Plasma processing including asymmetrically grounding a susceptor

A method of processing a substrate, comprising the steps of:

• providing a substrate support electrode to support the substrate;
• providing a showerhead electrode in opposition to the support and having apertures therethrough for supplying a processing gas to process the substrate;
• grounding the substrate support electrode through a plurality of grounding straps connected to a periphery of the substrate support electrode and configured to produce an asymmetric grounding conductance;
• and
• electrically powering the showerhead electrode to create a plasma of the processing gas between the showerhead electrode and the substrate support electrode.

A method of plasma processing a substrate, comprising the steps of:

• juxtaposing a first electrode to a substrate to be plasma processed;
• grounding the first electrode to a predetermined potential through a plurality of points on the first electrode to produce an asymmetric grounding conductance;
• supplying a processing gas to a surface of the substrate opposite the first electrode;
• applying RF power having a frequency of at least 13 MHz to a second electrode opposed to the first electrode to create a plasma between the first electrode and the substrate.

A plasma processing chamber, comprising:

• a chamber;
• a showerhead electrode within the chamber configured to inject processing gas into the chamber and to be connected to an electrical power source;
• a susceptor electrode disposed within the chamber in opposition to the showerhead electrode and configured to be juxtaposed to a substrate to be plasma processed;
• and
• a plurality of electrical straps fixed to a periphery of the susceptor and connecting the periphery to a body at a predetermined electrical potential and producing a grounding conductance which is asymmetric around the periphery.