Patent ID: 7025895

Claim:
A plasma processing apparatus comprising: a processing chamber for processing a sample; a plasma generation power supply for generating a plasma within said processing chamber; a high-frequency power supply for applying a high frequency wave to a sample stage installed within said processing chamber; and control means for controlling said plasma generation power supply or said high-frequency power supply based on parameter settings for an output intensity and an output mode for each process step; wherein said plasma generation power supply or said high-frequency power supply has a continuous output mode and a modulation output mode; wherein when said process steps are switched, said control means compares parameters for a current process step with those for a next process step and then switches either said output intensities or said output modes before switching said output modes or said output intensities, respectively; wherein when said continuous output mode is switched to said modulation output mode, said control means switches said output modes before switching said output intensities; and wherein an output intensity in said modulation output mode is higher than an output intensity in said continuous output mode.