Abstract:
The invention concerns a system including a microwave generator and a rectangular guide connected with the generator. The system is adapted to operate in fundamental (H 10 ) or transverse electrical (TE 10 ) mode, and associated with means providing a standing wave pattern. The system also includes many power connectors arranged in the guide at zones of maximum amplitude for one of the components of the electromagnetic field for splitting the generator power. The power connectors are adjusted so that the sum of their reduced admittance levels brought to the splitter input formed by the guide is in a single unit and many sources, respectively connected to a connector of the guide, via insulating means ensuring a power transmission of the connector to the source without reflecting towards the connector and a device adapting impedance of each source, located downstream of the insulating means, between the latter and associated source.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     The present invention relates to the field of microwave devices. 
     More specifically, the present invention relates to the field of devices comprising several individual microwave sources supplied from a common generator. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     The present invention may especially find applications in the production of a plasma from a given number of individual plasma sources supplied with microwave power from a single power generator. 
     These individual sources may either be independent in the same chamber (the objective being, for example, to overcome the physical or technological limits on the maximum microwave power that it is possible to apply to a single plasma source) or be distributed in the same chamber so as to allow the extension of scale needed for an intended application. In general, the fields of application of multiple plasma sources may cover not only all the fields already covered by the use of single plasma sources, but also novel fields that cannot be envisioned with unitary sources (for example for reasons of uniformity, rates, etc.). 
     The invention relates to all microwave plasmas and discharges, whatever the pressure range, the microwave frequency, the nature or the configuration of the microwave applicator and the presence or absence of a magnetic field. 
     However, the invention is not limited to the field of plasmas. It may, for example, also be applied for bonding, drying or curing operations using multiple stations and more generally for any operation in which the impedance of the system may vary over time from one station to another. 
     The microwave field has already been the subject of extensive research. 
     Several proposals have already been made to supply several individual sources from a common generator. 
     To divide the microwave power delivered by a single generator, it is possible to use cascades of 3 dB couplers (division by 2) which are formed, for example, from rectangular waveguides. This solution, although often requiring a very large amount of space, makes it possible to produce power divisions by N=2 k , where k represents the number of successive levels of the cascade. Thus, the microwave power may be divided by 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc. A matched coax/waveguide transition at the end of each waveguide furthermore allows the microwave power to be transported by means of coaxial cables fitted with standard connectors. 
     Another widely used solution is to take off microwave power either into a cavity, or into a waveguide, or into a ring resonator, in which cavity, waveguide or ring resonator standing waves are created, by antennas placed at the electric field antinodes (regions of maximum electric field. This solution assumes in general that each individual plasma source behaves as a matched impedance, in other words that it absorbs all of the microwave power taken off. With such a device, it is then possible to deliver a predetermined microwave power to each individual source. 
     However, the devices proposed hitherto are not completely satisfactory. 
     One of the difficulties of dividing microwave power for the purpose of supplying plasma sources is that, as a general rule, a plasma source does not behave as a matched load. This is because the impedance taken back to the input of a plasma source, resulting from the combination of the input impedance of the applicator and of the impedance of the plasma taken back to this input, does not generally correspond to a matched load, that is to say a purely resistive load equal to the characteristic impedance of the microwave supply line. On the contrary, one may be faced, depending of the type of discharge, the discharge conditions and the absorbed power, with complex impedance values at the input of the plasma source, values which vary from zero to infinity. 
     In the case of several plasma sources fed by the same microwave generator, there is also the problem of the influence of the impedance of a source on all of the other sources in the absence of sufficient decoupling (typically&gt;20 dB) between the supply lines for the various microwave sources. 
     Thus, immediately after ignition, the input impedance of the source is generally much higher than that corresponding when the discharge is in the steady state. Apart from this variation in impedance for a given source at the moment of ignition, the power distribution is also affected by the various plasma sources not being ignited simultaneously. Consequently, when turning on a number of plasma sources one is necessarily confronted with significant imbalances in the power transmitted to the plasma sources and with the introduction of considerable reflected power into the circuit. 
     These imbalances, which cause very high reflected power levels, may prevent the plasma from being turned on in the sources requiring a minimum plasma density, and hence a minimum transmitted power, such as for example in surface wave plasmas. 
     Another difficulty involving impedance imbalance arises in the case of plasmas whose plasma density is, on the contrary, limited to an upper value, for example the critical density, as in plasmas using distributed electron cyclotron resonance. In this case, the entire incident power greater than the value ensuring the critical density is reflected at the input of the source and sent back into the microwave distribution circuit. 
     Furthermore, impedance imbalances may also be encountered during operation, for example should one of the sources fail, or after an intentional or unintentional variation in the operating conditions (composition of the gas, flow rate, pressure, density of the plasma, radio frequency bias, etc.) during multisequence processes. 
     Finally, in the case of several plasma sources operating in the same chamber, the interference between applicators also results in reflected power levels which may disturb the desired power distribution. 
     Thus, the conventional solutions for microwave power division are either excessively bulky (cascades of 3 dB couplers) or allow only division by prescribed numbers n=2 k , or require a matched impedance, which is not the case with a plasma source. 
     SUMMARY 
     The objective of the present invention is to improve the microwave systems comprising several individual sources fed from a common generator, so as to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art. 
     This objective is achieved within the context of the present invention by means of a system comprising: 
     a microwave generator; 
     a rectangular waveguide coupled to the generator, matched in order to operate in the fundamental mode (H 10 ) or in the transverse electric mode (TE 10 ), and combined with means ensuring standing wave conditions; 
     a plurality of power output ports placed in the waveguide in the regions of maximum amplitude of one of the components of the electromagnetic field in order to provide power division for the generator, the power output ports being adjusted in such a way that the sum of their reduced admittances brought back to the input of the divider formed by the rectangular waveguide is unitary and 
     a plurality of sources which are coupled respectively to an output port by the agency 
     of an isolator means ensuring power transmission from the output port to the source, without being reflected back to the output port, and 
     of a device for matching the impedance of each source, said device being located downstream of the isolator means, between the latter and the associated source. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Further features, objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent on reading the detailed description which follows and in conjunction with the appended drawings given by way of nonlimiting examples, in which, 
     FIG. 1 shows the change in the reduced conductance of an antenna, brought back to the input of the waveguide, as a function of the length of this antenna in the waveguide; 
     FIGS. 2 and 3 show cross-sectional views of a waveguide and illustrate two alternative forms of output ports or antennas on the latter; 
     FIG. 4 shows an overall schematic view of a device according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a guide corresponding to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As indicated above, the present invention makes use of the combination of three elements, the first,  100 , of which ensures the required power division (preferably, but not necessarily, equidistribution according to the requirements), the second,  200 , ensures independent power transmission, with no reflection, at each source  400 , whatever the input impedance presented by each of these sources  400 , and a third,  300 , an impedance matching device on each source  400  ensures that the power thus available is more or less completely absorbed (for example in the plasma) according to the requirements. 
     More precisely within the context of the invention, the power divider  100  is obtained from a rectangular waveguide  110  from which power is tapped off, generally in the long side  112  of the waveguide, at points  114  separated by one half of the wavelength in the waveguide, i.e. λ g /2. 
     This wavelength λ g  satisfies the equation: 
     
