Apparatus and method for processing a base substance using plasma and a magnetic field

A plasma processing method for processing a base substance installed within a processing chamber of an apparatus into which a gas for use in plasma processing is introduced and maintained at a pressure between 0.001 and 1 Torr, comprising:

• introducing said gas into said processing chamber, having (I) plasma producing means for producing a plasma within the processing chamber including two ground electrodes and one rf electrode provided on an external periphery surrounding said processing chamber, said rf electrode being disposed between said two ground electrodes, and (ii) magnetic field producing means comprising a first and a second magnet arranged on an external periphery surrounding said chamber so as to sandwich said two ground and one rf electrodes, for producing a mirror magnetic field orthogonal to an rf electric field which is formed by said plasma producing means;
• producing the plasma from said gas substantially within a plasma generating space inside said processing chamber with said plasma producing means;
• processing said base substance using said plasma;
• and
• wherein said base substance is disposed at a sufficient distance from said plasma generating space to be in a region of lower plasma density than said plasma generating space.

A plasma processing method for processing a base substance installed within a processing chamber of an apparatus into which a gas for use in plasma processing is introduced and maintained at a pressure between 0.001 and 1 Torr, comprising:

• introducing said gas into said processing chamber, having (I) plasma producing means for producing plasma within the processing chamber including two ground electrodes and one rf electrode provided on an external periphery surrounding said processing chamber, said rf electrode being disposed between said two ground electrodes, and (ii) magnetic field producing means, arranged along an external periphery of said rf electrode, for producing a magnetron magnetic field orthogonal to an electric field formed by said plasma producing means;
• producing the plasma from said gas substantially within a plasma generating space inside said processing chamber with said plasma producing means;
• and
• processing said base substance using said plasma, wherein said base substance is disposed at a sufficient distance from said plasma generating space to be in a region of lower plasma density than said plasma generating space.