Microwave plasma treatment apparatus

Claim 1

A microwave plasma treatment apparatus comprising: a cylindrical plasma formation chamber, an object treatment chamber adjoining said plasma formation chamber in the direction of the central axis thereof, a magnetic circuit(s) provided around the periphery of said plasma formation chamber, a plasma extracting means provided on the border between said plasma formation chamber and said object treatment chamber, an even-numbered plurality of auxiliary magnets numbering at least two and provided around the periphery of said plasma formation chamber and on the inner side of said magnetic circuit(s), and a microwave introducing means provided along the central axis of said plasma formation chamber and on the opposite side thereof to said object treatment chamber; wherein the plasma formation chamber is provided with a plasma-forming gas introducing port, wherein said object treatment chamber is provided with an object table for placing thereon an object to be treated, wherein said auxiliary magnets are arranged symmetrically with respect to the central axis of said plasma formation chamber in such a way that the magnetic poles of every auxiliary magnet are respectively reversed in polarity relative to the adjoining magnetic poles of an auxiliary magnet adjacent thereto, and wherein the electron cyclotron resonance phenomenon induced by an electric field formed by microwaves introduced into said plasma formation chamber through said microwave introducing means and a magnetic field formed by means of said magnetic circuit(s) and said auxiliary magnets is utilized to turn a plasma-forming gas introduced into said plasma formation chamber into a plasma, which is then extracted into said object treatment chamber through said plasma extracting means to irradiate therewith said object placed on said object table.