TWI649777B - Plasma processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The plasma etching apparatus 1 includes a processing chamber 2, an exhausting mechanism 30, and the like. The processing chamber 2 is composed of a first chamber 2a, a second chamber 2b, and a third chamber 2c. The first chamber 2a is electrically connected. The slurry generating unit 3; the second chamber 2b is provided with a processing unit 4 in the upper field, and an exhaust unit 5 in the lower area; the third chamber 2c is provided with a manifold unit 6; and the exhaust unit 30 has The vacuum pump 31 connected to the opening 8 of the third chamber 2c is set such that the effective sectional area S _{1 of the} manifold portion 6 is equal to or larger than the opening area S _{3 of the} opening portion 8; The cross-sectional area S ₂ is equal to or larger than the effective sectional area S ₁ of the manifold portion 6; the length L _{1 of the} manifold portion 6 is equal to or greater than the thickness L ₃ of the portion of the third chamber 2c where the opening portion 8 is formed, and the height of the exhaust portion 5 L ₂ is equal to or longer than the length L _{1 of the} manifold portion 6.

Description

Plasma processing device

The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus which supplies a predetermined processing gas to a treated chamber which is exhausted and is plasma-formed, and uses a plasma-treated processing gas to be disposed in a processing portion disposed in the processing chamber. A plasma processing apparatus for applying a plasma treatment to a substrate on a base; in particular, a plasma processing apparatus for plasma-treating a substrate by uniformizing a flow rate and a flow rate of a processing gas around the substrate.

As the plasma treatment, there are a plasma etching treatment, a plasma CVD treatment, and the like; the plasma etching treatment etches a substrate (a cerium oxide substrate or a tantalum carbide) by using ions and radicals contained in the plasma-treated processing gas. The plasma CVD treatment forms a thin film on a substrate; heretofore, various plasma processing apparatuses used for applying the plasma treatment to the substrate have been proposed.

However, when the substrate is subjected to plasma treatment by a plasma processing apparatus, when the flow rate or flow rate of the plasma-treated processing gas flowing around the substrate is not uniform, the plasma density around the substrate and the residence time of the plasma There is a problem that it becomes uneven, and it is difficult to obtain the uniformity of the film formation speed or the etching rate of the substrate. Therefore, a device has been proposed in which the exhaust gas in the processing chamber can be performed under the premise that the flow rate and the flow rate of the processing gas around the substrate are made uniform; as such a device, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 9-223672 The plasma processing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as "a conventional apparatus") disclosed in the Japanese Patent Publication No.

The conventional device is composed of a reaction chamber, a lure plate, and the like. The upper part of the reaction chamber; the induction coil is disposed on the attraction plate; the high frequency power supply is to supply the high frequency power to the induction coil; the lower electrode is disposed in the lower part of the reaction chamber, and is placed thereon a substrate; an exhaust chamber is formed below the reaction chamber and around the lower electrode, and a gas vent hole is provided on a side surface thereof; and an annular rectifying plate is disposed around the lower electrode, and The area where the reaction chamber and the exhaust chamber are drawn. Further, the annular flow rectifying plate functions as a so-called dispersing plate (magnetic bubble plate), and a plurality of communication holes are formed in the annular rectifying plate, and the reaction chamber and the exhaust chamber are communicated through the communication holes.

According to the conventional device, first, after the substrate is placed on the lower electrode, the reaction chamber is sufficiently vacuum-absorbed by a vacuum pump or the like connected to the gas vent hole. Next, a processing gas is supplied to the reaction chamber, and the exhaust gas of the processing gas is started from the gas exhaust hole to maintain the reaction chamber at a predetermined pressure. Thereafter, predetermined high-frequency power is supplied to the attracting coil, plasma is generated in the reaction chamber, and the substrate is subjected to plasma treatment using the plasma.

In the conventional device, when the exhaust gas of the process gas from the gas exhaust hole is started, the plasma-treated process gas and the plasma-free process gas are exhausted from the reaction chamber to the exhaust chamber. The flow rate and flow rate (hereinafter simply referred to as "processing gas") are changed by a dispersion plate, and the flow rate and flow rate of the processing gas or the like around the substrate are adjusted to make the plasma uniform around the substrate. The density and the residence time of the plasma are adjusted to be substantially the same, and the uniformity of the deposition rate and the etching rate of the substrate is improved.

[First technical literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 9-223672

However, as in the above-described conventional apparatus, even if a dispersion plate for changing the flow rate and flow rate of the processing gas or the like which is exhausted from the reaction chamber to the exhaust chamber is provided, the density of the plasma around the substrate and the residence time of the plasma are increased. There is still a limit in uniformity, and there is a problem that it is not possible to further improve the uniformity of the deposition rate of the substrate and the etching rate.

That is, in the above conventional device, the portion of the exhaust chamber where the gas vent hole is provided is a process gas which is opposed to the portion where the lower electrode is sandwiched by the portion where the gas vent hole is provided. The exhaust gas can be smoothly carried out, in other words, the flow rate of the processing gas or the like is increased, and the flow rate is also increased. Therefore, the periphery of the substrate is provided above the portion facing the opposite portion, and the portion of the gas vent hole is provided above, and the time during which the plasma treatment gas is retained becomes shorter, or the density of the plasma It will become lower, and there will be a difference in film formation speed and etching speed between the two.

Further, it is considered that the uniformity of the flow rate and the flow rate of the processing gas or the like around the substrate can be improved by changing the number, the diameter and the distribution of the communication holes formed in the dispersion plate, but in this case, each time When the etching conditions such as the flow rate of the gas supplied to the processing chamber or the pressure in the processing chamber are changed, it is necessary to replace the dispersion plate, and it is necessary to adjust the number of the communication holes, the aperture, the distribution, and the like, and complicated work is required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a plasma processing apparatus capable of achieving uniformity of a flow rate and a flow rate of a processing gas or the like around a substrate when exhausting a processing chamber. It is easier and more precise to improve, and it can improve the uniformity of plasma density and plasma retention time around the substrate.

[Summary of the Invention]

The present invention for solving the above problem is a plasma processing apparatus which supplies a processing gas to a processing unit set in the processing chamber after exhausting the processing chamber by an exhaust mechanism, and supplies the processed processing gas. a plasma processing apparatus for slurrying and plasma-treating a substrate on a base disposed in the processing unit by using the plasma-treated processing gas; wherein the exhaust mechanism is provided with at least an intake port a vacuum pump; the processing chamber is configured such that an exhaust portion in a space communicating with the processing portion is disposed below the processing portion, and a manifold portion in a space communicating with the exhaust portion is established adjacent to the exhaust portion, and in the portion corresponding to the portion of the manifold is formed with an opening portion of the vacuum pump connected to the intake port; the manifold portion is set as follows: effective cross sectional area of the flow passage S ₁ in the opening portion of the opening area S3 or more, and the portion of the exhaust communicating portion, located on the opposite side of the length of the edge portion of the communication with the exhaust portion L ₁ of the opening portion is formed in the processing chamber with a portion of the opening The thickness L ₃ points or more; portion of the exhaust gas, is set to be: effective cross-sectional area S2 of the flow path cross-sectional area of the effective portion of the manifold passage S1 ilk above, and from a portion communicating with the manifold portion of the height position of the manifold portion bottom surface, the height L ₂ in the length of the manifold portion of L ₁ above until the communication portion to the aforementioned processing unit; or; effective cross-sectional area S of the manifold portion, the flow path of _a system setting The opening area S ₃ or more of the opening, and the length L ₁ is set to be equal to or larger than the thickness L ₃ of the portion of the processing chamber where the opening is formed; and the effective cross-sectional area of the flow path of the exhaust portion S ₂ in the system setting the manifold passage portion ilk effective sectional area S ₁ or more, and a height L ₂ is set based on the length L1 of the manifold section above.

