Patent ID: 8707899

Claim:
A plasma processing apparatus for processing a subject placed on a subject stage disposed at a lower portion of a central portion of a processing chamber in a vacuum vessel, by using plasma generated in a plasma generating space, which has a substantially cylindrical shape and is disposed above said subject stage inside said processing chamber, comprising: an exhaust space which is disposed below said plasma generating space and is extending outerward in a horizontal direction from said processing chamber, said exhaust space being communicating with said processing chamber so that a gas in said processing chamber flows to said horizontal direction into said exhaust space; an opening which is disposed at a lower portion of said processing chamber and beneath an upper surface of said subject stage where said subject is located, and communicates with said exhaust space and a space between an outer side wall of said subject stage and an inner side wall of said processing chamber, through said opening said gas within said processing chamber flowing into said exhaust space; an exhaust port which is disposed at a lower portion of said exhaust space, said exhaust port being distanced in the horizontal direction from said opening so that said gas within said processing chamber entering into said exhaust space through said opening and flowing thereinside to the exhaust port and being exhausted via the exhaust port; a turbo-molecular pump disposed so as to communicate with said exhaust port and exhaust said gas; and a plate member which is disposed at a position inside said exhaust space with gaps both on an upper side and a lower side thereof between said opening and said exhaust port which are distanced each other in said horizontal direction, a surface of said plate member extending along said horizontal direction, said plate member being located at a position so that at least a position of said late member can block linear sputter locus of articles from said exhaust port and an upstream edge with respect to said gas flow inside said exhaust space of said plate member is not directly exposed to an outer edge in a side of said opening of said upper surface of said subject stage.