PLASMA PROCESSING APPARATUS

Abstract

A plasma processing apparatus which enables an insulating film on a grounding electrode to be removed. A plasma processing apparatus has a substrate processing chamber having therein a processing space in which plasma processing is carried out on a substrate, an RF electrode that applies radio frequency electrical power into the processing space, a DC electrode that applies a DC voltage into the processing space, and a grounding electrode that is exposed to the processing space. The grounding electrode and the RF electrode are adjacent to one another with an insulating portion therebetween, and a distance between the grounding electrode and the RF electrode is set in a range of 0 to 10 mm.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view schematically showing the construction of a plasma processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view schematically showing the construction of a conventional plasma processing apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between a deposit attachment rate and locations on components in the case of supplying only 60 MHz radio frequency electrical power to an upper electrode plate;

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the electric field strength calculated through simulation and locations on the components in the case of supplying only the 60 MHz radio frequency electrical power to the upper electrode plate; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view schematically showing the construction of a plasma processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Claims

1. A plasma processing apparatus that has a substrate processing chamber having therein a processing space in which plasma processing is carried out on a substrate, an RF electrode that applies radio frequency electrical power into said processing space, a DC electrode that applies a DC voltage into said processing space, and a grounding electrode that is exposed to said processing space, wherein said grounding electrode and said RF electrode are adjacent to one another with an insulating portion therebetween, anda distance between said grounding electrode and said RF electrode is set in a range of 0 to 10 mm.

2. A plasma processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distance is set in a range of 0 to 5 mm.

3. A plasma processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein a lower limit of the distance is 0.5 mm.

4. A plasma processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said insulating portion comprises an insulator or a vacuum space.

5. A plasma processing apparatus that has a substrate processing chamber having therein a processing space in which plasma processing is carried out on a substrate, an RF electrode that applies only radio frequency electrical power of not less than a predetermined frequency into said processing space, a DC electrode that applies a DC voltage into said processing space, and a grounding electrode that is exposed to said processing space, wherein said grounding electrode and said RF electrode are adjacent to one another with an insulating portion therebetween.

6. A plasma processing apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the predetermined frequency is 13 MHz.

7. A plasma processing apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said insulating portion comprises an insulator or a vacuum space.