Patent ID: 6972071

Claim:
An apparatus for treating a workpiece with a plasma, comprising: a chamber having a processing space and a wall; a gas supply port in said chamber for introducing a process gas into said processing space; a workpiece holding portion positioned in said processing space and configured for holding the workpiece; a plasma excitation source operable for exciting process gas in said processing space to generate a plasma; a powered electrode electrically connected to said plasma excitation source and said workpiece holding portion; a vacuum port in said chamber for evacuating said processing space; a vacuum distribution baffle positioned between said vacuum port and said workpiece holding portion for uniformly dispersing process gas across said powered electrode, said vacuum distribution baffle operating for electrically shielding said powered electrode from said vacuum port and for preventing plasma generation in a portion of said processing space between said vacuum distribution baffle and said vacuum port; and an electrical feedthrough extending through said wall of said chamber and electrically coupled with said powered electrode, said electrical feedthrough extending through said vacuum distribution baffle.