INDUCTIVELY COUPLED RF PLASMA SOURCE WITH MAGNETIC CONFINEMENT AND FARADAY SHIELDING
First Claim
1. An inductively coupled RF plasma system that provides both magnetic confinement and Faraday shielding, the inductively coupled RF plasma system comprising:
- an RF power source for generating an RF current;
a plasma chamber operative to be filled with a working gas that can be used to create a plasma;
a dielectric window having an inner and outer surface wherein the inner surface forms a wall of the plasma chamber;
a permanent cusp magnet array comprised of parallel elements that are electrically interconnected and coupled to ground on one end that is embedded within the dielectric window in a magnetic cusp geometry that is proximate to the inner surface; and
an antenna array coupled with the RF power source and comprised of parallel elongated tubes through which an RF current is circulated, wherein the antenna array is oriented perpendicular to the permanent cusp magnet array.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is an inductively coupled RF plasma source that provides both magnetic confinement to reduce plasma losses and Faraday shielding to suppress parasitic capacitive components. The inductively coupled RF plasma system comprises an RF power source, plasma chamber, an array of permanent magnets, and an antenna array. The plasma chamber is comprised of walls and a dielectric window having an inner and outer surface wherein the inner surface forms a wall of the plasma chamber. The array of parallel conductive permanent magnets is electrically interconnected and embedded within the dielectric window walls proximate to the inner surface and coupled to ground on one end. The permanent magnet array elements are alternately magnetized toward and away from plasma in the plasma chamber to form a multi-cusp magnetic field. The antenna array may be comprised of parallel tubes through which an RF current is circulated. The antenna array is oriented perpendicular to the permanent magnet array.
13 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An inductively coupled RF plasma system that provides both magnetic confinement and Faraday shielding, the inductively coupled RF plasma system comprising:
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an RF power source for generating an RF current; a plasma chamber operative to be filled with a working gas that can be used to create a plasma; a dielectric window having an inner and outer surface wherein the inner surface forms a wall of the plasma chamber; a permanent cusp magnet array comprised of parallel elements that are electrically interconnected and coupled to ground on one end that is embedded within the dielectric window in a magnetic cusp geometry that is proximate to the inner surface; and an antenna array coupled with the RF power source and comprised of parallel elongated tubes through which an RF current is circulated, wherein the antenna array is oriented perpendicular to the permanent cusp magnet array. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An inductively coupled RF plasma system that provides both magnetic confinement and Faraday shielding, the inductively coupled RF plasma system comprising:
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an RF power source for generating an RF current; a plasma chamber operative to be filled with a working gas that can be used to create a plasma; a dielectric window having an inner and outer surface wherein the inner surface forms a wall of the plasma chamber; a permanent cusp magnet array comprised of parallel elements that are electrically interconnected and coupled to ground on one end that is embedded within the dielectric window in a magnetic cusp geometry that is proximate to the inner surface; and an antenna coupled with the RF power source and comprised of an elongated tube through which the RF current is circulated, wherein the antenna is oriented perpendicular to the permanent cusp magnet array. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of providing magnetic confinement and Faraday shielding to an inductively coupled RF plasma source, the method comprising:
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providing an RF power source for generating an RF current; providing a plasma chamber operative to be filled with a working gas that can be used to create a plasma; providing a dielectric window having an inner and outer surface wherein the inner surface forms a wall of the plasma chamber; embedding an electrically conductive permanent cusp magnet array comprised of parallel elements within the dielectric window proximate to the inner surface of the dielectric window; coupling the permanent cusp magnet array to ground on one end; alternately magnetizing the elements of the permanent cusp magnet array toward and away from the plasma in the plasma chamber to form a multi-cusp magnetic field; and coupling an antenna array with the RF power source, the antenna array comprised of parallel elongated tubes external to the dielectric window such that the antenna array is oriented perpendicular to the permanent cusp magnet array. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification