Apparatus for generating high current electrical discharges
AssigneeZond, Inc.
InventorRoman Chistyakov
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A high current density plasma generator includes a chamber that contains a feed gas. An anode is positioned in the chamber. A cathode assembly is position adjacent to the anode inside the chamber. A power supply having an output is electrically connected between the anode and the cathode assembly. The power supply generates at the output an oscillating voltage that produces a plasma from the feed gas. At least one of an amplitude, frequency, rise time, and fall time of the oscillatory voltage is chosen to increase an ionization rate of the feed gas.
Claims45
A high current density plasma generator comprising:
- a chamber that contains a feed gas;
- an anode that is positioned in the chamber;
- a cathode assembly that is position adjacent to the anode inside the chamber;
- and
- a power supply having an output that is electrically connected between the anode and the cathode assembly, the power supply generating at the output an oscillating voltage waveform that generates a plasma from the feed gas, at least one of an amplitude, a frequency, a rise time, and a fall time of the oscillatory voltage being chosen to increase an ionization rate of at least one of feed gas atoms, feed gas molecules, and sputtered material.
A high current density magnetron sputtering system comprising:
- a chamber that contains a feed gas;
- an anode that is positioned in the chamber;
- a cathode assembly that is position adjacent to the anode inside the chamber, the cathode assembly including a sputtering target having target material;
- a magnet that is positioned proximate to the cathode assembly, a magnetic field generated by the magnet confining the plasma proximate to the cathode assembly;
- and
- a power supply having an output that is electrically connected between the anode and the cathode assembly, the power supply generating at the output an oscillating voltage that generates a plasma from the feed gas, at least one of an amplitude, a frequency, a rise time, and a fall time of the oscillatory voltage being chosen to increase an ionization rate of at least one of feed gas atoms, feed gas molecules and sputtered target material.
The magnetron sputtering system of 32 wherein a peak power of pulses with the oscillatory voltage waveform is in the range of about 100 W to 100,000 kW.
A method of generating a high current plasma discharge, the method comprising:
- supplying feed gas proximate to an anode and a cathode assembly;
- generating an oscillatory voltage waveform;
- applying the oscillatory voltage waveform to an anode and a cathode assembly to generate a plasma, at least one of an amplitude, a frequency, a rise time, and a fall time of the oscillatory voltage being chosen to increase an ionization rate of the feed gas.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.