TW201236097A - Substrate processing method and storage medium storing program for executing the method - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to detects substrate deviation after discharge in order to detect and terminate process at an early stage to prevent damage to the mounting table from abnormal discharge. This invention contains a discharge procedure, which provides high frequency power to the processing container to start discharge and generate plasma of processed gas on the processed substrate of substrate retaining surface before temporary increase in the flow of heat transfer gas from the provision of heat transfer gas to lower and stabilize and become below the existing reference value for pressure adjustment termination. The discharge procedure places several determinants to determine substrate deviation when heat transfer gas flow detected from the flow sensor exceeds existing threshold before stabilization of heat transfer gas flow, and sets threshold in every determinant to determine substrate deviation before stabilization of the heat transfer gas flow.

Description

[Technical Field] The present invention relates to a substrate processing method for plasma-treating a large substrate such as a substrate for a flat panel display (FPD), and a memory medium for storing the program for carrying out the method. [Prior Art] In the panel manufacturing of an FPD, a component, a electrode, a wiring, or the like which forms a halogen element is generally formed on a substrate made of an insulator such as glass. In various processes of such panel manufacturing, etching, CVD, plasma ashing, and subtraction: the majority of the fineness of the ore 4 is performed by a plasma processing apparatus. In a plasma processing apparatus, for example, a substrate is placed on a mounting table (having a crystal holder configured as a lower electrode) in a decompressible processing container, and high-frequency electric power is supplied to the crystal seat to form a processing gas on the substrate. The plasma is subjected to a predetermined treatment such as etching on the substrate by the plasma. In this case, it is necessary to suppress the temperature rise caused by the heat generation in the plasma treatment to control the substrate temperature, and the refrigerant system circulates the refrigerant conditioned by the condenser device to the two passages in the mounting table. At the same time, a gas having a high heat transfer property such as He gas is cooled. This cooling method is supplied to the mounting table 3 on the substrate holding surface of the board holding portion, for example, by electrostatic (=) Force the base (4) to be held on the mounting table, and on the other hand, when the substrate is displaced relative to the substrate surface of 201236097, the base ', surface is exposed on the crystal seat. Therefore, if high-frequency electric power is applied to the crystal holder to produce electricity in this state, abnormal discharge may occur and the crystal seat may be damaged.

The detection of such a substrate is first detected, and the occurrence of abnormal discharge can be prevented. In the method of detecting the substrate, the pressure measuring hole is provided on the upper portion of the mounting table, and the pressure measuring gas is supplied between the mounting table and the base by the pressure measuring wire. The practice of monitoring the pressure of the gas to measure the pressure. In this method, for example, in the case where there is no substrate or when the electrostaticsimple force is small, since the pressure is lowered due to gas leakage from the pressure measuring hole, the presence or absence of the substrate on the mounting table and the holding state are detected by monitoring the pressure. Further, in Patent Document 2, even after the generation of the plasma, if the gas supplied between the mounting σ and the substrate is stabilized, the pressure is lowered in the case of leakage, so that the gas is sufficiently stabilized. Monitor pressure changes to detect leaks. CITATION LIST Patent Literature PTL No. 2001-338914 (Patent Document) However, depending on the processing method of the substrate, the high-frequency electric power may be increased immediately after the plasma is generated. Or raise the pressure of the heat transfer gas, which will cause the substrate to be displaced to cause gas leakage. Therefore, as in Patent Document 1, it is only possible to determine the gas m before the generation of the electric s, but it is impossible to detect the gas leakage caused by the substrate offset of 201236097. Further, as in Patent Document 2, the gas leakage is monitored until the gas pressure (flow rate) is sufficiently stabilized, and the positional deviation cannot be detected immediately, and abnormal discharge occurs. At this point, although the gas leakage can be detected by detecting the flow of gas supplied between the mounting table and the substrate, the high-frequency electric power or the heat transfer gas pressure is raised immediately after the electric power is generated, due to the gas flow rate. Since the fluctuation is large, it is very difficult to monitor the gas flow rate immediately after the generation of the plasma to determine the substrate shift. Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide a substrate processing method and the like, which can perform substrate offset determination even before the flow of the heat transfer gas is stabilized after the discharge for generating the plasma is started. Even if the substrate position deviation occurs immediately after the start of discharge, the detection can be detected early and immediately stopped to prevent damage to the mounting table caused by abnormal discharge. In order to solve the above problems, according to a certain aspect of the present invention, a substrate processing method is provided for applying a plasma treatment to a substrate to be processed disposed in a decompressible processing container of a plasma processing apparatus; The slurry processing apparatus includes a substrate holding portion disposed in the processing container and configured to mount a substrate on which the substrate to be processed is placed, and a heat transfer gas flow path for holding the substrate holding portion and the substrate holding portion The heat transfer gas from the heat transfer gas supply source is supplied between the substrates to be processed; the flow sensor detects the heat transfer gas flow flowing out of the heat transfer gas flow path, and the frequency power source is used to generate the heat transfer gas. The high-frequency electric power of the electric power is supplied into the processing container; and the processing gas supply unit is supplied to the processing chamber by the high-frequency power (the fourth) of the processing gas supply unit; wherein the substrate processing method is provided with the following Step: modulating the supply of the heat transfer gas from the substrate supply unit to the substrate to be processed The heat transfer gas and the discharge step are stabilized after the flow rate of the heat transfer gas temporarily rising due to the heat transfer gas = is started, and the pressure is equal to or lower than the predetermined pressure regulation end reference value. In the processing container, the high-frequency electric power is supplied to start the discharge, and the plasma of the processing gas is generated on the substrate to be processed on the substrate, and the discharge step is set at a time before the flow of the heat transfer gas is stabilized. The plurality of determination points are determined as having a substrate offset when the flow rate of the heat transfer gas detected by the flow sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold value, and the threshold value is set so as not to wait for the heat transfer gas flow rate = plate offset determination. In order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable memory medium is provided, and a program for causing a computer to perform a substrate processing method for storing a plasma processing apparatus is provided. The substrate to be processed in the decompression processing container is subjected to a plasma treatment, and the plasma processing apparatus includes a substrate holding portion disposed in the processing container and configured to mount and hold the substrate to be processed. The heat transfer gas flow path supplies a heat transfer gas from the heat transfer gas supply source between the substrate holding portion and the substrate to be processed held on the substrate holding surface; the flow sensor is detected and flows out at 5 The heat transfer gas flow rate of the heat transfer gas flow path; the high frequency power supply is to be supplied to the heat transfer gas in the container of 201236097; and at the holding portion of the substrate; and the discharge step is -= =: The heat transfer which is temporarily increased at the beginning of the second feed: the second of the body is equal to or lower than the reference value of the predetermined pressure regulation end, and the electroconcentration is started at the substrate retention rate; The discharging step is based on the flow of the coffee;; === (4) when the detected body of the flow sensor has read the threshold value, the substrate offset is determined: the quantity ==::: value, to be The heat transfer gas further preferably determines the critical value of each of the determination points based on the past & 罝 of the heat transfer gas or the amount of change thereof. In this case, the above is that the amount of change may be the flow rate of the same determination point in the substrate processing performed before the substrate processing or the average value of the change amount thereof. If the flow rate of the determination point or the external lion is the rifle that has the discharge _ after the discharge step, the substrate can be stopped before the (4) boosting, and (4) immediately after the boosting The substrate is biased

