US 7,271,363 B2 · Portable microwave plasma systems including a supply line for gas and microwaves

Abstract

Portable microwave plasma systems including supply lines for providing microwaves and gas flow are disclosed. The supply line includes at least one gas line or conduit and a microwave coaxial cable. A portable microwave plasma system includes a microwave source, a waveguide-to-coax adapter and a waveguide that interconnects the microwave source with the waveguide-to-coax adapter, a portable discharge unit and the supply line. The portable discharge unit includes a gas flow tube coupled to the supply line to receive gas flow and a rod-shaped conductor that is axially disposed in the gas flow tube and has an end configured to receive microwaves from the microwave coaxial cable and a tapered tip positioned adjacent the outlet portion of the gas flow tube. The tapered tip is configured to focus microwave traveling through the rod-shaped conductor and generate plasma from the gas flow.

Claims49

Dependent claims

A supply unit for use with a portable unit including:

a gas flow tube made of a conducting material and adapted to direct a gas flow therethrough and having an outlet portion and an inlet portion;
a rod-shaped conductor disposed in said gas flow tube and having a rear end and front end, said front end positioned adjacent said outlet portion, and configured to focus microwaves traveling through said rod-shaped conductor, said rod-shaped conductor extending along an axis of said gas flow tube;
a connector disposed around the rear end of said rod-shaped conductor and connected with said gas flow tube, said connector being made of a conducting material;
said supply unit comprising:
a microwave coaxial cable for transmitting microwaves, said microwave coaxial cable including:
a core conductor and
a ground conductor around said core conductor by way of a dielectric layer,
a leading end of said microwave coaxial cable being engageable with said connector in a state that
a leading end of said core conductor is connected with the rear end of said rod-shaped conductor, that is provided in said gas flow tube, in such a manner that said rod-shaped conductor is co-axially provided with said core conductor, and
a leading end of said ground conductor is connected with said connector so that said gas flow tube is grounded via the connector to said ground conductor;
at least one gas line for transmitting a flow of gas, said gas line being connectable with said gas flow tube;
and
an attachment member for positioning said at least one gas line at a predetermined position relative to said microwave coaxial cable.

10 more elements

A supply line for use with a portable unit including:

a gas flow tube made of a conducting material and adapted to direct a gas flow therethrough and having an outlet portion and an inlet portion;
a rod-shaped conductor disposed in said gas flow tube and having a rear end and a front end, said front end positioned adjacent said outlet portion, and configured to focus microwaves traveling through said rod-shaped conductor, said rod-shaped conductor extending along an axis of said gas flow tube;
a connector disposed around the rear end of said rod-shaped conductor and connected with said gas flow tube, said connector being made of a conducting material;
said supply line comprising:
a positioning jacket forming a gas flow channel, said gas flow channel being connectable with said gas flow tube;
a microwave coaxial cable axially disposed within said positioning jacket and configured to transmit microwave, said microwave coaxial cable including a core conductor and a ground conductor around said core conductor by way of a dielectric layer,
a leading end of said microwave coaxial cable being engageable with said connector in a state that
a leading end of said core conductor is connected with the rear end of said rod-shaped conductor, that is provided in said gas flow tube, in such a manner that said rod-shaped conductor is co-axially provided with said core conductor, and
a leading end of said ground conductor is connected with said connector so that said gas flow tube is grounded via the connector to said ground conductor;
and
a plurality of centering disks interposed between said positioning jacket and said microwave coaxial cable, each of said plurality of centering disks having an outer rim for engaging said positioning jacket, an inner rim for holding said microwave coaxial cable and a plurality of spokes interconnecting said inner rim with said outer rim.

8 more elements

A supply unit for use with a portable unit including:

a gas flow tube made of a conducting material and adapted to direct a gas flow therethrough and having an outlet portion and an inlet portion;
a rod-shaped conductor disposed in said gas flow tube and having a rear end and a front end, said front end positioned adjacent said outlet portion, and configured to focus microwaves traveling through said rod-shaped conductor, said rod-shaped conductor extending along an axis of said gas flow tube;
a connector disposed around the rear end of said rod-shaped conductor and connected with said gas flow tube, said connector being made of a conducting material;
said supply unit comprising:
a microwave coaxial cable including:
a core conductor and
a ground conductor around said core conductor by way of a dielectric layer,
a leading end of said microwave coaxial cable being engageable with said connector in a state that
a leading end of said core conductor is connected with the rear end of said rod-shaped conductor, that is provided in said gas flow tube, in such a manner that said rod-shaped conductor being co-axially provided with said core conductor via a mating connector which concentrically holds said rear end of the rod-shaped conductor and said leading end of said core conductor, and
a leading end of said ground conductor is connected with said connector so that said gas flow tube is grounded via the connector to said ground conductor;
at least one gas line for transmitting a flow of gas, said gas line being connectable with said gas flow tube;
and
an attachment member for positioning said at least one gas line at a predetermined position relative to said microwave coaxial cable.

10 more elements

A microwave plasma system, comprising:

a supply line including:
at least one gas line adapted to direct a flow of gas therethrough;
and
a microwave coaxial cable configured to transmit microwaves, and including a core conductor and a ground conductor around said core conductor by way of a dielectric layer;
a tube unit including:
a gas flow tube made of a conducting material and adapted to direct a gas flow therethrough and having an outlet portion and said gas flow tube being configured to couple to said supply line to receive the gas flow therefrom;
and
a rod-shaped conductor disposed in said gas flow tube and extending along an axis of said gas flow tube, and having a rear end configured to receive microwaves from said microwave coaxial cable and a front end positioned adjacent said outlet portion and configured to focus microwaves traveling through said rod-shaped conductor;
and
a connector disposed around the rear end of said rod-shaped conductor and connected with said gas flow tube, said connector being made of a conducting material, said connector allowing said core conductor to connect with the rear end of said rod-shaped conductor in a state of connecting with said ground conductor;
and
a leading end of said microwave coaxial cable being engageable with said connector in a state that
a leading end of said core conductor is connected with the rear end of said rod-shaped conductor, that is provided in said gas flow tube, in such a manner that said rod-shaped conductor is co-axially provided with said core conductor, and
a leading end of said ground conductor is connected with said connector so that said gas flow tube is grounded via the connector to said ground conductor.

