Patent ID: 7157659

Claim:
A plasma processing apparatus comprising: a plate-shaped electrode; a plate-shaped insulator placed at a position where the plate-shaped insulator is adjacent to the plate-shaped electrode and where the plate-shaped insulator does not cover a part of a surface of the plate-shaped electrode confronting a processing object; an electric power supply unit for supplying electric power to the plate-shaped electrode or the processing object; a discharge-gas supply unit for supplying a discharge gas containing an inert gas to one gas exhaust port located nearer from the plate-shaped electrode, out of at least two-line gas exhaust ports which are disposed near the plate-shaped electrode and which are different in distance to the plate-shaped electrode from each other; and a discharge-control gas supply unit for supplying a discharge control gas, which is larger in discharge-starting voltage than the inert gas, to one gas exhaust port located farther from the plate-shaped electrode, out of the at least two-line gas exhaust ports which are disposed near the plate-shaped electrode and which are different in distance to the plate-shaped electrode from each other.