Plasma processing apparatus and plasma processing method
AssigneeHitachi High-Technologies Corporation
InventorsTomohiro Ohashi, Akitaka Makino, Hiroho Kitada, Muneo Furuse, Tomoyuki Tamura
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Abstract
A plasma processing apparatus is provided which includes an inert gas supply route connected to a process gas supply piping which supplies a process gas into a processing chamber in a vacuum vessel, a valve which opens or closes the inert gas supply route, and an adjuster which adjusts a flow rate of the inert gas. When processing of a sample is complete, an inert gas is supplied into the process gas supply piping so that a pressure in the process gas supply piping is maintained at a pressure higher than a pressure at which a compound of the process gas and a material of an inner wall of the process gas supply piping vaporizes.
Claims4
A plasma processing method comprising the steps of
- mounting a sample having film layers to be processed formed thereon on a sample stage disposed in a processing chamber in a vacuum vessel;
- supplying a process gas into space above the sample stage in the processing chamber;
- forming plasma in the space;
- processing the sample;
- and
- maintaining a pressure in a process gas supply piping at a pressure higher than a pressure at which a compound of the process gas and a material of an inner wall of the process gas supply piping vaporizes by supplying an inert gas into the process gas supply piping from an inert gas supply route connected to and communicated with the process gas supply piping when processing of the sample is completed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.