Plasma processing apparatus
View Patent ↗A plasma processing apparatus comprises a processing chamber having a processing space, an electromagnetic wave generator configured to generate electromagnetic waves for plasma excitation to be supplied to the processing space, a dielectric having a first surface facing the processing space, an electromagnetic wave supply configured to supply the electromagnetic waves to the processing space via the dielectric, and a resonator array structure disposed along the first surface of the dielectric in the processing chamber. The resonator array structure includes a plurality of resonators resonating with magnetic field components of the electromagnetic waves, having a size smaller than a wavelength of the electromagnetic waves, and arranged in a direction along the first surface of the dielectric. The electromagnetic wave supply is configured to supply magnetic field components perpendicular to a plane on which the plurality of resonators are arranged.
1 . A plasma processing apparatus comprising:
a processing chamber having a processing space;
an electromagnetic wave generator configured to generate electromagnetic waves for plasma excitation to be supplied to the processing space;
a dielectric having a first surface facing the processing space;
an electromagnetic wave supply connected to an RF power supply and configured to supply the electromagnetic waves to the processing space via the dielectric; and
a resonator array structure disposed along the first surface of the dielectric in the processing chamber,
wherein the resonator array structure includes a plurality of resonators resonating with magnetic field components of the electromagnetic waves, having a size smaller than a wavelength of the electromagnetic waves, and arranged in a direction along the first surface of the dielectric,
the electromagnetic wave supply is configured to supply magnetic field components perpendicular to a plane on which the plurality of resonators are arranged, and
the electromagnetic wave supply is a coil disposed outside the processing chamber and wound in a planar spiral shape.
2 . The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the resonator array structure is parallel to the first surface of the dielectric, and the plurality of resonators are arranged in a direction along a plane parallel to the first surface of the dielectric.
3 . The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the coil is disposed such that an opening of the coil is parallel to the resonator array structure.
4 . The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the coils are provided.
5 . The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the resonator array structure is disposed to be in contact with the first surface of the dielectric.
6 . The plasma processing apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the resonator array structure has a through-hole penetrating through an upper surface and a bottom surface.
7 . The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the resonator array structure is disposed in the processing space to be spaced apart from the first surface of the dielectric.
8 . The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the resonator array structure is disposed to be integrated with the dielectric.
9 . The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of resonators include two or more resonators having different resonance frequencies.
10 . The plasma processing apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of resonators are arranged in a grid shape, and the resonance frequency is different between a central portion and an outer peripheral portion of the grid-shaped arrangement.
11 . The plasma processing apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the resonator array structure has a multiple layer structure, and the plurality of resonators are arranged in different layers between the central portion and the outer peripheral portion.
12 . The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the resonator array structure has a multiple layer structure, and the plurality of resonators are arranged for each layer.
13 . The plasma processing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of resonators are arranged differently for each layer.
14 . The plasma processing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of resonators have the same resonance frequency for each layer.
15 . The plasma processing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of resonators have different resonance frequencies for each layer.
16 . The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves is longer by single digit or more than dimensions of the processing chamber and considered as a high frequency in a range treated as a distributed constant circuit.
17 . A plasma processing apparatus comprising:
a processing chamber having a processing space;
an electromagnetic wave generator configured to generate electromagnetic waves for plasma excitation to be supplied to the processing space;
a dielectric having a first surface facing the processing space;
an electromagnetic wave supply connected to an RF power supply and configured to supply the electromagnetic waves to the processing space via the dielectric; and
a resonator array structure disposed along the first surface of the dielectric in the processing chamber,
wherein the resonator array structure includes a plurality of resonators resonating with magnetic field components of the electromagnetic waves, having a size smaller than a wavelength of the electromagnetic waves, and arranged in a direction along the first surface of the dielectric,
the electromagnetic wave supply is configured to supply magnetic field components perpendicular to a plane on which the plurality of resonators are arranged, and
the electromagnetic wave supply is a coil disposed outside the processing chamber and wound in a solenoid shape.
18 . The plasma processing apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the coil has a core made of a high magnetic permeability material.