JP7633817B2 - Processing Equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a processing device.

As shown in Patent Document 1, a film formation device that forms a film by adhering particles of a film formation material is known as a processing device that performs a predetermined process on an object. This processing device uses a plasma gun to generate plasma in a chamber, and evaporates the film formation material in the chamber. A film is formed on a substrate by adhering the film formation material to the substrate.

JP 2016-141856 A

As described above, in processing equipment that generates plasma in a chamber to form a film, there is a demand for improving the quality of the film on the target object. Also, in processing equipment that performs negative ion irradiation processing, there is a demand for improving the film quality by improving the negative ion irradiation efficiency. As described above, in processing equipment that generates plasma in a chamber to perform a specified process, there is a demand for improving the processing performance of the film formation process, negative ion irradiation process, etc.

The present invention aims to provide a processing device that can improve processing performance.

The processing apparatus according to the present invention is a processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process on an object, and includes a chamber for storing the object and performing the process therein, and a plasma generating unit that generates plasma in the chamber, and the plasma generating unit uses radiant heat generated by the plasma generation to heat the chamber so as to remove moisture.

For example, when the chamber is opened to the atmosphere for maintenance or the like, moisture in the atmosphere may be adsorbed inside the chamber. Such adsorbed moisture may not be completely removed by simply evacuating the chamber, preventing a high degree of vacuum from being reached. In response to this, the plasma generating unit uses radiant heat generated by plasma generation to heat the chamber and remove the moisture. In this way, the moisture in the chamber can be removed by using the radiant heat generated by plasma generation in the plasma generating unit. Therefore, a high degree of vacuum can be reached by lowering the ultimate vacuum pressure in the chamber. Therefore, when performing a specific process such as film formation or negative ion irradiation in the chamber, the processing performance can be improved by improving the film quality.

The plasma generating unit may generate plasma based on a dedicated operation mode for removing moisture. In this way, by simply adding a dedicated operation mode, moisture can be removed using the existing plasma generating unit without the need to install a new heating device.

The processing apparatus further includes a cooling mechanism for cooling the chamber during processing, and the cooling mechanism may stop cooling when the plasma generating unit is performing heating. In this case, the chamber becomes easier to heat, and moisture in the chamber can be efficiently removed without excessively increasing the generation energy for plasma generation.

The processing apparatus may further include a cooling mechanism for cooling the chamber during processing, the chamber having an adhesion prevention plate covering the inner wall surface, and the cooling mechanism may cool the adhesion prevention plate. In this case, the adhesion prevention plate covers the inner wall surface of the chamber, thereby preventing substances from adhering directly to the inner wall surface. Such adhesion prevention plates are prone to becoming hot during processing, but the cooling mechanism can cool the adhesion prevention plate to prevent plastic deformation or melting due to the high temperature.

The plasma generating unit may have a pressure gradient type plasma gun. In this case, heating by plasma generation becomes easier.

The process may be a film formation process in which particles of a film formation material are attached to an object to form a film. The plasma generating unit removes moisture from within the chamber, allowing the film formation process to be performed at a high degree of vacuum, improving the quality of the film formed on the object.

The processing apparatus further includes an anode that holds the film-forming material at a holding position, and an evacuation mechanism that evacuates the film-forming material from the holding position, and the plasma generating unit may generate plasma between the anode and the film-forming material to heat it while the film-forming material is evacuated from the holding position by the evacuation mechanism. In this case, when removing moisture, the film-forming material can be prevented from being sublimated by the plasma. Therefore, since there is no need to divert the plasma from the anode to the auxiliary anode when removing moisture, the auxiliary anode can be omitted.

The processing apparatus may further include an anode that holds the film-forming material at a holding position, and the plasma generating unit may generate plasma between the anode and the film-forming material with a generation energy that does not sublimate the film-forming material, and perform heating. In this case, when removing moisture, the film-forming material can be prevented from being sublimated by the plasma. Therefore, when removing moisture, there is no need to divert the plasma from the anode to the auxiliary anode, and the auxiliary anode can be omitted.

