Method for distributing gas for a bevel etcher

A method for cleaning a bevel edge of a wafer in a chamber having a wafer support, the chamber used for plasma etching of the bevel edge, comprising:

• positioning the wafer on the wafer support, wherein a periphery of the wafer extends beyond an edge of the wafer support, the chamber having a distribution plate parallel to the wafer and spaced apart from a top surface of the wafer not more than 0.6 mm, and a region where the wafer extends beyond the edge of the wafer support is where the bevel edge of the wafer resides during plasma etching;
• flowing a process gas to a periphery of the chamber proximate to the bevel edge of the wafer;
• pumping an inert gas into a center region of the chamber, the pumping being controlled to define a pressure gradient across the wafer to correct deformations in the wafer;
• generating a plasma with the process gas proximate to the bevel edge of the wafer to start processing of the bevel edge;
• throttling a process pump down rate of the chamber proximate to the bevel edge during the processing via a bypass line, such that a pressure of the chamber is controlled during the processing;
• and
• pumping down the chamber upon completing the processing, the pumping down being enhanced via a pumping line that is parallel to the bypass line, the pumping line having a greater diameter than the bypass line.