8 201236097 = In this case, the heat transfer gas is raised after the start of the discharge until the heat transfer gas is boosted. Further, the determination point before the pressure increase of the heat transfer gas may be performed only before the heat transfer gas is boosted. Further, the determination point before the boosting of the heat transfer gas may be performed by setting a plurality of determination points from the start of discharge to the step of boosting the heat transfer gas to perform the determination of the substrate. Further, the supply of the high-frequency electric power of the high-frequency power source to the processing container may be performed, for example, by applying high-frequency electric power to a crystal holder provided in the processing chamber. According to the present invention, even after the start of discharge, a plurality of determination points for determining the substrate offset by the flow rate of the heat transfer gas are set by the time point before the heat transfer gas flow becomes stable, and a critical value is set at each point. The positional deviation of the substrate can be determined without waiting for the stability of the flow rate of the heat transfer gas. Therefore, even if a positional deviation occurs on the substrate immediately after the start of discharge, the treatment can be detected early and immediately terminated to prevent damage to the stage caused by abnormal discharge. [Embodiment] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification and the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the components having the same functional configurations, and the repeated description is omitted. In addition, in the present specification, lmTorr is set to (1〇 - 3xl01325/760) Pa ° (Configuration Example of Substrate Processing Apparatus) First, the present invention is applied to a multi-plasma processing apparatus.

An embodiment of the case of the multi-chamber type substrate processing apparatus of S 9 201236097 will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. In the substrate processing apparatus 100 shown in the figure, for example, a substrate for a flat panel display for glass substrate (substrate for FPD) is used as a substrate to be processed (hereinafter also simply referred to as "substrate") G, and plasma treatment is applied to the substrate g. 3 plasma processing devices 2〇〇. The plasma processing apparatus 200 is provided with a chamber composed of a processing container, and a mounting table on which the substrate G is placed is provided in the chamber. A shower head for introducing a processing gas (e.g., a program gas) is disposed above the mounting table. The mounting table is provided with a crystal seat which is a lower electrode constituting the main body, and the shower head which is disposed in parallel with the crystal seat also has the function of the upper electrode. The plasma processing apparatus 200 can perform the same processing (e.g., insect processing, etc.) or different processing (e.g., etching processing, plasma cleaning processing, etc.). Further, a specific configuration example of the plasma processing apparatus 2 will be described later. Each of the plasma processing apparatuses 200 is connected to the side surface of the transfer chamber 110 having a polygonal cross section (e.g., a section height rise &gt; shape) via a gate valve. The transfer chamber 110 is further coupled to the transfer chamber 110 via the gate valve 1〇4. The load lock chamber 12 is provided with a substrate carry-in/out mechanism 130 adjacent to the gate valve 1〇6. Two indexers (indeXer) 140 are respectively disposed adjacent to the substrate carry-in/out mechanism 130. A body 142 that can accommodate the substrate 载 is placed in the indexer 140. The body 142 can accommodate a plurality of sheets (for example, 25 sheets) of the substrate cassette. Plasma treatment of the substrate G by such a plasma processing apparatus 201236097 </ RTI> First, the substrate 〇 in the 142 142 is carried into the load lock chamber 120 by the substrate loading/unloading mechanism 130. At this time, when the substrate G having been processed is completed in the load lock chamber 120, the substrate 〇 after the processing is completed is carried out from the load lock chamber 120, and is replaced with the unprocessed substrate G. Once the substrate G is moved into the load lock chamber 120, the gate valve 1〇6 is closed. Next, after the pressure in the load lock chamber 12 is reduced to a predetermined degree of vacuum, the gate valve 1〇4 between the transfer chamber U0 and the load lock chamber 120 is opened. Then, the substrate g that has been loaded and locked to 12 〇 is moved to the transfer chamber u (4) by the transfer mechanism (not shown) in the transfer chamber HQ, and then the valve 1 〇 4 is closed. The gate valve 102 between the transfer chamber 11 and the plasma processing apparatus 2 is opened, and the unprocessed substrate g is carried into the mounting table in the chamber of the plasma processing apparatus 200 by the above-described transfer mechanism. At this time, if the substrate G' has been processed, the substrate G whose processing has been completed is carried out, and the substrate G is replaced with the substrate G. f The electric treatment device is in a fine chamber, and the processing gas is supplied to the lower electrode or the upper electrode or the upper electrode and the lower electrode by high-frequency electric power through the ugly chamber, and this is the lower electrode c. A battery of the processing gas is generated to perform predetermined plasma processing on the substrate G held on the mounting port. (Example of the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus) See the &quot;§ month for the example of the composition of the county. Here, a description will be given of a configuration example in which the plasma processing matter of the present invention is used for the electric hybrid type electric_electricity of the residual substrate G. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the schematic configuration of the device 200 of the electric shock device of the present invention. The plasma processing apparatus 2 shown in Fig. 2 is provided with a chamber 2〇2 composed of a substantially rectangular tubular processing container (e.g., the surface is anodized (aluminum-resistant). The chamber 202 is grounded to the ground. A mounting table 3 (having a crystal holder 310 constituting a lower electrode) is disposed at the bottom of the chamber 202. The mounting table 3 functions as a substrate holding mechanism for holding and holding the rectangular substrate G, and is formed in a rectangular shape corresponding to the rectangular substrate G. A specific configuration example of this mounting table will be described later. A shower head 210 that can function as an upper electrode is disposed above the mounting table 300 so as to be parallel to the crystal holder 31. The shower head 210 is supported on the upper portion of the chamber 202, has a buffer chamber 222 therein, and has a plurality of outflow holes 224 that flow out of the processing gas against the lower surface of the crystal holder 310. The shower head 210 is grounded to the ground, and the base 310 forms a pair of parallel plate electrodes. A gas introduction port 226 is provided on the upper surface of the shower head 210, and a gas introduction pipe 228 is connected to the gas inlet port 226. The gas introduction pipe 228 is connected to the processing gas supply source 234 via the on-off valve 230 and the mass flow controller (MFC) 232. These constitute a processing gas supply unit. The process gas system from the process gas supply source 234 is controlled to a predetermined flow rate by a mass flow controller (MFC) 232, and is introduced into the buffer chamber 222 of the shower head 210 through the gas introduction port 226. For the treatment gas (etching gas), for example, a halogen-based gas, a helium gas, or an Ar gas can be used, which is equivalent to a gas generally used in the art. The side wall of the chamber 202 is provided with a substrate for opening and closing the loading and unloading port 204

