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US 6,946,063 B1Granted
Deterioration resistant chambers for inductively coupled plasma production
AssigneeAdvanced Energy Industries, Inc.
InventorsJuan Jose Gonzalez, Steve Dillon, Andrew Shabalin, Justin Mauck, Fernando Gustavo Tomasel
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Abstract
In one aspect of the invention is a method to construct plasma chambers with improved wall resistance to deterioration. In one embodiment of the invention, a chamber is made of an aluminum alloy having low concentrations of elements that form non-soluble, intermetallic particles to address coating/substrate issues, has swaged-in cooling tubes to reduce thermal stress by improving thermal resistance, and has a plurality of dielectric gaps to decrease ion bombardment.
Claims30
A plasma chamber, comprising:
- a first housing portion;
- a second housing portion mated to the first housing portion;
- a plurality of dielectric breaks between the first housing portion and the second housing portion;
- a first transformer located on a region of the chamber next to a first one of the plurality of dielectric breaks;
- and
- a second transformer located on a region of the chamber next to a second one of the plurality of dielectric breaks.
3 more elements
A plasma chamber, comprising:
- a first housing portion that is made with an aluminum alloy having low concentrations of elements that form non-soluble intermetallic particles;
- a second housing portion mated to the first housing portion that is made with an aluminum alloy having low concentrations of elements that form non-soluble intermetallic particles selected in a group consisting of iron, manganese, silicon, and chromium;
- a plurality of dielectric breaks between the first housing portion and the second housing portion, wherein each dielectric break comprises:
- a gap formed between a first housing portion and a second housing portion of the plasma chamber;
- a protective shield located between the first housing and the second housing at the gap;
- a vacuum seal located between the first housing and second housing, the vacuum seal to create a closure between the first housing and the second housing when they are mated;
- and
- a spacer located between the first housing and the second housing, the spacer to set a compression for the vacuum seal;
- at least one transformer;
- and
- a section of the chamber having:
- a first surface having a first outer point and a second inner point;
- a second surface having a third inner point and a fourth outer point;
- a groove located between the first and second surfaces, the groove having an inner surface that extends into the metal component, and that begins at the second inner point and ends at the third inner point;
- a first ridge that extends in a positive, vertical direction from around the second inner point and from a fifth point located between the first outer point and the second inner point, the first ridge having a height measured from the first surface;
- and
- a second ridge that extends in a positive, vertical direction from around the third inner point and from a sixth point located between the fourth outer point and the third inner point, the second ridge having a height measured from the second surface.
14 more elements
A plasma chamber, comprising:
- a first housing portion that is made with an aluminum alloy having low concentrations of elements that form non-soluble intermetallic particles;
- a second housing portion mated to the first housing portion that is made with an aluminum alloy having low concentrations of elements that form non-soluble intermetallic particles selected in a group consisting of iron, manganese, silicon, and chromium;
- a plurality of dielectric breaks between the first housing portion and the second housing portion;
- and
- at least one transformer.
2 more elements
A plasma chamber, comprising:
- a first housing portion;
- a second housing portion mated to the first housing portion;
- a section of the chamber having;
- a first surface having a first outer point and a second inner point;
- a second surface having a third inner point and a fourth outer point;
- a groove located between the first and second surfaces, the groove having an inner surface that extends into the metal component and that begins at the second inner point and ends at the third inner point;
- a first ridge that extends in a positive, vertical direction from around the second inner point and from a fifth point located between the first outer point and the second inner point, the first ridge having a height measured from the first surface;
- and
- a second ridge that extends in a positive, vertical direction from around the third inner point and from a sixth point located between the fourth outer point and the third inner point, the second ridge having a height measured from the second surface;
- a plurality of dielectric breaks between the first housing portion and the second housing portion, wherein each dielectric break comprises:
- a gap formed between a first housing portion and a second housing portion of the plasma chamber;
- a protective shield located between the first housing and the second housing at the gap;
- a vacuum seal located between the first housing and second housing, the vacuum seal to create a closure between the first housing and the second housing when they are mated;
- and
- a spacer located between the first housing and the second housing, the spacer to set a compression for the vacuum seal;
- and
- at least one transformer.
14 more elements
A plasma chamber, comprising:
- a fist housing portion;
- a second housing portion mated to the first housing portion;
- and
- a plurality of dielectric breaks between the first housing portion and the second housing portion, each dielectric break including a gap formed between the first housing portion and the second housing portion of the plasma chamber, a protective shield located between the first housing and the second housing at the gap, a vacuum seal located between the first housing and second housing, the vacuum seal to create a closure between the first housing and the second housing when they are mated, and a spacer located between the first housing and the second housing, the spacer to set a compression for the vacuum seal.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.