Inductive Plasma Applicator

An inductive plasma applicator comprising

• a support member with a generally flat plate shape, adapted for forming part of or being arranged on a vacuum vessel wall, said support member having a front surface intended to be oriented towards an inner volume of the vacuum vessel, a back surface and possibly additional surfaces intermediate between the front and back surfaces, said surfaces being parallel to each other;
• at least one ferromagnetic inductively coupled plasma source including:
• at least one electrically conducting coil comprising one turn or several turns with a planar spiral design arranged on a surface of the support member;
• an open-loop ferromagnetic core having at least two end faces oriented towards one and same magnetic output side;
• and
• means for rigidly connecting the ferromagnetic core onto the support member opposite to the front surface of said support member, with the magnetic output side of the ferromagnetic core oriented towards the inner volume of the vacuum vessel, and the coil turn or turns surrounding a magnetic flux bundle exiting through at least one of the end faces of the ferromagnetic core;
• and
• at least one electrode having a hole pattern centred with respect to the coil and adapted not to inhibit the magnetic flux bundle from extending in the inner volume of the vacuum vessel, said electrode being further adapted for forming a capacitor with another electrode external to the applicator;
• wherein the coil of the ferromagnetic inductively coupled plasma source and the electrode comprise respective metal track portions distributed on the surfaces of the support member, with the metal track portions of the electrode being located closer to the inner volume of the vacuum vessel than the metal track portions of the coil.