RF power delivery to vacuum plasma processing
AssigneeEvatec AG
InventorsStefan Rhyner, Martin Bless
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Rf power is supplied to a vacuum processing module in that in the plasma processing module a time invariant impedance transform is performed by an impedance transform network in the plasma processing module and a time variable matching is performed by a matchbox connected to the impedance transform network. The impedance transform network includes an inductive element of a hollow conductor. A cooling medium is flown through the hollow conductor of the impedance transform network as well as through a part of the plasma processing module to be cooled and not being part of the impedance transform network at the plasma processing module.
Claims25
A method of RF power delivering from a RF supply generator to at least one vacuum plasma processing module, comprising time varying matching the output impedance of said RF supply generator to the input impedance of said vacuum plasma processing module by
- a) Providing in said vacuum plasma processing module an impedance transform network and performing by said impedance transform network a time invariant impedance transform of said input impedance of said vacuum plasma processing module to an input impedance to said impedance transform network;
- b) Performing time variable matching of said output impedance of said RF supply generator to said input impedance of said impedance transform network by a matchbox operationally connected to said impedance transform network;
- c) providing at least a part of at least one inductive element of said impedance transform network by a hollow conductor and flowing a cooling medium through said hollow conductor and through a cooling arrangement of a part of said vacuum plasma processing module not being a part of said impedance transform network.
A RF vacuum plasma processing module comprising a time invariant impedance transform network between an RF supply input and at least one of a plasma discharge electrode and of a RF biased electrode for said vacuum plasma processing, said time invariant impedance transform network comprising at least one inductive element at least a part thereof being realized as a hollow conductor, said hollow conductor being flow-connectable or flow-connected to at least one of a flow source and of a flow-drain for a cooling fluid, said hollow conductor being in cooling fluid flow communication with a cooling arrangement for a part of said vacuum plasma processing module which is not part of said time invariant impedance transform network.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.