The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 21, 2003
Filed:
Aug. 16, 2000
Jun Oyabu, Nirasaki, JP;
Tokyo Electron Limited, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
Inside a processing chamber of an etching apparatus , a pair of electrodes, i.e., an upper electrode and a lower electrode , are provided. The circumferential edge of the upper electrode is covered by a first ring-shaped body , and a cylindrical body is provided around the first ring-shaped body . A second ring-shaped body is provided around the lower electrode . When the lower electrode is set at the processing position, the second ring-shaped body is positioned inside the cylindrical body to form a plasma space . A gas discharge path is formed between the cylindrical body and the second ring-shaped body . The distance between the cylindrical body and the second ring-shaped body is set so as to ensure that the conductance value of the gas inside the gas discharge path is higher than the conductance value of the gas inside the plasma space . The cylindrical body and the first and second ring-shaped bodies and are heated by the plasma. As a result, a plasma processing apparatus capable of inducing plasma to a workpiece uniformly while creating only a small quantity of particles is provided.