S 201236097 gate valve 102. Further, an exhaust port is provided below the side wall of the chamber 202, and an exhaust device 209 including a vacuum pump (not shown) is connected to the exhaust port via the exhaust pipe 208. By exhausting the chamber of the chamber 202 by means of the exhaust unit 209, the inside of the chamber 202 can be maintained in a predetermined vacuum atmosphere (e.g., 10 mTorr = about 1.33 Pa) in the plasma processing. A control unit (entire control unit) 400 is connected to the plasma processing apparatus 200, and the control unit 400 controls the respective units of the plasma processing apparatus 2. Further, a control panel for an operator to perform a command input operation for the plasma processing apparatus 200, a display for visually displaying the operation state of the plasma processing apparatus 200, or an input operation is connected to the control unit 400. An operation unit 410 constituted by a touch panel or the like of both the terminal function and the status display function. Further, a control unit 400 is connected to the control unit 400, and stores a program for storing various processes (such as substrate processing described later) performed by the plasma processing apparatus 2 under the control of the control unit 400, or is useful for storage. To implement the processing conditions (recipes) required for the program. For example, a plurality of processing conditions (recipe) used for substrate processing, and a reference value of a heat transfer gas flow rate used in a substrate offset determination process to be described later (for example, a pressure regulation end reference value, and a determination) are stored in the 420 system. The reference value, etc.), or the critical value of each point. Regarding the conditions, the control parameters of each part of the plasma processing apparatus 200 are controlled to be: a plurality of parameter values such as 疋 parameters. Each processing condition has, for example, a parameter value such as a machine weight ratio of the processing gas, a pressure in the chamber, and a high frequency electric power. The plasma treatment is performed by flattening the substrate. The substrate processing is carried out under such processing conditions. 13 201236097 The same processing conditions can be carried out to carry out the processing of the substrate G in the same processing conditions as the substrate G. In addition, the programs and processing conditions may be stored in a hard disk, a semiconductor memory, or placed in the memory unit 4 in a state of being stored in a memory medium readable by a portable computer such as a CD-ROM or a DVD. 2 The established position of the 。. The control unit 400 controls each unit by reading a desired program and processing conditions from the storage unit 420 based on an instruction from the operation unit 41, etc., to perform processing desired by the plasma processing apparatus 200. The operation of the operation unit 410 is to edit the processing conditions. (Example of the configuration of the mounting table to which the substrate holding mechanism is applied) Here, a specific configuration example of the mounting table 3 to which the substrate holding mechanism of the present invention is applied will be described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3 . Fig. 3 is a view showing a configuration example of a heat transfer gas supply mechanism of the mounting table 300. Fig. 3 is a simplified cross-sectional view showing a portion of the upper portion of the mounting table 300 shown in Fig. 2. The holding portion 320 shown in Fig. 2 is omitted in Fig. 3 for the sake of simplicity. As shown in Fig. 2, the mounting table 300 is provided with an insulating base member 302 and rectangular block crystals, which are provided on the base structure 2 302, and are formed of conductors of the main body of the mounting table 3 (8). (For example, the side surface of the seat 310 is covered with the insulating film 311 as shown in Fig. 2. On the cymbal 310, 'a case of the substrate holding portion for holding the substrate G on the substrate holding surface is used. The electrostatic holding portion is provided. The static electricity 201236097 is formed, for example, between the lower dielectric layer f and the lower dielectric layer = the electrode plate 322. The outer frame is configured to cover the outer frame. A rectangular frame-shaped outer frame portion 330 formed of an insulating member such as Tao Jing or quartz is disposed around the member 302, the crystal holder 31 , and the electrostatic holding portion 32 . The direct current (DC) power source 315 is connected via the switch 316. Electrically connected to the static, holding electrode plate 322 of p 320. The switch 316 is for example switched between the DC power source 315 and the ground potential for the electrode plate 322. In addition, between the = electrode plate 322 and the direct current (DC) power source 315 It is also possible to set the high frequency from the side of the crystal holder 310 to block the crystal holder 31. The high frequency side of the side is the dc electric=, 315 side leakage type high frequency blocking part (not shown). The high frequency blocking part is replaced by the f (four) or the low cost of the money. Once the switch 316 is switched to the DC power source 315 On the side, DC dust from source 315 is applied to the electrode plate. When this % electric f is positive, it is in the case of Qian Shi (electron, negative ion). Thereby, the negative J on the substrate G = There will be a Coulomb force (ie, electrostatic adsorption force) that attracts the substrate and the upper dielectric layer, and the substrate G is attracted to the mounting table 3 (8) by the electrostatic adsorption force. — == Then, 'the DC voltage is opposite to the electrode plate 322;: V' and then the predetermined static elimination process is required to remove the upper surface of the static electricity 320 (substrate holding surface) and the substrate 1.: Electrosorption force. The electric power (4) releases the above static 15 201236097 The crystal holder 3H) is electrically connected to the output terminal of the high frequency power supply 314 via the matching unit 312. The output frequency of the high frequency power source 314 is selected, for example, at 13.f6 MHz. The electropolymerization pz of the processing gas is generated on the substrate G by the high-frequency electric power from the high-frequency power source 314 applied to the crystal holder 31, and the predetermined plasma etching treatment is applied to the substrate G. A refrigerant flow path 34 is provided inside the crystal holder 310, and the cold medium from the condenser device (not shown) is adjusted to a cold temperature through the refrigerant circuit 340. The temperature of the crystal holder 31 () can be adjusted to a predetermined temperature by the refrigerant. The mounting table 300 is provided with a heat transfer gas supply means for supplying a heat transfer gas (for example, He gas) between the substrate holding surface of the electrostatic holding portion 320 and the inner surface of the substrate G at a predetermined pressure. The heat transfer gas supply means supplies the heat transfer gas to the inner surface of the substrate G at a predetermined pressure via the gas flow path 352 inside the crystal holder 31. Specifically, the heat transfer gas supply means is constituted as shown in Fig. 3, for example. That is, a plurality of gas holes 354 are provided on the upper surface of the crystal holder 31 and the electrostatic holding portion 320 (omitted in Fig. 3) shown in Fig. 2, and the gas holes 354 are in communication with the gas flow path 352. The gas holes 354 are, for example, arranged in a plurality of gas hole forming regions r separated from the substrate holding surface Ls by a predetermined interval. For example, a heat transfer gas supply source for supplying a heat transfer gas (for example, He gas) &lt; 366 is via a friction adjusting valve (ρ[ν : pressure c〇ntr〇i

