Plasma processing apparatus and plasma processing method

1. A plasma processing method for mounting each one of a plurality of samples to be processed in a processing chamber and processing said each one of the plurality of samples in the processing chamber, the method comprising:

mounting one sample of said plurality of samples to be processed on an upper surface of a sample stage disposed in a processing chamber inside a vacuum container;

supplying a process gas into the processing chamber at a first temperature condition;

generating a plasma using the process gas; and

processing said one mounted sample using the plasma, wherein

a refrigerating cycle comprises a refrigerant passage, a compressor, and a condenser, all of which are coupled in this order, and through which a refrigerant flows in this order, the refrigerant passage being disposed inside the sample stage, through inside of which the refrigerant flows to serve as an evaporator,

the refrigerating cycle further comprises:

first and second expansion valves which are interposed between the condenser and the refrigerant passage and between the refrigerant passage and the compressor respectively; and

a vaporizer that is interposed between the second expansion valve and the compressor in the refrigerating cycle and which heats and vaporizes the refrigerant, and the plasma processing method further comprises:

controlling a temperature of the sample stage to a desired value,

wherein said step of controlling the temperature of the sample stage to a desired value further comprises:

regulating refrigerant heat exchange amounts in both of the condenser and the vaporizer based on a refrigerant temperature between the condenser and the second expansion valve in a period occurring after an end of the processing of said one mounted sample using the plasma and before a start of the processing of another one of the plurality of samples using the plasma, by increasing an amount of a heat exchange medium supplied to one of the condenser and the vaporizer, and decreasing the amount of the heat exchange medium supplied to the other of the condenser and the vaporizer, in parallel, so as to change the temperature of the sample stage to another value suitable for starting the processing of said another one of the plurality of samples using the plasma at a second temperature condition, while the first and second expansion valves are maintained at a specific valve opening;

starting processing of said another one of the plurality of samples; and

regulating the opening and closing of the first and second expansion valves by increasing an opening degree of one of the first and second expansion valves and decreasing an opening degree of the other of the first and second expansion valves in parallel while regulating the refrigerant heat exchange amounts in both of the condenser and the vaporizer to a desired value in a predetermined range.

2. The plasma processing method according to claim 1 , wherein said processing of said another one of said plurality of samples further comprises:

performing each of a plurality of steps under one of at least the first temperature condition, the second condition, and a third temperature condition,

wherein the step of regulating the opening and the closing of the first and second expansion valves in parallel while regulating the amount of the heat exchange amount of the condenser and the vaporizer is performed before a first one of said plurality of steps of said processing of said another one of said plurality of samples starts.