Substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing method, and storage medium

Abstract

There is provided a substrate processing apparatus which includes: a substrate mounting table installed in a vacuum vessel; a gas supply part configured to supply a processing gas into the vacuum vessel; a vacuum-exhausting part configured to exhaust the interior of the vacuum vessel; an elevating member configured to lift up and down a substrate while holding the substrate mounted on the mounting table; and a control part configured to output a control signal to execute a first step of supplying the processing gas onto the substrate and setting an internal pressure of the vacuum vessel to a first pressure, a second step of changing the internal pressure to a second pressure lower than the first pressure, and a third step of lifting up the substrate from the mounting table after the first step and before the second step or in parallel with the second step.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A substrate processing apparatus of performing a process on a substrate by supplying a processing gas onto the substrate in a vacuum atmosphere, comprising:
 a substrate mounting table installed in a vacuum vessel;   a gas supply part configured to supply the processing gas into the vacuum vessel;   a vacuum-exhausting part configured to exhaust the interior of the vacuum vessel;   an elevating member configured to move up and down between an ascending position defined above a surface of the mounting table and a descending position equal to or lower than a level of the surface of the mounting table and is configured to lift up and down the substrate while holding the substrate mounted on the mounting table; and   a control part configured to output a control signal to execute a first step, a second step and a third step, the first step being to supply the processing gas onto the substrate mounted on the mounting table and set an internal pressure of the vacuum vessel to a first pressure, the second step being to change the internal pressure to a second pressure lower than the first pressure, and the third step being to lift up the substrate from the mounting table by the elevating member after the first step and before the changing the internal pressure or in parallel with the changing.   
     
     
         2 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the second pressure is the smallest pressure within a setting range of the internal pressure. 
     
     
         3 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein a difference between the second pressure and the first pressure is 100 Pa or more. 
     
     
         4 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the control part outputs the control signal to repeat a sequence of the first step and the second step a multiple number of times during a period of time from when the substrate is loaded into the vacuum vessel till when the substrate is unloaded from the vacuum vessel. 
     
     
         5 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the first step includes supplying a film-forming gas used to form a thin film on the substrate and subsequently supplying a nitriding gas used to nitride the thin film, and
 wherein the first pressure is a pressure at the time of supplying the nitriding gas.   
     
     
         6 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the elevating member includes three or more pins configured to deliver the substrate between an external transfer mechanism and the mounting table. 
     
     
         7 . The substrate processing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein an arithmetic average surface roughness of the surface of the mounting table is 10 μm or more. 
     
     
         8 . A method of processing a substrate by supplying a processing gas onto the substrate in a vacuum atmosphere, the method comprising:
 mounting the substrate on a mounting table installed in a vacuum vessel;   supplying the processing gas onto the substrate mounted on the mounting table and setting an internal pressure of the vacuum vessel to a first pressure;   subsequently, changing the internal pressure to a second pressure lower than the first pressure; and   after the supplying the processing gas, lifting up the substrate from the mounting table by an elevating member before the changing the internal pressure or in parallel with the changing.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , comprising repeating a sequence a multiple number of times, the sequence including the supplying the processing gas and the changing the internal pressure during a period of time from when the substrate is loaded into the vacuum vessel till when the substrate is unloaded from the vacuum vessel. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the supplying the processing gas includes supplying a film-forming gas used to form a thin film on the substrate and subsequently supplying a nitriding gas used to nitride the thin film, and
 wherein the first pressure is a pressure at the time of supplying the nitriding gas.   
     
     
         11 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores a computer program used for a substrate processing apparatus of performing a process on a substrate by supplying a processing gas onto the substrate mounted on a mounting table in a vacuum vessel while maintaining a vacuum atmosphere, wherein the computer program is organized with instructions for executing the method of  claim 8 .