Method and system for controlling radio frequency power

• US 8,912,835 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2014
• Issued: 12/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MKS Instruments Incorporated
• Original Assignee: MKS Instruments Incorporated
• Inventors: Nagarkatti, Siddarth, Tian, Feng, Lam, David, Rashid, Abdul, Benzerrouk, Souheil, Bystryak, Ilya, Menzer, David, Schuss, Jack J., Ambrosina, Jesse E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hernandez, William
• Application Number:
  US14/151,321
• Publication Number:
  US 20140306742A1
• Time in Patent Office: 341 Days
• Field of Search: 315/111.21, 327/164, 327/172, 327178-181, 438/710, 438/714
• US Class Current: 327/181
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/105 A non-specified detector of the power of a signal being used in an amplifying circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/375 Circuitry to compensate the offset being present in an amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/387 A circuit being added at the output of an amplifier to adapt the output impedance of the amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/189 High-frequency amplifiers, e.g. radio frequency amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/217 Class D power amplifiers; Switching amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/3047 for intermittent signals, e.g. burst signals
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 5/01 Shaping pulses discrimination against noise or interference H03K5/125

Abstract

A method for controlling pulsed power that includes measuring a first pulse of power from a power amplifier to obtain data. The method also includes generating a first signal to adjust a second pulse of delivered power, the first signal correlated to the data to minimize a power difference between a power set point and a substantially stable portion of the second pulse. The method also includes generating a second signal to adjust the second pulse of delivered power, the second signal correlated to the data to minimize an amplitude difference between a peak of the second pulse and the substantially stable portion of the second pulse.

Claims

1. A method of power delivery, comprising:

delivering power from a power delivery system in a continuous-wave mode to a load;

generating a signal in a feedback loop to control the delivered power, the signal correlated to a power control algorithm; and

adjusting a single variable in the power control algorithm to transition the delivered power from the continuous-wave mode to a pulsed mode.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising activating a switch in the feedback loop based on an input corresponding to the single variable, the switch in electrical communication with a power amplifier.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising filtering the signal in the feedback loop to provide a substantially stable power measurement.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing the signal as an input to a voltage source, the voltage source providing a voltage to a voltage to power converter.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the signal is a duty cycle input of the voltage source.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising calculating a power offset between a power set point and the delivered power.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising measuring the delivered power to obtain data.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising generating a second signal to adjust a shape of delivered pulsed power, the second signal correlated to the data to minimize an amplitude difference between a peak of a pulse and a substantially stable portion of the pulse.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising correlating the second signal to a time delay measured between a voltage source receiving a set point and a voltage to power converter outputting power.

10. The method of claim 7 further comprising correlating the signal to the data to minimize a power difference between a power set point and a substantially stable portion of a pulse.