VaWe) 362 is connected to the gas flow path 352. The pressure control valve (PCV) 362 adjusts the flow rate so that the pressure of the heat transfer gas supplied to the side of the gas hole 3 5 4 becomes a predetermined pressure 16 201236097. The pressure regulating valve (P c V) 3 62 is composed of, for example, a flow sensor (flow meter) 364 for measuring the flow rate of the heat transfer gas, and other unillustrated, flow regulating valves (for example, piezoelectric valves), and the like. Integration of the constituents. ' &quot; In addition, in Figure 3, the pressure regulating valve (PCV) 362 is formed using a flow sensor 3 material, a pressure sensor, and a flow regulating valve. This 'can also be used in gas flow two 52 to individually set these flow sensing H 364, pressure sense (four), flow adjustment valve. Further, as such a pressure sensor, for example, a manometer such as a capacitor fluid pressure gauge (CM) can be cited. The flow rate adjustment is not limited to a piezoelectric valve, and may be, for example, an electromagnetic enthalpy. ^ ° The pressure regulating valve (PCV) 362 and the heat transfer gas supply source 366 are respectively connected to the control unit 400 of each unit of the control substrate processing apparatus 100. The control unit 400 controls the heat transfer gas supply source 366 so that the heat transfer gas flows out to the pressure adjustment valve (PCV) 362 to set the pressure, and the pressure adjustment valve (PCV) 3 62 adjusts the heat transfer gas to a predetermined flow rate and supplies the gas to the gas. Flow path 352. The controller of the pressure regulating valve (pcv) 362 controls the piezoelectric valve to control the flow rate of the heat transfer gas by, for example, using PID control such that the gas pressure becomes the set pressure. Thereby, the heat transfer gas is supplied to the inner surface of the substrate G at a predetermined pressure through the gas flow path 352 and the gas hole 354. On the other hand, such a heat transfer gas supply means can measure the pressure of the gas flow path 352 by the pressure sensor built in the pressure regulating valve (PCV) 362 at the end of 201236097, and can be based on the measured heat transfer gas pressure. The heat transfer gas flow is controlled and a built-in flow sensor 364 can be used to monitor the flow of the heat transfer gas to detect if a leak has occurred. Since the leakage of the heat transfer gas varies depending on the position of the substrate G, the positional deviation of the substrate G can be detected by monitoring the flow rate of the heat transfer gas. For example, when the positional deviation of the substrate G occurs as shown in FIG. 4, the heat transfer gas is leaked from the portion of the formation region R of the gas hole 354 without the substrate G, so that the flow rate of the heat transfer gas does not occur. The leakage will become larger. Thereby, the positional deviation of the substrate G can be detected by monitoring the flow rate of the heat transfer gas. As shown in FIG. 4, once a portion (a portion of the substrate holding surface) of the substrate G is formed, the electromagnetism is generated as shown in FIG. Therefore, it is feared that abnormal discharge will occur, and damage to the private substrate holding surface of the crystal seat will be caused, and the mounting table 300 will be damaged. Therefore, it is preferable to monitor the heat transfer gas flow rate by monitoring the heat transfer gas before the abnormal discharge of the electricity generation is prevented. In addition, shortly after the generation of the plasma, due to the increase of the electric power or the increase of the heat transfer gas pressure, the heat transfer ί Wei ^ ^ changes greatly, so as long as waiting for the transfer of the body flow to fill the second - 疋 and then monitor the transfer H The amount of the substrate G can be detected with high precision. Fig. 6 shows the specific point of the heat transfer gas flow in the case where the substrate treatment of the heat transfer gas pressure and the applied voltage of the high frequency electric power is changed shortly after the generation of the plasma is shown in Fig. 6 . Time chart of change. Fig. 6 shows a specific example of a substrate treatment in which the heat transfer gas pressure and the high-frequency electric power are stepwise increased. As shown in Fig. 6, the substrate processing firstly adjusts the pressure of the heat transfer gas by a pressure regulating step, and then applies a high frequency electric power to generate a discharge step of the slurry PZ. At this time, the pressure of the heat transfer gas is set to the first pressure (for example, 1.5 ΤΟΠ·) in the pressure regulating step, and the supply of the heat transfer gas (tl) is started. As a result, the flow rate of the heat transfer gas is rapidly increased and supplied to the lower side of the substrate G, and once accumulated to a certain extent, it gradually becomes smaller. At this time, the flow rate of the heat transfer gas is monitored, and the high frequency electric power discharge is started when the pressure regulation end value is set to be less than or equal to the preset pressure regulation end value. Thereby, the plasma PZ is generated to start the discharging step. In particular, in recent years, the size of the substrate 2 has been further increased, and the size of the mounting table 300 has been increased as compared with the prior art, so that the flow rate of the heat transfer gas is required to be sufficiently stabilized. Therefore, the pressure regulation end reference value is set based on the flow rate at the time point (t2) which is somewhat stabilized. At this time, even if the pause time is exceeded, when the flow rate of the heat transfer gas is not lower than the reference value for the end of the pressure regulation, the leakage of the heat transfer gas due to the occurrence of the substrate shift is considered to stop the substrate processing without performing plasma generation. Use it to discharge. By this, abnormal discharge can be prevented. Thereafter, the heat transfer gas pressure (e.g., 3T rrrr) is raised in the discharge step, so that the high frequency electric power is also increased. At this time, if the heat transfer gas is set to the 201236097 pressure, the heat transfer gas flow rate will temporarily rise rapidly and then gradually decrease. The pressure of the heat transfer gas will reach the set pressure. In this way, the change in the flow rate of the heat transfer gas becomes large shortly after the start of the discharge step, and the change in the flow rate also changes depending on the processing conditions. Therefore, the criterion for determining the flow rate of the heat transfer gas for determining the G-position of the substrate is determined. The value is extremely difficult. Therefore, in the past, when the discharge of the heat transfer gas was started after the discharge of the plasma PZ was started (after t2), it was waited for after the predetermined delay time (t4) from the start of discharge (t2), that is, the wait for the discharge step. When the flow rate of the hot gas is sufficiently stabilized, the monitoring of the flow rate of the heat transfer gas is started, and when the flow rate after the stabilization changes, leakage is considered to determine the positional deviation of the substrate. Specifically, the determination reference value which is lower than the pressure regulation end reference value is always set, and when the determination reference value is exceeded, the positional deviation of the substrate G is judged. / However, as shown in the discharge step of Fig. 6, after the generation of the plasma, the high-frequency electric power of the south or the increase of the heat transfer gas pressure sometimes occurs because the substrate G occurs between t2 and t4. Position bias. In this case, if the monitoring of the flow rate of the heat transfer gas is started after the star has passed the t4, the undetected state will be obtained from the time of the collision, and the positional deviation cannot be detected immediately, and the abnormal discharge is generated to damage the mounting table 300. In the present embodiment, even after the start of the discharge, the determination point is determined by using the flow rate of the heat transfer gas to determine the position deviation of the substrate g, and the complex point is set at a point before the steady flow rate is stabilized. Let C be able to determine the positional deviation of the substrate G without waiting for the flow of the heat transfer gas to stabilize (no need to wait). Thereby, even in electricity

