Film forming apparatus

A film forming apparatus for performing film formation by supplying a reaction gas to a wafer located in a processing container under a vacuum atmosphere, the film forming apparatus comprising:

• a mounting table, on which the wafer is mounted, installed in the processing container and configured to be lifted/lowered between a processing location for performing the film formation and a delivery location for delivering the wafer from outside of the processing container at a lower side of the processing location;
• an encompassing member configured to encompass the mounting table positioned at the processing location and to divide an inside of the processing container into a processing space of an upper side in which the reaction gas is supplied and a space of a lower side, the encompassing member including a cylindrical protrusion part;
• an exhaust part configured to perform vacuum exhaustion inside the processing container through the processing space;
• a clamp ring stacked on an upper surface of the encompassing member when the mounting table is positioned at the delivery location and lifted from the upper surface of the encompassing member while contacting an inner circumference part thereof with an outer circumference of the wafer mounted on the mounting table when the mounting table rises to the processing location, the inner circumference part extending vertically further than an upper surface of the encompassing member toward a lower side at the delivery location;
• and
• a cylindrical wall thinly extended downward from a portion of a lower surface of the clamp ring, formed along circumference of the clamp ring in a cylinder shape, and positioned between an outer circumference surface of the mounting table and an inner circumference surface of the encompassing member, the cylindrical wall having a uniform thickness extending along the length thereof and the cylindrical wall and the clamp ring forming a T-shape in a vertical sectional side view,
• wherein the cylindrical protrusion part faces an outer circumference of the cylindrical wall and extends towards a lower side of the film forming apparatus, thereby enlarging a surrounding area of the cylindrical wall,
• wherein when the mounting table rises to the processing location, the clamp ring is lifted from the upper surface of the encompassing member to thereby form:
• a first horizontal gap between the upper surface of the encompassing member and a first portion of the lower surface of the clamp ring;
• a first vertical gap between the inner circumference surface of the encompassing member and the outer circumference surface of the cylindrical wall, the first vertical gap communicating with the first horizontal gap;
• a second horizontal gap defined by a portion of an upper surface of the mounting table in which the wafer is not mounted, a second portion of the lower surface of the clamp ring which the wafer is not in contact with, and the outer circumference of the wafer;
• and
• a second vertical gap between the outer circumference surface of the mounting table and an inner circumference surface of the cylindrical wall, the second vertical gap communicating with the second horizontal gap.