Patent ID: 7315128

Claim:
A plasma source for capacitively coupling a high-density plasma into the processing chamber of a processing apparatus comprising: an electrode having an annular surface within the vacuum chamber; an RF generator having an output coupled to the electrode; a magnet pack including: an annular surface magnet having an inner pole and an outer pole and having axes of polarity extending between its poles, lying in a radial plane and generally parallel to the surface of the electrode, an outer side magnet having its polar axes intersecting the surface of the electrode with a first pole thereof closer to the electrode and a second pole thereof more remote from the electrode, the first pole being adjacent to, and of the same polarity as, the outer pole of the surface magnet, an inner side magnet having its polar axes intersecting the surface of the electrode with a first pole thereof closer to the electrode and a second pole thereof more remote from the electrode, the first pole thereof being adjacent to, and of the same polarity as, the inner pole of the surface magnet, and a ferromagnetic back piece extending between, and adjacent to, the second poles of the inner and outer side magnets; the magnets of the magnet pack have sufficient volume and strength to produce a magnetic field that extends generally from the outer pole of the surface magnet and first pole of the outer magnet to the inner pole of the surface magnet and the first pole of the inner magnet; and the electrode being embedded in the magnetic field.