Plasma processing apparatus and electrode used therein

An electrode for use as an upper electrode in a plasma processing apparatus for performing a specific plasma processing on a target substrate placed in a processing chamber having the upper electrode and a lower electrode, the electrode for use as the upper electrode comprising:

• an electrode plate which has a plurality of divided gas inlets, each gas inlet being provided with a plurality of gas injection openings;
• a support for detachably supporting the electrode plate;
• a hollow portion serving as a dielectric portion, provided on a contact surface of the support with the electrode plate, and having a shape in which a center portion thereof has a thickness different from that of an edge portion thereof;
• and
• a partition member for partitioning the hollow portion into a plurality of regions, each region belonging to one of the gas inlets.

A plasma processing apparatus comprising:

• a processing chamber in which a target subject is processed therein;
• and
• a lower electrode, disposed in the processing chamber, to support the target subject;
• and
• an upper electrode facing the lower electrode,
• wherein the upper electrode includes:
• an electrode plate which has a plurality of divided gas inlets, each gas inlet being provided with a plurality of gas injection openings;
• a support for detachably supporting the electrode plate;
• and
• a hollow portion serving as a dielectric portion, provided on a contact surface of the support with the electrode plate, and having a shape in which a center portion thereof has a thickness different from that of an edge portion thereof, and
• wherein dimensions of the hollow portion are determined such that an electric field perpendicular to the upper electrode is generated in the hollow portion when a high-frequency electric power is supplied to the upper electrode and a resonance occurs at the high-frequency.

A plasma processing apparatus comprising:

• a processing chamber in which a target subject is processed therein;
• a lower electrode, disposed in the processing chamber, to support the target subject;
• and
• an upper electrode facing the lower electrode,
• wherein the upper electrode includes:
• an electrode plate which has a plurality of gas injection openings;
• a support for detachably supporting the electrode plate;
• and
• a hollow portion serving as a dielectric portion, provided on a contact surface of the support with the electrode plate,
• wherein the hollow portion has a shape in which a first, a second and a third disk-like portions having different diameters from each other are stacked from the contact surface with the electrode plate such that the thickness of the center portion thereof is thicker than that of the edge portion thereof, and
• wherein dimensions of the hollow portion are determined such that an electric field perpendicular to the upper electrode is generated in the hollow portion when a high-frequency electric power is supplied to the upper electrode and a resonance occurs at the high-frequency.

A plasma processing apparatus comprising:

• a processing chamber in which a target subject is processed therein;
• a lower electrode, disposed in the processing chamber, to support the target subject;
• and
• an upper electrode facing the lower electrode,
• wherein the upper electrode includes:
• an electrode plate which has a plurality of divided gas inlets, each gas inlet being provided with a plurality of gas injection openings;
• a support for detachably supporting the electrode plate;
• a hollow portion serving as a dielectric portion, provided on a contact surface of the support with the electrode plate, and having a shape in which a center portion thereof has a thickness different from that of an edge portion thereof;
• and
• a partition member for partitioning the hollow portion into a plurality of regions, each region belonging to one of the gas inlets.