System, method and apparatus for generating plasma
First Claim
1. A plasma-generating device, comprising:
- a housing including a passage defined therein configured to direct a flow of an ionizable gas therethrough;
an electrode in communication with the ionizable gas flowing through the passage of the housing; and
a resonant circuit including a capacitor and an inductor connected together in series, the resonant circuit having a resonance frequency and electrically coupled to the electrode; and
a driver network configured to generate an AC signal having an excitation frequency substantially matching the resonance frequency of the resonant circuit, wherein the driver network provides the AC signal to the resonant circuit to excite the ionizable gas flowing through the passage of the housing to a plasma.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A plasma generating system, related method and device are disclosed. The plasma generation system includes a plasma generation device, a source of ionizable gas and a driver network. The plasma generation device includes a housing, an electrode, and a resonant circuit. The housing includes a passage defined therein and directs a flow of ionizable gas therethrough. The electrode is coupled to the ionizable gas flowing through the passage of the housing. The resonant circuit includes a capacitor and an inductor connected together in series. The resonant circuit has a resonance frequency and is coupled to the electrode. The resonant circuit receives an AC signal. The driver network provides the AC signal such that the AC signal has a frequency and excites the ionizable gas flowing through the passage of the housing to a plasma.
-
Citations
50 Claims
-
1. A plasma-generating device, comprising:
-
a housing including a passage defined therein configured to direct a flow of an ionizable gas therethrough; an electrode in communication with the ionizable gas flowing through the passage of the housing; and a resonant circuit including a capacitor and an inductor connected together in series, the resonant circuit having a resonance frequency and electrically coupled to the electrode; and a driver network configured to generate an AC signal having an excitation frequency substantially matching the resonance frequency of the resonant circuit, wherein the driver network provides the AC signal to the resonant circuit to excite the ionizable gas flowing through the passage of the housing to a plasma. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
-
23. A plasma generating system, comprising:
-
a plasma generation device, including; a housing including a passage defined therein configured to direct a flow of an ionizable gas therethrough; an electrode in communication with the ionizable gas flowing through the passage of the housing; and a resonant circuit including a capacitor and an inductor connected together in series, the resonant circuit having a resonance frequency and electrically coupled to the electrode; a source of ionizable gas in fluid communication with the housing; and a driver network configured to generate an AC signal having an excitation frequency substantially matching the resonance frequency of the resonant circuit, wherein the driver network provides the AC signal to excite the ionizable gas flowing through the passage of the housing to a plasma. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
-
-
41. A method of generating plasma, comprising:
-
providing a fluid path for directing a flow of an ionizable gas; providing a resonant circuit including a capacitor and an inductor connected together in series, the resonant circuit having a resonance frequency, wherein the resonant circuit is coupled to a driver network configured to supply an AC signal thereto; determining an excitation frequency of the AC signal to substantially match the resonance frequency of the resonant circuit; and applying the AC signal to the resonant circuit thereby exciting the ionizable gas to form a plasma. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
-
Specification