The processing apparatus may further include an anode that holds the film-forming material at a holding position, and an auxiliary anode that is arranged to surround the anode, and the plasma generating unit may generate plasma between the auxiliary anode and the film-forming material to perform heating. In this case, even if the film-forming material is not evacuated from the anode, the film-forming material can be prevented from being sublimated by the plasma when moisture is removed.

The treatment may be a negative ion irradiation treatment in which negative ions generated in a chamber are irradiated onto an object. The plasma generating unit removes moisture from within the chamber, allowing the negative ion irradiation treatment to be performed at a high degree of vacuum, improving the efficiency of negative ion irradiation. As a result, the quality of the film on the object irradiated with negative ions can be improved.

The present invention provides a processing device that can improve processing performance.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a film forming apparatus as a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view showing a main hearth, an annular hearth, and plasma. FIG. FIG. 11 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view showing a film forming apparatus according to a modified example. FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view showing a negative ion irradiation device.

Below, a processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. Note that in the description of the drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted.

First, referring to FIG. 1, the configuration of the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a film forming apparatus 100 as the processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that performs a predetermined process on a substrate 11 (object). In this embodiment, the predetermined process is a film forming process in which particles Mb of a film forming material Ma are attached to the substrate 11 to form a film. That is, the processing apparatus 1 is composed of a film forming apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the film forming apparatus 100 of this embodiment is an ion plating apparatus used in the so-called ion plating method. For convenience of explanation, an XYZ coordinate system is shown in FIG. 1. The Y-axis direction is the direction in which the substrate 11 is transported. The Z-axis direction is the position where the substrate 11 faces a hearth mechanism described later. The X-axis direction is a direction perpendicular to the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction.

The film forming apparatus 100 is a so-called horizontal type film forming apparatus in which the substrate 11 is placed and transported in the vacuum chamber 10 so that the thickness direction of the substrate 11 is approximately vertical. In this case, the X-axis and Y-axis directions are horizontal, and the Z-axis direction is vertical and the thickness direction. The film forming apparatus 100 may also be a so-called vertical type film forming apparatus in which the substrate 11 is placed and transported in the vacuum chamber 10 with the substrate 11 upright or tilted from the upright state so that the thickness direction of the substrate 11 is horizontal (Z-axis direction in Figures 1 and 2). In this case, the Z-axis direction is horizontal and the thickness direction of the substrate 11, the Y-axis direction is horizontal, and the X-axis direction is vertical.

The film forming apparatus 100 forms a film on the surface of the substrate 11 by supplying particles Mb of a film forming material Ma to the substrate 11. The film forming apparatus 100 includes a vacuum chamber 10 (chamber), a transport mechanism 3, a film forming mechanism 14, a cooling mechanism 30, a gas supply unit 40, a current supply unit 80, and a control unit 90.

The vacuum chamber 10 is a member for storing the substrate 11 and performing the film formation process. The vacuum chamber 10 has a transfer chamber 10a for transferring the substrate 11 on which a film of the film formation material Ma is formed, a film formation chamber 10b for diffusing the film formation material Ma, and a plasma port 10c for receiving the plasma P irradiated in a beam form from the plasma gun 7 into the vacuum chamber 10. The transfer chamber 10a, the film formation chamber 10b, and the plasma port 10c are mutually connected. The transfer chamber 10a is set along the Y axis in a predetermined transfer direction (arrow A in the figure). The transfer chamber 10a has long walls 10d and 10e facing each other in the Z axis direction, and walls facing each other in the X axis direction. The vacuum chamber 10 is made of a conductive material and is connected to a ground potential.

The deposition chamber 10b has, as the wall portion 10W, a pair of side walls aligned along the transport direction (arrow A), a pair of side walls 10h, 10i aligned along a direction (Z-axis direction) intersecting the transport direction (arrow A), and a bottom wall 10j arranged along the X-axis direction.

