Patent ID: 7929261

Claim:
A method for suppressing arc discharges in an operation of a plasma process, the method comprising: monitoring of at least one parameter of the plasma process; determining a temporal feature of a first countermeasure as a function of at least one of the following parameters: an interval in time from at least one previous countermeasure; a development of the at least one parameter since a relevant time of introduction of the countermeasure, or since a variable period of time ahead of the relevant time of introduction of the countermeasure; and a differentiation as to whether a previous countermeasure was triggered based on the behavior of the at least one parameter, or based on the interval in time from at least one previous countermeasure; performing the first countermeasure; determining a second period of time based on the equation t(x)=[t(0)−t(−1)]·k, wherein t(x) denotes a time of introduction of the subsequent countermeasure, t(0) denotes a time of introduction of the first countermeasure, t(−1) denotes a time of introduction of the previous countermeasure, and k denotes a numerical factor; and performing a subsequent countermeasure after elapse of the second period of time from the termination of the first countermeasure.