According to the plasma processing apparatus, first, a substrate is placed on a base. Next, the vacuum pump is operated to start the exhaust of the gas in the chamber, and the chamber is decompressed to a predetermined pressure.

Next, the exhaust gas is used to exhaust the gas in the processing chamber, and the processing gas is supplied to the processing chamber, and the supplied processing gas is plasma-formed while maintaining the predetermined pressure in the processing chamber. The substrate on the abutment is plasma treated by the plasmad process gas.

Here, in the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, the manifold portion is formed such that the effective cross-sectional area S _{1 of the} flow path is equal to or larger than the opening area S _{3 of the} opening portion, and the length L ₁ (hereinafter referred to as "manifold the length L ₁ of the portion. "However, the exhaust gas from the portion of the communication portion, positioned to the side opposite to the edge portion of the opening portion communicating with the exhaust portion of length L ₁ comprising up) in the process chamber is formed with an opening The thickness L ₃ of the portion (hereinafter referred to as "the thickness L ₃ of the portion where the opening portion is formed") or more is formed; and the exhaust portion is formed such that the effective cross-sectional area S ₂ of the flow path is in the flow path of the manifold portion The effective sectional area S ₁ or more and the height L ₂ (hereinafter referred to as "the height L _{2 of the} exhaust portion". However, from the height position of the bottom surface of the manifold portion communicating with the manifold portion to the processing portion The communication portion is equal to or longer than the length L _{1 of the} manifold portion.

Here, for example, the exhaust portion, the manifold portion, and the portion in which the opening portion is formed are regarded as a cylindrical shape having an inner diameter fixed in the respective axial directions, and effective sectional areas S ₁ , S ₂ and openings from the flow path. The opening area S _{3 of the} portion calculates the apparent diameter of the flow path or the opening, and based on the calculated viewing diameter and the lengths L ₁ and L _{2 of the} flow path or the thickness L ₃ of the portion where the opening is formed, the following formula 1 is used. The exhaust conductivity of each of these parts can be calculated.

[Number 1] C = 121d ³ / l only, C: exhaust conductivity

d: diameter of the flow path or opening

l: the length of the flow path or the thickness of the portion where the opening is formed.

As shown in the above formula 1, the exhaust gas conductance of each portion of the processing chamber is a viewing diameter calculated by changing the effective sectional area or the opening area of the flow path of each portion, and the length of the flow path or the formation is The thickness of the portion of the opening is changed by the effective cross-sectional area S ₁ of the flow path of the manifold portion, the effective cross-sectional area S ₂ of the flow path of the exhaust portion, and the opening area S _{3 of the} opening portion. And the length L _{1 of the} manifold portion, the height L _{2 of the} exhaust portion, and the thickness L ₃ of the portion where the opening portion is formed are set so as to satisfy the above conditions, and the exhaust gas conductivity C ₁ of the manifold portion can be set. in the opening portion of the exhaust conductance of C ₃ or more, and may be an exhaust portion of the exhaust conductivity C ₂ arranged in the exhaust manifold portion of the conductivity C or _more. Further, as described above, when the distance from the portion where the exhaust portion communicates with the processing portion to the intake port of the vacuum pump is close, the flow rate of the processing gas or the like near the portion of the intake port is increased, and the flow rate is also increased. Therefore, the residence time or the plasma density of the process gas around the substrate is not uniform, and there is a difference in the speed of the plasma treatment; to prevent this, the length L _{1 of the} manifold portion and the height L _{2 of the} exhaust portion are and a portion having a thickness L ₃ of the opening portion, the height of the exhaust portion L ₂ provided in the manifold length L ₁ of the above section, and the length L ₁ of the manifold portion is formed with a part provided in an opening portion of The thickness L ₃ or more is such that the distance from the portion where the exhaust portion communicates with the processing portion to the intake port of the vacuum pump is opened, and the flow of the processing gas or the like from the connected portion to the intake port is uniform. .

Next, the present invention for solving the above problems is also directed to a plasma processing apparatus which supplies a processing gas to a processing unit set in the processing chamber after exhausting the processing chamber by an exhaust mechanism, and supplies the processing gas. And a plasma processing device for plasma-treating a substrate on a base disposed in the processing portion by the plasma-treated processing gas; wherein the exhaust mechanism is at least a vacuum pump having an intake port; the processing chamber is an exhaust portion that is set to a space that communicates with the processing unit, and is disposed adjacent to the processing portion and adjacent to a manifold portion in a space communicating with the exhaust portion to the exhaust portion; the portion corresponding to the manifold portion is formed with an opening portion of the pump suction port is connected; the manifold portion is set so that the exhaust manifold portion of the conductivity C ₁ The exhaust gas conductivity C ₃ or more of the portion formed by the opening of the processing chamber is set; the exhaust portion is set such that the exhaust gas conductivity C ₂ of the exhaust portion is at the exhaust gas conductivity C _{1 of the} manifold portion the above.

Next, according to the present invention, the exhaust gas conductivity C _{1 of} the manifold portion is equal to or higher than the exhaust gas conductivity C ₃ of the portion where the opening portion is formed, and the exhaust gas conductivity C _{2 of the} exhaust portion is The exhaust gas conductance C ₁ or more in the manifold portion is such that the exhaust gas conductance from the exhaust portion to the vacuum pump is not lower than the exhaust gas conductivity of the vacuum pump; in other words, the exhaust portion and the manifold portion and The pressure difference (differential pressure) between the portion where the opening is formed and the vacuum pump is small, and the entire exhaust portion is likely to become a low pressure. As a result, the flow rate and flow rate of the processing gas or the like flowing from the processing unit to the exhaust unit are less likely to be affected by the distance from the portion where the exhaust unit communicates with the manifold portion, and the flow rate of the processing gas or the like can be suppressed. And the phenomenon that the flow rate becomes uneven around the substrate, the plasma density around the substrate is increased, and the uniformity of the residence time of the plasma is improved, and as a result, the film formation speed or the etching rate of the substrate is improved. The uniformity of speed improves the uniformity of the plasma treatment of the substrate.

However, the total pressure change in the exhaust portion is subjected to the combined conductivity C _T calculated by the following Equation 2 based on the manifold portion, the exhaust portion, and the portion where the opening portion is formed, and the row of the vacuum pump. As a result of the relationship between the gas conductivities, as the above-described combined conductivity C _T becomes larger than the exhaust gas conductance of the vacuum pump, the differential pressure between the exhaust portion, the manifold portion, and the portion where the opening portion is formed and the vacuum pump becomes Smaller, it will increase the overall pressure reduction in the exhaust section.

[Number 2] 1/C _T =1/C ₁ +1/C ₂ +1/C ₃ only, C _T : synthetic conductivity

C ₁ : exhaust conductivity of the manifold

C ₂ : exhaust conductivity of the exhaust section

C ₃ : exhaust gas conductivity of a portion where the opening portion is formed

Next, from the above Equation 2 that the portion of the exhaust manifold conductivity C _1, the exhaust gas exhaust portion and the conductivity C ₂ smaller the difference is formed between C ₃ exhaust conductivity portion of the opening portion The synthetic conductivity C _T becomes larger.

