Slotted waveguide structure for generating plasma discharges

A plasma generator, comprising:

• (a) a power supply;
• (b) a waveguide electrically connected to receive electrical power from the power supply and having a slot running along a surface of the waveguide;
• and
• (c) one or more additional power supplies, each electrically coupled to the waveguide at a different location along the waveguide to enable coupling of additional electrical power into the waveguide to enable a substantially uniform plasma discharge to be generated along the entire length of the slot, wherein:
• when the power supply supplies electrical power to the waveguide, the electrical power (1) propagates along the waveguide from a power input end towards a power output end of the waveguide in a traveling electromagnetic wave and (2) induces current within the waveguide that produces a voltage across the slot sufficient to generate a non-equilibrium plasma discharge in a working gas within a discharge region near the slot.

A plasma generator, comprising:

• (a) a power supply;
• and
• (b) a waveguide structure electrically connected to receive electrical power from the power supply and having a slot running along a surface of the waveguide structure, wherein:
• the shape of the slot varies along the length of the slot;
• and
• when the power supply supplies electrical power to the waveguide structure, the electrical power (1) propagates along the waveguide structure from a power input end towards a power output end of the waveguide structure in a traveling electromagnetic wave and (2) induces current within the waveguide structure that produces a voltage across the slot sufficient to generate a non-equilibrium plasma discharge in a working gas within a discharge region near the slot.

A plasma generator, comprising:

• (a) a power supply;
• and
• (b) a waveguide structure electrically connected to receive electrical power from the power supply and having a slot running along a surface of the waveguide structure, wherein:
• the position of the slot relative to a longitudinal axis of the waveguide structure varies along the length of the slot;
• and
• when the power supply supplies electrical power to the waveguide structure, the electrical power (1) propagates along the waveguide structure from a power input end towards a power output end of the waveguide structure in a traveling electromagnetic wave and (2) induces current within the waveguide structure that produces a voltage across the slot sufficient to generate a non-equilibrium plasma discharge in a working gas within a discharge region near the slot.

A plasma generator, comprising:

• (a) a power supply;
• and
• (b) a waveguide structure electrically connected to receive electrical power from the power supply and having a slot running along a surface of the waveguide structure, wherein:
• the waveguide structure has a rectangular cross-section;
• the waveguide structure is tapered such that the height of the rectangular cross section decrease along the length of the waveguide structure;
• and
• when the power supply supplies electrical power to the waveguide structure, the electrical power (1) propagates along the waveguide structure from a power input end towards a power output end of the waveguide structure in a traveling electromagnetic wave and (2) induces current within the waveguide structure that produces a voltage across the slot sufficient to generate a non-equilibrium plasma discharge in a working gas within a discharge region near the slot.

A plasma generator, comprising:

• (a) a power supply;
• and
• (b) a waveguide structure electrically connected to receive electrical power from the power supply and having a slot running along a surface of the waveguide structure, wherein:
• the waveguide structure has an elliptical cross-section and the shape of the waveguide structure and the shape and position of the slot provide a relatively uniform average voltage across the slot along substantially the entire length of the slot;
• and
• when the power supply supplies electrical power to the waveguide structure, the electrical power (1) propagates along the waveguide structure from a power input end towards a power output end of the waveguide structure in a traveling electromagnetic wave and (2) induces current within the waveguide structure that produces a voltage across the slot sufficient to generate a non-equilibrium plasma discharge in a working gas within a discharge region near the slot.

A plasma generator, comprising:

• (a) a power supply;
• and
• (b) a waveguide structure electrically connected to receive electrical power from the power supply and having a slot running along a surface of the waveguide structure, wherein:
• the waveguide structure is a ridged structure and the shape of the waveguide structure and the shape and position of the slot provides a relatively uniform average across the slot along substantially the entire length of the slot;
• and
• when the power supply supplies electrical power to the waveguide structure, the electrical power (1) propagates along the waveguide structure from a power input end towards a power output end of the waveguide structure in a traveling electromagnetic wave and (2) induces current within the waveguide structure that produces a voltage across the slot sufficient to generate a non-equilibrium plasma discharge in a working gas within a discharge region near the slot.

A plasma generator, comprising:

• (a) a power supply;
• and
• (b) a waveguide structure electrically connected to receive electrical power from the power supply and having a slot running along a surface of the waveguide structure, wherein:
• the waveguide structure has a circular cross-section and center conductors to maintain specific field orientation of the traveling wave;
• and
• when the power supply supplies electrical power to the waveguide structure, the electrical power (1) propagates along the waveguide structure from a power input end towards a power output end of the waveguide structure in a traveling electromagnetic wave and (2) induces current within the waveguide structure that produces a voltage across the slot sufficient to generate a non-equilibrium plasma discharge in a working gas within a discharge region near the slot.

A plasma generator, comprising:

• (a) a power supply;
• and
• (b) a waveguide structure electrically connected to receive electrical power from the power supply and having a slot running along a surface of the waveguide structure, wherein:
• two faces in the waveguide structure that define the slot are contoured to provide a controlled electric field distribution near the slot;
• and
• when the power supply supplies electrical power to the waveguide structure, the electrical power (1) propagates along the waveguide structure from a power input end towards a power output end of the waveguide structure in a traveling electromagnetic wave and (2) induces current within the waveguide structure that produces a voltage across the slot sufficient to generate a non-equilibrium plasma discharge in a working gas within a discharge region near the slot.

