Plasma processing apparatus, fault detection apparatus, and fault detection method

摘要

Gas introduction piping introduces process gas for plasma generation into a processing chamber. A pressure regulating valve is provided at an exhaust pipe. A mass flow controller is provided at the gas introduction piping and regulates the flow rate of the process gas. A pressure gauge detects the pressure of the processing chamber. A control unit controls pressure within the processing chamber by controlling an extent of opening of the pressure regulating valve based on values detected by the pressure gauge. The control unit receives flow rate data indicating the rate of flow of process gas from the mass flow controller and determines the presence or absence of faults at the mass flow controller based on an extent of fluctuation of the values detected by the pressure gauge when a high-frequency is inputted to the electrode.