Plasma processing apparatus and control method thereof

A plasma processing apparatus, comprising:

• a lower electrode disposed in a processing chamber, capable of mounting an object to be processed thereon;
• an upper electrode disposed in the chamber to face the lower electrode;
• a first high-frequency power supply and a second high-frequency power supply for applying high-frequency powers to at least one of the upper and the lower electrode;
• and
• an output controller for raising respective outputs of the first and the second high- frequency power supply up to respective set levels for processing the object to be processed,
• wherein the output controller regulates raise timings of the outputs of the respective high-frequency power supplies so that raising the output of the second high-frequency power supply is followed by raising the output of the first high-frequency power supply, while the outputs of the high-frequency power supplies are raised up to the respective set levels, and
• wherein the output controller controls the outputs of the high-frequency power supplies to be raised stepwise during a certain interval and continuously during the rest.

A method for controlling a plasma processing apparatus including a lower electrode in a processing chamber on which an object to be processed is mounted, an upper electrode disposed in the chamber to face the lower electrode, and a first high-frequency power supply and a second high-frequency power supply for applying high-frequency powers to the lower electrode, the method comprising the step of:

• raising respective outputs of the high-frequency power supplies to reach respective set levels for processing the object to be processed,
• wherein the respective outputs of the high-frequency power supplies are controlled to be raised stepwise in at least three steps,
• wherein respective raise timings of the outputs of the high-frequency power supplies are controlled such that raising the output of the second high-frequency power supply is followed by raising the output of the first high-frequency power supply while the respective outputs of the high-frequency power supplies are raised to the respective set levels, and
• wherein the outputs of the high-frequency power supplies are supplied to the lower electrode.