Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Tatsuhiro Mizukami

Masaru Nonomura

Kiyoshi Arita

Shogo Okita

Yoshimasa Inamoto

Ryota Furukawa

A substrate placement process uses a tray in which a plurality of substrate receiving holes are provided to receive substrates and which has substrate support portions protruding from inner walls of the substrate receiving holes. The tray is placed onto a tray support portion of a substrate stage and places substrates onto substrate holding portions, respectively, so that edge portions of the substrates projected beyond end edges of the substrate holding portions and are apart from the substrate support portions. The first plasma processing process reduces internal pressure of a chamber and supplies a process gas thereto to fulfill plasma processing for the individual substrates. A second plasma processing process with the tray and the individual substrates placed on the substrate stage, reduces the internal pressure of the chamber and supplies a process gas to fulfill plasma processing so that by-products stuck to edge portions of the substrates and the substrate support portions due to the first plasma processing process are removed. By the removal of by-products stuck to the edge portions of the substrates and the tray during plasma processing, product quality is improved.

Plasma processing method for substrates

An object is to provide a plasma processing device capable of accurately judging whether or not the proper maintenance time has come which is necessary for maintaining an operation state of a device in the best condition. A discharge detection sensor, in which a dielectric memberand a probe electrode unitare combined with each other, is attached to an opening portionprovided in a lid portioncomposing a vacuum chamber. A change in the electric potential induced in the probe electrodeaccording to a change in plasma discharge is received and whether or not the maintenance work is necessary is judged by comparing a counted value, which is obtained when a leak discharge wave-form countercounts the number of times of the detection of detecting a V-type wave form of a V-shaped specific pattern, which is caused by leak discharge correlated with the attachment of foreign object in the vacuum chamber, by a V-type wave-form detecting portion, with an allowable value which has been previously set by a maintenance judging portion

Plasma processing device

An object is to provide a plasma processing device capable of rightly monitoring existence of plasma discharge and also rightly monitoring existence of abnormal discharge. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of monitoring a state of plasma discharge in the plasma processing device. A discharge detection sensor, in which a dielectric memberand a probe electrode unitare combined with each other, is attached to an opening portionprovided in a lid portioncomposing a vacuum chamber. A change in the electric potential induced in the probe electrodeaccording to a change in plasma discharge is received, electric potential change wave-forms of specific patterns are respectively detected by an N-type wave-form detecting portionand V-type wave-form detecting, and a discharge state judgment including a judgment of whether the electric discharge exists or does not exist and whether the electric discharge is normal or abnormal is made according to a counted value of counting the number of times of appearance of these electric potential change wave forms for each type of wave-form by a discharge ON wave-form counter, a discharge OFF wave-form counter, an abnormal discharge wave-form counterand a leak discharge wave-form counter

Plasma processing device and method of monitoring plasma discharge state in plasma processing device

An object is to provide a plasma processing device capable of highly accurately monitoring an operation state including whether or not the plasma discharge is executed, whether the discharge is normal or abnormal and whether or not the maintenance work of the vacuum chamber is necessary. A discharge detection sensor, in which a dielectric memberand a probe electrode unitare combined with each other, is attached to an opening portionprovided in a lid portioncomposing a vacuum chamber. A change in electric potential induced according to a change in plasma discharge in a probe electrode is received by a plurality of wave-form detecting portions and a detection signal is outputted each time a change in electric potential agreeing with a predetermined different condition appears. The detection signal outputted from the corresponding wave-form detecting portion is counted by the plurality of wave-form detecting portions and the counted value is held. According to the counted value, an operation state is highly accurately monitored which includes whether or not the plasma discharge is executed, whether the discharge is normal or abnormal and whether or not the maintenance work of the vacuum chamber is necessary.

Plasma processing device and plasma discharge state monitoring device

According to the plasma treatment on an object accommodated in the processing room, the plasma treatment is carried out as follows. The discharge detecting sensor detects a signal of potential change caused with change in plasma discharge. Receiving the signal, the signal recording section temporarily records the signal as signal data indicating potential change. Referencing the signal data, the signal analysis section extracts index data. The index data shows a condition of plasma discharge, for example, as a count value for discharge-start waves, a count value for abnormal discharge, a count value for feeble arc discharge. The device control section judges a condition of plasma discharge by monitoring the index data and carries out the retry process, the accumulative plasma process, and the maintenance judgment process for performing plasma treatment operations properly.

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Fukuoka, Japan

Tatsuhiro Mizukami