Patent ID: 7591232

Claim:
An antenna assembly for energizing an ICP from a position internal to the vacuum processing chamber of a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, the antenna comprising: a central RF conductor formed into at least one loop; a dielectric spacer formed of a plurality of dielectric spacer segments arranged end-to-end along the central conductor, wherein the dielectric spacer is concentric with and surrounding the central RF conductor; and a segmented electrically-conductive shield concentric with and surrounding the dielectric spacer, wherein: the segmented electrically conductive electrically-conductive shield is formed of a plurality of segments of generally circular cross-section, arranged end-to-end with endless circumferential gaps between adjacent ones of the segments, the gaps being sufficiently narrow to avoid the formation of plasma therein when immersed in a plasma-containing vacuum processing space of the processing apparatus; and the dielectric spacer is configured to maintain separation between the central RF conductor and the segmented electrically-conductive shield by occupying at least a portion of the space between the central RF conductor and the segmented electrically-conductive shield and in the gaps between the adjacent ones of the segments.