Plasma processing apparatus and microwave introduction device

1. A plasma processing apparatus comprising:

a process chamber for accommodating an object to be processed;

a mounting table placed within the process chamber, the mounting table having mounting surface on which the object is mounted;

a gas supply mechanism for supplying a process gas into the process chamber; and

a microwave introduction device for generating a microwave to produce plasma of the process gas in the process chamber and for introducing the microwave into the process chamber,

wherein the microwave introduction device includes a conductive member which is disposed above the process chamber and has a plurality of openings, and a plurality of microwave transmitting windows which is fitted into the respective openings and transmits and introduces the microwave into the process chamber,

wherein the microwave transmitting windows are arranged on one virtual plane parallel to the mounting surface, with the microwave transmitting windows fitted into the respective openings, the microwave transmitting windows including a first microwave transmitting window and second and third microwave windows adjacent to the first microwave transmitting window, and

wherein the first to third microwave transmitting windows are arranged in such a manner that a distance between the center point of the first microwave transmitting window and the center point of the second microwave transmitting window becomes equal or approximately equal to a distance between the center point of the first microwave transmitting window and the center point of the third microwave transmitting window,

wherein the microwave transmitting windows include one center microwave transmitting window arranged in the central portion of the conductive member and at least six outer microwave transmitting windows arranged in the outside of the central portion to surround the center microwave transmitting window,

wherein the six outer microwave transmitting windows and the center microwave transmitting window are arranged in such a manner that six regular triangles are formed in a plane shape by interconnecting three adjacent center points selected from the center points of the six outer microwave transmitting windows and the center microwave transmitting window and a virtual regular hexagon is formed by the six regular triangles,

wherein a plane shape of the object is circular,

wherein density distributions of a plurality of microwave plasmas produced by microwaves introduced from the microwave transmitting windows into the process chamber are equal to each other, and

wherein, assuming that a diameter of the plane shape of the object is 1 and a distance between the center points of any two adjacent microwave transmitting windows is Lp, a value of 0.37×Lp+0.26 is equal to or larger than a full width at half maximum of the density distributions of the plurality of microwave plasmas and a value of 3.80×Lp−1.04 is equal to or smaller than a full width at half maximum of the density distributions of the microwave plasmas.

2. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein outer edges of the virtual regular hexagon include a figure formed by projecting the plane shape of the object onto the virtual plane.

3. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the microwave introduction device includes a microwave output unit which generates microwaves and distributes the microwaves into a plurality of paths, and a plurality of microwave introduction modules, each including one microwave transmitting window, which introduces the microwaves output from the microwave output unit into the process chamber, and

wherein the microwave introduction modules have the same configuration.

4. A microwave introduction device for generating a microwave to produce plasma of the process gas in a process chamber accommodating an object and for introducing the microwave into the process chamber, comprising:

a conductive member which is disposed above the process chamber and has a plurality of openings; and

a plurality of microwave transmitting windows which is fitted into the respective openings and transmits and introduces the microwave into the process chamber,

wherein the microwave transmitting windows are arranged on one virtual plane parallel to the mounting surface, with the microwave transmitting windows fitted into the respective openings, the microwave transmitting windows including a first microwave transmitting window and second and third microwave windows adjacent to the first microwave transmitting window,

wherein the first to third microwave transmitting windows are arranged in such a manner that a distance between the center point of the first microwave transmitting window and the center point of the second microwave transmitting window becomes equal or approximately equal to a distance between the center point of the first microwave transmitting window and the center point of the third microwave transmitting window,

wherein the microwave transmitting windows include one center microwave transmitting window arranged in the central portion of the conductive member and at least six outer microwave transmitting windows arranged in the outside of the central portion to surround the center microwave transmitting window,

wherein the six outer microwave transmitting windows and the center microwave transmitting window are arranged in such a manner that six regular triangles are formed in a plane shape by interconnecting center points of the six outer microwave transmitting windows and the center microwave transmitting window and a virtual regular hexagon is formed by the six regular triangle,

wherein a plane shape of the object is circular,

wherein density distributions of a plurality of microwave plasmas produced by microwaves introduced from the microwave transmitting windows into the process chamber are equal to each other, and

wherein, assuming that a diameter of the plane shape of the object is 1 and a distance between the center points of any two adjacent microwave transmitting windows is Lp, a value of 0.37×Lp+0.26 is equal to or larger than a full width at half maximum of the density distributions of the plurality of microwave plasmas and a value of 3.80×Lp−1.04 is equal to or smaller than a full width at half maximum of the density distributions of the microwave plasmas.

5. The microwave introduction device of claim 4 , wherein outer edges of the virtual regular hexagon include a figure formed by projecting the plane shape of the object onto the virtual plane.

6. The microwave introduction device of claim 4 , further comprising:

a microwave output unit which generates microwaves and distributes the microwaves into a plurality of paths; and

a plurality of microwave introduction modules, each including one microwave transmitting window, which introduces the microwaves output from the microwave output unit into the process chamber,

wherein the microwave introduction modules have the same configuration.