PLASMA PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING DECHUCKING FAILURE

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plasma processing apparatus and a dechucking failure detecting method which can easily and surely detect a dechucked state of a workpiece held on a mounting board by electrostatic chucking. SOLUTION: A lower electrode 3 for holding a wafer 2 by the electrostatic chucking is arranged in a chamber 1. Backside gas for heat conduction is transported from a flow rate controller 12 to a gap between the wafer 2 and the lower electrode 3 through a backside gas introducing path 11. A pressure measurement unit 13 for measuring the pressure of the backside gas introducing path 11 and a pressure reducing means 14 for reducing pressure in the backside path 11 are connected to the backside gas introducing path 11. In the case of dechucking the wafer 2 from the lower electrode 3, the pressure in the backside gas introducing path 11 is reduced to a prescribed pressure by the pressure reducing means 14 and then a dechuck decision means 16 decides the existence of the dechucking failure on the basis of the measured results of the pressure measuring unit 13 within a prescribed time. COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT