Arc management with voltage reversal and improved recovery

An apparatus for arc handling, comprising:

• a positive rail and a negative rail that are disposed to form an electrical link between a plasma chamber and a positive output and a negative output, respectively, of a power supply;
• an arc detection component to detect an occurrence of an arc in the power supply;
• a voltage reversal component coupled across the positive rail and the negative rail, the voltage reversal component including:
• an energy storage component disposed between a first and second switches, the first switch is coupled to the positive rail and a first terminal of the energy storage component and the second switch is coupled between the negative rail and a second terminal of the energy storage component,
• a control component that is coupled to the arc detection component and the first and second switches of the voltage reversal component, the control component closes the first and second switches when an arc is detected to apply a negative potential of the energy storage component to the positive rail and a positive potential of the energy storage component to the negative rail, the control component then opens one of the first and second switches when the arc is extinguished before opening both the first and second switches.