The transport mechanism 3 transports the substrate holding member 16, which holds the substrate 11 facing the film forming material Ma, in the transport direction (arrow A). For example, the substrate holding member 16 is a frame that holds the outer edge of the substrate 11. The transport mechanism 3 is composed of multiple transport rollers 15 installed in the transport chamber 10a. The transport rollers 15 are arranged at equal intervals along the transport direction (arrow A) and transport the substrate holding member 16 in the transport direction (arrow A) while supporting it. The substrate 11 is, for example, a plate-shaped member such as a glass substrate or a plastic substrate.

Next, the configuration of the film-forming mechanism 14 will be described in detail. The film-forming mechanism 14 adheres particles of the film-forming material Ma to the substrate 11 by ion plating. The film-forming mechanism 14 has a plasma generating unit 18, a steering coil 5, a hearth mechanism 2, and a ring hearth 6.

The plasma generating unit 18 generates plasma in the vacuum chamber 10. The plasma generating unit 18 has, for example, a pressure gradient type plasma gun 7. The main body of the plasma gun 7 is connected to the film formation chamber 10b via a plasma port 10c provided on the side wall of the film formation chamber 10b. The plasma gun 7 generates plasma P in the vacuum chamber 10. The plasma P generated in the plasma gun 7 is emitted in the form of a beam from the plasma port 10c into the film formation chamber 10b. This generates plasma P in the film formation chamber 10b.

One end of the plasma gun 7 is closed by a cathode 60. A first intermediate electrode (grid) 61 and a second intermediate electrode (grid) 62 are concentrically arranged between the cathode 60 and the plasma port 10c. An annular permanent magnet 61a for converging the plasma P is built into the first intermediate electrode 61. An electromagnetic coil 62a for converging the plasma P is also built into the second intermediate electrode 62.

The steering coil 5 is provided around the plasma port 10c to which the plasma gun is attached. The steering coil 5 guides the plasma P into the deposition chamber 10b. The steering coil 5 is excited by a power supply for the steering coil (not shown).

The hearth mechanism 2 holds the film-forming material Ma. The hearth mechanism 2 is provided in the film-forming chamber 10b of the vacuum chamber 10, and is disposed in the negative direction of the Z-axis as viewed from the transport mechanism 3. The hearth mechanism 2 has a main hearth 17 (anode) which is the main anode that guides the plasma P emitted from the plasma gun 7 to the film-forming material Ma, or the main anode to which the plasma P emitted from the plasma gun 7 is guided.

The main hearth 17 has a cylindrical filling portion 17a that extends in the positive direction of the Z-axis and is filled with the film-forming material Ma, and a flange portion 17b that protrudes from the filling portion 17a. Since the main hearth 17 is maintained at a positive potential with respect to the ground potential of the vacuum chamber 10, the main hearth 17 serves as an anode in the discharge and draws in the plasma P. A through hole 17c for filling the film-forming material Ma is formed in the filling portion 17a of the main hearth 17, into which the plasma P is incident. The tip portion of the film-forming material Ma is exposed to the film-forming chamber 10b at one end of the through hole 17c. In this way, the main hearth 17 can hold the film-forming material Ma by filling the filling portion 17a with the film-forming material Ma. Also, one end of the through hole 17c serves as a holding position for holding the film-forming material Ma in order to sublimate the film-forming material Ma.

The film-forming material Ma is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected according to the desired film, but examples include transparent conductive materials such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) and ZnO, metal materials, and insulating sealing materials such as SiON. When the film-forming material Ma is made of an insulating material, when the main hearth 17 is irradiated with a beam of plasma P, the main hearth 17 is heated by the current from the beam of plasma P, the tip of the film-forming material Ma evaporates, and the particles Mb ionized by the beam of plasma P diffuse into the film-forming chamber 10b. When the film-forming material Ma is made of a conductive material, when the main hearth 17 is irradiated with a beam of plasma P, the beam of plasma P directly enters the film-forming material Ma, the tip of the film-forming material Ma is heated and evaporated, and the particles Mb ionized by the beam of plasma P diffuse into the film-forming chamber 10b. The particles Mb diffused in the film formation chamber 10b move in the positive Z-axis direction of the film formation chamber 10b and adhere to the surface of the substrate 11 in the transfer chamber 10a. The film formation material Ma is a solid object formed into a cylindrical shape of a predetermined length, and multiple pieces of film formation material Ma are loaded into the hearth mechanism 2 at one time. Then, as the film formation material Ma is consumed, the film formation material Ma is sequentially pushed out from the negative Z-direction side of the hearth mechanism 2 so that the tip of the film formation material Ma on the most forward side maintains a predetermined positional relationship with the upper end of the main hearth 17.

