Apparatus including ring-shaped resonators for producing microwave plasmas
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for producing a low-pressure plasma, comprising:
- a plasma chamber adapted to contain a low-pressure plasma;
at least one circular ring-shaped waveguide resonator surrounding said plasma chamber and provided in an inner wall thereof with a plurality of coupling slits spaced and oriented to effect substantially equal microwave power output coupling from said at least one resonator to said chamber at all of said coupling slits;
at least one microwave generator; and
coupling means connecting said at least one microwave generator with corresponding said at least one waveguide resonator for input coupling of microwave energy from said at least one microwave generator to said at least one waveguide resonator, said at least one ring-shaped waveguide resonator having respective dimensions which are sufficient to generate a TE10 standing wave with a magnetic field having an azimuthal component therein in response to microwave energy coupled to said at least one waveguide resonator from said at least one microwave generator, said coupling slits being spaced equidistantly from one another around said inner wall of said at least one circular resonator and around said standing wave, said inner wall being cylindrical and said coupling slits are parallel to generatrices of the inner wall and are spaced apart by a distance equal to a wavelength of the microwave energy coupled into said at least one waveguide resonator, and the coupling slits output couple the energy of the standing TE10 wave by the penetration of the azimuthal component of a magnetic field through the coupling slits into the plasma chamber.
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Abstract
A low-pressure high-density plasma is excited in a plasma chamber surrounded by a cylindrical inner wall of a ring-shaped waveguide resonator to which the microwave energy is fed by a coupling from a microwave generator. The output coupling of the microwave energy from the standing wave maintained in the waveguide resonator to the plasma chamber is effected through a multiplicity of equispaced slits whose spacing is one half or one waveguide wavelength and which extend parallel to the generatrices of the cylindrical inner wall of the ring-shaped waveguide resonator.
45 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An apparatus for producing a low-pressure plasma, comprising:
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a plasma chamber adapted to contain a low-pressure plasma; at least one circular ring-shaped waveguide resonator surrounding said plasma chamber and provided in an inner wall thereof with a plurality of coupling slits spaced and oriented to effect substantially equal microwave power output coupling from said at least one resonator to said chamber at all of said coupling slits; at least one microwave generator; and coupling means connecting said at least one microwave generator with corresponding said at least one waveguide resonator for input coupling of microwave energy from said at least one microwave generator to said at least one waveguide resonator, said at least one ring-shaped waveguide resonator having respective dimensions which are sufficient to generate a TE10 standing wave with a magnetic field having an azimuthal component therein in response to microwave energy coupled to said at least one waveguide resonator from said at least one microwave generator, said coupling slits being spaced equidistantly from one another around said inner wall of said at least one circular resonator and around said standing wave, said inner wall being cylindrical and said coupling slits are parallel to generatrices of the inner wall and are spaced apart by a distance equal to a wavelength of the microwave energy coupled into said at least one waveguide resonator, and the coupling slits output couple the energy of the standing TE10 wave by the penetration of the azimuthal component of a magnetic field through the coupling slits into the plasma chamber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An apparatus for producing a low-pressure plasma, comprising:
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a plasma chamber adapted to contain a low-pressure plasma; a circular ring-shaped waveguide resonator surrounding said plasma chamber and provided in an inner wall thereof with a plurality of coupling slits spaced and oriented to effect substantially equal microwave power output coupling from said resonator to said chamber at all of said coupling slits; a microwave generator; and coupling means connecting said microwave generator with said waveguide resonator for input coupling of microwave energy from said microwave generator to said waveguide resonator, said ring-shaped waveguide resonator having dimensions which are sufficient to generate a TE10 standing wave with a magnetic field having an azimuthal component therein in response to microwave energy coupled to said waveguide resonator from said microwave generator, said coupling slits being spaced equidistantly from one another around said inner wall and around said standing wave, said inner wall being cylindrical and said coupling slits are parallel to generatrices of the inner wall, and the coupling slits output couple the energy of the standing TE10 wave by the penetration of the azimuthal component of a magnetic field through the coupling slits, into the plasma chamber. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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Specification