       
         1/λ g   2 =1/λ 0   2 −1/(2 a ) 2   (1) 
       
     
     where a is the width of the long side  112  of the rectangular waveguide  110  and λ 0  is the wavelength in vacuo of the microwaves. 
     To provide the required power division, it is possible, for example, to create a standing wave of constant amplitude by means of a reflecting plane  130  (a fixed or movable short-circuit) located as that end of the waveguide  110  on the opposite side from the microwave power feed coming from the generator  10 . Meeting this constant-amplitude standing wave condition means that the waveguide  110  allows the propagation of only a single mode. 
     Thus, within the context of the present invention, the waveguide  110  is designed to operate in the fundamental mode H 10  or the transverse electric mode TE 10 . 
     In the case of a power take-off by means of an electrical antenna, it is advisable for the antennas  116  to be preferably placed at the maximum of the electric field intensity. 
     In the case of a take-off by means of a magnetic antenna  116  (a loop), it is necessary on the contrary, to place these antennas  116  at the electric field intensity minimum (magnetic field maximum). 
     To ensure that the total impedance presented at the input of the power division device  100  is equal to the characteristic impedance of the waveguide  110  (unitary reduced impedance), it is necessary for the sum of the reduced admittances (in the case of electric coupling) of all of the antennas  116 , brought back to the input of the divider  100 , to be unitary. To achieve this result, it is necessary either to adjust the depth of penetration of the electrical antenna  116  into the waveguide  110  or to displace the position of the antennas  116  transversely with respect to the axis of the waveguide  110 , or else to combine these two options. The magnetic coupling case may be treated in an equivalent manner. 
     As an example, in the case of the microwave power split equally N ways using electrical coupling, the reduced conductance (real part of the impedance) (with respect to the characteristic impedance) of an antenna  116 , taken back to the input of the waveguide, is given by the expression: 
     
       
           g =1 /N   (2) 
       
     
     For a given shape and a given diameter, the length of the antenna  116  must therefore be adjusted so as to obtain the impedance corresponding to the desired N-way power division. 
     An example of the change in conductance as a function of the length of the antenna  116  is shown in FIG. 1 (for an antenna 3 mm in diameter with, at the end, a head 5 mm in diameter and 2 mm in thickness) for antennas placed along the axis of one of the long sides  112  of the waveguide  110 . 
     In order to reduce the length of the device  100  which, in the configuration described above is equal to Nλ g /2, an alternative form of the invention consists in placing two antennas  116  on either side of the axis of the long side  112  of the waveguide  110  every λ g /2, as in the first configuration presented. If g 0  is the conductance of an antenna  116  on the axis, its value g at a distance d from the axis of the long side  112  of the waveguide  110  is given by: 
     
       
           g=g   0  cos 2 (π d/a )  (3) 
       