The annular hearth 6 (auxiliary anode) is an auxiliary anode having an electromagnet for inducing plasma P. The annular hearth 6 is provided to surround the main hearth 17. The annular hearth 6 is arranged around the filling section 17a of the main hearth 17 that holds the film-forming material Ma. The annular hearth 6 has an annular coil 9, an annular permanent magnet section 20, and an annular container 12, and the coil 9 and the permanent magnet section 20 are housed in the container 12. In this embodiment, the coil 9 and the permanent magnet section 20 are installed in the Z negative direction as viewed from the transport mechanism 3, but the permanent magnet section 20 and the coil 9 may be installed in the Z negative direction. The annular hearth 6 controls the direction of the plasma P incident on the film-forming material Ma or the direction of the plasma P incident on the main hearth 17 according to the magnitude of the current flowing through the coil 9. The potential of the main hearth 17 and the annular hearth 6 is controlled based on a control signal from the control unit 90.

The cooling mechanism 30 is a mechanism for cooling the vacuum chamber 10 during the film formation process. In this embodiment, the chamber 10 has an adhesion prevention plate 35 that covers the inner wall surface 10k. The adhesion prevention plate 35 is a plate member that prevents particles Mb from adhering to the inner wall surface 10k by adhering the particles Mb. The adhesion prevention plate 35 covers the side walls 10h and 10i that face each other in the Y-axis direction and the side wall that faces each other in the X-axis direction. The adhesion prevention plate 35 that covers the side wall 10h has openings at locations corresponding to the plasma gun 7 and the gas supply port 41.

The cooling mechanism 30 cools the adhesion prevention plate 35. The cooling mechanism 30 includes a cooling pipe 31 and a cooling plate 32. The cooling plate 32 is provided on the back side (inner wall surface 10k side) of the adhesion prevention plate 35. The cooling plate 32 has approximately the same shape as the adhesion prevention plate 35. The cooling pipe 31 is provided on the back side (inner wall surface 10k side) of the cooling plate 32. The cooling pipe 31 is arranged so as to be stretched over the entire back surface of the cooling plate 32. The cooling pipe 31 is a pipe for flowing a cooling medium such as cooling water. The cooling pipe 31 can cool the cooling plate 32 by thermal conduction and thermal radiation by the cooling medium. As a result, the adhesion prevention plate 35 is cooled by the cooling pipe 31 via the cooling plate 32.

The gas supply unit 40 supplies carrier gas and oxygen gas into the vacuum chamber 10. For example, rare gases such as argon and helium are used as the substance contained in the carrier gas. The gas supply unit 40 is disposed outside the vacuum chamber 10, and supplies raw material gas into the vacuum chamber 10 through a gas supply port 41 provided in a side wall (for example, side wall 10h) of the film formation chamber 10b. The gas supply unit 40 supplies carrier gas and oxygen gas at flow rates based on a control signal from the control unit 90.

The current supply unit 80 supplies a current to the plasma gun 7 for ionizing the film forming material. The current supply unit 80 supplies a current to the cathode 60 of the plasma gun 7. This causes the plasma gun 7 to discharge with a discharge current of a predetermined value. The current supply unit 80 supplies a current with a current value based on a control signal from the control unit 90.

