Tokyo Electron Limited

Other

Nihon Koshuha Co., Ltd.

Rikagaku Kenkyusho

Katagiri Engineering Co., Ltd.

Makoto Ando

Nobuo Ishii

Yasuyoshi Yasaka

Kibatsu Shinohara

Jiro Hata

Naohisa Goto

Chishio Koshimizu

Satoru Kawakami

Issei Imahashi

Teruo Iwata

Yoshinobu Kawai

Yoko Ueda

Masaru Hori

Hiroaki Saeki

Yasuo Kobayashi

Toshio Goto

Towl Ikeda

Masafumi Ito

Masasi Saito

Masaharu Takahashi

Hiroshi Nishikawa

Yoshifumi Tahara

Kimihiro Higuchi

Kohei Kawamura

Naoki Takayama

Tomohiro Suzuki

Tamotsu Morimoto

Hideaki Amano

Tamio Hara

Yoshinobu Aoyagi

Shoji Den

Susumu Namba

Manabu Hamagaki

Ryoichiro Koshi

Isei Imahashi

Junichi Takada

Yasuhiro Horike

Yasuyuki Okamura

Tatsuo Shiina

Guide members () extending from the microwave entrance to a ring member () are arranged in the direction of propagation of microwave in a radial waveguide. The guide members () contribute to prevention of complex electromagnetic mode due to a microwave reflected from the peripheral portion of the radial waveguide. Therefore, a uniform plasma can be produced because the radiation into the process chamber is uniform even not by disposing any electromagnetic absorbing member at the peripheral portion of the radial waveguide. Since the microwave reflected from the peripheral portion of the radial waveguide can be used to produce a plasma if any electromagnetic absorbing member is not disposed, the plasma can be produced efficiently, and excessive heat is not generated.

Radial antenna and plasma processing apparatus comprising the same

A plasma source () is composed of a chamber () to which a gas should be supplied and a hollow cathode electrode member () which is arranged on the gas flow-out side of the chamber () and has a plurality of electrode holes () through which the gas can flow. In such a plasma source (), microcathode plasma discharge can be performed in the electrode holes () of the hollow cathode electrode member ().

Plasma source and plasma processing apparatus

A method for achieving a highly uniform plasma density on a substrate by shaping an induced electric field including the steps of positioning the substrate in a processing chamber, supplying a high frequency power to a spiral antenna generating an induced electric field in the processing chamber, generating a plasma in the processing chamber, and shaping the electric field with respect to the substrate to achieve a uniform distribution of plasma on the substrate being processed.

Method for plasma processing by shaping an induced electric field

An etching apparatus has an antenna connected to a radio frequency power supply through a matching box. At the center region of a dielectric plate, a columnar conductor and a cylindrical conduct ring are arranged. Between the columnar conductor and the conductor ring, four conducting wires, each of which forms a substantially circular loop outside the conductor ring, are connected in parallel with the radio frequency power supply. A loop formed by each of the conducting wires is arranged at an equal spacing with each other to be rotationally-symmetric around the axis orthogonal to a mounting table, with the columnar conductor as the center. The loops are arranged on the same plane such that a surface where each loop is placed faces the mounting table.

Plasma device

The temperature of the surface and/or inside of a substrate is measured by irradiating the front surface or rear surface of the substrate, whose temperature is to be measured, with light and measuring the interference of a reflected light from the substrate and a reference light. A method and apparatus for measuring temperature or thickness which is suitable for directly measuring the temperature of the outermost surface layer of a substrate, and an apparatus for treating a substrate for an electronic device, which uses such method, are provided.

Method and apparatus for measuring temperature of substrate

A first conductive plate (A) constituting the radiation surface of a slot antenna (A) inclines with respect to a first dielectric member () opposed to the radiation surface of the slot antenna (A). Consequently, a plasma generated by the electric field of an electromagnetic field entering directly from the slot antenna (A) can be set dominant over a plasma generated by the electric field of a standing wave formed in a processing vessel (). Since the former can be controlled more easily than the latter, the plasma distribution can be improved.

