10 mm, the skin depth δ is 10 mm or more when the specific resistance is 0.1? M or more. At this time, the cavity (dielectric member) 330 is surrounded by a conductor. In this way, when a dielectric surrounded by a conductor exists, resonance occurs at a frequency that can be determined by its dimensions and dielectric constant. The cavity 330 also functions as a dielectric having a relative dielectric constant of 1, and resonance occurs at a frequency determined by its dimensions.

For example, in the case of a disk-shaped cavity having one stage of the cavity 330, the frequency of resonance is determined by the radius and height of the disk-shaped cavity. Here, considering the case where the cylindrical cavity of height L and the radius r is formed in the back surface side of the electrode plate 310, each frequency omega in resonance is calculated | required by following formula (2).

(ωo / c) ² = k ₁ ² + n ² π ² / L ²

In the above equation 2, c is speed of light, k of the medium ₁ is obtained from the root of _{J m (k 1 r) =} 0 when _{J m '(k 1 r)} = 0, TM mode at the TE mode . Where J _m is the vessel function and J _m ′ is the derivative of the vessel function.

When this is applied to the cavity part 330 comprised by the plural-step disk shaped cavity part which concerns on this embodiment, for example, three steps of disk shaped cavity parts as shown to FIG. 2, FIG. 3, it shows in FIG. It is considered that resonance occurs, respectively, according to the radius r of each disc cavity portion 332, 334, 336 and the height L from the electrode plate 310 as described above.

Specifically, for example, when the first disc cavity portion 332 is provided, the resonance generated at the radius r = d1 / 2 and the height L = t1 from the electrode plate 310 and the second disc cavity portion 334. The resonance generated at the radius r = d2 / 2 and the height L = t1 + t2 from the electrode plate 310 in the case of providing?, And the radius r = d3 / 2 and the electrode in the case of providing the third disc cavity 336? It can be considered that the resonance occurring at the height L = t1 + t2 + t3 from the plate 310 is occurring.

For this reason, the electric field which generate | occur | produces in a three-stage disc shaped cavity part becomes a synthesis | combination of the electric field which arises by each said resonance. When such resonance occurs and an electric field perpendicular to the electrode plate 310 is generated, the electric field of the cavity 330 and the electric field of the electrode plate 310 are coupled. Therefore, the electric field generated in the cavity portion 330 can be more finely controlled by adjusting the radius r of each disc cavity portion 332, 334, 336 and the height L from the electrode plate 310. The electric field can be controlled in a wide range just below the cavity 330 in the plate 310 (for example, from the electrode center to the electrode periphery).

(Operation of Plasma Processing Equipment)

Next, the operation of the plasma processing apparatus 100 including the upper electrode 300 as described above will be described taking the case of etching the oxide film formed on the wafer W as an example. First, after the gate valve (not shown) is opened, the wafer W is loaded into the processing chamber 110 from the load lock chamber (not shown) and mounted on the electrostatic chuck 118. The wafer W is electrostatically attracted onto the electrostatic chuck 118 by applying a direct current voltage from the direct current power source 122. Next, the gate valve is closed, and the exhaust device 178 evacuates the inside of the processing chamber 110 to a predetermined degree of vacuum.

Thereafter, the flow rate of the processing gas from the processing gas supply means 210 is controlled by, for example, a mass flow controller or the like, and introduced into the buffer chamber 322 in the upper electrode 300 via the processing gas supply pipe 202. do. The processing gas introduced into the buffer chamber 322 is uniformly discharged from the gas ejection hole 312 of the electrode plate 310 with respect to the wafer W, and the pressure in the processing chamber 110 is maintained at a predetermined value.

From the first high frequency power supply 154, high frequency power of 27 to 150 MHz, for example 60 MHz, is applied to the upper electrode 300. As a result, a high frequency electric field is generated between the upper electrode 300 and the susceptor 116 constituting the lower electrode, and the processing gas dissociates and becomes plasma. On the other hand, from the second high frequency power source 182, a high frequency of 1 to 20 MHz, for example, 2 MHz is applied to the susceptor 116 constituting the lower electrode. As a result, ions in the plasma are introduced to the susceptor 116 side, and the anisotropy of etching is enhanced by ion assist. Thus, plasma density can be raised by making the frequency of the high frequency electric power applied to the upper electrode 300 higher than 27 MHz.

However, if the cavity 330 is not provided on the back side of the electrode plate, an electric field non-uniformity occurs on the bottom surface of the electrode plate 310 under the influence of the inductance in the radial direction of the electrode surface when the applied frequency is increased. .

The cause of such an electric field nonuniformity is demonstrated, referring drawings. 4: is sectional drawing which shows typically the high frequency electric power supply path in the upper electrode which does not provide a cavity part in the electrode plate back surface side of the electrode support body 320 '. For example, the electrode plate 310 has a specific resistance of about 0.02 Ω · m, and when the high frequency current supplied through the feed rod 170 becomes high frequency, power is supplied only to the surface of the electrode due to the skin effect, and is shown in FIG. 4. As described above, the high frequency electric power is an electrode plate 310 which is a plasma contact surface through the surface of the feed rod 170, the upper surface of the electrode support 320 ′, the side of the electrode support 320 ′, and the side of the electrode plate 310. To reach the bottom.

