Inter-period control system for plasma power delivery system and method of operating the same

• US 10,861,677 B2
• Filed: 07/05/2018
• Issued: 12/08/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Advanced Energy Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Advanced Energy Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: Van Zyl, Gideon Johannes Jacobus
• Primary Examiner(s): Johnson, Amy Cohen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sathiraju, Srinivas
• Application Number:
  US16/028,131
• Publication Number:
  US 20190013182A1
• Time in Patent Office: 887 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32045 Circuits specially adapted for controlling the glow discharge
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32128 using particular waveforms, e.g. polarised waves
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32146 Amplitude modulation, includes pulsing
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32174 Circuits specially adapted for controlling the RF discharge
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32183 Matching circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/40 Automatic matching of load impedance to source impedance

Abstract

A generator produces output such as delivered power, voltage, current, forward power etc. that follows a prescribed pattern of output versus time where the pattern repeats with a repetition period by controlling sections of the pattern based on measurements taken one or more repetition periods in the past. A variable impedance match network may control the impedance presented to a radio frequency generator while the generator produces the output that follows the prescribed pattern of output versus time where the pattern repeats with a repetition period by controlling variable impedance elements in the match during sections of the pattern based on measurements taken one or more repetition periods in the past.

Claims

1. A power delivery system comprising:

a generator that produces a power signal comprising a periodic repeating pattern of values, the pattern of values produced over a period of time comprising a period of the power signal; and

a control element controlling, based on a measurement of a value of the periodic repeating pattern taken in a period of the power signal prior to a current period of the power signal and a plurality of correlations between elements of multi-dimensional control input values to elements of multi-dimensional output values, the periodic repeating pattern.

2. The power delivery system of claim 1 wherein:

the control element further controlling the periodic repeating pattern based on the measurement of the periodic repeating pattern taken in a period prior to the current period combined with a measurement of a value of the periodic repeating pattern during a current period.

3. The power delivery system of claim 1 wherein the periodic repeating pattern follows a prescribed pattern of output versus time wherein the prescribed pattern repeats with a repetition period, and wherein the measurement of the value of the periodic repeating pattern taken in a period prior to the current period occurs one or more repetition periods in the past.

4. The power delivery system of claim 3 where in a correlation between the elements of the multi-dimensional control input values for a specific time period in the periodic repeating pattern and the elements of the multi-dimensional output values for the same specific time period is determined and used by the control element.

5. The power delivery system of claim 4 where the correlation between the elements of the multi-dimensional control input values and the elements of the multi-dimensional output values is determined by perturbing the control input and observing a response to the perturbation.

6. The power delivery system of claim 4 where in the correlation between the elements of the multi-dimensional control input values for a specific time period in the periodic repeating pattern and time periods adjacent to the specific time period and the elements of the multi-dimensional output values for the specific time period is determined and used by the control element.

7. The power delivery system of claim 6 where the correlation between the elements of the multi-dimensional control input values and the elements of the multi-dimensional output values is determined by perturbing the control input and observing response to the perturbation.

8. The power delivery system of claim 6 where one element of the periodic repeating pattern is one of voltage, current and power or combinations thereof and another element of the periodic repeating pattern is one of impedance presented to the generator and source impedance of the generator.

9. The power delivery system of claim 4 where one element of the periodic repeating pattern is one of voltage, current and power or combinations thereof and another element of the periodic repeating pattern is one of impedance presented to the generator and source impedance of the generator.

10. The power delivery system of claim 1 wherein the generator is one of a single radio frequency generator or a direct current generator, and the periodic repeating pattern is at least one of voltage, current and power.

11. The power delivery system of claim 1 wherein the generator comprises a plurality of radio frequency generators, or a plurality of direct current generators, or a combination of radio frequency generators and direct current generators, and the periodic repeating pattern is at least one of voltage, current and power delivered to a plasma system.

12. The power delivery system of claim 1, further comprising a plant that receives the multi-dimensional control input values and produces the multi-dimensional output values, wherein the elements of multi-dimensional output values comprise measured output power and the impedance presented to the plant.

