Patent ID: 6863789

Claim:
An arc control system for responding loan arc in a DC sputtering system, comprising: a sputtering chamber that houses an anode and a sputtering target formed from a target material and serving as a cathode; a DC power supply configured to provide a direct current cathode voltage such that a cathode current flows through the anode and the cathode, the DC power supply having an output filter that includes an output inductor and an output capacitor; a first circuit branch coupled across the DC power supply, the first circuit branch comprising a resonant capacitor; and a second circuit branch coupled across the DC power supply in parallel with the first circuit branch, the second circuit branch comprising a resonant inductor in series with a parallel combination of a first circuit subbranch and a second circuit subbranch, wherein the first circuit subbranch comprises the sputtering chamber and the second circuit subbranch comprises a reverse voltage clamp; and further wherein the resonant capacitor and the resonant inductor comprise a resonant network configured to provide a Q such that in reaction to the occurrence of an arc, the cathode current resonates to a reverse current level and wherein the reverse voltage clamp is configured to clamp the cathode voltage to a predetermined clamp voltage and further wherein the output of the DC power supply does not vary in response to the occurrence of an arc.