Hollow cathode array and method of cleaning sheet stock therewith
AssigneeThe BOC Group, Inc.
InventorsFrank Jansen, Steven K. Krommenhoek, Abraham I. Belkind, Zoltan Orban, Jr.
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Abstract
An array of hollow cathodes can be made by mounting a housing connected to a source of plasma precursor gas and to a source of power in a vacuum chamber, said housing having a plurality of uniformly spaced openings in a wall thereof into which a plasma can be generated. A substrate to be treated is mounted parallel to and spaced a preselected distance from said openings. In operation, a plurality of plasma torches is created extending from the openings which can plasma etch and remove coatings on said substrate.
Claims14
A hollow cathode array comprising
- a vacuum chamber;
- a housing within said chamber having a plurality of uniformly spaced openings in a wall thereof, the size of the openings and the thickness of the housing wall chosen so that a plasma is generated within the housing and emitted from the housing through said openings;
- a means of supplying a plasma precursor gas to said housing;
- and
- a means of supplying sufficient power to said housing to generate a plasma within said housing.
A hollow cathode array comprising
- a vacuum chamber;
- a housing having a plurality of uniformly spaced openings in a wall thereof, the size of the openings and the thickness of the housing wall chosen so that a plasma is generated within said housing and emitted from said housing through said openings;
- a means of supplying a plasma precursor gas to said housing;
- a means of supplying sufficient power to said housing to generate a plasma within said housing, wherein said power source is an AC power source with a frequency from about 50 cycles per second to about 50 Megacycles per second;
- and
- wherein two adjacent hollow cathodes are connected to a secondary coil of an isolation transformer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.