In this case, since the power supply rod 170 is located at the center of the electrode, the electric power is in the same phase at the edge portion of the lower surface of the electrode plate 310, and the center direction is in phase from the edge portion of the electrode plate 310. Since the electric power is gradually supplied, the phase difference r / λ (λ is the wavelength of the electrode surface wave and r is the radius of the electrode) is generated at the center and the edge of the electrode plate 310. For this reason, when the applied frequency becomes high, the inductance in the radial direction of the lower surface of the electrode plate 310 cannot be ignored, and the electric field strength of the center portion of the lower surface of the lower surface of the electrode plate 130 is affected by the interference caused by the phase difference. The phenomenon that becomes higher than the electric field strength of H is generated. In addition, since the center position of the electrode plate 310 is in contact with the plasma, the RF equivalent circuit is an open end. Therefore, the electric field of the center part becomes strong in the lower surface of the electrode plate 310, and the nonuniformity of a standing wave form arises in an electric field distribution. As a result, the electric field distribution supplied to the plasma becomes nonuniform, thereby forming nonuniform plasma.

On the other hand, since the upper electrode 300 in this embodiment provides the cavity part 330 in the joint surface with the electrode plate 310 in the electrode support body 320, as shown also in FIG. The resonance occurs at the frequency of the high frequency power supplied to the upper electrode 300 in the unit 330, and an electric field perpendicular to the electrode plate 310 is generated therein, whereby the electric field and the electrode of the cavity 330 are generated. The electric fields of the two are combined, and the electric field of the lower side of the cavity part 330 in the electrode plate 310 can be controlled by the electric field of the cavity part 330.

In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the cavity 330 is not provided, the electric field strength of the surface of the electrode plate 310 is set to E ₀ , and the electrode when the cavity 330 is provided. plate 310, the electric field strength of the surface by E _1, and when the electric field strength generated in the hollow portion 330 to E _2, may be represented by algebraically _{E 1 = E 0 + E 2} . In addition, the electric field strength E ₂ generated in the cavity portion 330 is generated by the resonance generated in accordance with the radius r of the respective disc cavity portions 332 334 and 336 described above and the height L from the electrode plate 310. field intensity becomes the synthesis of _{E 21, E 22, E 23} .

The electric field strength E ₂ generated in the cavity 330 depends on the shape of the cavity 330 as described later. Since the cavity part 330 of the upper electrode 300 which concerns on this embodiment is a shape where height differs in a center part and a peripheral part, and height rises gradually toward a center part from a peripheral part, the cavity part 330 in the electrode plate 310 is carried out. The electric field strength of the lower side can be controlled not only in the center of the electrode but also in the periphery of the electrode over a wide range.

(Relationship between the shape of the cavity on the back side of the electrode plate and the electric field intensity distribution)

Here, the result of having experimented with the relationship between the shape of the cavity part 330 provided in the electrode plate rear surface side, and the electric field intensity distribution just under an electrode is demonstrated. Here, in the case of the shape (three-stage cavity part) in which the cavity part 330 laminated three disk-shaped cavity parts of which diameter differs (FIG. 2, FIG. 3), and the one cavity part 330, the disc shaped cavity part 1 However, it demonstrates, comparing the case of the shape which consists of a cavity part (FIG. 6, 7) with the case where a cavity part is not provided (FIG. 4).

In this experiment, the upper electrode whose height t of the cavity part 330 "shown in FIG. 7 was 0.2 mm, and the diameter d was 240 mm was used for the case of 1st stage cavity part. In the case of the three-stage cavity, the heights t1, t2, and t3 of the first, second, and third stages of the cavity 330 shown in Fig. 3 are 0.1 mm, 0.1 mm, 0.05 mm, one step, respectively. The upper electrodes whose diameters d1, d2, and d3 of 2 steps and 3 steps are 100 mm, 200 mm, and 310 mm respectively were used.

Fig. 8 shows the results of experiments in which high frequency power was applied to the upper electrodes as described above. The graphs y11, y12, and y13 shown in FIG. 8 are graphs showing the electric field intensity distribution in the case of the one-stage cavity, the three-stage cavity when the cavity is not provided. 8 shows the horizontal axis as the distance from the electrode center, and the vertical axis as the percentage of the electric field strength E ₁ of the electrode plate.

According to the experimental result shown in FIG. 8, in the case of the one-stage cavity part (y12), compared with the case where the cavity part is not provided (y11), the electric field in the center part of a cavity part becomes low and directly under the periphery part of a cavity part. Since the electric field of tends to be high, it turns out that uniformity is improving.

By the way, when comparing the uniformity of the electric field in the case of the one-stage cavity part (y12) directly under the center part of the cavity part 330 ", and just below the periphery part, the bar of the center part (for example, the range of about 0-60 mm) Below, a relatively high uniformity of about ± 1% can be realized, but it can be seen that the uniformity is lower than that of the center part by about + 3% just below the periphery (for example, in the range of about 60 mm to 120 mm). . This is because a plurality of inflection points exist in the electric field intensity distribution curve in the case of the first stage cavity, and in particular, the slope at the inflection point tends to be relatively large just below the periphery of the first stage cavity 330 ″. Since the inclination at the inflection point existing in the electric field intensity distribution curve changes by changing the dimensions of the first stage cavity, that is, the height t and the diameter d, the inclination of the inflection point may be adjusted by adjusting the dimensions of the first stage cavity. Is also contemplated. By changing the height t and the diameter d, however, not only the uniformity of the electric field in the peripheral part but also the uniformity of the electric field in the center part will be affected. For example, if the uniformity of the electric field in the peripheral part is to be made higher, the uniformity of the electric field in the center portion tends to be lowered. For this reason, there is a limit in order to further improve the uniformity of the electric field of the electrode peripheral part while maintaining the uniformity of the electric field of the electrode center only by adjusting the dimension of the one-stage cavity.