The control unit 90 is a device that controls the entire film forming apparatus 100, and is composed of a CPU, RAM, ROM, an input/output interface, etc. The control unit 90 is arranged outside the vacuum chamber 10. When performing a film forming process, the control unit 90 controls the film forming apparatus 100 with the control content for performing the film forming process. When performing maintenance on the film forming apparatus 100, the control unit 90 controls the film forming apparatus 100 with the control content for performing the maintenance. During the film forming process, the control unit 90 controls the film forming apparatus 100 based on the film forming conditions. The control unit 90 controls the gas flow rate by the gas supply unit 40 and the current by the current supply unit 80. The control unit 90 also adjusts the potential of the main hearth 17 to control so that discharge occurs between the plasma gun 7 and the main hearth 17. At this time, the control unit 90 sets the output of the plasma gun so that enough discharge energy (generation energy) to sublimate the film forming material Ma is obtained. Also, when performing a film forming process, the control unit 90 performs cooling by the cooling mechanism 30. This makes it possible to prevent the adhesion prevention plate 35 from being plastically deformed or melted by the radiant heat caused by the discharge energy of the plasma discharge (plasma generation) during film formation.

During maintenance, the vacuum chamber 10 is opened to the atmosphere. At this time, moisture in the atmosphere is adsorbed onto the adhesion prevention plate 35. Once the vacuum chamber 10 is sealed, the vacuum chamber 10 is evacuated. At this time, the plasma gun 7 heats the vacuum chamber 10 using radiant heat from plasma discharge (plasma generation) to remove moisture from within the vacuum chamber 10. The control unit 90 performs control with different control contents than when performing film formation processing. Therefore, the plasma gun 7 generates plasma P based on a dedicated operating mode for removing moisture.

2 is an enlarged view showing the main hearth 17, the annular hearth 6, and the plasma P. As shown in FIG. 2, when heating to remove moisture is performed, the control unit 90 controls the plasma P to be introduced to the annular hearth 6. The plasma gun 7 discharges (generates plasma) between the annular hearth 6 and performs heating to remove moisture. At this time, the control unit 90 controls the plasma P not to be introduced to the main hearth 17. This prevents the film-forming material Ma from being sublimated. When heating to remove moisture, the control unit 90 controls the cooling pipe 31 to stop supplying the cooling medium. As a result, the cooling mechanism 30 stops cooling when the plasma gun 7 is performing heating. At this time, the control unit 90 sets the output of the plasma gun 7 so that the adhesion prevention plate 35 does not plastically deform or melt due to the radiant heat caused by the discharge energy of the plasma discharge even when the cooling mechanism 30 is stopped cooling. The control unit 90 adjusts the output of the plasma gun 7 so that the heating temperature is suitable for removing moisture.

The action and effect of the processing device 1 according to this embodiment will be explained.

For example, when the vacuum chamber 10 is opened to the atmosphere for maintenance or the like, moisture in the atmosphere may be adsorbed inside the vacuum chamber 10 (for example, the adhesion prevention plate 35). The moisture adsorbed in this way may not be completely removed by simply evacuating the vacuum chamber 10, and may prevent a high degree of vacuum from being reached. In response to this, the plasma generating unit 18 heats the vacuum chamber 10 with radiant heat H (see FIG. 2) generated by plasma discharge to remove the moisture inside the vacuum chamber 10. At this time, the moisture adsorbed on the adhesion prevention plate 35 is evaporated by the radiant heat H, and is removed from the vacuum chamber 10 by evacuating it. In this way, the moisture inside the vacuum chamber 10 can be removed by using the radiant heat H generated by the plasma discharge in the plasma generating unit 18. Therefore, a high degree of vacuum can be reached by lowering the ultimate vacuum pressure inside the vacuum chamber 10. Therefore, when performing a film formation process in the vacuum chamber 10, the processing performance can be improved by improving the film quality.

The plasma generating unit 18 may generate plasma P based on a dedicated operation mode for removing moisture. In this way, by simply adding a dedicated operation mode, moisture can be removed using the existing plasma generating unit 18 without the need to add a new heating device.

The processing apparatus 1 further includes a cooling mechanism 30 that cools the vacuum chamber 10 during processing, and the cooling mechanism 30 may stop cooling when the plasma generating unit 18 is performing heating. In this case, the vacuum chamber 10 becomes easier to heat, and moisture in the vacuum chamber 10 can be efficiently removed without excessively increasing the discharge energy of the plasma discharge.