Here, in the present invention, it is preferable that the manifold portion is set such that an effective sectional area S ₁ of the flow path of the manifold portion is three times or less the opening area S ₃ of the opening portion, and the manifold portion is The length L ₁ is equal to or less than three times the thickness L ₃ of the portion in which the opening portion is formed in the processing chamber; and the exhaust portion is preferably set such that the effective cross-sectional area S ₂ of the flow path of the exhaust portion is in the manifold The effective cross-sectional area S ₁ of the portion is not more than three times, and the height L _{2 of the} exhaust portion is equal to or less than three times the length L ₁ of the manifold portion. Alternatively, the manifold portion is preferably set to be: The exhaust gas conductivity C _{1 of the} manifold portion is equal to or less than three times the exhaust gas conductivity C ₃ of the portion of the processing chamber where the opening portion is formed; and the exhaust portion is preferably set to: exhaust gas conduction of the exhaust portion The degree C _{2 is} equal to or less than three times the exhaust gas conductivity C ₁ of the manifold portion.

In this way, since the difference between the exhaust gas conductivities C ₁ , C ₂ , and C ₃ can be reduced to increase the combined conductivity C _T , the exhaust portion, the manifold portion, and the portion where the opening portion is formed can be formed. The differential pressure between the vacuum pump and the vacuum pump is reduced, the entire low pressure in the exhaust portion becomes easier, the flow rate of the processing gas around the substrate becomes uniform, and the plasma density around the substrate can be made. The uniformity is improved.

Further, in the present invention, more appropriate to the manifold portion and the exhaust portion are set as follows: Effective cross sectional area of the passage of the manifold portion S _{ilk. 1,} the effective cross-sectional area S of the portion of the exhaust passage ₂ and ilk The opening area S _{3 of the} opening portion is equal, and the length L _{1 of the} manifold portion and the height L _{2 of the} exhaust portion are equal to the thickness L ₃ of the portion of the processing chamber where the opening portion is formed; Alternatively, the more appropriate portion of the manifold and the exhaust portion are set to: an exhaust manifold portion of the conductivity C _1, the exhaust gas exhaust portion C ₂ of the conductivity of the processing chamber is formed with an opening portion of Part of the exhaust gas conductance C ₃ becomes equal.

In this way, since the difference between the exhaust gas conductivities C ₁ , C ₂ , and C ₃ is hardly observed, the combined conductivity C _T can be approximated to a maximum value, and the exhaust portion, the manifold portion, and the opening can be formed. The difference between the portion of the portion and the vacuum pump is minimized, and the entire portion of the exhaust portion is extremely low pressure, so that the uniformity of the flow rate and flow rate of the processing gas or the like around the substrate is further improved.

Further, in order to prevent at least the conductivity from being lowered from the exhaust portion to the vacuum pump, and to prevent the device from becoming too large in size, it is preferable to set the opening area S _{3 of the} opening portion to 1100 to 2200 mm ² and to The effective sectional area S ₂ of the flow path of the exhaust portion is set to be 1.6 to 3.9 times the opening area S ₃ of the opening. Further, it is preferable that the thickness L ₃ of the portion of the processing chamber in which the opening portion is formed is 40 to 60 mm, and the height L _{2 of the} exhaust portion is set to be 1.8 to 3.5 times the thickness L ₃ . With such a setting, a plasma processing apparatus can be constructed which is suitable for a plasma processor for a substrate having a diameter of 1 吋 or less.

Alternatively, when the opening portion of the opening area S ₃ is at the reference, the manifold passage portion ilk effective sectional area S effective sectional area S ₁ and the portion of the exhaust passage ₂ with the reference ilk ratio (S ₁ / S ₃ )/(S ₂ /S ₃ ) is preferably 0.46 to 1.13; and when the thickness L ₃ of the portion of the processing chamber in which the opening is formed is used as a reference, the length L _{1 of the} manifold portion and the row The ratio of the height L _{2 of the} gas portion to the reference (L ₁ /L ₃ ) / (L ₂ /L ₃ ) is preferably 0.38 to 1.36.

Alternatively, the opening area S _{3 of the} opening portion may be 1100 to 1400 mm ² , and the effective sectional area S ₁ of the flow path of the manifold portion may be 2500 to 3100 mm ² , and the flow path of the exhaust portion may be The effective sectional area S _{2 is} set to 3500 to 4300 mm ² , the thickness L ₃ of the portion of the processing chamber in which the opening portion is formed is 40 to 60 mm, and the length L _{1 of the} manifold portion is set to 80 to 100 mm. The height L _{2 of the} exhaust portion is set to 110 to 140 mm. Even in this case, a plasma processing apparatus can be constructed which is applicable to a plasma processor for a substrate having a diameter of 1 吋 or less.

Alternatively, as another aspect of the present invention, the exhaust gas conductance of the connection portion between the exhaust portion and the processing portion is preferably set to be 10 times or more the exhaust gas conductivity of the vacuum pump; The exhaust gas conductance of the opening portion of the chamber, the exhaust gas conductance of the manifold portion, and the exhaust gas conductance of the exhaust portion may be set so as to increase the exhaust gas conductivity in order.

Further, in the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the processing chamber has a dispersion plate having a through hole penetrating the front surface and the back surface and a communication portion penetrating the surface and the back surface. Provided to form a shape in which the aforementioned base is inserted into the through hole And a structure in which the processing unit and the exhaust unit are demarcated by the dispersion plate and communicated through the communication portion. As described above, according to the present invention, the uniformity of the plasma density around the substrate and the residence time of the plasma can be easily improved without providing the dispersion plate, and the film formation speed and etching rate of the substrate can be made. On the premise that the uniformity of the plasma processing speed is improved, the substrate is subjected to a plasma treatment; however, by providing the dispersion plate, it is possible to borrow the flow rate and flow rate of the processing gas exhausted from the processing unit to the exhaust unit. Since the dispersion plate is appropriately adjusted, the uniformity of the plasma density around the substrate and the residence time of the plasma can be further improved, and the dispersion plate can prevent the influence of the plasma from affecting the downstream watershed.

Furthermore, in the above plasma processing apparatus, it is preferable that the ratio S2/S4 of the effective cross-sectional area S ₂ of the flow path of the exhaust portion to the opening area S4 of the communication portion of the dispersion plate is 1.56 to 3.58; It is preferable to set the opening area of the communication portion of the dispersion plate so that the exhaust gas conductivity C ₂ of the exhaust portion is three times or more the exhaust gas conductivity of the communication portion of the dispersion plate.

In this way, the amount of the processing gas or the like flowing from the processing unit to the exhaust unit can be sufficiently reduced as compared with the amount of the processing gas or the like flowing from the exhaust portion to the manifold portion, thereby improving the The uniformity of the flow rate and the flow rate of the processing gas or the like flowing through the processing portion around the substrate to the exhaust portion makes it easy to uniformize the plasma density around the substrate and the residence time of the plasma.

In addition, the above formula 1 is merely an example of calculating the exhaust gas conductivity, and the exhaust gas conductivities C ₁ , C ₂ , and C ₃ include the exhaust portion, the manifold portion, and the opening portion. The known formula of the partial shape is obtained by the formula.

In addition, the term "effective cross-sectional area of a flow path" as used in the present application means the area of the cross-section cut along the plane orthogonal to the flow direction, and the area of the cross-section is along the flow direction. In the case of change, it refers to the area that becomes the smallest part.

As described above, according to the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, the uniformity of the flow rate and the flow rate of the processing gas around the substrate can be improved, and the plasma density around the substrate and the residence time of the plasma can be easily and highly known. The precision is uniform, and the plasma processing speed such as the deposition rate of the substrate and the etching rate can be made uniform.