On the other hand, in the case of the three-stage cavity (y13), since almost no inflection point occurs in the electric field intensity distribution curve, extremely high uniformity of ± 0.5% is realized in a wide range from the center of the cavity 330 to the periphery. Can be. Thus, the inflection point in the electric field intensity distribution curve is formed by making the shape of the cavity portion 330 different in height from the center portion and the peripheral portion like the cavity portion (for example, the three-stage cavity portion) 330 described above. In addition, it was found that the inclination at the inflection point can be reduced and the influence of the inflection point can be alleviated as much as possible. According to this, since the electric field distribution of the lower part of the cavity part 330 in the electrode plate 310 can be controlled not only to an electrode center part but also to an electrode periphery part over a wide range, extremely uniform plasma is formed in a wide range. You can.

Here, the experimental results when the etching is actually performed on the wafer using the upper electrode as described above will be described. In this experiment, using the plasma processing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1, the resistivity value of the electrode plate 310 was set to 0.75? M, and the oxide film of the 300 mm wafer was made of C ₅ F ₈ gas, Ar gas, and O _2. Etched with a mixed gas of gas. The frequency of the high frequency power was 60 MHz.

It is a figure which shows the etching rate distribution at the time of performing an etching process with respect to a wafer using the upper electrode provided with the one-stage cavity part in the electrode plate back surface side. It is a figure which shows the etching rate distribution at the time of performing an etching process with respect to a wafer using the upper electrode provided with the 3-stage cavity part in the electrode plate back surface side. According to these, it turns out that uniformity improves more in the case of a 3-stage cavity part (FIG. 10) than in the case of a 1-stage cavity part (FIG. 9).

In addition, in the structural example of the upper electrode 300 which concerns on this embodiment, the case where the 3-step cavity part 330 was formed in the electrode support 320 was demonstrated, but it is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the number of stages of the cavity portion 330 formed in the electrode support 320 may be two stages or four or more stages.

(Relationship between the stage number of the cavity part on the back side of the electrode plate and the electric field intensity distribution)

Here, the result of having experimented with the relationship between the number of stages of the cavity part 330 formed in the upper electrode 300, and the electric field intensity distribution just under an electrode is demonstrated. Here, it demonstrates, comparing the case of the one-stage cavity part shown in FIG. 11, the case of the two-stage cavity part shown in FIG. 12, and the case of the three-stage cavity part shown in FIG.

11, 12, and 13 of the upper electrode used in this experiment have the same dimensions as the first, second, and third stages of the cavity 330 shown in FIG. That is, heights t1, t2 and t3 are 0.1 mm, 0.1 mm and 0.05 mm, respectively, and diameters d1, d2 and d3 are 100 mm, 200 mm and 310 mm, respectively.

14 shows the results of experiments performed by applying high frequency power to the upper electrodes as described above. The graphs y21, y22, and y23 shown in FIG. 14 are graphs showing the electric field intensity distribution in the case of the three-stage cavity, in the case of the two-stage cavity, respectively. Fig. 14 shows the horizontal axis as the distance from the electrode center and the vertical axis as the percentage of the electric field strength E ₁ of the electrode plate.

According to the experimental result shown in FIG. 14, the inflection point of the electric field distribution curve increases as the number of stages of a cavity increases like the case of a 1st stage cavity part (y21), the 2nd stage cavity part (y22), and the 3rd stage cavity part (y23). As it decreases, the inclination at the inflection point also decreases, and the uniformity of the electric field is improved to ± 6%, ± 2%, and ± 0.5%, respectively. In this case, it is preferable that the diameters d1, d2, and d3 of each stage become a shape that gradually decreases from the electrode plate 310 side. Thus, by making the shape of the cavity part high in the center part and low in the peripheral part, the influence of the inflection point of the electric field distribution curve can be reduced.

In this way, since the number of stages of the cavity portion 330 formed in the upper electrode can more precisely control the electric field distribution directly under the electrode, the uniformity of the electric field can be improved. However, taking into consideration the trouble of processing the cavity 330 and the degree of freedom of the dimensions (height t, diameter d) of the cavity 330 of each stage, the cavity 330 is more preferably three stages. Do.

The diameters d1, d2, d3 of the three-stage cavity 330 are preferably 80% to 120%, 60% to 80%, 40% to 60%, and more preferably 90% of the diameter of the wafer. -110%, 65%-75%, and 45%-55%. The heights tl, t2 and t3 of the three-stage cavity 330 are, for example, 0.08 mm to 0.16 mm, 0.08 mm to 0.12 mm, and 0.03 mm to 0.09 mm in the case of the cavity having a relative dielectric constant of 1, respectively. Preferably, they are 0.10 mm-0.12 mm, 0.09 mm-0.11 mm, and 0.05 mm-0.07 mm.

(Diameter of the first step of joint part)

In addition, the diameter of the 1st stage of the cavity part 330 which concerns on this embodiment may be smaller than the diameter of a wafer (for example, 300 mm), and may enlarge to about the diameter of a wafer or more. From this point of view, in the cavity having only one stage, when the diameter is larger than the diameter of the wafer, the electric field at the center portion tends to move in the positive direction, and the electric field at the periphery tends to move in the negative direction. This will fall. For example, the electric field distribution curve becomes as y12 shown in FIG. 8 when the diameter is 240 mm, but as y21 shown in FIG. 14 when the diameter is 310 mm, the uniformity of the electric field distribution is reduced.

On the other hand, in the cavity part of the shape which laminated | stacked multiple stages, since the electric field distribution can be controlled from the center part to the periphery part by making the diameter of the 1st stage | paragraph be more than the diameter of a wafer, uniformity of the plasma formed on a wafer The sex can be further improved.

