An apparatus includes a plasma processing container; a workpiece placement table disposed in the plasma processing container; a dielectric member having a facing surface that faces the workpiece placement table; an antenna provided on a surface of the dielectric member opposite to the facing surface and configured to introduce an induced electric field for plasma excitation into the plasma processing container via the dielectric member; an electromagnet group disposed along an outer circumference of the plasma processing container and configured to form a magnetic field in the plasma processing container; and a controller configured to control magnitudes of electric currents flowing through respective electromagnets of the electromagnet group differently from each other, to generate a magnetic gradient along a circumferential direction in the magnetic field that exists only in an outer circumferential space in the plasma processing container.

A method is for depositing a dielectric material on to a substrate in a chamber by pulsed DC magnetron sputtering with a pulsed DC magnetron device which produces one or more primary magnetic fields. In the method, a sputtering material is sputtered from a target, wherein the target and the substrate are separated by a gap in the range 2.5 to 10 cm and a secondary magnetic field is produced within the chamber which causes a plasma produced by the pulsed DC magnetron device to expand towards one or more walls of the chamber.

A magnetically enhanced HDP-CVD plasma source includes a hollow cathode target and an anode. The anode and cathode form a gap. A cathode target magnet assembly forms magnetic field lines that are substantially perpendicular to a cathode target surface. The gap magnet assembly forms a cusp magnetic field in the gap that is coupled with the cathode target magnetic field. The magnetic field lines cross a pole piece electrode positioned in the gap. This pole piece is isolated from ground and can be connected with a voltage power supply. The pole piece can have a negative, positive, or floating electric potential. The plasma source can be configured to generate volume discharge. The gap size prohibits generation of plasma discharge in the gap. By controlling the duration, value and a sign of the electric potential on the pole piece, the plasma ionization can be controlled. The magnetically enhanced HDP-CVD source can also be used for chemically enhanced ionized physical vapor deposition (CE-IPVD). Gas flows through the gap between hollow cathode and anode. The cathode target is inductively grounded, and the substrate is periodically inductively grounded.

A copper plasma etching method according an exemplary embodiment includes: placing a substrate on a susceptor in a process chamber of a plasma etching apparatus; supplying an etching gas that include hydrogen chloride into the process chamber; plasma-etching a conductor layer that include copper in the substrate; and maintaining a temperature of the susceptor at 10 C. or less during the plasma-etching.

A method is for depositing a dielectric material on to a substrate in a chamber by pulsed DC magnetron sputtering with a pulsed DC magnetron device which produces one or more primary magnetic fields. In the method, a sputtering material is sputtered from a target, wherein the target and the substrate are separated by a gap in the range 2.5 to 10 cm and a secondary magnetic field is produced within the chamber which causes a plasma produced by the pulsed DC magnetron device to expand towards one or more walls of the chamber.

An apparatus includes a plasma processing container; a workpiece placement table disposed in the plasma processing container; a dielectric member having a facing surface that faces the workpiece placement table; an antenna provided on a surface of the dielectric member opposite to the facing surface and configured to introduce an induced electric field for plasma excitation into the plasma processing container via the dielectric member; an electromagnet group disposed along an outer circumference of the plasma processing container and configured to form a magnetic field in the plasma processing container; and a controller configured to control magnitudes of electric currents flowing through respective electromagnets of the electromagnet group differently from each other, to generate a magnetic gradient along a circumferential direction in the magnetic field that exists only in an outer circumferential space in the plasma processing container.

Disclosed is a plasma processing apparatus including: a processing container; a placing table provided in the processing container and configured to place a workpiece thereon; a dielectric member having a facing surface that faces the placing table; a planar antenna provided on a surface of the dielectric member opposite to the facing surface and configured to introduce an induced electric field for plasma excitation into the processing container via the dielectric member; and an electromagnet group disposed along an outer circumference of the processing container and configured to form a magnetic field for moving ions in plasma based on the induced electric field along the facing surface of the dielectric member in the processing container.

A method is for depositing a dielectric material on to a substrate in a chamber by pulsed DC magnetron sputtering with a pulsed DC magnetron device which produces one or more primary magnetic fields. In the method, a sputtering material is sputtered from a target, wherein the target and the substrate are separated by a gap in the range 2.5 to 10 cm and a secondary magnetic field is produced within the chamber which causes a plasma produced by the pulsed DC magnetron device to expand towards one or more walls of the chamber.

An ion beam generator includes a discharge chamber with a backplate and tubular sidewalk A source of propellant, for example, Xenon gas is provided to the discharge chamber. First and second annular magnets are disposed on or near the backplate, and configured with alternating polarities such that a pair of ring-cusps form on the backplate, without any magnetic ring-cusp formation on the sidewalk A cathode assembly extends into the discharge chamber to provide primary electrons to ionize the propellant.

A molecular beam epitaxy apparatus includes a radical generator for generating a radical species, a molecular beam cell for generating a molecular beam or an atomic beam, and a vacuum chamber for accommodating a substrate therein, in use, the substrate being irradiated with the radical species and the molecular beam or the atomic beam in vacuum, to thereby form, on the substrate, a crystal of a compound derived from the element of the radical species and the element of the molecular beam or the atomic beam.