Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Differential fluid etching apparatus – With microwave gas energizing means
Patent
1996-12-06
2000-07-11
Dang, Thi
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Differential fluid etching apparatus
With microwave gas energizing means
H05H 146, H01L 21302
Patent
active
060867108
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
[TECHNICAL FIELD]
The present invention relates to an apparatus for treating a surface of a workpiece, which is to be treated, by utilizing a plasma. For example, in semiconductor fabrication, the present invention is used for etching and ashing a surface of a workpiece, or for performing surface modification on a workpiece, and for performing thin film deposition.
[BACKGROUND ART]
Heretofore, in various fields, there have been utilized techniques for variously treating a surface of a workpiece by using a plasma in this way. Conventional plasma surface treatment methods have problems in that generally, special equipment and facilities, such as a vacuum chamber, are required to cause a plasma discharge in a reduced pressure environment, the performance of a surface treatment is low and it is difficult to treat a surface of a large area. As a result, the manufacturing cost becomes high. Thus, recently, there have been proposed surface treatment techniques as described in, for example, the Japanese Patent Application No. 6-2149 Official Gazette, which can obviate the necessity of a vacuum facility and can simplify and miniaturize the equipment and enable the treatment of a surface of a large area at a low cost.
An example of a conventional apparatus for treating a surface of a large area by using an atmospheric-pressure plasma in this way is schematically illustrated in FIG. 12. This surface treatment apparatus 1 has a disk-like upper electrode 3 and a disk-like lower electrode 6 which are placed a certain distance apart in parallel with each other in a housing 2. The lower electrode 6 is grounded and a workpiece to be treated 4 is put thereon over a dielectric 5. The upper electrode 3 is connected to a power supply 7, and a porous dielectric 8 is placed thereunder so as to do away with an abnormal discharge and obtain uniform distribution of a discharge gas. A discharge is caused between both of the electrodes by applying a predetermined voltage to the upper electrode 3 from the power supply 7.
The upper electrode 3 is provided with many air holes (not shown) bored therein in such a manner as to provide an opening to the dielectric 8. Gas supplied from an external gas supply 10 to a chamber 9 defined therein is introduced through the air holes the dielectric 8 into a discharge region 11 in the housing 2. The gas is dispersed by the porous dielectric 8 and is supplied uniformly to the entire discharge region, so that a plasma is uniformly produced in the discharge region 11. The surface of the workpiece 4 is treated by exposing excited active species of the gas generated from this plasma. The gas flows from the periphery of the discharge region 11 to the bottom side of the upper electrode 6 and is then exhausted from a gas exhaust port 12 provided in the central part of the bottom portion of the housing 2, as indicated by arrows in FIG. 12.
FIG. 13 schematically illustrates another conventional surface treatment apparatus 13. This surface treatment apparatus 13 is different from the aforementioned surface treatment apparatus of the face type and is what is called a line type that treats the surface of the workpiece, which relatively moves just thereunder, while scanning the surface thereof. Further, this surface treatment apparatus 13 has an elongated electrode 14 extending in a direction indicated by an arrow A in this figure, which is orthogonal to the direction of the movement of the workpiece. Two discharge generating portions 15 and 16 of the same size and shape are provided on the bottom surface of the electrode 14 in such a way as to extend in parallel with each other over the full length of the electrode 14 and project downwardly from the bottom surface thereof. Further, a dielectric 18 is fitted to the bottom portion of the electrode 14 between both of the discharge generating portions in such a way as to define an intermediate chamber 17 over the full length of the electrode 14. Gas ejecting ports 19, each of which opens downwardly from the intermediate chamber 17, are linearly formed in the die
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Aoki Yasutugu
Asano Yasuhiko
Kubota Isao
Kurashina Osamu
Miyakawa Takuya
Dang Thi
Seiko Epson Corporation
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