Oxidizing method and oxidizing apparatus

Abstract

An oxidizing method and oxidizing apparatus in which a plasma generating chamber having an oxidizing gas supply port and a substrate processing chamber having an exhaust port and internally having a substrate susceptor are connected via a partition having a number of through holes, a plasma of an oxidizing gas supplied into the plasma generating chamber is generated, and an oxide layer is formed on a substrate surface by supplying the generated active species onto a substrate are characterized in that the partition is connected to a power supply via a switching mechanism such that a positive, negative, or zero voltage is applied to the partition, and an oxidation process is performed by changing the ratio of radicals, positive ions, and negative ions in the active species supplied onto the substrate by switching the voltages at least once during the oxidation process.

1 . An oxidizing method of forming an oxide layer on a substrate surface by supplying, onto a substrate, an active species of radicals, positive ions, or negative ions in an oxidizing gas plasma, said method comprising the steps of:
 performing an oxidation process by setting the radicals, the positive ions, and the negative ions in the active species supplied onto the substrate at a predetermined ratio, and further performing an oxidation process by changing the ratio.   
   
   
       2 . An oxidizing method of forming an oxide layer on a substrate surface by connecting a plasma generating chamber and a substrate processing chamber via a partition having a number of through holes, generating a plasma by supplying an oxidizing gas into the plasma generating chamber, and supplying a generated active species onto a substrate in the substrate processing chamber, said method comprising the steps of:
 performing an oxidation process by applying a predetermined voltage to the partition, and further performing an oxidation process by changing the voltage and applying the changed voltage.   
   
   
       3 . The oxidizing method according to  claim 2 , further comprising the steps of: performing an oxidation process by applying one of three kinds of voltages, a positive voltage, a negative voltage, and a zero voltage to the partition, and further performing an oxidation process by applying another one of the voltages. 
   
   
       4 . The oxidizing method according to  claim 3 , further comprising the steps of: performing an oxidation process by using an active species mainly containing radicals, and then performing an oxidation process by using an active species mainly containing positive ions. 
   
   
       5 . The oxidizing method according to  claim 4 , wherein the substrate surface is a metal film. 
   
   
       6 . An oxidizing apparatus comprising:
 a plasma generating chamber having an oxidizing gas supply port;   a substrate processing chamber having an exhaust port and internally having a substrate susceptor;   a partition having a plurality of through holes and configured to partition said plasma generating chamber and said substrate processing chamber; and   a power supply connected to said partition and configured to apply a voltage to said partition.   
   
   
       7 . The oxidizing apparatus according to  claim 6 , wherein said partition is connected to said power supply via a switching mechanism such that one of a positive voltage, a negative voltage, and a zero voltage is applied to said partition, and the voltages are switched at least once during an oxidation process. 
   
   
       8 . The oxidizing apparatus according to  claim 6 , wherein said partition has a thickness of 3 to 20 mm. 
   
   
       9 . The oxidizing apparatus according to  claim 6 , further comprising an extracting electrode between said plasma generating chamber and said partition.