RF plasma reactor and methods of generating RF plasma
AssigneeIsis Innovation Limited
InventorsBeatrice Maria Annaratone, John Edward Allen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A plasma reactor includes a pair of parallel plate electrodes (1,2) one of which is grounded and the other driven, mounted within a chamber (8) which is connected via a port (8a) to a control device (16) for controlling the pressure of the gas within the chamber (8). The driven electrode (1) is connected to a voltage supply which has a driving frequency of 13.56 MHz, via an amplifier (9) and a superposed higher resonance frequency via a variable frequency power generator (11). With the plasma reactor sheath resonance in the glow discharge between the electrodes (1,2) can be generated to have a standing wave and thereby ensuring a greater coupling of the power in the system.
Claims16
A method of generating a glow discharge plasma in an evacuable chamber containing a first electrode spaced apart by a separation from a second electrode, the method comprising:
- evacuating the evacuable chamber;
- supplying a gas at a pressure into the chamber;
- connecting a first RF power source having a voltage, a current and a frequency between the first and second electrodes so as to generate the glow discharge plasma with a sheath;
- and
- adjusting at least one of the pressure, the electrode separation, and the first RF power source so as to generate plasma sheath resonance having at least one voltage gradient comprising a standing wave in the glow discharge plasma and the sheath between the first and second electrodes.
A method of generating a glow discharge plasma in an evacuable chamber containing a first electrode spaced apart by a separation from a second electrode, the method comprising:
- evacuating the evacuable chamber;
- supplying a gas at a pressure into the chamber;
- connecting a first RF power source having a voltage, a current and a frequency between the first and second electrodes so as to generate the glow discharge plasma with a sheath;
- and
- adjusting at least one of the pressure and the first RF power source so as to generate at least one voltage gradient comprising a standing wave in the glow discharge plasma between the first and second electrodes.
A method of generating a glow discharge plasma in an evacuable chamber containing a first electrode spaced apart by a separation from a second electrode, the method comprising:
- evacuating the evacuable chamber;
- supplying a gas at a pressure into the chamber;
- connecting a first RF power source having a voltage, a current and a frequency between the first and second electrodes so as to generate the glow discharge plasma with a sheath;
- and
- adjusting at least one of the pressure and the first RF power source so as to generate plasma sheath resonance in the glow discharge plasma and the sheath between the first and second electrodes so as to generate at least one voltage gradient comprising a standing wave in the glow discharge plasma and the sheath.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.