Plasma processing apparatus

A plasma processing apparatus includes a table () on which a processing target (W) is to be placed, a processing vessel () where the table is to be accommodated, and a power feed unit () for supplying a high-frequency electromagnetic field (F) into the processing vessel. The power supply unit includes at least a cylindrical waveguide () for introducing the high-frequency electromagnetic field, and a circular polarization antenna () arranged at one end of the cylindrical waveguide to supply the high-frequency electromagnetic field as a rotating electromagnetic field rotating in a plane perpendicular to its traveling direction. Accordingly, there is no need of providing a circular polarization converter for converting the high-frequency electromagnetic field in the cylindrical waveguide into the rotating electromagnetic field. Consequently, it is possible to solve problems caused by the circular polarization converter, stabilize the operation of plasma generation by performing circular polarization feeding, and perform a continuous operation for a long period of time.

Plasma treatment apparatus and plasma generation method

A plasma apparatus includes a container () having an opening, a dielectric member () supported by an end surface of an outer periphery of the opening of the container (), an electromagnetic field supplying means for supplying an electromagnetic field into the container () through the dielectric member (), and a shield member () covering the outer periphery of the dielectric member () and shielding the electromagnetic field. A distance Lfrom an inner surface of the container () to an inner surface of the shield member () at an end surface of the container () is approximately N/2 (N is an integer not smaller than 0) times the wavelength of the electromagnetic field in an area () surrounded by the end surface of the container (), the electromagnetic field supplying means and the shield member ().

Plasma apparatus and production method thereof

A plasma device includes a first conductive plate () in which a plurality of slots () are formed, a second conductive plate () having a microwave inlet () and disposed opposite to the first conductive plate (), a ring member () for connecting peripheral edges of the first and second conductive plates (), and a conductive adjusting member () provided on said second conductive plate () within a radial waveguide () formed by the first and second conductive plates () and serving to adjust a distance (d1, d2) up to the first conductive plate (). With this arrangement, a desired electric field radiation distribution can be obtained without inducing abnormal discharge.

Radial antenna and plasma device using it

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 plasma processor includes a table on which a target object is to be placed, a vessel which accommodates the table and in which a plasma is to be generated by a high-frequency electromagnetic field, a high-frequency oscillator () which generates a high-frequency electromagnetic field, and a reference oscillator () which is lower in output power than the high-frequency oscillator () and stable in oscillation frequency. A reference signal generated by the reference oscillator () is injected into the high-frequency oscillator () to fix an oscillation frequency of the high-frequency oscillator () at a frequency of a reference signal. Therefore, accurate load matching is performed to improve an energy efficiency when an automatic matching device provided between the high-frequency oscillator () and vessel is designed based on the frequency of the reference signal.

Plasma processor and plasma processing method

A plasma processing apparatus includes a processing container, a mounting tablearranged in the processing containerto support a wafer W, a sealing plateopposed to the wafer W supported by the mounting table, an annular antennaarranged on the sealing plateand consisting of an annular waveguide to introduce a microwave into the processing containerthrough the sealing plate, the annular antennabeing arranged so that a plane containing an annular waveguide path defined by the annular waveguide is generally parallel with the sealing plate, a directional couplerarranged on the periphery of the annular antenna, a propagation waveguideconnected to the directional couplerand a microwave oscillatorconnected to the propagation waveguide. 'Accordingly, it is possible to form an uniform microwave in the antenna, so that an uniform plasma can be produced in the processing container'.

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 plasma processing apparatus, comprising: at least, a plasma processing chamber for processing therein an object to be processed; antenna means for guiding microwaves into the plasma processing chamber; and a dielectric member disposed between the antenna means and the plasma processing chamber; wherein a surface of the dielectric member facing the inside of the plasma processing chamber has a projecting shape.

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Amagasaki, Japan

Nobuo Ishii