1, 50, 51, 52‧‧‧ plasma etching equipment

2‧‧‧Processing room

2a‧‧‧Room 1

2b‧‧‧Room 2

2c‧‧‧Room 3

3‧‧‧The Plasma Generation Department

4‧‧‧Processing Department

5‧‧‧Exhaust Department

6‧‧‧Management Department

7‧‧‧Dispersion board

7a‧‧‧through hole

7b‧‧‧ gap

8, 9‧‧‧ openings

8a‧‧‧Flange joint

10‧‧‧ cover

11, 33‧‧‧ annular sealing members

12‧‧‧Support components

15‧‧‧Processing gas supply mechanism

16‧‧‧etching gas supply department

17‧‧‧Supply tube

18‧‧‧ coil

19‧‧‧Circuit power supply mechanism

20, 28‧‧‧ Impedance Integrator

21, 29‧‧‧ High frequency power supply

25‧‧‧Abutment

26‧‧‧lifting cylinder

27‧‧‧Base power supply agency

30‧‧‧Exhaust mechanism

31‧‧‧Vacuum pump

31a‧‧‧Flange joint

32‧‧‧ valve body

32a‧‧‧Axis

32b‧‧‧Contacts

34‧‧‧Mobile agencies

K‧‧‧Substrate

Fig. 1 is a front cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a plasma etching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view showing a dispersion plate of a plasma etching apparatus according to an embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a view for explaining the operation of the plasma etching apparatus of the embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a front cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a plasma etching apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a front cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a plasma etching apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a front cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a plasma etching apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of Fig. 9.

[Formation for carrying out the invention]

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Further, the plasma processing apparatus of this example is a plasma etching apparatus which performs plasma etching treatment on a substrate having a diameter of 1 吋 or less.

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, the plasma etching apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a processing chamber 2 in which a plasma generating unit 3, a processing unit 4, an exhaust unit 5, and a manifold unit 6 are provided in an internal space; The processing gas supply unit 15 supplies the processing gas to the plasma generating unit 3; the coil 18 is disposed outside the portion of the processing chamber 2 in which the plasma generating unit 3 is installed; and the coil power supply unit 19; The high frequency power is supplied to the coil 18; the base 25 is disposed in the processing unit 4 for placing the substrate K; and the base power supply unit 27 supplies the high frequency power to the base 25. The exhaust mechanism 30 exhausts the gas in the processing chamber 2 and adjusts the pressure in the processing chamber 2 in conjunction with a pressure gauge (not shown).

The processing chamber 2 is composed of a first chamber 2a, a second chamber 2b connected to the lower side of the first chamber 2a, and a third chamber 2c connected to the side of the lower end portion of the second chamber 2b. The plasma generating unit 3 is installed in the internal space of the first chamber 2a, and the processing unit 4 that communicates with the plasma generating unit 3 is installed in the upper region of the internal space of the second chamber 2b; and communication is established in the lower field. In the exhaust portion 5 of the processing unit 4, a manifold portion 6 that communicates with the exhaust portion 5 is provided in an internal space of the third chamber 2c, and both of the plasma generating portion 3 and the manifold portion 6 are connected. status. Further, in the plasma etching apparatus 1, the bottom surface of the second chamber 2b and the bottom surface of the third chamber 2c have the same height position, that is, the bottom surface of the exhaust portion 5 and the bottom surface of the manifold portion 6 are the same. Height position.

The first chamber 2a is formed such that its inner diameter is matched to a base having a diameter of 1 吋 or less. The size of the plate K is 15 mm or more and 50 mm or less; the inner diameter of the second chamber 2b is formed to be larger than the inner diameter of the first chamber 2a.

Further, in the inner wall of the second chamber 2b, the dispersion plate 7 having a through hole 7a having a diameter larger than the diameter of the base 25 is formed through the through hole 7a, and the base 25 is inserted into the through hole 7a. The state is attached, and a gap 7b that functions as a communication portion is formed between the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 7a and the outer circumferential surface of the base 25. Further, the processing unit 4 and the exhaust unit 5 are partitioned by the dispersion plate 7 and communicated through the gap 7b.

The third chamber 2c is extended in the horizontal direction from the side wall of the lower end portion of the second chamber 2b, and the front end portion is formed in a semicircular shape in plan view, and the opening portion 8 is formed on the lower surface, and the portion formed by the opening portion 8 is formed with a convex portion. The edge joint 8a has an opening 9 formed on the upper surface at a position facing the opening 8. Further, the opening portion 8 is formed at a position where the edge thereof is only opened by a predetermined interval M from the inner wall surface of the end portion of the third chamber 2c, and the length of the interval M is preferably 20% or more of the diameter of the opening portion 8. length.

The cross-sectional area of the manifold portion 6 and the effective cross-sectional area S _{1 of the} flow path of the manifold portion 6 , in other words, the orthogonal plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the manifold portion 6 (in FIG. 3 The dot portion) is larger than the opening area S ₃ of the opening portion 8 and extends from the portion communicating with the exhaust portion 5 to the edge on the opposite side of the portion of the opening portion 8 that communicates with the exhaust portion 5. The length (hereinafter referred to as "the length L _{1 of the} manifold portion 6") is smaller than the thickness L3 of the portion of the third chamber 2c where the opening portion 8 is formed (hereinafter referred to as "the thickness L ₃ of the portion where the opening portion 8 is formed". ")long. Further, the exhaust portion 5, the effective cross-sectional area S _{2 of the} flow path of the exhaust portion 5, in other words, the cross-sectional area of the portion of the base portion 25 (the halftone portion in Fig. 4) when the horizontal plane is cut at a horizontal plane is more than the manifold The effective cross-sectional area S _{1 of the} flow path of the portion 6 is large, and is inserted from the height position of the bottom surface of the manifold portion 6 (the bottom surface of the third chamber 2c) of the portion communicating with the manifold portion 6 to the processing portion 4 The height from the height position of the portion (the lower surface of the dispersion plate 7) (hereinafter referred to as "the height L _{2 of the} exhaust portion 5") is longer than the length L _{1 of the} manifold portion 6.

In addition, the effective cross-sectional area S _{1 of the} flow path of the manifold portion 6 is, for example, a shape (wedge shape or the like) in which the shape of the manifold portion 6 is narrowed from the side of the exhaust portion 5 toward the distal end side. , the cross-sectional area of the narrowest part.

In the plasma etching apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, when the apparatus for applying a plasma etching treatment to a substrate having a diameter of 1 吋 or less is preferable, the opening area S _{3 of the} opening portion 8 is preferably 1100 to 2200 mm ² . The effective cross-sectional area S _{2 of the} flow path of the exhaust unit 5 is set to be 1.6 to 3.9 times the opening area S3 of the opening 8 , and the thickness L ₃ of the portion where the opening 8 is formed is preferably set to 40 to 60 mm, and it is preferable that the height L _{2 of the} exhaust portion 5 is 1.8 to 3.5 times the thickness L ₃ of the portion where the opening portion 8 is formed. Alternatively, the effective cross-sectional area S _{1 of the} flow path of the manifold portion 6 is set to 2500 to 3100 mm ² , and the effective cross-sectional area S2 of the flow path of the exhaust unit 5 is set to 3500 to 4300 mm ² , and the opening portion is provided. The opening area S _{3 of} 8 is set to 1100 to 1400 mm ² , and the length L _{1 of the} manifold portion 6 is set to 80 to 100 mm, and the height L _{2 of the} exhaust unit 5 is set to 110 to 140 mm, and the third portion is set forth. The thickness L ₃ of the portion of the chamber 2c where the opening portion 8 is formed is set to 40 to 60 mm.