     
     In order to reduce the length of the device  100  further, another complementary alternative form of the invention consists in placing pairs of antennas  116 , as in the previous configuration, opposite one another, each pair on the two faces of the long sides  112  of the waveguide  110 , as shown schematically in FIG.  3 . However, this option is limited, in terms of the achievable conductance, by the fact that the facing antennas  116  must neither touch each other, nor be too close to each other: the interaction between facing antennas  116  results in an increase in the conductance of each antenna  116 . 
     Apart from the configuration presented above, based on a rectangular waveguide  110  with a reflecting plane  130 , it is possible to insert just part of the rectangular waveguide  110  with its antennas  116  into a ring resonator. In this case, it is advisable to arrange for the resonator to operate in standing-wave mode (and not in traveling-wave mode) and to ensure by means of phase shifters that the position of the electric field maxima of the microwaves in the ring corresponds to the position of the electrical coupling antennas  116 . 
     Another alternative form of the invention consists in taking the power off the waveguide via slots, especially within the context of application to the transmission of power to the plasma sources  400  via waveguides. 
     The second element  200  of the invention is intended to ensure independent power transmission, without any reflection, to each source  400 . This is achieved by inserting a unidirectional isolator  200  between the output of the antenna  116  of the divider waveguide  110  and the applicator. Said isolator generally consists of a three-branch circulator  210  based on ferrites and terminated, on its third branch, by a matched load  212  intended to absorb all the reflected power coming from the plasma source  400 . To operate this device properly requires an interbranch isolation generally greater than 20 dB. 
     The third element  300  of the invention is intended to allow impedance matching to each source  400 , so as to ensure that the power thus available is more or less completely absorbed in the plasma according to the requirements. This may be achieved by making use of conventional impedance matching devices, such as a trombone line, or a system having three plungers. An essential characteristic required of these various possible devices is to be able to act both on the imaginary part and the real part of the impedance. This allows the impedance of the source  400  to be adjusted according to the desired plasma conditions (density, length, etc.) 
     A complete typical power division device according to the invention is shown schematically in FIG.  4 . After the microwave generator  10  (and optionally its protective circulator), this comprises, in succession, the power divider  100  with its movable short-circuit  130  and the transmission lines to each plasma source  400 . Each transmission line comprises a circulator  210  and its matched load  212  (which absorbs the reflected power), together with the impedance matching device  300  just upstream of the plasma source  400 . 
     The main advantage of the device according to the invention is that it allows a large number of plasma sources  400  to be supplied from a single generator  10 . Moreover, this device is produced from simple elements, several of which are commercially available at the present time. 
     A device of the invention may be used with any type of microwave applicator. 
     An essential advantage of the invention presented is the possibility of distributing the microwave power over any number N of antennas  116 , it even being possible for N to be an odd number. The invention also allows one or more plasma lines to be removed without impairing the operation of the others. 
     The invention, which prevents any interference between the supplies for the various plasma sources  400 , makes it possible to achieve rapid impedance matching to each of the plasma sources  400 . 
     Finally, the invention allows particularly compact devices to be produced. 
     One particular, but nonlimiting, application example illustrating the invention comprises a device for dividing the power by  24  (shown schematically in FIG.  5 ), using the WR  340  rectangular waveguide standard in which the long side  112  of the waveguide  110  has a width a=86 mm (width of the short side of the waveguide b=43 mm). At a frequency of 2.45 GHz, the wavelength in vacuo is λ 0 =122.45 mm and the wavelength in the waveguide (Eq. 1) is: 
     
       
         λ g =174.4 mm  (4) 
       
     
     As a consequence, the antennas  116  or groups of antennas are positioned along the waveguide  110  every λ g /2, i.e. every 87.2 mm. 
     The reduced conductance g of the antenna  116  (Eq. 2) for division by N=24 requires: 
     
       
           G =0.0417  (5) 
       
     
     The corresponding conductance g 0  of an antenna  116  of the same length l placed on the axis of a long side of the waveguide (d=0), given by Equation (3), for a distance from the axis of the long side of the waveguide d=26 mm, is: 
     
       
           g   0 =0.123  (6) 
       
     
     The reduced impedance go of an antenna  116  of length l, determined experimentally, is given from FIG.  1 . The antenna length l corresponding to the impedance value given by Equation (6) is approximately (FIG.  1 ): 
     
       
           l  12.75 mm  (7) 
       
     
     As a consequence, the power divider  100  divided by 24 thus produced, as shown schematically in FIG. 5 is relatively compact since its total length corresponds to 5 half-wavelengths (plus the space required for the antenna output ports and their coaxial connectors). 
     Of course, each of the 24 transmission lines coming from the divider  100  comprises, in succession, an isolator  200  with its matched load  212  and the impedance matching  300  just upstream of the plasma source  400 . 
     Outside plasmas, the device according to the invention can be applied in any process where impedance variations may arise on one or other of the N applicators supplied independently by the microwave power divider. 
     Of course, the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiments which have just been described, rather it extends to any variant in accordance with its spirit. 
     Thus, as a variant, it is possible to provide an arrangement of antennas which is not symmetrical with respect to the axis of the long side of the waveguide.