20 201236097 The occurrence of a shift in the substrate G shortly after the generation of poly is also detected early. Therefore, if the processing is terminated immediately after the substrate G is displaced, the damage of the mounting table 300 due to abnormal discharge can be prevented as much as possible. b Specific examples of the substrate processing including the positional deviation determination of the substrate G of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 7 is a flow chart showing the outline of the main routine operation of a specific example of substrate processing in the present embodiment. Fig. 8 is a flow chart showing the outline of the subroutine operation as a specific example of the substrate offset determination processing shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a timing chart showing the processing of Figs. 7 and 8. Here, a substrate treatment in which the heat transfer gas pressure and the high-frequency electric power are stepwise increased in the same manner as in Fig. 6 is taken as a specific example. The control unit 400 performs the substrate processing shown in Fig. 7 on the substrate G loaded on the substrate 3 based on a predetermined program. This substrate processing first performs a pressure regulating step (steps S11 to S130), and further performs a plasma processing in a discharging step (steps S140 to S190). Specifically, in step S110, the inside of the chamber 2〇2 is decompressed to a predetermined vacuum pressure, and the processing gas is introduced into the chamber 202 from the shower head 210, and the introduction of the heat transfer gas is started in step S120. Then, as shown in Fig. 9, the flow rate of the heat transfer gas is rapidly increased and supplied to the lower side of the substrate G, and gradually becomes smaller as it accumulates to some extent. Then, in step S130, the flow rate sensor 364 of the pressure regulating valve (pcv) monitors the flow rate of the heat transfer gas to determine whether or not the flow rate of the heat transfer gas is equal to or lower than the reference value for the end of the pressure regulation. At this time, when it is judged that the flow rate of the heat transfer gas is not equal to or lower than the pressure regulation end reference value, the time elapsed from the start of the introduction of the heat transfer gas is compared with S132 201236097, and it is judged whether or not the pause is set in advance. When it is judged that the step S132 does not exceed the timeout to the step S13, the case where the heat transfer gas flow rate is continued is the case where the pause time is returned, since the transmission is high, the step S134 is to be stabilized. The error = is G:: "The substrate G is not placed on the substrate, or the substrate W is replaced by the substrate. Therefore, in this case, it is to be stabilized in step S134. For example, the display is stopped by the heat transfer gas. The display of 卩410 is displayed by an error or is notified by an alarm. In this case, when it is judged that the flow rate of the heat transfer gas is equal to or lower than the reference value of the end of the pressure regulation, the substrate is placed in a state of being 〇 κ. Supply of heat transfer gas

The state is OK, and the processing of the substrate G is started by the discharging step after the step S14. Specifically, the first high frequency electric power (e.g., 5k\V) is applied to generate the plasma pz of the process gas in step s14. Then, the heat transfer gas is boosted in step S150, and the second high frequency electric power higher than the first high frequency electric power is applied in step S160. At this time, as shown in Fig. 9, the flow rate of the heat transfer gas temporarily rises rapidly, and then gradually becomes smaller. In the present embodiment, the substrate offset determination process is performed by the flow rate of the heat transfer gas immediately after the step S150 and S160, that is, immediately after the heat transfer gas temporarily rises rapidly (step S200). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, it is determined in step S210 whether or not it is a decision point. 22 201236097 Exactly the fineness from the heat transfer gas boost (t3), the witness = the forging number Hung ding _ fixed point two ^ = day _ pre-set = the situation is implemented as a judgment: Si: the time point, in the figure ”,==: In order to judge immediately (4), the shorter the interval is, the more it will be: H1G riding the ring point, in step S220, the value of * is stored in the memory Qin is the same as the threshold for setting the same decision point at the time of the underarm-substrate processing. ί Z H2 3 G Compare the amount of the heat transfer gas flow port based on the J疋 point in the previous previous substrate processing. This ==: the average of the actual heat transfer gas flow rate of the substrate treatment, and the average value of the current allowable flow rate. The heat transfer gas flow rate used in the case of the 4th threshold value It is assumed that the substrate is offset by the accuracy of the offset of the earth plate. θ Next, it is determined in step S240 whether the heat transfer gas flow rate at the determination point is below a critical value. In the case of a non-critical value or less, it is determined in step S242 that there is an abnormality in substrate offset In step S244, the substrate offset error processing is performed. In the substrate offset error processing, for example, the substrate processing is temporarily suspended, and the determination result is displayed on the display or notified by an alarm.

