| 摘要 |
To provide a plasma etching method that can suppress discharge of active gases that do not contribute to plasma etching into the atmosphere, a plasma etching apparatus 10 is composed of a vacuum chamber 12, a plasma processing section 14, a helium supply section 16, a PFC supply section 18, a switching device 20, and an exhaust opening 22. In the use of the apparatus 10, first, helium is introduced into the vacuum chamber 12 through the switching device 20. Then, while introducing the helium, helium is also discharged from the exhaust opening 22 to set the interior of the vacuum chamber 12 at a specified pressure. When the pressure within the vacuum chamber 12 is stabilized at the specified pressure, plasma is generated within the vacuum chamber 12, and at the same time, helium is switched to carbon tetrafluoride by the switching device 20. As a result, carbon tetrafluoride that does not contribute to the plasma etching is prevented from being discharged into the atmosphere.
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