A plasma generator, comprising:

• (a) a power supply;
• and
• (b) a waveguide structure electrically connected to receive electrical power from the power supply and having a slot running along a surface of the waveguide structure;
• (c) an enclosure housing the waveguide structure to enable control over pressure and composition of the working gas;
• (d) a connecting waveguide structure connected between the power supply and the waveguide structure, wherein a dielectric window is positioned within the connecting waveguide structure to inhibit the flow of gas between the power supply and the enclosure to enable the power supply and the waveguide structure to operate in different gas conditions;
• (e) a circulator having a waveguide structure load and configured between the power supply and the connecting waveguide structure to protect the power supply from excessive reflections of the electrical power that may occur due to impedance mismatches by dissipating reflected electrical power within the waveguide structure load;
• (f) a triple-stub matching network and an E-H tuner configured on opposite sides of the connecting waveguide structure to provide impedance matching of the dielectric window and the waveguide structure to the power supply in order to optimize power transfer to the plasma discharge;
• and
• (g) a waveguide structure terminator configured at the power output end of the waveguide structure to inhibit reflection of the electrical power, wherein:
• when the power supply supplies electrical power to the waveguide structure, the electrical power (1) propagates along the waveguide structure from a power input end towards a power output end of the waveguide structure in a traveling electromagnetic wave and (2) induces current within the waveguide structure that produces a voltage across the slot sufficient to generate a non-equilibrium plasma discharge in a working gas within a discharge region near the slot.

A plasma generator, comprising:

• (a) a power supply;
• and
• (b) a waveguide structure electrically connected to receive electrical power from the power supply and having a slot running along a surface of the waveguide, wherein:
• the waveguide has a dielectric window positioned over the slot and partially filling an interior of the waveguide to isolate the discharge region of the slot from the rest of the waveguide;
• and
• when the power supply supplies electrical power to the waveguide structure, the electrical power (1) propagates along the waveguide structure from a power input end towards a power output end of the waveguide structure in a traveling electromagnetic wave and (2) induces current within the waveguide structure that produces a voltage across the slot sufficient to generate a non-equilibrium plasma discharge in a working gas within a discharge region near the slot.

A plasma generator, comprising:

• (a) a power supply;
• and
• (b) a waveguide structure electrically connected to receive electrical power from the power supply and having a slot running along a surface of the waveguide structure, wherein:
• when the power supply supplies electrical power to the waveguide structure, the electrical power (1) propagates along the waveguide structure from a power input end towards a power output end of the waveguide structure in a traveling electromagnetic wave and (2) induces current within the waveguide structure that produces a voltage across the slot sufficient to generate a non-equilibrium plasma discharge in a working gas within a discharge region near the slot;
• the waveguide structure has a dielectric window positioned over the slot and partially filling an interior of the waveguide structure to isolate the discharge region of the slot from the rest of the waveguide structure;
• and
• the dielectric window has one or more gas passages configured to supply the working gas directly into the discharge region.

A plasma generator, comprising:

• (a) a power supply;
• and
• (b) a waveguide structure electrically connected to receive electrical power from the power supply and having a slot running along a surface of the waveguide structure;
• (c) a rotatable treater drum electrically isolated from the waveguide structure and positioned near the slot in the waveguide structure to enable a substrate to be translated near the slot to expose at least one side of the substrate to the plasma discharge;
• and
• (d) an additional power supply is configured to apply an additional voltage between the drum and the waveguide structure to contribute to generation of the plasma discharge, wherein:
• the additional power supply is configured to provide either a low-frequency pulsed voltage or sinusoidal RF voltage between the drum and the waveguide structure to augment the plasma discharge;
• and
• when the power supply supplies electrical power to the waveguide structure, the electrical power (1) propagates along the waveguide structure from a power input end towards a power output end of the waveguide structure in a traveling electromagnetic wave and (2) induces current within the waveguide structure that produces a voltage across the slot sufficient to generate a non-equilibrium plasma discharge in a working gas within a discharge region near the slot.

A plasma generator, comprising:

• (a) a power supply;
• and
• (b) a waveguide structure electrically connected to receive electrical power from the power supply and having a slot running along a surface of the waveguide structure, wherein:
• the side of the waveguide structure near the slot has an extension mechanically separated from the rest of the waveguide structure to be capacitively coupled to the rest of the waveguide structure;
• an additional power supply is configured to apply an additional voltage between the extension and the rest of the waveguide structure to contribute to the generation of the plasma discharge;
• and
• when the power supply supplies electrical power to the waveguide structure, the electrical power (1) propagates along the waveguide structure from a power input end towards a power output end of the waveguide structure in a traveling electromagnetic wave and (2) induces current within the waveguide structure that produces a voltage across the slot sufficient to generate a non-equilibrium plasma discharge in a working gas within a discharge region near the slot.

A plasma generator, comprising:

• (a) a power supply;
• and
• (b) a waveguide structure electrically connected to receive electrical power from the power supply and having a slot running along a surface of the waveguide structure, wherein:
• the waveguide structure has two opposing slots such that a substrate can be passed through the waveguide structure in one slot and out the other slot to enable exposure of both sides of the substrate to the plasma discharge;
• and
• when the power supply supplies electrical power to the waveguide structure, the electrical power (1) propagates along the waveguide structure from a power input end towards a power output end of the waveguide structure in a traveling electromagnetic wave and (2) induces current within the waveguide structure that produces a voltage across the slot sufficient to generate a non-equilibrium plasma discharge in a working gas within a discharge region near the slot.

A method for generating plasma discharge, comprising the steps of:

• providing a working gas for a waveguide structure having a slot running along a surface of the waveguide structure;
• and
• (b) supplying electrical power from a power supply electrically connected to the waveguide structure, wherein:
• an effective electrical cross section of the waveguide structure varies along the length of the waveguide structure;
• and
• the electrical power (1) propagates along the waveguide structure from a power input end towards a power output end of the waveguide structure in a traveling wave and (2) induces current within the waveguide structure that produces a voltage across the slot sufficient to generate a non-equilibrium plasma discharge in the working gas within a discharge region near the slot.