The processing apparatus 1 further includes a cooling mechanism 30 that cools the vacuum chamber 10 during processing. The vacuum chamber 10 has an adhesion prevention plate 35 that covers the inner wall surface 10k, and the cooling mechanism 30 may cool the adhesion prevention plate 35. In this case, the adhesion prevention plate 35 covers the inner wall surface 10k of the vacuum chamber 10, thereby preventing substances such as particles Mb from adhering directly to the inner wall surface 10k. Such an adhesion prevention plate 35 is prone to becoming hot during processing, but by cooling the adhesion prevention plate 35 with the cooling mechanism 30, plastic deformation and melting due to the high temperature can be suppressed.

The plasma generating unit 18 may have a pressure gradient type plasma gun 7. In this case, heating by plasma discharge becomes easier.

The process may be a film formation process in which particles Mb of a film formation material Ma are attached to the substrate 11 to form a film. The plasma generating unit 18 removes moisture from within the vacuum chamber 10, allowing the film formation process to be performed at a high degree of vacuum, thereby improving the quality of the film formed on the substrate 11.

The processing apparatus 1 further includes a main hearth 17 that holds the film-forming material Ma at a holding position, and a ring hearth 6 that is arranged to surround the main hearth 17, and the plasma generating unit 18 may perform heating by discharging between the ring hearth 6. In this case, even if the film-forming material Ma is not evacuated from the main hearth 17, the film-forming material Ma can be prevented from being sublimated by the plasma P when moisture is removed.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

In the above embodiment, the annular hearth 6 is provided, but as shown in FIG. 3, the annular hearth 6 may be omitted. In this case, the processing apparatus 1 may further include a main hearth 17 that holds the film-forming material Ma at a holding position at the tip of the filling section 17a, and an evacuation mechanism 50 that evacuates the film-forming material Ma from the holding position. At this time, the plasma generating section 18 may discharge between the main hearth 17 and the film-forming material Ma to heat it in a state in which the film-forming material Ma is evacuated from the holding position by the evacuation mechanism 50. The evacuation mechanism 50 includes an evacuation section 51, an operation section 52, and a drive section 53. The evacuation section 51 is a section that stores the film-forming material Ma at the evacuation position below the filling section 17a. The filling section 17a and the evacuation section 51 have a through hole 17c that communicates with each other. The operation section 52 is a section that operates the position of the film-forming material Ma in the through hole 17c. The operating unit 52 is a pin-shaped member that expands and contracts to operate the film-forming material Ma from below. The driving unit 53 is a part that applies a driving force to expand and contract the operating unit 52. When removing moisture, the retracting mechanism 50 retracts the film-forming material Ma to the retracting unit 51. When performing the film-forming process, the retracting mechanism 50 moves the film-forming material Ma to the tip of the filling unit 17a.

According to the configuration shown in FIG. 3, when moisture is removed, the film-forming material Ma is retracted from the tip of the filling section 17a, so that the film-forming material Ma can be prevented from being sublimated by the plasma P. Therefore, when moisture is removed, there is no need to divert the plasma P from the main hearth 17 to the annular hearth 6, so the annular hearth 6 can be omitted.

The processing apparatus 1 further includes a main hearth 17 that holds the film-forming material Ma at a holding position at the tip of the filling section 17a, and the plasma generating section 18 may discharge between the main hearth and the film-forming material Ma with discharge energy that does not sublimate the film-forming material Ma, and perform heating to remove moisture. In this case, when removing moisture, the film-forming material Ma can be prevented from being sublimated by the plasma. Therefore, since there is no need to divert the plasma P from the main hearth 17 to the annular hearth 6 when removing moisture, the annular hearth 6 and the evacuation mechanism 50 can be omitted.

