Patent ID: 8889023

Claim:
A plasma processing method which includes introducing a processing gas into a processing chamber which has a dielectric window provided at a ceiling portion of the processing chamber, the dielectric window transmitting therethrough a microwave for generating a plasma, and wherein an inside of the processing chamber is capable of being maintained airtightly; exhausting the processing gas introduced into the processing chamber through an exhaust port provided below an upper surface of a substrate mounted on a mounting table; and introducing a microwave into a processing space of the processing chamber through slots of a slot antenna provided on an upper surface of the dielectric window of the processing chamber, the method comprising: dividing a common gas supplied from a common gas source into two common gas streams; introducing the common gas divided into two common gas streams to a central introduction portion having a central inlet which supplies the common gas to a central portion of the substrate mounted on the mounting table, and to a peripheral introduction portion having peripheral inlets which supplies the common gas to a peripheral portion of the substrate mounted on the mounting table, the peripheral inlets being arranged about a circumferential region at a location above the substrate; and adding an additive gas supplied from an additive gas source to at least one of the two common gas streams, wherein the central inlet is disposed at a central portion of the dielectric window of the processing chamber, wherein the peripheral inlets are disposed above the substrate mounted on the mounting table and below the dielectric window of the processing chamber, and wherein an electron temperature of a plasma in a region where the peripheral inlets are disposed is lower than that in a region where the central inlet is disposed.