Patent ID: 8377270

Claim:
A plasma processing apparatus comprising: a substrate holder that supports a substrate; a magnet holder that is provided around the substrate holder, and supports a magnet that forms a magnetic field in the process surface of the substrate; a rotating mechanism that is capable of rotating one or both of the substrate holder and the magnet holder along the planar direction of the process surface of the substrate; a rotational position sensor that detects a rotating position or rotating positions of the substrate holder and/or the magnet holder; and a control device that controls the rotating mechanism of the substrate holder and/or the magnet holder, the control device controlling the rotating mechanism of the substrate holder and/or the magnet holder by the following steps based on a detection signal of the rotational position sensor, a storage unit of the control device storing an algorithm of a magnetic thin film as a film formation control program, the film formation control program comprising the steps of: positioning the substrate and the magnet so that an axis of easy magnetization having an orientation oriented in one direction is set in the process surface of the substrate when the substrate holder and the magnetic holder are set in a rest state at the initial stage of forming the magnetic thin film by sputtering, and swingingly varying the substrate holder and the magnetic holder in mutually opposite directions so that a relative angle between the axis of easy magnetization set in a process surface of the substrate and the magnetic field generated by the magnet falls within a prescribed range; swingingly varying the substrate holder and the magnetic holder in mutually opposite directions, so that a deflection of the relative angle between the axis of easy magnetization set in the process surface of the substrate and the magnetic field generated by the magnet becomes gradually smaller as the film formation of the magnetic thin film by sputtering progresses; and making the substrate and the magnet rested in a positioned state so that the relative angle between the axis of easy magnetization set in the process surface of the substrate and the magnetic field generated by the magnet becomes zero, by ending the swinging variation of the substrate holder and/or the magnetic holder, when a remaining portion of the magnetic thin film is formed by sputtering.