Other

Tokyo Electron Limited

Nippon Steel Corporation

Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.

Makoto Ando

Nobuo Ishii

Naohisa Goto

Yasuyoshi Yasaka

Yasuo Kobayashi

Masaharu Takahashi

Tamotsu Morimoto

Masahiro Uematsu

Takashi Ojima

Yasuhiro Okazaki

Nobuharu Takahashi

Yoshiharu Ito

Tsuneyo Metabi

Kunitaka Arimura

Jiro Hirokawa

Yukio Miki

Takeshi Egawa

Ryuji Teramoto

Tatsuya Shirai

Junichi Takada

Yasuhiro Horike

A plasma device includes a slot antenna () for supplying a high frequency electromagnetic field (F) supplied through a feeding part into a processing vessel (). The feeding part has a cavity () for forming a resonator and converting the fed high frequency electromagnetic field (F) into a rotating electromagnetic field and supplying the rotating electromagnetic field to the slot antenna ().

Plasma device and plasma generating method

A slot array antenna, consistent with the invention can include a power feeding waveguide for feeding microwave power and a plurality of rectangular radiating waveguides. The plurality of rectangular radiating waveguides are connected to a plurality of windows which are disposed along the longitudinal direction of the power feeding waveguide so as to guide the microwave power from the plurality of windows to the outside of the antenna. In each of the radiating waveguides, the interval 'd' between the centers of gravity of slot pairs or slots is substantially the same as the wavelength &#x3bb;m of the microwave in the rectangular radiating waveguide. A slot array antenna of the present invention can be used in a plasma processing apparatus to increase the plasma density in the plasma-processing chamber.

Slot array antenna and plasma processing apparatus

A plasma apparatus includes a slot antenna () supplying an electromagnetic field to a container in which plasma is generated. Slot antenna () has a slot () so formed that a radiation plane () at a periphery B thereof allows the electromagnetic field to provide radiation smaller per unit area in amount than at an intermediate region C thereof located between a center A and periphery B thereof.

A desired component of an electromagnetic field in a slot antenna is selectively taken to be supplied into a vessel for generating a plasma. The angle of inclination of slots () relative to the circumferential direction of a radiation surface () of the slot antenna () is decreased as the position of the slots approaches the periphery of the radiation surfacefrom the center O of the radiation surface.

A plasma-assisted processing system has a lifting mechanism capable of vertically moving a microwave power unit and a waveguide to adjust the level of a planar slot antenna disposed on an expanded lower end part of the waveguide. A space extending under the antenna is surrounded by a shielding member. An optical sensor having an array of photosensors is disposed on the outer side of a window formed in the side wall of a vacuum vessel to monitor the lower limit level of a cease region for a plasma (cease level). An ideal distance between the cease level and the antenna is determined beforehand and the level of the antenna is adjusted on the basis of a measured cease level so that the antenna is spaced the ideal distance apart from the cease level. Since the difference between the cease level and a level X for the cutoff density of an X-wave is fixed, the level X may be monitored instead of the cease level.

Plasma-assisted processing system and plasma-assisted processing method

Plasma processing apparatus and plasma processing method

In the plasma processor, the microwaves generated from a microwave generator ( ) are led to a plane antenna ( ), which in turn introduces exponentially attenuating microwaves into a container ( ) that processes an object (W) in plasma. Microwave absorption device ( ) provided in the circumference of the plane antenna ( ) absorbs microwaves propagating from the center of the plane antenna ( ) and suppresses the reflection. As a result, the microwaves reflected in the circumference of the plane antenna ( ) and returned to the center are decreased to some degree, and the electromagnetic field distribution of the microwave becomes uniform.