Further, the opening area S4 (the halftone dot portion in FIG. 5) of the gap 7b formed between the dispersion plate 7 and the base 25 is smaller than the effective sectional area S _{2 of the} flow path of the exhaust portion 5. Further, the ratio S ₂ /S ₄ of the effective sectional area S _{2 of the} flow path of the exhaust portion 5 to the opening area S ₄ of the gap 7b is preferably set to 1.56 to 3.58, or preferably, the exhaust portion 5 is arranged. The opening area S ₄ is set such that the gas conductivity C ₂ is three times or more the exhaust conductivity of the gap 7b. 5 is a top view of the dispersion plate 7, and the one-point chain line in the same figure shows the base 25 inserted into the through hole 7a.

The processing gas supply unit 15 includes an etching gas supply unit 16 that supplies an etching gas such as SF ₆ gas, and a supply tube 17 that is connected at one end to a plurality of discharge ports provided in the first chamber 2a, and the other end is connected to The etching gas supply unit 16 supplies an etching gas to the plasma generating unit 3 through the supply pipe 17 from the etching supply unit 16. Further, as the etching gas, it is not limited to the SF ₆ gas, and other fluorine-based gases such as CF ₄ , NF ₃ , IF ₅ and the like can be used.

The coil 18 is disposed outside the first chamber 2a so as to surround the coil 18, and is supplied with high-frequency power by a coil power supply mechanism 19 to be described later.

The coil power supply mechanism 19 is composed of an impedance integrator 20 connected to the coil 18 and a high-frequency power source 21 connected to the impedance integrator 20. As described above, the coil power supply unit supplies high-frequency power to the coil 18. The coil power supply mechanism 19 is composed of an impedance integrator 20 connected to the coil 18 and a high-frequency power source 21 connected to the impedance integrator 20. As described above, the coil power supply unit supplies high-frequency power to the coil 18.

The base 25 is disposed in the processing unit 4 as described above, and is lifted and lowered by the lift cylinder 26.

The base power supply unit 27 is composed of an impedance combiner 28 connected to the base 25 and a high-frequency power source 29 connected to the impedance combiner 28, and is a mechanism for supplying high-frequency power to the base 25.

The exhaust mechanism 30 has an intake port that is connected to the vacuum pump 31 connected to the opening 8; a valve body 32 that is inserted into the opening portion 9; and a movement that moves the valve body 32 in the vertical direction The mechanism 34 is configured; the valve body 32 and the moving mechanism 34 function as an opening and closing mechanism.

The vacuum pump 31 (for example, an exhaust speed of about 30 L/s) is formed with a flange joint 31a at the intake port, and the flange joint 31a is connected to the flange formed by the third chamber 2c. In the head 8a, the intake port is connected to the opening 8. Further, as the vacuum pump, a pump corresponding to high vacuum suction is preferable, and a turbo molecular pump, a cryopump, an oil diffusion pump, or the like can be exemplified.

The valve body 32 is composed of a shaft portion 32a and a flat contact portion 32b provided at the tip end of the shaft portion 32a, and an annular sealing member 33 is fixed to the lower surface of the contact portion 32b. Further, the annular sealing member 33 has an inner diameter larger than the diameter of the opening portion 8, and when the contact portion 32b approaches the opening portion 8, the annular sealing member 33 comes into contact with the periphery of the opening portion 8, and The airtightness between the third chamber 2c and the contact portion 32 can be maintained. Further, in the opening portion 9 of the third chamber 2c, the lid body 10 is detachably attached in a state in which the valve body 32 is inserted, and the shaft portion 32a of the valve body 32 is formed in the lid body 10 The through hole is inserted; the annular sealing member 11 is interposed between the cover 10 and the upper surface of the third chamber 2c, and the cover 10 and the third chamber 2c are held in a state in which the cover 10 is attached. The airtightness between.

The moving mechanism 34 is configured such that the valve body 32 moves in the vertical direction, in other words, in the axial direction, in a state supported by the support member 12 fixed to the upper surface of the cover body 10, and is disposed in the cover body. 10 on. Further, as the moving mechanism 34, for example, a pneumatic cylinder, an electric cylinder, or the like can be exemplified.

According to the exhaust mechanism 30, in the state where the moving portion 34 moves the contact portion 32b of the valve body 32 away from the opening portion 8, the vacuum pump 31 can be driven to move the inside of the processing chamber 2 (plasma) The gas exhaust of the generating unit 3, the processing unit 4, the exhaust unit 5, and the manifold unit 6) moves the valve body 32 in the vertical direction by the moving mechanism 34, thereby changing the space between the contact portion 32b and the opening portion 8. The size, in order to change the exhaust velocity, can adjust the pressure in the processing chamber 2. In Fig. 6, the state in which the valve body 32 is brought close to the opening portion 8 is shown.

Further, the valve body 32 and the moving mechanism 34 are easily pulled up from the processing chamber 2 by being pulled up together with the lid body 10, thereby improving the maintainability.

Further, since the valve body 32 is provided in the manifold portion 6 of the third chamber 2c, the apparatus can be downsized, and the plasma etching apparatus 1 of the present example can be constructed to have a diameter of 1 吋 or less. The substrate is subjected to a small plasma etching apparatus which is etched.

Next, a process of applying an etching treatment to the substrate K (for example, a ruthenium oxide substrate) using the plasma etching apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described.

First, on the base 25 of the lowered position, the substrate K on which the mask of the predetermined pattern is formed is placed. Then, after the base 25 is raised to the processing position by the lift cylinder 26, the exhaust mechanism 30 starts The gas in the processing chamber 2 (the plasma generating unit 3, the processing unit 4, the exhaust unit 5, and the manifold portion 6) is exhausted.

However, from the start of the exhaust gas in the processing chamber 2 to the period in which the low vacuum state is formed in the processing chamber 2, the positive gas molecules collide with each other, and the average free path of the gas molecules is short. In this state, the gas molecules reach the intake port of the vacuum pump 31 so as to be pushed out from the processing chamber 2, and the gas molecules are discharged from the processing chamber 2 to exhaust the inside of the processing chamber 2. However, if the degree of vacuum in the processing chamber 2 becomes higher, the collision of the gas molecules with the inner walls of the processing chamber 2 is dominant, and the average free path of the gas molecules becomes longer, that is, Moving from the viscous basin to the molecular watershed. Further, in the molecular water domain, since the gas molecules which are freely moved at the average speed do not reach the suction port of the vacuum pump 31, the gas molecules cannot be discharged from the processing chamber 2, and if the gas molecules are not raised, they reach the vacuum pump 31. The probability of the suction port, the exhaust efficiency will be significantly reduced.

Here, in the plasma etching apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the effective sectional area S _{1 of the} manifold portion 6 is made larger than the opening area S _{3 of the} opening portion 8. Thereby, the conductivity at the time of gas flow from the manifold portion 6 to the opening portion 8 in both the viscous flow region and the molecular flow region is improved.

Moreover, the opening 8 formed in the third chamber 2c is connected to the intake port of the vacuum pump 31 without passing through a pipe or the like, and the distance between the inside of the processing chamber 2 and the intake port of the vacuum pump 31 is minimized. The probability of gas molecules in the processing chamber 2 reaching the suction port of the vacuum pump 31 is increased, and the exhaust efficiency of the molecular watershed is improved.