S 23 201236097, when it is judged in step S240 that the flow rate of the heat transfer gas is equal to or lower than the critical value, it is regarded as no substrate shift, and the process returns to the process of Fig. 7, and the base is continued. The board processing is performed until the respective determination points are made, and the threshold value is set based on the critical value set by the determination point every time the determination point is made. In step S180, if it is judged that the processing time has elapsed, the high-frequency electric power is stopped in step S190, and the processing gas and the heat-transfer gas are stopped to terminate the series-substrate processing. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, since the substrate offset determination can be performed at the time point tp at which the heat transfer gas is stabilized at the time point (t4) when the heat transfer gas is stabilized, for example, even if the heat transfer gas is boosted or the high frequency electric power is increased. After the rise, the situation can be detected before the point at which the heat transfer gas is stable (t4), and the process can be terminated immediately. Thereby, damage to the mounting table 300 due to abnormal discharge can be prevented as much as possible. In addition, the critical value of each determination point can be set to a more precise threshold value by the actual heat transfer gas flow rate of the same determination point used in the past substrate processing. For example, the actual heat transfer gas flow rate is associated with the plasma processing apparatus 200. Subtly changing with the processing conditions, and the corresponding exact threshold can be automatically set. Thereby, the substrate offset determination can be increased, and the threshold value can be used to compare the heat transfer gas flow rate for each determination point, and the set value can be calculated in advance when the temperature of the temperature control gas is stored. The threshold value of the substrate processing set and stored is used in the determination of the same decision point of the next substrate processing. In addition, as a critical value for each decision point, it can replace the past substrate

24 201236097 The actual heat transfer gas flow rate at the same decision point is used, and the change amount of the heat transfer gas flow rate is used instead. In this case, the "flow rate" can be replaced by the "flow rate" in steps S230 and S240 shown in Fig. 8. Since the upper surface potential of the electrostatic holding portion 320 is slightly changed depending on the processing conditions of the substrate processing (the type of the processing gas, the pressure in the chamber, etc.), the flow rate of the heat transfer gas does not necessarily decrease or becomes constant, and is somewhat slow. The situation of rising. Even in such a case, by using the amount of change in the flow rate of the heat transfer gas as the critical value of each determination point as described above, even if the flow rate of the heat transfer gas rises, the amount of change at each determination point is not increased to a critical value or more. Then, it can be determined that there is no leakage and no normal state of substrate offset. Further, since the threshold value thus set is changed with the actual flow rate 5, the fixed threshold value can be set in advance, and the fixed threshold value is reset when the fixed threshold value becomes excessive. Further, in the substrate processing shown in Fig. 9, when a relatively low second-order high-frequency electric power is applied to the point (t2) below the voltage regulation end reference value to start the discharge step, there is a possibility that the substrate shift occurs. Therefore, it is also possible to determine the substrate offset by the heat transfer gas flow i at this time before the start of the boosting of the hot gas. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, the flow rate of the heat transfer gas may be measured at a point (ta) before the heat transfer gas is immediately boosted, and it is determined whether or not the flow rate of the heat transfer gas is lower than the reference value for the end of the pressure regulation. The judgment reference value is below. In this case, it is determined that the time point (ta) before the heat transfer gas is immediately boosted is equal to or lower than the determination reference value, and when it is determined that the heat transfer gas is not equal to or lower than the reference value of 25 201236097, the substrate is offset due to the substrate offset. Fishing energy. Therefore, when it is determined that the determination is equal to or less than the determination reference value, the substrate processing is continued, and when it is determined that the determination is not equal to or less than the determination reference value, the substrate processing is temporarily suspended by the substrate offset error processing in the same manner as step S244 of FIG. . According to this, even if the substrate G is displaced after the start of the discharge step, the substrate processing can be stopped by detecting the heat transfer gas immediately before the increase in the surface frequency electric power, so that the high-frequency electric power can be prevented from rising as much as possible. The damage caused by the abnormal discharge caused by the mounting table 3〇〇. Further, not only the time point (ta) of the heat transfer gas immediately before the boosting, but also, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, the complex determination is made from the time point (t2) at which the discharge step is started to the time before the heat transfer gas is to be boosted (ta). Click to make a decision. In this case, similarly to the substrate offset processing shown in Fig. 8, the determination can be made using the threshold value set based on the flow rate of the same determination point before the previous time. Then, when it is determined that the threshold value is equal to or less than the threshold value, the substrate processing is continued, and when it is determined that the threshold value is not equal to or lower than the threshold value, the substrate offset error processing is temporarily suspended in the same manner as step S244 of FIG. 8 . Substrate processing. According to this, even if the positional deviation occurs on the substrate G after the start of the discharge step, the substrate processing can be immediately detected and the substrate processing can be stopped, so that the damage of the mounting table 3 due to the abnormal discharge can be prevented as much as possible. Further, according to the processing of Fig. 1 and Fig. 1 described above, it is possible to measure the flow rate of the heat transfer gas by applying the low-frequency first high-frequency electric power to the extent that the high-substrate adsorption force is relatively low in the range in which the abnormal discharge is hard to occur.

