Plasma processing methods and apparatus

摘要

To move an article (134) in an out of plasma (12) during plasma processing, the article (134) is rotated by a first drive (140) around a first axis (140X), and the first drive is itself rotated by a second drive (150). As a result, the article (134) enters the plasma (120) at different angles for different positions of the first axis (140X). The plasma cross section (114-0) at the level at which the plasma (120) contacts the article (134) is asymmetric so that those points on the article (134) that move at a greater linear velocity (due to being farther away from the first axis (140X) move longer distances through the plasma (120). As a result, the plasma processing time becomes more uniform for different points on the article surface. In some embodiments, two shuttles (710-1, 710-2) are provided fro loading and unloading the plasma processing system. One of the shuttles (710-1) stands empty waiting to load them into the system, while the other shuttle (710-2) holds unprocessed articles (134) waiting to load them into the system. After the plasma processing terminates, the empty shuttle unloads processed articles (134) from the system, takes articles (134) away, and gets unloaded and reloaded with unprocessed articles (134). Meanwhile the other shuttle loads unprocessed articles (134) into the system and the plasma process begins. Since the plasma processing system does not wait for the first shuttle (170-1) the productivity of the system is increased.