Plasma processing apparatus

Plasma treatment system

A plasma processing apparatus has a vacuum vessel, a high-frequency power generator that generates a high-frequency wave, a waveguide for propagating the high-frequency wave generated by the high-frequency power generator into the vacuum vessel to produce a plasma by ionizing a processing gas supplied into the vacuum vessel and to process a semiconductor wafer supported on a support table in the vacuum vessel. A reflection coefficient measuring unit,is combined with a waveguide,to take data on a ratio &Ggr;,of advancing wave from the high-frequency power generator,and reflected wave from the plasma and phase &thgr; of reflection coefficient. Factors dominating the electron density of the plasma including the output power of the microwave power generator are controlled on the basis of the measured data, whereby the electron density is controlled and stable processing is ensured.

Plasma processing method and apparatus

A plasma processing apparatus comprises a processing container, a waveguide tube for guiding microwaves generated by a microwave generator, and a flat antenna member connected to the wave guide and disposed in the container to face a semiconductor wafer supported in the container. The antenna includes a plurality of short slits concentrically or spirally arranged in the antenna. The slits are spaced apart in the widthwise direction at intervals of 5% to 50% of a guide wavelength of the microwave, and each of the slits has a length of +30% of the guide wavelength centered with respect to half of the guide wavelength.

Polarization-universal radial line slot antenna

A slotted leaky waveguide array antenna of a one-axis tracking type wherein a feed section including a feed probe is kept in a stationary state to thereby keep a converter in a stationary state and a desired beam width is set in a tilt direction, includes a plurality of radiation waveguides arranged adjacent and parallel to each other, each of which has a plurality of slots arranged in a waveguide axial direction, and a feed waveguide for distributing to the respective radiation waveguides electromagnetic waves received through a feed section from a converter, and the antenna rotates in a substantially horizontal plane to track an azimuth direction, wherein the feed waveguide has a first section extended along one ends of the radiation waveguides and a second section extended from the feed section provided in the rotary center of the slotted leaky waveguide array antenna to the center of the first section, and wherein the radiation waveguides are formed with crossed slots having an identical offset, and the number of the crossed slots is preferably selected between 13 and 17.

Slotted leaky waveguide array antenna

The present invention relates to telecommunication technology and broadcasting antenna technology. The power-feeding portion and the wave-guiding space, and the power-feeding wave-guiding space and the power-radiating wave-guiding space are matched for the effective radiation of the fed power. A conical matching body is disposed within the wave-guiding space with the apex thereof directed toward a power-feeding opening; the junction of the power-feeding wave-guiding space and the power-radiating wave-guiding space is formed in a sectional shape of a semicircle, a hemihedral polygon or a desired curvilinear shape; the power-feeding wave-guiding space the power-radiating wave-guiding space are matched in impedance; or a matching body is provided at the junction of the power-feeding wave-guiding space and the power-radiating wave-guiding space. A delaying means, such as a corrugated plate, is provided on the power-radiating surface or on a wall disposed opposite to the power-radiating surface, to radiate the power of the same phase uniformly with the reduced side lobe.

Flat circular unidirectional microwave antenna

An exchangeable lens assembly detachably mountable on a camera body having an automatic focusing device is selectively capable of either automatic focus adjustment by the operation of the automatic focusing device or manual focus adjustment by a manual operation. In two of the embodiments, the change-over between the automatic focus adjustment and the manual focus adjustment is made by operation of a change-over member provided on a stationary barrel separately from a manual focusing ring. A driven shaft coupled with a focus adjusting mechanism is disengaged from a driving shaft of the automatic focusing device in the case of the manual focus adjustment. In the remaining embodiments, a manual focusing ring rotatable and axially shiftable relative to a stationary barrel is axially shifted between an automatic focusing position and a manual focusing position for the change-over. When the ring is shifted to the automatic focusing position, a driven shaft coupled with a focus adjusting mechanism is engaged with a driving shaft of the automatic focusing device and the ring is un-coupled from the focus adjusting mechanism. When the ring is shifted to the manual focusing position, the engagement between the driven and driving shafts is interrupted and the ring is coupled with the focus adjusting mechanism by frictional engagement due to elastic deformation of a resilient member.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Makoto Ando