26 201236097 Detecting the occurrence of a leak. Then, when it is confirmed that the leakage of the heat transfer gas has not occurred, the application of the second high-frequency electric power by the main discharge is performed by the main discharge. Heretofore, the case where the heat transfer gas is boosted immediately after the start of the discharge step is described as an example, but the substrate process of the present embodiment can be applied even in the case where the heat transfer gas is not boosted. Here, the time history diagram of the case where the heat transfer gas is not boosted immediately after the start of the discharge step is as shown in Fig. 12. In the case shown in Fig. 12, since the heat transfer gas is not boosted, the flow rate of the heat transfer gas does not largely change after the start of discharge (t2), but is slowly reduced and stabilized. In this case, the step S150 shown in Fig. 7 can be omitted to be applied. Further, in the case where there is no significant change in the heat transfer gas after the discharge step as described above, the substrate shift determination process (step S2) can be performed from the discharge step (step sl4) as shown in Fig. 12 . According to this, even after the start of the discharge step, the determination point of the substrate G-bit bias is determined by the flow rate of the heat transfer gas, and the complex point is set from the time point (t2) before the flow of the heat transfer gas is stabilized, and the threshold is set at each point. The value can be determined by the substrate offset determination process from the time point (9) before the point (8) at which the flow rate of the gas is stabilized. Thereby, since it is possible to detect the substrate shift early without waiting for the flow of the heat transfer gas to be stable (without waiting for the passage of the material), the damage of the mounting table 300 due to the abnormal discharge can be prevented as much as possible. In the substrate offset determination process shown in the other aspect, the substrate transfer processing using the same determination point is used as an example. Each of the judgments 27 201236097 The critical value of the fixed point is not limited thereto, and for example, the actual heat transfer gas flow rate at the determination point closest to the same substrate processing front may be set as a critical value. Here, the substrate offset determination processing in the case where the critical value of each determination point is set to the actual heat transfer gas flow rate at the determination point closest to the front is shown in Fig. 13 . In Fig. 13, step S230 of Fig. 8 is replaced with steps S232, S234. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 13, when it is determined as the determination point in step S210, the flow rate of the heat transfer gas at the determination point is stored in the memory unit 420 in step S220. Here, the threshold value of the decision point is set under the same substrate processing. Next, in step S232, it is judged whether or not it is the first determination point, and when it is determined as the first determination point, the process returns to step S210, and it is determined whether or not it has become the next determination point. This is because the first decision point does not have the decision point closest to the front. Therefore, the threshold value is set based on the heat transfer gas flow rate from the next judgment point based on the most recent sin. Further, at the initial determination point, the substrate offset may be determined by using a predetermined value obtained based on the flow rate of the heat transfer gas at the same determination point of the past substrate processing as a critical value. 1 Then, in step S232', when it is judged that it is not the initial determination point, the threshold value set based on the body flow rate of the determination point closest to the front side is compared with the heat transfer gas of the determination point in step S234. The critical value for this situation can be the value of the actual heat transfer gas flow at the top of the > L, and can be further increased to the value of the established allowable flow rate. Then, in step S240, it is judged whether or not the heat transfer gas flow rate at the determination point is equal to or lower than the critical value. When it is determined that the heat transfer gas flow rate is not below the critical value, the abnormality of the substrate offset is determined in step SM2, and the substrate offset error processing is performed in step S244. The substrate offset error processing is, for example, temporarily suspending the substrate processing, and the determination result is entered at a position or notified by an alarm. The device is displayed in step S240. When it is judged that the flow rate of the heat transfer gas is critical, it is considered that there is no substrate offset and the process returns to the process of FIG. 7, and the value continues below the substrate processing until the predetermined time is set/step S180 processing time) 'Whenever a decision point is reached, the substrate offset is determined based on the critical value of the sequence. The specific setting of the defect is the critical value of the substrate offset shown in Fig. 13 for each judgment point. The value is the actual heat transfer gas flow rate at the decision point closest to the same weapon, = treatment: before: the quantity is the same or relatively low, it is judged as normal, and the condition of the long-term/claw flow is It is judged that the heat transfer gas generation = exceeds the = plate offset. This is because the leak occurs when the substrate offset occurs, and the heat transfer gas flow (four) 'should be from the 0, the judgment point is more The amount of (10) is the closest. Even if it is shown by the substrate offset shown in Fig. 13 or as shown in Fig. 12, the time point from the 3' = time point (8) in the discharge step (tp shown in Fig. 9 or The scandal and the nitrogen body are stable and the substrate is offset, that is, (4) such as heat transfer ^L

S 29 201236097 The substrate offset occurs after the frequency power is increased. It can be detected before the heat transfer gas is stable (t4), and the processing can be terminated immediately. Thereby, damage to the mounting table 300 due to abnormal discharge can be prevented as much as possible. Further, the shorter the interval between the determination points, the faster the substrate offset determination can be performed. Further, similarly to the case shown in FIG. 9, the substrate transfer determination process shown in FIG. 13 is used instead of using the actual heat transfer gas flow rate of the determination point closest to the front side. The critical value of the decision point. In this case, the "flow rate" in steps S234 and S240 shown in FIG. 13 can be replaced by "change amount of flow rate". According to this, it is possible to determine that there is no leak or no, even if the flow rate of the heat transfer gas is reduced or becomes a certain condition, even if the amount of change at each determination point is not larger than the critical value. The normal state of the substrate offset. In addition, a medium such as a memory medium storing a software program (for implementing the functions of the above embodiments) is supplied to the system or device, and the memory medium is read by the computer (or CPU, MPU) of the system or the device. The present invention can also be achieved by executing a program stored in the media. In this case, the program read from the medium such as the memory medium is the function of the above embodiment, and the memory medium 4 storing the program constitutes the present invention. As a medium for providing a memory medium for a program, for example, a floppy disk (registered trademark), a hard disk, a compact disk, a magneto-optical disk can be cited.

Disc, CD — R〇M, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD + RW, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, ROM, etc. In addition, the media can be downloaded from the Internet to 201236097. Furthermore, the present invention also includes a case where, by executing a computer reading program, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but even an OS or the like operating on a computer performs part or all of actual processing based on the program instructions. The function of the above embodiment is realized by this processing. Furthermore, the present invention also includes a case where a program read from a medium such as a memory medium is written to a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted in a computer or a function expansion unit connected to a computer, The function of the above embodiment is realized by the processing based on the program command 'a part or all of the actual processing by the function expansion board or the CPU provided in the function expansion unit. The description has been made by the work, but the present invention is of course not limited to the related examples. It is a matter of course that the person skilled in the art can think of various modifications or corrections within the scope of the patent application, which is of course also within the technical scope of the present invention. For example, in each of the above embodiments, the case where the electric power is generated by applying a high frequency to the crystal seat has been described, but a method other than applying a high frequency to the crystal holder may be employed. In the case of frequency, the case where plasma is generated by the sense-type discharge, and the case where the microwave generates the f pad. Regardless of the method, the plasma s is exposed as long as the substrate holding surface is exposed, and the method of supplying the high-frequency region (4) for generation is not limited to those described in the above embodiments. The present invention is applicable to a substrate processing method and a memory medium that memorizes a program that implements the method of the party 201236097. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a plasma processing apparatus of the same embodiment. Fig. 3 is a view for explaining a configuration example of a heat transfer gas supply mechanism of the same embodiment. Fig. 4 is a view for explaining the action of the mounting table of the embodiment, in which the heat transfer gas leaks due to the substrate offset. Fig. 5 is a view for explaining the action of the mounting table of the embodiment, and is a case where plasma is generated in the state of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a timing chart for explaining the substrate processing of the comparative example. Fig. 7 is a flow chart showing the outline of the main routine operation of a specific example of substrate processing in the same embodiment. Fig. 8 is a flow chart showing the outline of the subroutine operation of the specific example of the substrate offset determination processing shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a timing chart for explaining a specific example of substrate processing in the embodiment. Fig. 10 is a timing chart for explaining a modification of the substrate processing of the embodiment. Fig. 11 is a timing chart for explaining another modification of the substrate processing of the embodiment. Fig. 12 is a timing chart for explaining other substrate processing in the embodiment.