However, as the high frequency power applied in the gas ejection hole 312 of the upper electrode increases, the probability of abnormal discharge occurring due to the concentration of an electric field near the boundary between the electrode plate 310 and the electrode support 320 increases. Such abnormal discharge is not easily generated if there is a cavity 330 between the electrode plate 310 and the electrode support 320. For this reason, it is preferable to make the diameter of the cavity part 330 larger than the diameter of a wafer from the viewpoint of abnormal discharge prevention, and to make it the magnitude | size which includes the range in which the gas ejection hole 312 is formed. In this respect, if the diameter is increased in the cavity of only one stage, the uniformity of the electric field distribution decreases.

On the other hand, in the cavity part 330 of the shape which laminated | stacked multiple stages, even if the diameter of the 1st stage is enlarged to the extent which includes the range in which the gas ejection hole 312 is formed, electric field distribution is controlled widely from a center part to a periphery part. As a result, abnormal discharge can be prevented while improving the uniformity of the electric field distribution.

(Configuration example of plasma processing apparatus according to second embodiment)

Next, a plasma processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 15 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a plasma processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The plasma processing apparatus 101 shown in FIG. 15 is a parallel plate type plasma etching apparatus including an upper electrode for introducing gas into two systems into a processing chamber.

The upper electrode 301 according to the second embodiment is configured by dividing the inner upper electrode 302 into first and second gas introduction parts 350 and 360. The first and second gas introduction units 350 and 360 introduce gas toward the first and second regions on the inside of the wafer W surface mounted on the susceptor 116, respectively. The first region is, for example, a central region (hereinafter also referred to as a "center region") of the wafer W, and the second region is a peripheral region (hereinafter also referred to as an "edge region") that surrounds the central region, for example. In addition, the specific structural example of the upper electrode 301 is mentioned later.

In the gas supply device 201 that supplies gas to the upper electrode 301, the first processing gas (process gas for the center portion region) that supplies the processing gas toward the center region of the wafer W in the processing chamber 110 and It classifies into two of 2nd process gas (process gas for edge part area | region) supplied toward the edge part area | region of the wafer W. As shown in FIG. In addition, it is not limited to the case where a process gas is divided into two like this embodiment, You may make it classify three or more.

For example, as shown in FIG. 15, the gas supply device 201 supplies processing gas supply means 210 for supplying a processing gas for performing a predetermined process such as film formation or etching with respect to a wafer, and a predetermined additional gas. The additional gas supply means 220 which supplies is provided. The process gas supply means 210 is connected to a process gas supply pipe 202 constituting the process gas supply passage, and the additional gas supply means 220 is connected to an additional gas supply pipe 208 constituting the additional gas supply passage. It is. The first branch pipe 204 constituting the first branch flow path and the second branch pipe 206 constituting the second branch flow path branch from the process gas supply pipe 202. The first and second branch pipes 204 and 206 may branch inside the flow rate adjusting means 230 or may branch outside the flow rate adjusting means 230.

These first and second branch pipes 204 and 206 are respectively connected to the first and second gas introduction parts 350 and 360 in the inner upper electrode 302, for example. Specifically, the first branch pipe 204 is connected to the first buffer chamber 352 of the first gas introducing part 350, and the second branch pipe 206 is formed in the second gas introducing part 360. 2 buffer chambers 362 are connected.

The gas supply device 201 further uses the flow rate of the first and second process gases flowing through the first and second branch pipes 204 and 206 based on the pressure in the first and second branch pipes 204 and 206. And flow rate adjusting means (for example, a flow splitter) 230 for adjusting by adjusting. Further, the additional gas supply means 220 is connected in the middle of the second branch pipe 206 via the additional gas supply pipe 208 on the downstream side of the split amount adjustment means 230.

According to such a gas supply device 201, the flow rate of the process gas from the process gas supply means 210 is adjusted by the flow rate adjustment means 230, and thus, the first branch pipe 204 and the second branch pipe 206. Are classified as). The first processing gas flowing through the first branch pipe 204 is supplied from the first gas introduction part 350 toward the center region on the wafer W, and the second processing gas flowing through the second branch pipe 206 is second. It is supplied toward the edge region of the wafer W from the gas introduction part 360.

At this time, when the additional gas is supplied from the additional gas supply means 220, the additional gas flows into the second branch pipe 206 through the additional gas supply pipe 208, and is mixed with the second processing gas to form the second gas. It is fed from the introduction portion 360 toward the edge region of the wafer W.

(Specific configuration example of gas supply device)

Here, the specific structural example of each part of the gas supply apparatus 201 mentioned above is demonstrated. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a specific configuration example of the gas supply device 201. The process gas supply means 210 is comprised by the gas box in which the some (for example, three) gas supply source 212a, 212b, 212c was accommodated as shown in FIG. The piping of each gas supply source 212a-212c is connected to the process gas supply piping 202 which each gas from these joins. In the piping of each gas supply source 212a-212c, the mass flow controllers 214a-214c for adjusting the flow volume of each gas are provided, respectively. According to the process gas supply means 210, the gas from each gas supply source 212a to 212c is mixed at a predetermined flow rate ratio, flows out to the process gas supply pipe 202, and the first and second branch pipes 204. , 206).

As the gas supply source 212a, for example, as shown in Fig. 16, a C _X F _Y gas such as CF ₄ , C ₄ F ₆ , C ₄ F ₈ , C ₅ F _8, etc., which is a fluorocarbon fluorine compound as an etching gas. Is sealed. The gas source 212b is filled with, for example, O ₂ gas as a gas for controlling the depot (sediment) of the CF-based reaction product, and the gas source 212c is a rare gas as a carrier gas, for example, Ar gas. Is enclosed. In addition, the number of the gas supply sources of the process gas supply means 210 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 16, For example, one or two may be sufficient, and four or more may be provided.

