Patent ID: 7615259

Claim:
A plasma processing method comprising the steps of: a) carrying a workpiece into a process chamber capable of being maintained in a subatmospheric pressure, and moving said workpiece to a position over a mounting stage arranged in said process chamber; b) mounting said workpiece on a surface of said mounting stage; c) with said workpiece mounted on the surface of said mounting stage, applying processing to a surface of said workpiece in a plasma atmosphere while supplying a heat transfer gas which has a first temperature to a space between the surface of said mounting stage and said workpiece through a gas channel arranged in said mounting stage; d) detaching said workpiece from the surface of said mounting stage to a position above said mounting stage; and e) carrying said workpiece from the position above said mounting stage to a position outside said process chamber, wherein a heated N 2 or He gas which has a second temperature is supplied through the gas channel to the surface of said mounting stage to form a layer of gas with a temperature of from 50° to 250° C. over the mounting stage in periods of the steps a) and e), wherein the second temperature is higher than the first temperature, and wherein a set of steps from step a) to step e) is repeated for every processing of one workpiece.