32 201236097 Fig. 13 is a flow chart showing the outline of the second routine operation of the modification of the substrate offset determination processing shown in Fig. 8. [Main component symbol description] 100 substrate processing apparatus 102, 104, 106 gate valve 110 transfer chamber 120 load lock chamber 130 substrate carry-in mechanism 140 indexer 142 body 200 plasma processing apparatus 202. chamber (processing container) 204 substrate carry-in port 208 row Air pipe 209 Exhaust device 210 Shower head 222 Buffer chamber 224 Outflow hole 226 Gas introduction port 228 Gas introduction pipe 230 Opening and closing valve 232 Mass flow controller (MFC) 234 Process gas supply source 300 Mounting table 33 201236097

302 310 311 312 314 315 316 320 322 330 340 352 354 362 364 366 400 410 420 G Base member Crystal Insulation Film Matcher Surface frequency power supply DC power switch Electrostatic holding part Electrode plate Outer frame part Refrigerant flow path Gas flow path gas Hole pressure control valve (PCV) flow sensor heat transfer gas supply source control unit operation unit memory unit substrate 34

Claims (1)

201236097 VII. Scope of application for patents·· 1.--S-type substrate processing method is for the treatment of the inside of the treatment container which can be decompressed. Wherein, the plasma processing apparatus is provided with a substrate holding portion, which is placed in the privacy reduction (four), and constitutes a mounting table on which the substrate to be processed is held; the heat transfer gas flow path is held for the substrate And supplying a heat transfer gas from the source of the gas supply to the substrate to be processed held by the substrate holding surface; and the flow sensor 'detecting the flow rate of the heat transfer gas flowing out of the heat transfer gas flow path; ___ The high frequency original is supplied with the high frequency lightning power for generating the plasma into the processing container; and the processing gas supply unit supplies the processing gas electrically charged by the high frequency electric power to the high frequency electric power. In the processing chamber, the substrate processing method includes the following steps: a method of adjusting the pressure from the heat transfer gas supply source to a predetermined pressure between the substrate holding portion and the substrate to be processed To supply the biography The hot gas and the discharge step are equal to or lower than a predetermined pressure regulation end reference value until the flow rate of the heat transfer gas temporarily increased due to the start of the supply of the heat transfer gas is stabilized. The high-frequency electric power is supplied into the container to start discharging, and the processing gas is generated on the substrate to be processed on the substrate holding surface 35 201236097 slurry; in the discharging step, a plurality of times are set before the flow rate of the heat transfer gas is stabilized When the flow rate of the heat transfer gas detected by the flow sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that there is a determination point of the substrate offset, and the threshold value is set for each determination point so as not to stabilize the flow rate of the heat transfer gas The substrate offset determination is performed. 2. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the critical value of each of the determination points is determined based on a past flow rate of the heat transfer gas or a change amount thereof. 3. The substrate processing method of claim 2, wherein the past flow rate or the amount of change is an average value of a flow rate of the same determination point in the substrate processing performed before the substrate processing or an amount of change thereof. 4. The substrate processing method according to claim 2, wherein the past flow rate or the amount of change thereof is a flow rate of the decision point closest to the surface before the substrate processing or a change amount thereof. 5. The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, in the case of the step of raising the pressure of the heat transfer gas after the start of discharge in the discharging step, the system is stopped immediately before the boosting The substrate offset is determined, and the substrate offset determination is resumed immediately after the boosting. 6. The substrate processing method according to claim 5, wherein a determination point is set from the start of the discharge to the raising of the heat transfer gas, and the heat transfer gas is boosted after the substrate offset determination is performed. In the substrate processing method of claim 6, the determination point before the boosting of the heat transfer gas is set only before the heat transfer gas is boosted, and the substrate offset determination is performed. 8. The substrate processing method according to claim 6, wherein the determination point before the boosting of the heat transfer gas is performed by setting a plurality of determination points from the start of discharge to the step of boosting the heat transfer gas to determine the substrate offset. The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the high-frequency electric power of the high-frequency power source is supplied to the processing chamber by a crystal holder disposed in the processing chamber Two or two frequency electric power is used. Ιυ. A memory medium storing a computer readable memory medium for causing a computer to implement a substrate processing method, the substrate processing method being applied to a substrate to be processed disposed in a decompressible processing container of a plasma processing apparatus The plasma processing apparatus is characterized in that: the processing apparatus includes: a rigid substrate holding portion disposed in the processing container and holding the mounting table of the substrate to be processed; and a heat transfer gas flow path for the county sheet The heat transfer gas of the substrate and the substrate to be processed on the substrate holding surface; the heat transfer gas from the heat transfer flow sensor; the heat transfer gas flow rate; the high frequency detected by the flow path of the heat transfer gas a power supply is supplied to the processing container for generating the high-frequency electric power 37 S 201236097; and a processing gas supply unit for supplying a processing gas plasmad by the high-frequency electric power into the processing chamber; The substrate processing method has the following steps: a voltage regulating step is performed from the heat transfer gas supply source and the heat transfer gas is held on the substrate The heat transfer gas is supplied to a predetermined pressure between the portion and the substrate to be processed, and the discharge step is performed before the flow rate of the heat transfer gas temporarily increased due to the start of the supply of the heat transfer gas is stabilized. When the predetermined pressure regulation end reference value is equal to or lower than the predetermined pressure regulation end reference value, the high frequency electric power is supplied to the processing container to start discharging, and the plasma of the processing gas is generated on the substrate to be processed on the substrate holding surface; And determining a point at which the substrate offset is determined when the flow rate of the heat transfer gas detected by the flow sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold value, and determining the substrate The threshold value is set so that the substrate offset determination is performed without waiting for the flow rate of the heat transfer gas to be stable. 38