Patent ID: 6432260
Filing Date: 2002-08-13
Classification: H01J

Abstract:
An apparatus for plasma assisted processing of materials, comprising:a metal hollow chamber defining a vacuum chamber in communication with a metal processing chamber for plasma assisted processing of a work piece mounted on a platform positioned therein; a dielectric break between the hollow metal vacuum chamber and the metal processing chamber; an electrical transformer which is disposed about the hollow metal vacuum chamber and metal processing chamber having a primary coil so as to induce an electrical field in the vacuum chamber; a gas input for delivering a gas into the vacuum chamber for processing the work piece; a gas output for exhausting gases from the vacuum chamber; an AC power source connected to the primary winding of the electrical transformer for supplying power to the vacuum chamber to sustain a closed path plasma current that acts as the single-turn secondary current to the transformer and that flows within the vacuum chamber and extends into the metal processing chamber to form a plasma within the metal processing chamber; and the AC power source is connected to an impedance matching circuit to match the impedance range of the transformer to the output impedance range of the ac power source wherein the impedance matching network electrically translates the electrically complex load impedance range of the transformer to an electrically resistive range of impedances at the terminals of the ac power supply to minimize switching losses.