Further, the opening portion 8 is formed at a position where the edge thereof is only a distance M from the inner wall surface of the front end portion of the third chamber 2c, and the solid angle seen from the opening portion 8 is enlarged, as shown in Fig. 2, through the third chamber. At the front end side of 2c, the gas molecules M can also reach the opening portion 8, thereby increasing the probability of gas molecules reaching the suction port of the vacuum pump 31 from the processing chamber 2.

Therefore, according to the plasma etching apparatus 1 of this example, the inside of the processing chamber 2 can be efficiently exhausted, and the pressure is quickly reduced to a high vacuum state.

Then, the high-frequency power from the high-frequency power source 21 is supplied to the coil 18, and the induction field is formed in the plasma generating unit 3. In this state, the etching gas from the etching gas supply unit 16 is supplied into the plasma generating unit 3. The plasma of the supplied etching gas is plasma. Further, it is preferable that the high frequency power supplied to the coil 18 has a frequency of 40 MHz or more, and it is more preferable to set the amplitude to 50 W or less.

Thereafter, high frequency power is supplied from the high frequency power source 29 to the base station 25. Thereafter, the etched etching gas system in the plasma generating portion 3 is lowered toward the processing portion 4 to reach the substrate K, whereby the surface of the substrate K is etched, and an etching structure is formed on the surface of the substrate K. In the etching process of this example, since the high-frequency power is supplied to the base 25, and the bias potential is applied to the substrate K, the ions in the plasma are irradiated to the substrate K to perform so-called ion-assisted etching.

Further, during the etching process on the substrate K, the pressure in the processing chamber 2 is monitored so that the inside of the processing chamber 2 becomes a predetermined pressure (for example, 1 to 5 Pa) and a predetermined gas flow rate (1 to 10 sccm). And moving the position of the valve body 32 in the up and down direction by the moving mechanism 34 Adjustment of the exhaust speed.

In other words, in the etching process, the plasma-etched etching gas and the plasma-free etching gas (hereinafter simply referred to as "etching gas or the like") in the plasma generating portion 3 pass through the dispersion plate 7. The gap 7b flows from the processing unit 4 to the exhaust unit 5, passes through the manifold unit 6 to the intake port of the vacuum pump 31, and is discharged to the outside after arrival, and adjusts the discharge of the etching gas or the like depending on the amount of the supplied etching gas. The amount is maintained while the predetermined pressure is maintained in the processing chamber 2.

Here, in the plasma etching apparatus of the prior art, a variation occurs in the pressure distribution in the exhaust portion. Specifically, since a pressure is generated between a portion close to the vacuum pump and a portion away from the vacuum pump, the following problem occurs. The flow rate and flow rate of the etching gas or the like flowing from the processing unit 4 to the exhaust unit 5 around the substrate are not uniform, and the etching rate to the substrate is not uniform.

Here, in the plasma etching apparatus 1 of the present example, the opening area S _{3 of} the opening portion 8, the effective sectional area S _{1 of the} flow path of the manifold portion 6, and the flow of the exhaust portion 5 are as described above. The effective sectional area S _{2 of the} road is gradually increased, and the thickness L3 of the portion of the third chamber 2c where the opening portion 8 is formed, the length L _{1 of the} manifold portion 6, and the height L _{2 of the} exhaust portion 5 are gradually increased, and The conductivity is gradually increased from the vacuum pump 31 to the exhaust unit 5, and the pressure difference between the portion where the exhaust portion 5, the manifold portion 6, and the opening portion 8 is formed and the vacuum pump 31 is reduced, and the exhaust portion 5 is made small. By reducing the overall pressure, the flow rate and flow rate of the etching gas or the like flowing from the processing unit 4 to the exhaust unit 5 are uniform around the substrate K.

Further, compared with the effective sectional area S _{2 of the} flow path of the exhaust unit 5, since the opening area S _{4 of the} gap 7b is small, the etching gas flows from the exhaust unit 5 to the manifold portion 6 The amount of the etching gas or the like flowing from the processing unit 4 to the exhaust unit 5 is sufficiently reduced, so that a relatively uniform pressure can be formed in the exhaust unit 5, and the processing unit 4 is arranged in the vicinity of the substrate. The uniformity of the flow rate and flow rate of the processing gas or the like flowing through the gas portion 5 is improved. .

Therefore, according to the plasma etching apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the flow rate and flow rate of the etching gas or the like around the substrate K can be made uniform, and the substrate can be subjected to an etching treatment at a uniform speed.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the aspects of the present invention are not limited to those of the present invention.

For example, in the above example, the plasma etching apparatus 1 for etching a small-diameter substrate having a diameter of 1 吋 or less is applied, but it is also possible to construct an etching treatment for a substrate having a large diameter. Further, in this case, the opening area of the opening portion will be advised of S ₃ is at the reference, the effective cross-sectional area S 6 of the manifold passage ilk effective cross section _a portion of the exhaust passage 5 ilk area S ₂ The ratio (S ₁ /S ₃ )/(S ₂ /S ₃ ) is set to 0.46 to 1.13; and the manifold portion is preferably based on the thickness L ₃ of the portion in which the opening portion 8 is formed in the third chamber 2c. The ratio (L ₁ /L ₃ ) / (L ₂ /L ₃ ) of the length L ₁ of 6 to the height L ₂ of the exhaust portion 5 is set to 0.38 to 1.36.

Moreover, in the above example, the exhaust gas conductance of the connection portion of the exhaust unit 5 and the processing unit 4 is preferably set to be five times or more the exhaust gas conductivity of the vacuum pump 31, and is preferably set to 10 More than double.

For example, a vacuum pump 31 (turbo molecular pump) having an exhaust gas conductivity (correctly, an exhaust gas velocity) of 30 L/s is used, and a row of the connection portion of the exhaust portion 5 and the processing portion 4 is configured. When the gas conductivity is 346 L/s, the exhaust gas conductance of the connection portion of the exhaust portion 5 and the processing portion 4 is 10 times or more the exhaust gas conductivity of the vacuum pump 31. Further, in this manner, the flow rate and flow rate of the etching gas or the like around the substrate K can be made uniform, and the substrate K can be subjected to an etching treatment at a uniform speed.

Further, for example, the exhaust gas conductivity C ₃ of the opening portion 8 formed in the processing chamber 2 is 161 L/s, and the exhaust gas conductivity C ₁ of the manifold portion 6 is 275 L/s, and the exhaust portion When the plasma etching apparatus 1 is configured such that the exhaust gas conductance C ₂ is 346 L/s, the exhaust gas conductance from the opening 8 to the exhaust portion 5 is sequentially increased, so that the exhaust gas can be exhausted. The efficiency is improved, and the flow rate and flow rate of the etching gas or the like around the substrate K are made uniform, and the substrate K can be subjected to an etching treatment at a uniform speed.

Further, as described above, when _1, the exhaust gas exhaust portion 5 of conductivity and C ₂ is formed with an opening portion 6 of the conductivity of the exhaust manifold portion of the exhaust conductance C of the portion 8 by the above C ₃ The combined conductivity C _T calculated in the equation 2 becomes larger than the exhaust conductivity of the vacuum pump 31, and the differential pressure between the exhaust portion 5, the manifold portion 6 and the portion where the opening portion 8 is formed and the vacuum pump 31 is The smaller the volume is, the lower the total pressure in the exhaust portion, and the uniformity of the flow rate and the flow rate of the etching gas around the substrate K is improved.

Next, 2 can be seen from the above equation, in order to improve the conductivity of the synthetic C _T, should be formed of a conductive portion of the exhaust opening portion 8 of the C _3, an exhaust manifold 6 of the conductivity of the portion C _1, the exhaust gas The difference in the exhaust gas conductance C ₂ of the portion 5 becomes small.

