Patent ID: 8828254

Claim:
A plasma processing method for facilitating generation of a plasma in a region in which a plasma is incapable of being generated stably by continuous discharge, and plasma-processing a substrate to be processed with the plasma generated in the region in which a plasma is incapable of being generated stably by continuous discharge, the method comprising: predetermining a first range of radio-frequency power and a second range of radio-frequency power, respectively; and generating plasma modulated by a pulse which repeats ON and OFF in the region in which a plasma is incapable of being generated stably by continuous discharge, wherein the substrate is a semiconductor; the first range of radio-frequency power is a range of a radio-frequency power with which a plasma is incapable of being generated stably by continuous discharge, and the second range of radio-frequency power is a range of radio-frequency power with which generation of plasma is facilitated by continuous discharge; a radio-frequency power during an ON period of the pulse is a value in the second range of radio-frequency power; a duty ratio of the pulse is a value obtained by dividing an average radio-frequency power of the pulse per cycle by the radio-frequency power during an ON period of the pulse; and the average radio-frequency power of the pulse per cycle is a value in the first range of radio-frequency power.