11 more elements

A microwave plasma system, comprising:

a supply line including:
at least one gas line adapted to direct a flow of gas therethrough;
and
a microwave coaxial cable having a core conductor and a ground conductor around said core conductor by way of a dielectric layer, and configured to transmit microwaves;
a tube unit including:
a gas flow tube made of a conducting material and adapted to direct a gas flow therethrough and having an outlet portion and an inlet portion;
a rod-shaped conductor axially disposed in said gas flow tube and extending along an axis of said gas flow tube, said rod-shaped conductor having a rear end configured to receive microwaves and a front end positioned adjacent to said outlet portion and configured to focus microwaves traveling through said rod-shaped conductor;
and
an interface portion including:
a gas flow duct made of a conducting material and having an outlet portion configured to operatively couple to said gas flow tube and said gas flow duct being operatively coupled to said supply line;
and
a conductor segment axially disposed within said gas flow duct, said conductor segment being configured to interconnect said rear end of said rod-shaped conductor with said core conductor:
and
a connector disposed around an end of said conductor segment and connected with said gas flow duct, said connector being made of a conducting material, said connector allowing said core conductor to connect with an end of said conductor segment in a state of connecting with said ground conductor;
and
a leading end of said microwave coaxial cable being engageable with said connector in a state that
a leading end of said core conductor is connected with the rear end of said rod-shaped conductor, that is provided in said gas flow tube, in such a manner that said rod-shaped conductor is co-axially provided with said core conductor, and
a leading end of said ground conductor is connected with said connector so that said gas flow tube is grounded via the connector to said ground conductor.

15 more elements

A microwave plasma system, comprising:

a microwave source;
a waveguide-to-coax adapter having an inlet and a microwave coaxial outlet connector;
a waveguide interconnecting said microwave source with said inlet of said waveguide-to-coax adapter;
a supply line including:
at least one gas line adapted to direct a flow of gas therethrough;
and
a microwave coaxial cable having a first end and a second end configured to connect to said microwave coaxial outlet connector, said microwave coaxial cable having a core conductor and a ground conductor around said core conductor by way of a dielectric layer;
a gas flow tube made of a conducting material and adapted to direct a gas flow therethrough and having an outlet portion and said gas flow tube being configured to couple to said supply line to receive the gas flow therefrom;
and
a rod-shaped conductor axially disposed in said gas flow tube and extending along an axis of said gas flow tube, said rod-shaped conductor having a rear end configured to receive microwaves from said first end of said microwave coaxial cable and a front end positioned adjacent said outlet portion of said gas flow tube and configured to focus microwave traveling through said rod-shaped conductor;
and
a connector disposed around the rear end of said rod-shaped conductor and connected with said gas flow tube, said connector being made of a conducting material, said connector allowing said core conductor to connect with the rear end of said rod-shaped conductor in a state of connecting with said ground conductor;
and
a leading end of said microwave coaxial cable being engageable with said connector in a state that
a leading end of said core conductor is connected with the rear end of said rod-shaped conductor, that is provided in said gas flow tube, in such a manner that said rod-shaped conductor is co-axially provided with said core conductor, and
a leading end of said ground conductor is connected with said connector so that said gas flow tube is grounded via the connector to said ground conductor.

13 more elements

A microwave plasma system, comprising:

a microwave source;
a waveguide-to-coax adapter having an inlet and a microwave coaxial outlet connector;
a waveguide interconnecting said microwave source with said inlet of said waveguide-to-coax adapter;
a supply line including:
at least one gas line adapted to direct a flow of gas therethrough;
and
a microwave coaxial cable having a core conductor configured to transmit microwave and a ground conductor around said core conductor by way of a dielectric layer, and having one end connector configured to connect to said microwave coaxial outlet connector;
a gas flow tube made of a conducting material and adapted to direct a gas flow therethrough and having an outlet portion and an inlet portion;
a rod-shaped conductor axially disposed in said gas flow tube and extending along an axis of said gas flow tube, said rod-shaped conductor having a rear end configured to receive microwaves from the other end of said microwave coaxial cable and a front end positioned adjacent said outlet portion of said gas flow tube and configured to focus microwave traveling through said rod-shaped conductor;
and
an interface portion including:
a gas flow duct made of a conducting material and having an outlet portion configured to operatively couple to said gas flow tube and said gas flow duct being operatively coupled to said supply line;
and
a conductor segment axially disposed within said gas flow duct, said conductor segment being configured to interconnect said rear end of said rod-shaped conductor with said core conductor:
and
a connector disposed around an end of said conductor segment and connected with said gas flow duct, said connector being made of a conducting material, said connector allowing said core conductor to connect with an end of said conductor segment in a state of connecting with said ground conductor;
and
a leading end of said microwave coaxial cable being engageable with said connector in a state that
a leading end of said core conductor is connected with the rear end of said rod-shaped conductor, that is provided in said gas flow tube, in such a manner that said rod-shaped conductor is co-axially provided with said core conductor, and
a leading end of said ground conductor is connected with said connector so that said gas flow tube is grounded via the connector to said ground conductor.

17 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Portable microwave plasma systems including a supply line for gas and microwaves

Life of this patent

Portable microwave plasma systems including a supply line for gas and microwaves

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims49