Plasma processing apparatus

A plasma processing apparatus comprising:

• a lower electrode installed within a processing chamber and serving as a mounting table that mounts a substrate thereon;
• an upper electrode that is installed within the processing chamber so as to face the lower electrode and is vertically movable so as to vary a distance between the upper electrode and the lower electrode, the upper electrode serving as a shower head for supplying a gas toward the substrate in a shower pattern through a plurality of gas supply holes provided in a facing surface of the upper electrode facing the lower electrode;
• a cover body installed above the upper electrode so as to air tightly seal a top opening of the processing chamber, thereby preventing air from passing through a top portion of the processing chamber;
• a multiple number of gas exhaust holes provided in the facing surface;
• a ring-shaped member that is protruded downward and arranged along a circumference of the upper electrode, is vertically movable along with the upper electrode, and forms, at a lowered position, a processing space surrounded by the lower electrode, the upper electrode and the ring-shaped member, the ring-shaped member being fixed to the upper electrode;
• a multiplicity of gas supply holes opened in an inner wall of the ring-shaped member to supply a gas into the processing space;
• and
• a plurality of gas exhaust holes opened in the inner wall of the ring-shaped member to evacuate the processing space,
• wherein the plurality of gas exhaust holes and the multiplicity of gas supply holes are interspersed in the inner wall of the ring-shaped member, and
• wherein, at the lowered position, the inner wall of the ring-shaped member which extends downward from the upper electrode, is positioned close to an outer sidewall of the lower electrode, such that the processing space is formed only in a region directly above the lower electrode,
• at least a part of the gas supply holes of the ring-shaped member is formed to have a preset inclination angle with respect to the facing surface,
• an elevating shaft is directly under and connected with a bottom of the ring-shaped member, and the elevating shaft is inserted into a cylindrical fixed shaft that is uprightly extended from a bottom portion of the processing chamber toward an upper portion of the processing chamber, the elevating shaft being installed to penetrate a bottom wall of the processing chamber, and
• the upper electrode and the ring-shaped member are vertically moved by vertically moving the elevating shaft using an electric cylinder installed outside of the processing chamber.