Sputter etching apparatus with plasma source having a dielectric pocket and contoured plasma source

A plasma source for creating a plasma inside of a processing chamber to sputter etch a biased substrate inside the chamber, the plasma source comprising:

• a dielectric plate coupled to an end of the chamber, the dielectric plate including a non-conductive pocket portion with a convexly-curved inner surface and a concavely-curved outer surface, the pocket portion physically extending into said processing chamber toward a biased substrate in the chamber and terminating proximate the substrate so that the concavely-curved outer surface curves outwardly in the direction of the substrate;
• an inductive coil positioned outside the chamber and inside the pocket portion of said dielectric plate, the inductive coil being contoured inside of said pocket portion along the convexly-curved inner surface to have a generally concave shape in the direction of the substrate which coincides with the concavely-curved outer surface of the pocket, the concavely shaped coil operable to efficiently inductively couple energy to sputtering gas inside the chamber for generating and sustaining a plasma of ionized gas particles;
• the concavely shaped coil and coinciding concavely-curved outer pocket surface creating a high density uniform plasma of ionized particles proximate a surface of a biased substrate to bombard the surface thereof and produce a high sputter etching rate uniformly across the substrate surface.

A method of sputter etching the surface of a substrate with an ionized plasma, the method comprising:

• electrically biasing a substrate inside of a processing chamber;
• introducing sputtering gas into said processing chamber proximate the substrate;
• coupling, to an end of the processing chamber, a dielectric plate having a non-conductive pocket portion with a convexly-curved inner surface and a concavely-curved outer surface, the pocket portion physically extending into said processing chamber proximate said substrate;
• positioning the substrate in the chamber such that the pocket portion terminates proximate the substrate and the concavely-curved outer surface curves outwardly in the direction of said substrate;
• positioning an inductive coil inside the pocket portion of said dielectric plate and inductively coupling energy to said sputtering gas through the pocket portion to generate and sustain a plasma of ionized gas particles;
• contouring the inductive coil inside of the pocket portion along the convexly-curved inner surface and forming a coil with a generally concave shade curving outwardly in the direction of the substrate to coincide with the concavely-curved outer surface for creating a high density uniform plasma of ionized particles proximate a surface of the biased substrate to bombard the surface thereof and produce a high sputter etching rate uniformly across the substrate surface.