Here, in order to reduce the difference between the respective exhaust gas conductivities C ₁ , C ₂ , and C ₃ , it is preferable to provide the effective cross-sectional area S ₁ of the flow path of the manifold portion 6 to the opening area S ₃ of the opening portion 8 . 3 times or less, the length L ₁ of the manifold portion 6 is set to be 3 times or less the thickness L ₃ of the portion of the processing chamber 2 where the opening portion 8 is formed, and the effective sectional area S of the flow path of the exhaust portion 5 ₂ is provided three times or less the effective sectional area S ₁ of the flow path of the manifold portion 6, and the height L ₂ of the exhaust portion 5 is set to be three times or less the length L ₁ of the manifold portion 6.

Further, even if the exhaust gas conductivity C ₁ of the manifold portion 6 is set to be three times or less the exhaust gas conductivity C ₃ of the portion of the processing chamber 2 where the opening portion 8 is formed, the exhaust gas of the exhaust portion 5 is conducted. The degree C ₂ is set to be less than three times the exhaust gas conductivity C ₁ of the manifold portion 6, and the difference between the exhaust gas conductivities C ₁ , C ₂ , and C ₃ is reduced to increase the combined conductivity C _T . The differential pressure between the exhaust portion 5, the manifold portion 6, and the portion where the opening portion 8 is formed and the vacuum pump 31 can be reduced, and the entire flow rate in the exhaust portion can be reduced, and the flow rate of the etching gas or the like around the substrate K can be reduced. And traffic uniformity.

Further, as described above, it may be formed with an exhaust opening portion of the conductive portion 8 of the C _3, an exhaust manifold 6 of the conductivity of the portion C _1, the conductivity of the exhaust gas exhaust portion 5 C ₂ successively increases The process chamber 2 is designed in such a way that the exhaust gas conductivities C ₁ , C ₂ , and C _{3 of the three} portions are equal, and the effective cross-sectional area S ₁ of the flow path of the manifold portion is exhausted. The effective sectional area S _{2 of the} flow path of the portion 5 and the opening area S _{3 of the} opening portion 8 are equal, and the length L _{1 of the} manifold portion 6, the height L _{2 of the} exhaust portion 5, and the opening portion 8 of the processing chamber 2 are formed. The processing chamber 2 is designed in such a manner that the thickness L ₃ of the portions becomes equal.

In this way, the combined conductivity C _T calculated by the above formula 2 can be made a theoretical maximum value, so that the portion of the exhaust portion 5, the manifold portion 6, and the processing chamber 2 where the opening portion 8 is formed can be formed. The differential pressure between the vacuum pump 31 and the vacuum pump 31 is reduced, and the entire exhaust gas portion 5 is reduced in pressure, so that the uniformity of the flow rate and the flow rate of the etching gas or the like around the substrate K can be greatly improved.

Further, in the above example, the through hole 7a of the dispersion plate 7 is formed to have a larger diameter than the diameter of the base 25, and here, the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 7a and the outer peripheral surface of the base 25 are formed. The gap 7b functions as a communication portion, but is not limited thereto, and a plurality of communication holes may be provided, and the communication hole functions as a communication portion.

Further, in the above example, the flange joint 8a is formed in the third chamber 2c, and the flange joint 31a of the vacuum pump 31 is connected to the flange joint 8a to connect the intake port to the opening portion 8, but The plasma etching apparatus 50 shown in FIG. 7 is not provided with a flange joint in the third chamber 2c, but is fixed by a fastening screw or the like under the third chamber 2c by the flange joint 31a of the vacuum pump 31. The suction port and the opening portion 8 are connected.

Moreover, in the above example, the third chamber 2c is connected to the lower end portion of the second chamber 2b so that the bottom surface of the second chamber 2b and the bottom surface of the third chamber 2 are at the same height position. The aspect of the invention is not limited thereto, and the plasma etching apparatus 51 as shown in FIG. 8 may be in the second chamber 2b. The third chamber 2c is connected to the side of the lower end portion slightly above. 8 is a front cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the plasma etching apparatus 51.

In the plasma etching apparatus 52, since the bottom surface of the third chamber 2c is located above the bottom surface of the second chamber 2b, the height L _{2 of the} exhaust portion 5 is from the third chamber 2c. The height of the bottom surface (the bottom surface of the manifold portion 6) is set to a height position below the dispersion plate 7. Then, even if the plasma etching apparatus 51, is set in the following manner: effective area of the flow path 6 of the manifold portion into the opening _{area. 1} S S ₃ than the large opening 8, and the manifold portion 6 The length L _{1 is} longer than the thickness L ₃ of the portion where the opening portion is formed, and the effective cross-sectional area S _{2 of} the flow path of the exhaust portion 5 becomes larger than the effective sectional area S _{1 of the} manifold portion 6 and the exhaust gas portion length L ₂ than the manifold length L ₁ of the portion 6.

Further, in the above example, the opening portion 8 is formed on the lower surface of the third chamber 2c, but the invention is not limited thereto, and plasma as shown in Figs. 9 and 10 may be employed. The aspect of the etching device 52. 9 is a front cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the plasma etching apparatus 52, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of FIG. 9.

As shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the plasma etching apparatus 52 is provided with a third chamber 2c extending in the horizontal direction from the side wall of the lower end portion of the second chamber 2b, and the front end portion of the third chamber 2c is viewed from the front view. In the semicircular shape, an opening portion 8 is formed on a side surface on the paper discharge side of the paper surface of Fig. 9, and a flange joint 8a is formed in a portion where the opening portion 8 is formed, and a side surface on the back side of the paper surface of Fig. 9 and the opening portion 8 An opening portion 9 is formed at a position opposite to the township. Further, similarly to the plasma etching apparatus 1, the opening portion 8 is formed at a position where the edge thereof is only a distance M from the inner wall surface of the front end portion of the third chamber 2c.

Further, in the above example, the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention is exemplified as a plasma etching apparatus, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and for example, it may be used as a base. The plasma CVD apparatus used for forming a film or the plasma ashing apparatus used for removing the photoresist may be used.

Further, in the above example, the plasma etching apparatus 1 of the so-called inductive coupling type (ICP) including the coil 18 is not limited thereto, and the present invention may be a so-called capacitor having electrodes of parallel flat plates. The form of a coupled (CCP) plasma etching device is available.

In addition, the substrate K is not limited, and examples thereof include a substrate made of ruthenium oxide, tantalum carbide, sapphire, a compound semiconductor, glass, or resin.