On the other hand, the additional gas supply means 220 is comprised by the gas box in which the some (for example, two) gas supply source 222a, 222b was accommodated, as shown in FIG. The piping of each gas supply source 222a, 222b is connected to the additional gas supply piping 208 which each gas from these joins. In the piping of each gas supply source 222a, 222b, the mass flow controllers 224a, 224b for adjusting the flow volume of each gas are provided, respectively. According to such additional gas supply means 220, the gas from each gas supply source 222a, 222b is selected or mixed in predetermined gas flow rate ratio, and flows out into the additional gas supply piping 208.

The gas supply source 222a is filled with, for example, a C _X F _Y gas capable of promoting etching, and the gas supply source 222b is filled with an O ₂ gas capable of controlling the depot of, for example, a CF-based reaction product. In addition, the number of the gas supply sources of the additional gas supply means 220 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 16, For example, one may be sufficient and three or more may be provided.

The flow rate adjusting means 230 includes a pressure adjusting part 232 for adjusting the pressure in the first branch pipe 204 and a pressure adjusting part 234 for adjusting the pressure in the second branch pipe 206. Specifically, the pressure adjusting unit 232 includes a pressure sensor 232a for detecting pressure in the first branch pipe 204 and a valve 232b for adjusting the opening and closing degree of the first branch pipe 204. 234 includes a pressure sensor 234a for detecting pressure in the second branch pipe 206 and a valve 234b for adjusting the opening and closing degree of the second branch pipe 206.

The pressure adjusting units 232 and 234 are connected to the pressure controller 240. The pressure controller 240 controls the respective valves 232b and 234b based on the detected pressures from the pressure sensors 232a and 234a according to instructions from the controller 400 for controlling the respective parts of the plasma processing apparatus 101. Adjust the degree of opening and closing. For example, the controller 400 controls the fractionation amount adjusting means 230 by the pressure ratio control. In this case, the pressure controller 240 is configured such that the flow rate of the first and second processing gases is the target flow rate ratio by the command from the control unit 400, that is, the pressure in the first and second branch pipes 204 and 206 is the target. The opening and closing degree of each valve 232b and 234b is adjusted so that it may become a pressure ratio. In addition, the pressure controller 240 may be incorporated into the flow rate adjusting means 230 as a control board or may be configured separately from the flow rate adjusting means 230. In addition, the pressure controller 240 may be provided in the control unit 400.

In addition, the control part 400 shown in FIG. 15 controls the process gas supply means 210 and the additional gas supply means 220 in the gas supply apparatus 200 in addition to the said fractional quantity adjustment means 230, Control of the first high frequency power supply 154 and the second high frequency power supply 182 is performed.

(Configuration example of upper electrode)

Here, the specific structural example of the upper electrode 301 is demonstrated in detail, referring drawings. FIG. 17: is a schematic diagram which shows the structural example of the inner upper electrode 302 of the upper electrode 301 which concerns on this embodiment. Here, the upper electrode which formed the multistage cavity part, for example, the 3-stage cavity part in the bonding surface with the electrode plate 310 of the electrode support 320 is demonstrated as an example.

The upper electrode 301 shown in FIG. 17 is configured by dividing the inner upper electrode 302 into first and second gas introduction parts 350 and 360. The structure of these 1st, 2nd gas introduction parts 350 and 360 is as follows. A buffer chamber 322 formed of a disc shaped space is formed inside the electrode support 320, and the buffer chamber 322 is formed of a first buffer chamber formed of a disc shaped space by an annular partition member 323 for a buffer chamber ( 352 and the 2nd buffer chamber 362 which consists of the ring-shaped space surrounding this 1st buffer chamber 352. As shown in FIG. The annular partition member 323 for a buffer chamber is comprised by O-rings, for example.

Here, when the diameter of the cavity part 330 formed in the electrode support 320 is large and is provided over several gas introduction parts (for example, gas introduction parts 350 and 360), it is as shown, for example in FIG. Likewise, when the diameter of the cavity 330 formed in the electrode support 320 exceeds the diameter of the first buffer chamber 352, the annular partition member 340 for the cavity, for example, is also used for the cavity 330. As a result, each gas introduction part 350 and 360 is divided into a first area part 354 and a second area part 364. The diameter of the annular partition member 340 for the cavity is substantially the same as the diameter of the annular partition member 323 for the buffer chamber. Thus, since the partition member which partitions a cavity part is provided for each gas introduction part 350 and 360, the gas supplied to each gas introduction part 350 and 360 can be prevented from mixing. The specific structural example of the annular partition member 340 for cavities is mentioned later.

The first gas introducing part 350 is composed of a first buffer chamber 352, a plurality of gas ejection holes 312 provided in the lower surface thereof, and a first region part 354 of the cavity 330. The second gas introducing portion 340 is constituted by the second buffer chamber 362, the plurality of gas ejection holes 312 provided in the lower surface thereof, and the second region portion 364 of the cavity 330.

Predetermined gas is supplied to each of the buffer chambers 352 and 362 from the gas supply device 201, and a predetermined gas is supplied from the first gas introducing portion 350 to the center region on the wafer W via the first buffer chamber 352. Is ejected, and a predetermined gas is ejected from the second gas introduction portion 360 via the second buffer chamber 362 to the edge region on the wafer W.

Also in this upper electrode 301, when a high frequency of 27 to 150 MHz, for example 60 MHz, is applied from the first high frequency power supply 154 as in the case of the first embodiment, the upper electrode 301 and the lower electrode serve as the upper electrode. A high frequency electric field is generated between the acceptors 116.

