Patent ID: 7686971

Claim:
A plasma processing method employing a plasma source including a gas flow channel formed therein and an electrode which is fed with electric power or grounded to be maintained at a controlled electric potential, a first gas ejecting surface of said plasma source including an opening portion of a first gas ejecting port for ejecting a first gas for causing electric discharge being placed in parallel to a to-be-processed object, the method comprising: supplying said first gas to said first gas ejecting port from a first gas supplying device to eject said first gas from said first gas ejecting port toward a gap between a first gas ejecting surface of said plasma source and a to-be-processed portion of said to-be-processed object while supplying electric power to said plasma source, said to-be-processed object or a counter electrode placed on a surface of said to-be-processed object opposite from the to-be-processed portion thereof to generate an electric-potential difference between said plasma source and said to-be-processed object to generate plasma, wherein a plasma process is applied to said to-be-processed portion of said to-be-processed object while a convex portion at a portion of a surface of said plasma source which is faced to said to-be-processed object is inserted into said to-be-processed portion of said to-be-processed object, said first gas ejecting surface of said plasma source including the opening portion of said first gas ejecting port is formed at the convex portion and the convex portion has a size which can be inserted into a to-be-finely-processed portion of said to-be-processed object.