| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning method by which a plasma treatment chamber can be maintained in a stable plasma treating state by continuously maintaining the treating chamber in a high treating performance state by cleaning the inside of the treating chamber with plasma while no substrate to be treated is arranged on a sample stage after plasma-treated substrates are carried out of the treating chamber. SOLUTION: On the bottom of a treating chamber 1, a sample base 8 on which a substrate to be treated (wafer) 10 is arranged is provided through an insulating material 7 coaxially to the center axis of a discharge block 3 provided above the stage 8. When the etching of the wafer 10 ends, the supply, etc., of a process gas for etching is stopped and the wafer 10 is carried out of the chamber 1 through the reverse process to that performed at the time of carrying in the wafer 10. After the wafer 10 is carried out of the chamber 1, a gas for plasma cleaning is introduced to the discharge block 3 and plasma is generated in the same way as that made when etching is performed without arranging the wafer 10, etc., on the sample stage 8 nor impressing any high-frequency voltage upon the stage 8. Thus plasma cleaning is performed without the wafer 10. |