13. The power delivery system of claim 12, wherein the elements of multi-dimensional input values comprise a power control value and a frequency value of a power signal to the plant.

14. The power delivery system of claim 13, wherein the plurality of correlations between elements of multi-dimensional control input values to elements of multi-dimensional output values is stored as a correlation matrix.

15. A power delivery system comprising:

a control system in communication with a memory, the control system to produce an output signal that follows a prescribed pattern over a period of time comprising a period of the output, wherein the prescribed pattern repeats with a repetition period by controlling, based on measurements of an output taken from one or more previous repetition periods of the prescribed pattern and a plurality of correlations between elements of multi-dimensional control input values to elements of multi-dimensional output values stored in the memory, the repetitions of the prescribed pattern.

16. The power delivery system of claim 15, wherein the control system combines measurements taken from one or more previous repetition periods with measurements taken from a current repetition period.

17. The power delivery system of claim 15, wherein a correlation between a plurality of control input elements of the multi-dimensional control input values at one instant of time relative to a start of the repetition period of the prescribed pattern and a plurality of output elements of the multi-dimensional output values at the same instant of time relative to the start of the repetition period is determined and used by the control system.

18. The power delivery system of claim 17, wherein the correlation between the control input elements of the multi-dimensional control input values and the output elements of the multi-dimensional output values is determined by perturbing the control input and measuring a response to the perturbation.

19. The power delivery system of claim 17, wherein the correlation between the plurality of control input elements of the multi-dimensional control input values at one instant of time relative to the start of the repetition period and at instances of time adjacent to the one instant of time and the output elements of the multi-dimensional output values at the one instant of time relative to the start of the repetition period is determined and used by the control system.

20. The power delivery system of claim 19, wherein the correlation between the control input elements of the multi-dimensional control input values and the output elements of the multi-dimensional output values is determined by perturbing the control input and measuring a response to the perturbation.

21. The power delivery system of claim 19, wherein one output element of the output comprises at least one of a voltage, a current, and a power level, wherein another output element of the output comprises at least one of a load impedance presented to a generator and a source impedance of the generator.

22. The power delivery system of claim 17, wherein one of the output elements of the output comprises at least one of a voltage, a current, and a power, wherein another output element of the output comprises at least one of a load impedance presented to a generator and a source impedance of the generator.

23. The power delivery system of claim 15, wherein the power delivery system comprises a single radio frequency (RF) or direct current (DC) generator and an element of the output comprises at least one of a voltage, a current, and a power level delivered to a plasma system.

24. The power delivery system of claim 15, wherein the power delivery system further comprising comprises a plurality of generators each comprising a RF generator, a DC generator, or a combination of RF and DC generators and an element of each of an output of the plurality of generators comprises at least one of a voltage, a current, and a power level.

25. A power delivery system comprising:

a controller to produce an output, the controller being subjected to a periodic disturbance, wherein the periodic disturbance repeats with a repetition period controlling the output signal based on a measurement of a value of the output signal taken one or more repetition periods in the past and a plurality of stored correlations between elements of multi-dimensional control input values to elements of multi-dimensional output values.

26. The power delivery system of claim 25, wherein the power delivery system receives a signal that is synchronized with the periodic disturbance.

27. A plasma power delivery system comprising:

an impedance matching network that matches a load impedance to a desired impedance in which the load impedance is subject to a periodic modulation pattern of values that repeats with a repetition period; and

a control element operably associated with the impedance matching network, the control element controlling, based on a measurement of a value of the load impedance taken one or more repetition periods of the periodic modulation pattern in the past and a plurality of correlations between elements of multi-dimensional control input values to elements of multi-dimensional output values, a variable impedance element in the impedance matching network.

28. The plasma power delivery system of claim 27 wherein the control element controls the variable impedance element in the impedance matching network based on the measurement of the value of the load impedance taken one or more repetition periods of the periodic modulation pattern in the past combined with a measurement of a value of the load impedance taken less than a repetition period of the periodic modulation pattern in the past.