In this case, when the annular partition member 340 for cavities is comprised with a conductor, such as a metal, it turned out that an electric field concentrates in the part and abnormal discharge generate | occur | produces. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18, when the lower surface of the electrode support body 320 which consists of aluminum which is a conductor is processed, and the aluminum partition wall 342 is formed, the magnitude | size of the high frequency electric power applied to the upper electrode 301, for example. In some cases, abnormal discharge may occur.

For this reason, it is preferable that the annular partition member 340 for cavities is comprised from an insulator (for example, resin type material or ceramic type material) from a viewpoint of abnormal discharge prevention. For example, the annular partition member 340 for a cavity part is comprised from the resin ring 344 as shown in FIG. The resin ring 344 is made of resin such as polyimide such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) such as Teflon (registered trademark) and Vespel (registered trademark).

In addition, the resin ring 344 is easily elastically deformed when pressed tightly so that the cavity 330 can be partitioned therebetween even when the clamping force between the electrode support 320 and the electrode plate 310 is weak. It is preferable to set it as. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown, for example in FIG. 19, the resin ring 344 is made into the shape which becomes a taper surface whose side surface is substantially V-shaped in cross section. As a result, since the resin ring 344 is easily elastically deformed and its repulsive force is weak, for example, the clamping force is weak as in the case of screwing the electrode plate 310 made of a silicon material or the like onto the electrode support 320. Even in this case, the function of sufficiently partitioning the cavity 330 can be exhibited.

In addition, the annular partition member 340 for a cavity part may be comprised by the O-ring 346 as shown in FIG. Similarly to the case of the resin ring 344, the O-ring 346 is preferably in a shape that is easily elastically deformed and has a low repulsive force when pressed. For example, as shown in FIG. 20, the O-ring 346 uses an elliptical cross section.

As shown in FIG. 21, the cavity annular partition member 340 may be a partition wall 348 formed by thermally spraying ceramic materials such as alumina and yttria on the lower surface of the electrode support 320. In this case, for example, after the cavity is formed on the lower surface of the electrode support 320, the ceramic material is sprayed toward the lower surface of the electrode support 320 after masking the surface of the cavity. After that, the surface is evened by polishing the sprayed portion, and then the electrode plate 310 is attached. Instead of thermally spraying the ceramic material on the lower surface of the electrode support 320, the resin material may be coated to form the annular partition member 340 for the cavity.

The result of experiment by applying a high frequency electric power to the upper electrode in which the annular partition member 340 for cavity part was easy to generate | occur | produce in the above conditions is demonstrated. For example, when high frequency power is applied to the susceptor 116 constituting the upper electrode 301 and the lower electrode, the relationship between the applied voltage and the discharge is as shown in FIG. Fig. 22 shows the voltage applied to the upper electrode on the vertical axis and the voltage applied to the susceptor constituting the lower electrode on the horizontal axis. Fig. 22 is a graph showing the high frequency power at which discharge is started by experimenting with a combination of these applied voltages. According to this, the higher the high frequency electric power to start discharging, the larger the margin of the high frequency electric power applied in the state where the discharge does not occur, so that abnormal discharge is less likely to occur.

In FIG. 22, y31 is a case where the annular partition member 340 for a cavity is comprised (for example, FIG. 18), and y32 is a case where the annular partition member 340 for a cavity is comprised by an O-ring (for example, FIG. 20, y33 is a case where the annular partition member 340 for the cavity is sprayed with alumina (for example, see FIG. 21), and y34 is a case where the annular partition member 340 for the cavity is composed of Teflon (registered trademark) ( See, for example, FIG. 19).

According to FIG. 22, it turns out that abnormal discharge is most likely to occur when the annular partition member 340 for cavity part is comprised from aluminum (y31). When the annular partition member 340 for the cavity part is composed of O-rings (y32), when the annular partition member 340 for the cavity part is formed by spraying alumina (y33), when the annular partition member 340 for the cavity part is composed of aluminum Abnormal discharge is less likely to occur than (y31), and in the case where the annular partition member 340 for the cavity is made of Teflon (registered trademark) (y34), the abnormal discharge is not most likely to occur. Thus, it is understood that abnormal discharge can be effectively prevented by configuring the annular partition member 340 for the cavity part with an insulator such as a resin material or a ceramic material.

In addition, the plasma processing apparatus including the upper electrode for introducing gas into two systems in the processing chamber is limited to the one provided with a gas supply device 201 of a type for supplying additional gas to the second supply pipe as shown in FIG. 15. For example, as shown in FIG. 23, it may be applied to the provision of a gas supply device 201 of a type capable of selectively supplying additional gas to either the first supply pipe or the second supply pipe.

Specifically, from the additional gas supply pipe 208 of the gas supply device 201 shown in FIG. 23, the first branch pipe 254 for additional gas and the additional gas for additional gas constituting the first branch flow path for additional gas. The second branch pipe 256 for additional gas constituting the two branch flow path branches.

The first and second branch pipes 254 and 256 for the additional gas are respectively disposed on the downstream side of the flow rate adjusting means 230, and the first for the process gas for constituting the first and second branch flow paths for the processing gas, respectively. And in the middle of the second branch pipes 204 and 206. On-off valve 264 for opening and closing the pipe 254 is provided in the first branch pipe 254 for additional gas, and on-off valve for opening and closing the pipe 256 for the second branch pipe 256 for additional gas ( 266). By controlling the on / off valves 264 and 266, the additional gas from the additional gas supply means 220 can be supplied to any one of the first and second branch pipes 254 and 256. In addition, these open / close valves 264 and 266 constitute a flow path switching means for the branch flow path for the additional gas.

