Plasma process apparatus and its processor

A plasma processing apparatus having

• a processing chamber for performing processing using plasma therein and
• microwave introduction means for introducing microwaves into said processing chamber to cause a reactant gas supplied in said processing chamber to attain a plasma state, wherein
• said microwave introduction means includes a dielectric member transmitting said microwaves,
• each said dielectric member having a shape in cross section in a direction approximately perpendicular to a transmitting direction of said microwaves through said dielectric member that allows transmission of said microwaves of substantially a single mode, and
• each said dielectric member having a thickness T in said transmitting direction that satisfies a condition of (λ×(2 m+0.7)/4)≦T≦(λ×(2 m+1.3)/4), where λ is a wavelength of said microwaves of the single mode transmitted through said dielectric member and m is an arbitrary integer,
• wherein the wavelength of the microwaves of the single mode is,
• λ=(λ0/SQRT(∈r))/SQRT{1−(λ0/SQRT(∈r))2/2×((7/L1)2+(1/L2)2)}
• where
• λ0:
• wavelength of the microwaves propagating in a free space in the air or a vacuum;
• ∈r:
• relative dielectric constant of the dielectric member;
• L1:
• length of the longer side of the dielectric member in cross section;
• and
• L2:
• length of shorter side of the dielectric member in cross section,
• wherein said microwave introduction means also includes slot antenna plates attached on a side of each said dielectric member that is opposite from the processing chamber,
• wherein a side of each said dielectric that faces the processing chamber is arranged to face a substrate located in the processing chamber such that at least one slot of the respective slot antenna plate is in a direct path of microwaves transmitted to said substrate, said substrate thereby being the subject of said processing.