Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
124 words
Microwave plasma processing apparatus comprising a plasma generation chamber, in which plasma can be generated by irradiating microwave power into a reactive gas introduced into the plasma generation chamber, a reaction chamber, and a plasma shield plate separating the reaction chamber from the plasma generation chamber, the plasma shield plate being of electrically conductive material and having means, e.g. a hole therein, allowing active species of the plasma to flow from the plasma generating chamber into the reaction chamber, the apparatus further comprising:- a cover member disposed on the surface of the plasma shield plate facing into the plasma generation chamber, and made of material which is inactive with respect to active species included in the plasma generated in the apparatus when in use.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
124 words
Microwave plasma processing apparatus comprising a plasma generation chamber, in which plasma can be generated by irradiating microwave power into a reactive gas introduced into the plasma generation chamber, a reaction chamber, and a plasma shield plate separating the reaction chamber from the plasma generation chamber, the plasma shield plate being of electrically conductive material and having means, e.g. a hole therein, allowing active species of the plasma to flow from the plasma generating chamber into the reaction chamber, the apparatus further comprising:- a cover member disposed on the surface of the plasma shield plate facing into the plasma generation chamber, and made of material which is inactive with respect to active species included in the plasma generated in the apparatus when in use.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
38 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cover member is of a material with which the recombination coefficient of the active species of the plasma is smaller than with the conductive material of the plasma shield plate.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
23 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the electrically conductive material of the plasma shield plate is a metal comprising aluminium.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
18 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the material of the cover member is quartz.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the material of the cover member is alumina ceramic.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
18 words
Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the reactive gas used to generate the plasma includes oxygen.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the reactive gas used to generate the plasma further includes fluoride containing gas or/and nitrogen gas.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
55 words
Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the reaction chamber is partitioned to form a diffusion chamber located adjacent the plasma shield plate, and the plasma shield plate providing an upper boundary of the diffusion chamber and a diffusion plate providing a lower boundary thereof, the diffusion plate having a plurality of holes therein.