Circuit for adjusting the impedance of a plasma section to a high-frequency generator

• US 5,140,223 A
• Filed: 09/25/1989
• Issued: 08/18/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Leybold Aktiengesellschaft
• Original Assignee: Leybold Aktiengesellschaft
• Inventors: Gesche, Roland, Locher, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): LaRoche, Eugene R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): YOO, DO H
• Application Number:
  US07/412,249
• Time in Patent Office: 1,058 Days
• Field of Search: 315/111.21, 315/111.81, 315/248, 313/231.31, 331/74, 333/32
• US Class Current: 315/111.21
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/38 Impedance-matching networks

Abstract

A circuit for adjusting the impedance of a plasma section to a high-frequency generator wherein three capacitors are connected in series between the high-frequency generator and an electrode of the plasma section; located between the generator and the electrode are two parallel oscillatory circuits.

Claims

1. A device for a steadily burning plasma comprising a high frequency generator designed for a load of approximately fifty Ohms and having a frequency of approximately 13.56 MHz;

a plasma chamber (3) comprising a first electrode (7) and a sound electrode (4);

a matching circuit (2) connecting said first and second electrodes (7,4) with said high frequency generator (1);

said matching circuit (2) including two parallel resonant circuits (12, 13;

9,

     10) coupled with a first fixed capacitance (11) and having capacitive input and output connections with second and third fixed capacitances (14,

     8), respectively;

said parallel resonant circuits (12, 13;

9,

     10) being placed on one side of a ground connection, the two parallel resonance circuits (12, 13;

9,

     10) each including a fixed inductor and a variable shunt capacitor, the parallel resonance circuit (12,

     13) on the generator side having an inductance of 750 nH and a variable capacitance of 10 pF to 500 pF, and the load-side resonance circuit (9,

     10) having an inductance of 500 nH and a variable capacitance of 10 pF to 500 pF, said two parallel resonant circuits (12, 13;

9,

     10) being connected with one of their sides to ground and being placed in a cooling device.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the first and second fixed capacitances have values of 100 pF and the third fixed capacitance is 250 pF.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the variable capacitances of the parallel resonant circuits are varied as a function of the impedance of the plasma chamber.

4. The device of claim 3 further comprising means for measuring the impedance of the plasma chamber and wherein the variable capacitances of the parallel resonant circuits are varied as a function of the measured impedance of the plasma chamber.

5. The device of claim 3 further comprising means for measuring the input impedance of the matching circuit (2) and means for balancing the input impedance of the matching circuit (2) to the impedance of the frequency generator (1) by adjusting the variable capacitors of said parallel resonant circuits.