The processing apparatus 1 is not limited to the film forming apparatus 100 as described above. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a negative ion irradiation apparatus 200 may be adopted as the processing apparatus 1. At this time, a negative ion irradiation process is performed in which the negative ions generated in the vacuum chamber 10 are irradiated onto the substrate 11. As shown in FIG. 4, the negative ion irradiation apparatus 200 includes a plasma generating unit 18, an anode 201, and a substrate placement unit 202. The anode 201 is provided on the side wall 10i facing the plasma generating unit 18. The plasma generating unit 18 performs plasma discharge between the anode 201 and the plasma generating unit 18. The substrate placement unit 202 is a portion for placing the substrate 11 on which a film has been formed. The substrate placement unit 202 is provided on the bottom wall 10j. In addition, a cooling mechanism 30 and an adhesion prevention plate 35 are provided for the side walls 10h and 10i. The adhesion prevention plate 35 may be omitted. In this case, the cooling mechanism 30 may be provided for each wall of the vacuum chamber 10 to cool those walls.

As a result, negative ions are generated by the plasma P in the vacuum chamber 10, and the negative ions are irradiated onto the film on the substrate 11. The plasma generating unit 18 also performs plasma discharge with the anode 201, and heats the vacuum chamber 10 by radiant heat from the plasma discharge to remove moisture. By the plasma generating unit 18 removing moisture from the vacuum chamber 10, it becomes possible to perform the negative ion irradiation process at a high degree of vacuum, and the efficiency of negative ion irradiation can be improved. As a result, the quality of the film on the substrate 11 irradiated with negative ions can be improved.

In the above-described embodiment and modified example, the adhesion prevention plate 35 is provided, but it may be omitted. The cooling mechanism 30 may also be omitted. In addition, a pressure gradient type plasma gun 7 is used as the plasma generating unit 18, but there is no particular limitation as long as it is a mechanism that can generate plasma.

The film formation method using plasma is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and a film formation device such as a plasma CVD such as ECR plasma CVD, inductively coupled plasma CVD, surface wave plasma CVD, and helicon wave plasma CVD may be used.

1... Processing device, 6... Ring hearth (auxiliary anode), 7... Plasma gun, 10... Vacuum chamber (chamber), 11... Substrate (object), 18... Plasma generation section, 17... Main hearth (anode), 30... Cooling mechanism, 35... Adhesion protection plate, Ma... Film forming material, Mb... Particles.

Claims (9)

A processing device that performs a predetermined process on an object,
a chamber for containing the object and for carrying out the processing therein;
a plasma generating unit that generates plasma in the chamber,
the plasma generating unit performs heating so as to remove moisture in the chamber by radiant heat generated by plasma generation;
a cooling mechanism for cooling the chamber during the processing;
The cooling mechanism stops cooling when the plasma generating unit is performing the heating . The processing device according to claim 1, wherein the plasma generating unit generates plasma based on an operation mode dedicated to removing moisture. a cooling mechanism for cooling the chamber during the processing;
The chamber has an adhesion prevention plate covering an inner wall surface,
The processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling mechanism cools the adhesion prevention plate. The processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the plasma generating unit has a pressure gradient type plasma gun. 5. The processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing is a film forming process for forming a film by adhering particles of a film forming material to the object. an anode that holds the film forming material at a holding position;
a retraction mechanism for retracting the film forming material from the holding position,
The processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the plasma generating unit generates plasma between the anode and the film forming material to perform the heating in a state in which the film forming material is retracted from the holding position by the retraction mechanism. The film forming apparatus further includes an anode that holds the film forming material at a holding position,
The processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the plasma generating unit performs the heating by generating plasma between the anode and the film forming material with generation energy that does not sublimate the film forming material. an anode that holds the film forming material at a holding position;
An auxiliary anode provided so as to surround the anode,
The processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the plasma generating unit generates plasma between the auxiliary anode and the processing apparatus to perform the heating. A processing device that performs a predetermined process on an object,
a chamber for containing the object and for carrying out the processing therein;
a plasma generating unit that generates plasma in the chamber,
the plasma generating unit performs heating so as to remove moisture in the chamber by radiant heat generated by plasma generation;
The processing apparatus, wherein the processing is a negative ion irradiation processing in which the object is irradiated with negative ions generated in the chamber.

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