Patent ID: 8166914

Claim:
A vertical plasma processing apparatus of the batch type for performing a plasma process on a plurality of target substrates all together, the apparatus comprising: a tubular process container having an upper end as a closed end and a lower end as an open end opposite to each other, and a process field for accommodating the target substrates between the closed end and the open end, the process container including a tubular insulating body; a holder configured to hold the target substrates in parallel with each other and at intervals in a vertical direction, and to be loaded and unloaded through the open end into and from the process container; a loading mechanism configured to load and unload the holder into and from the process container through the open end; a lid member including a flange portion to engage with the open end and a mount portion projecting upward from the flange portion, the lid member being connected to the loading mechanism and configured to airtightly close the open end such that the mount portion projects into the tubular process container and supports the holder thereon; a gas supply system configured to supply a process gas into the process container; an exhaust system configured to exhaust gas from inside the process container; a first electrode disposed outside the closed end of the process container and having a planar surface area larger than that of each of the target substrates; a second electrode disposed at the lid member, the second electrode being an electrically conductive plate which shapes the lid member including the flange portion and the mount portion as a whole, the first and second electrodes constituting a pair of parallel-plate electrodes insulated from each other by the insulating body of the tubular process container; and a radio frequency (RF) power supply connected to one of the first and second electrodes and configured to apply an RF power for plasma generation.