According to such a gas supply apparatus 201, while the fractionation amount of the process gas from the process gas supply means 210 is adjusted by the fractionation amount adjusting means 230, the first branch pipe 204 for the process gas and the process gas The second branch pipe 206 is classified.

When the additional gas is supplied to the second branch pipe 206 for the processing gas, the second branch pipe 256 for the additional gas is closed while the on / off valve 264 of the first branch pipe 254 for the additional gas is closed. Opening / closing valve 266 is opened, and supply of additional gas is started from additional gas supply means 220. As a result, the additional gas flows through the additional gas supply pipe 208 and the second branch pipe 256 for the additional gas to the second branch pipe 206 for the processing gas and is mixed with the second processing gas. The additional gas is supplied toward the edge portion of the wafer W together with the second processing gas via the second buffer chamber 362.

On the other hand, when the additional gas is supplied to the first branch pipe 204 for the process gas, the first branch pipe 254 for the additional gas is closed while the on / off valve 266 of the second branch pipe 256 for the additional gas is closed. Opening / closing valve 264 is opened, and supply of additional gas is started from additional gas supply means 220. As a result, the additional gas flows through the additional gas supply pipe 208 and the first branch pipe 254 for the additional gas to the first branch pipe 204 for the processing gas and is mixed with the first processing gas. The additional gas is supplied toward the center of the wafer W via the first buffer chamber 352 together with the first processing gas. According to the plasma processing apparatus 101 shown in FIG. 23, it can select and supply which side of an additional gas is mixed with a 1st process gas and a 2nd process gas.

In the gas supply device 201 shown in Fig. 23, on / off valves 264 and 206 are provided in the first and second branch pipes 254 and 256 for additional gas, respectively, and these on / off valves 264 and 266 are provided. Although the case where the flow path which flows the additional gas from the additional gas supply piping 208 is switched by opening and closing control is demonstrated, it is not necessarily limited to this, The 1st, 2nd branch piping 254 for additional gas is provided. , 256 may be provided with an on / off valve as another example of the flow path switching means, and the on / off control of the on / off valve may switch the flow path through which the additional gas flows from the additional gas supply pipe 208.

In addition, in the gas supply apparatus 201 shown in FIG. 23, since the opening-closing valves 264, 266 were provided in the 1st, 2nd branch piping 254, 256 for additional gas, respectively, the 1st, 2nd branch for additional gas. Additional gas may be supplied from both of the pipes 254 and 256 to the first and second branch pipes 204 and 206 for the processing gas, respectively. In this case, flow control means such as a mass flow controller may be provided in the first and second branch pipes 254 and 256 for additional gas, for example. As a result, the flow rate of the additional gas flowing through the first and second branch pipes 254 and 256 for the additional gas can be accurately controlled.

Further, in the second embodiment, the second branch pipe 206 for the process gas is composed of three or more branch pipes branching from the process gas supply pipe 202, and supplies additional gas to each of the second branch pipes. You may comprise so that supplying of the additional gas from the means 220 may be possible. According to this, since the upper electrode 301 can be divided into three or more process gas introduction parts, and the process gas is supplied to each, the uniformity of the process in the outer peripheral region of a wafer can be controlled more finely.

In addition, in the said 2nd Embodiment, although the case where the process gas supplied from the gas supply apparatus 201 ejected toward the wafer W from the upper part of the process chamber 110 was demonstrated, it is not necessarily limited to this, The process chamber ( The processing gas may be ejected from another portion of the 110, for example, from the side surface of the plasma generating space PS in the processing chamber 110. According to this, since predetermined process gas can be supplied from the upper part and the side part of plasma generation space PS, the gas concentration in plasma generation space PS can be adjusted. Thereby, in-plane uniformity of the processing of the wafer can be further improved.

In addition, in the said 1st, 2nd embodiment, although the upper electrode which made the cavity part provided in the back surface of an electrode plate into the shape which laminated | stacked the three-stage disc shaped cavity part was demonstrated as an example, the shape of a cavity part is not limited to this, Any shape may be used as long as it is a cavity having a shape having a different height from the center part and the peripheral part. For example, the number of stages of the cavity may be two, four or more, and may be tapered or cross-sectioned as the height gradually increases from the peripheral portion toward the center.

As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to this example. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be conceived within the scope described in the claims, and that they naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described first and second embodiments, the case where high frequency is applied to both the upper electrode and the lower electrode has been described. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto, and the present invention is applied even when the high frequency is applied only to the upper electrode. Can be applied. In addition, although the case where the high frequency of 27-150 MHz is applied to the upper electrode was demonstrated, it is not limited to this range. In addition, although the case where a semiconductor wafer is used as an to-be-processed substrate and etching is demonstrated, it is not limited to this, As another to-be-processed substrate, another board | substrate, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) board | substrate, may be sufficient. In addition, the plasma processing is not limited to etching, and other processing such as sputtering and CVD may be used.

The present invention is applicable to a plasma processing apparatus and also an electrode used.

According to the present invention, the nonuniformity of the electric field distribution on the electrode surface can be further reduced over a wide range from the center to the periphery, thereby producing a plasma with extremely high uniformity.

