Patent ID: 7628931

Claim:
A processing method for processing a workpiece by using processing gases constituted of a primary gas and a circulating gas in a processing apparatus, the processing apparatus including a gas supply mechanism that supplies a processing gas into a processing chamber via a plurality of gas supply holes formed at a shower head, the showerhead including a plurality of plates, a plurality of primary gas supply holes, a plurality of circulating gas supply holes, an evacuating mechanism that evacuates the processing gas from said processing chamber, and a gas circulating mechanism that returns at least a portion of exhaust gas evacuated from said processing chamber to said gas supply mechanism, wherein said gas supply mechanism includes a primary gas supply system that supplies the primary gas supplied from a processing gas source into said processing chamber via said primary gas supply holes, and a circulating gas supply system that supplies at least a portion of the exhaust gas into said processing chamber via said circulating gas supply holes, wherein said primary gas supply system and said circulating gas supply system are systems independent of each other at said shower head, the method comprising: before a first workpiece is processed, a step of evacuating the processing chamber using a first pump and a second pump, and evacuating the circulating gas supply system using the second pump, a step in which a pressure inside the processing chamber and said gas circulating mechanism is raised by supplying the primary gas into said processing chamber through said primary gas supply holes and allowing the exhaust gas to flow into said gas circulating mechanism without returning any portion of the exhaust gas to the atmosphere; a step in which a stabilized flow rate of the circulating gas is supplied to the processing chamber by returning a portion of the exhaust gas to the gas supply mechanism to supply the circulating gas through said circulating gas supply holes; a step of processing the first workpiece; a step of trapping the circulating gas at the end of the processing of the first workpiece and evacuating the processing chamber using the first and second pumps; and a step of re-executing the pressurization step in preparation for processing a subsequent workpiece.