Patent ID: 8916022

Claim:
A plasma generator system comprising: a container comprising an insulating material; a processing gas source in flow communication with the container and adapted to supply a processing gas thereto; a coil disposed around the container; an energy source electrically coupled to the coil; and a controller operatively coupled to the energy source, wherein: the controller is configured to provide commands to the energy source to supply a first magnitude of power to the coil to generate a first electric field within the container and to form a first plasma when a first portion of the processing gas flows therethrough, the first plasma including charged particles; the controller is further configured to provide commands to the energy source to supply a second magnitude of power to the coil, the second magnitude of power being less than the first magnitude of power and to extract a portion of the charged particles from the first plasma and to store the extracted portion of the charged particles on the insulating material of the container; and the controller is further configured to provide commands to the energy source to supply a third magnitude of power to the coil, the third magnitude of power being greater than the second magnitude of power, to generate a second electric field within the container and to form a second plasma from the extracted portion of the charged particles and a second portion of the processing gas.