Claims (20)

delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete A first electrode and a second electrode are disposed to face each other in the processing chamber, the first electrode is divided into a plurality of gas introduction portions, and a plurality of gas ejection holes are formed in each gas introduction portion, and the substrate to be supported by the second electrode is supported. In the plasma processing apparatus, a predetermined plasma treatment is performed on the substrate to be processed by supplying a high frequency power to one or both of the electrodes while introducing a processing gas from each of the gas introduction sections. As an electrode used as a 1st electrode, An electrode plate facing the second electrode, A supporter bonded to a surface on the side opposite to the second electrode side of the electrode plate to support the electrode plate; A cavity provided in a joining surface with the electrode plate in the support and having a shape different in height from a central portion and a peripheral portion, A partition member for partitioning the cavity for each gas introduction portion; The partition member is an electrode, characterized in that consisting of a resin ring having a tapered surface having a V-shaped cross section on the side. A first electrode and a second electrode are disposed to face each other in the processing chamber, the first electrode is divided into a plurality of gas introduction portions, and a plurality of gas ejection holes are formed in each gas introduction portion, and the substrate to be supported by the second electrode is supported. In the plasma processing apparatus, a predetermined plasma treatment is performed on the substrate to be processed by supplying a high frequency power to one or both of the electrodes while introducing a processing gas from each of the gas introduction sections. As an electrode used as a 1st electrode, An electrode plate facing the second electrode, A supporter bonded to a surface on the side opposite to the second electrode side of the electrode plate to support the electrode plate; A cavity provided in a joining surface with the electrode plate in the support and having a shape different in height from a central portion and a peripheral portion, A partition member for partitioning the cavity for each gas introduction portion; The partition member is formed by spraying a ceramic material. delete delete delete A first electrode and a second electrode are disposed to face each other in the processing chamber, the first electrode is divided into first and second gas introduction portions, and a plurality of gas ejection holes are formed in each gas introduction portion, and the second electrode is supported by the second electrode. Plasma processing for performing a predetermined plasma treatment on the substrate by supplying high frequency power to one or both of the electrodes while generating a processing gas from the respective gas introduction sections toward the substrate to be processed. As a device, Processing gas supply means for supplying a processing gas for processing the substrate to be processed; A processing gas supply passage through which the processing gas from the processing gas supply means flows; First and second branch passages branching from the processing gas supply passage and connected to the first and second gas introduction portions, respectively; Fractionation amount adjusting means for adjusting a fractionation amount of the treatment gas classified into the first and second branch passages from the process gas supply passage based on the pressure in the first and second branch passages; Additional gas supply means for supplying a predetermined additional gas, An additional gas supply passage for joining the additional gas from the additional gas supply means to the first branch channel or the second branch channel downstream from the flow rate adjusting means; The first electrode is an electrode plate facing the second electrode, a support body bonded to a surface on the side opposite to the second electrode side of the electrode plate to support the electrode plate, and the electrode plate in the support body. And a cavity having a shape different in height from the center portion and the periphery portion, and a partition member for partitioning the cavity portion for each of the gas introduction portions. A first electrode and a second electrode are disposed to face each other in the processing chamber, the first electrode is divided into first and second gas introduction portions, and a plurality of gas ejection holes are formed in each gas introduction portion, and the second electrode is supported by the second electrode. Plasma processing for performing a predetermined plasma treatment on the substrate by supplying high frequency power to one or both of the electrodes while generating a processing gas from the respective gas introduction sections toward the substrate to be processed. As a device, Processing gas supply means for supplying a processing gas for processing the substrate to be processed; A processing gas supply passage through which the processing gas from the processing gas supply means flows; First and second branch passages for the process gas branched from the process gas supply passage and connected to the first and second gas introduction portions, respectively; Classification amount adjusting means which adjusts the fractionation amount of the process gas classified into the said 1st, 2nd branch flow paths for each process gas from the said process gas supply based on the pressure in the said 1st, 2nd branch flow paths for each process gas; , Additional gas supply means for supplying a predetermined additional gas, An additional gas supply passage through which the additional gas from the additional gas supply means flows; A first branch passage for the additional gas branched from the additional gas supply passage and connected to the first branch passage for the processing gas downstream from the flow rate adjusting means; A second branch flow path for the additional gas branched from the additional gas supply path and connected to the second branch flow path for the processing gas downstream from the flow rate adjusting means; A flow path switching means for switching a flow path through which the additional gas from the additional gas supply path flows among the first branch flow path for the additional gas and the second branch flow path for the additional gas, The first electrode is an electrode plate facing the second electrode, a support body bonded to a surface on the side opposite to the second electrode side of the electrode plate to support the electrode plate, and the electrode plate in the support body. And a cavity having a shape different in height from the center portion and the periphery portion, and a partition member for partitioning the cavity portion for each of the gas introduction portions. A first electrode and a second electrode are disposed to face each other in the processing chamber, the first electrode is divided into a plurality of gas introduction portions, and a plurality of gas ejection holes are formed in each gas introduction portion, and the substrate to be supported by the second electrode is supported. A plasma processing apparatus for performing a predetermined plasma treatment on a substrate to be processed by supplying high frequency power to one or both of the electrodes while generating a processing gas from each of the gas introduction sections toward the phase to generate plasma. Processing gas supply means for supplying a processing gas for processing the substrate to be processed; A processing gas supply passage through which the processing gas from the processing gas supply means flows; A plurality of branch passages branched from the processing gas supply passage and connected to the plurality of gas introduction portions, respectively; Fractionation amount adjusting means for adjusting the fractionation amount of the process gas classified into the branch passages from the process gas supply passage on the basis of the pressure in the branch passages; A plurality of additional gas supply means for supplying a predetermined additional gas, An additional gas supply passage for joining the additional gas from each of the additional gas supply means to the respective branch flow paths on the downstream side than the flow rate adjusting means; The first electrode is an electrode plate facing the second electrode, a support body bonded to a surface on the side opposite to the second electrode side of the electrode plate to support the electrode plate, and the electrode plate in the support body. And a cavity having a shape different in height from the center portion and the periphery portion, and a partition member for partitioning the cavity portion for each of the gas introduction portions.

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