Claims (18)

A plasma processing apparatus is configured to supply a processing gas to a processing unit set in the processing chamber after exhausting the processing chamber by an exhaust mechanism, and to plasma the supplied processing gas, and to use the plasmaizing method. The processing gas is a plasma processing apparatus that performs plasma treatment on a substrate on a base disposed in the processing unit; wherein the exhaust mechanism includes at least a vacuum pump having an intake port; and the processing chamber is set An exhaust portion in a space communicating with the processing unit is set below the processing unit, and a manifold portion in a space communicating with the exhaust portion is set adjacent to the exhaust portion, and corresponds to the aforementioned portion An opening portion of the pipe portion to which the suction port of the vacuum pump is connected is formed; the manifold portion is set such that an effective sectional area S _{1 of} the flow path is greater than or equal to an opening area S _{3 of the} opening portion, and a length L _{1 from a} portion communicating with the exhaust portion to an edge on a side opposite to a portion of the opening portion communicating with the exhaust portion is greater than or equal to an opening formed in the processing chamber The thickness L ₃ of the portion of the portion; the exhaust portion is set such that the effective sectional area S _{2 of} the flow path is greater than or equal to the effective sectional area S ₁ of the flow path of the manifold portion, and from the manifold portion The height position of the bottom surface of the manifold portion of the communicating portion starts, and the height L _{2 to} the height position of the portion communicating with the processing portion is greater than or equal to the length L of the manifold portion. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the manifold portion is set such that an effective sectional area S ₁ of the flow path of the manifold portion is less than three times an opening area S ₃ of the opening portion, and the manifold The length L ₁ of the portion is equal to or less than three times the thickness L ₃ of the portion of the processing chamber where the opening portion is formed, and the exhaust portion is set such that the effective sectional area S ₂ of the flow path of the exhaust portion is in the aforementioned The effective cross-sectional area S ₁ of the flow path of the pipe portion is three times or less, and the height L _{2 of the} exhaust portion is three times or less the length L ₁ of the manifold portion. The plasma processing apparatus 1 requests the item, wherein the manifold portion and the exhaust portion is set as follows: Effective cross sectional area of the passage of the manifold portion ilk S _1, S the effective sectional area of the exhaust passage portion ₂ ilk The opening area S ₃ of the opening is equal, and the length L _{1 of the} manifold portion and the height L _{2 of the} exhaust portion are equal to the thickness L ₃ of the portion of the processing chamber where the opening is formed. A plasma processing apparatus supplies a processing gas to a processing unit installed in the processing chamber after exhausting the processing chamber by an exhaust mechanism, and plasma-processes the supplied processing gas, and the plasma is processed by the plasma The plasma processing apparatus is a plasma processing apparatus that performs plasma treatment on a substrate disposed on a base in the processing unit; the plasma processing apparatus is characterized in that the exhaust mechanism is provided with at least a vacuum pump having an intake port The exhaust portion of the space in which the processing chamber communicates with the processing portion is disposed below the processing portion, and the manifold portion of the space communicating with the exhaust portion is adjacent to the exhaust portion, corresponding to An opening portion connecting the intake port of the vacuum pump is formed in a portion of the manifold portion; the manifold portion is configured such that an effective sectional area S _{1 of the} flow path is greater than or equal to an opening area S _{3 of the} opening portion, and the length L ₁ is greater than or equal to the thickness of the portion of the opening portion of the L ₃ is formed in the processing chamber; portion of the exhaust gas system is set to the effective flow passage sectional area S _is greater than or equal to the manifold portion The effective cross-sectional area of the flow passage S _1, and a height L ₂ is greater than or equal to the length of the manifold portion of L _1. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 4, wherein an opening area S ₃ of the opening portion is 1100 to 2200 mm ² , and an effective sectional area S ₂ of the flow path of the exhaust portion is an opening area S ₃ of the opening portion 1.6 to 3.9 times. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 4, wherein a thickness L ₃ of a portion of the processing chamber in which the opening portion is formed is 40 to 60 mm, and a height L ₂ of the exhaust portion is 1.8 to 3.5 of the thickness L ₃ described above. Times. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the effective cross-sectional area S ₁ of the flow path of the manifold portion and the effective flow path of the exhaust portion are based on the opening area S ₃ of the opening portion The ratio of the area S ₂ (S ₁ /S ₃ )/(S ₂ /S ₃ ) is 0.46 to 1.13; and when the thickness L ₃ of the portion of the processing chamber in which the opening portion is formed is used as a reference, the manifold portion The ratio (L ₁ /L ₃ ) / (L ₂ /L ₃ ) of the length L ₁ to the height L ₂ of the exhaust portion is 0.38 to 1.36. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 or 4, wherein the opening area S ₃ of the opening portion is 1100 to 1400 mm ² , and the effective sectional area S ₁ of the flow path of the manifold portion is 2500 to 3100 mm ² , the exhaust portion The effective cross-sectional area S ₂ of the flow path is 3500 to 4300 mm ² ; the thickness L ₃ of the portion of the processing chamber where the opening portion is formed is 40 to 60 mm, and the length L ₁ of the manifold portion is 80 to 100 mm, the row The height L ₂ of the gas portion is 110 to 140 mm. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 4, wherein an exhaust gas conductance of the connection portion of the exhaust portion and the processing portion is set to be 10 times or more of an exhaust gas conductivity of the vacuum pump. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 4, wherein an exhaust conductivity of the opening of the processing chamber, an exhaust conductivity of the manifold portion, and an exhaust conductivity of the exhaust portion are set as Increased exhaust conductivity. The plasma processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the through-holes penetrating through the front surface and the back surface and the dispersion plate penetrating the communication portion between the front surface and the back surface are provided in the processing chamber. Inserting the state of the abutment into the hole; and passing the processing unit and the exhaust unit The dispersion plate is demarcated and communicated through the communication portion. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the ratio S ₂ /S ₄ of the effective sectional area S ₂ of the flow path of the exhaust portion to the opening area S ₄ of the communication portion on the dispersion plate is 1.56 to 3.58. A plasma processing apparatus is configured to supply a processing gas to a processing unit set in the processing chamber after exhausting the processing chamber by an exhaust mechanism, and to plasma the supplied processing gas by the plasma processing. a plasma processing apparatus for plasma-treating a substrate disposed on a base in the processing unit; wherein the exhaust mechanism includes at least a vacuum pump having an intake port; and the processing chamber is set to The exhaust portion of the space communicating with the processing unit is set below the exhaust unit, and the manifold portion of the space communicating with the exhaust unit is set adjacent to the exhaust unit, and corresponds to the aforementioned portion of the manifold portion is formed connecting the opening portion of the pump suction port; the manifold portion is set as: an exhaust manifold portion of the conductivity of greater than or equal to C ₁ in the opening portion formed in the processing chamber a portion of the exhaust gas conductance C ₃ ; the exhaust portion is set such that the exhaust gas conductance C _{2 of} the exhaust portion is greater than or equal to the exhaust gas conductance C ₁ at the manifold portion; and from the exhaust gas To the aforementioned vacuum pump Conductivity between the exhaust gas is not lower than the pumping speed of the vacuum pump. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the manifold portion is set such that an exhaust gas conductivity C _{1 of} the manifold portion is _{3 of} an exhaust gas conductivity C ₃ of a portion of the processing chamber where an opening portion is formed The exhaust portion is set such that the exhaust gas conductance C ₂ of the exhaust portion is equal to or less than three times the exhaust gas conductivity C ₁ of the manifold portion. The plasma processing apparatus of the requested item 13, wherein the manifold portion and the exhaust system are set to: an exhaust manifold portion of the conductivity C _1, the exhaust gas exhaust portion of the conductivity C _2, and The exhaust gas conductance C ₃ of the portion of the processing chamber where the opening portion is formed becomes equal. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the exhaust gas conductance of the connection portion of the exhaust portion and the processing portion is set to be 10 times or more of the exhaust gas conductivity of the vacuum pump. The plasma processing apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein the processing chamber is provided with a dispersion plate having a through hole penetrating the front surface and the back surface and a communication portion penetrating the front surface and the back surface. The base is inserted into the through hole, and the processing unit and the exhaust unit are separated by the dispersion plate and communicated through the communication portion. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 17 is configured to set the communication of the dispersion plate such that the exhaust gas conductivity C ₂ of the exhaust portion is three times or more the exhaust gas conductivity of the communication portion of the dispersion plate. The opening area of the part.