Patent ID: 7531070

Claim:
A sputtering power supply unit comprising: a sputtering DC power source for supplying DC power to a sputtering apparatus; a switching unit connected across terminals of the sputtering DC power source; at least one choke coil serially connected between the switching unit and the sputtering apparatus; a current detection unit for detecting a current supplied to the sputtering apparatus from the sputtering DC power source via the choke coil; a voltage detection unit for detecting a voltage across power source terminals of the sputtering apparatus; a controller outputting a switching signal when a voltage corresponding to an arc discharge generated inside the sputtering apparatus is detected by the voltage detection unit; a first switch which is closed by the switching signal; a reverse voltage source for supplying via the first switch a reverse voltage across the power source terminals of the sputtering apparatus for stopping the arc discharge; means for calculating an instantaneous power supplied to the sputtering apparatus from the voltage detected by the voltage detection unit and the current detected by the current detection unit; integration means for generating an integration output obtained by integrating a difference value between the instantaneous power obtained in the calculating means and a predetermined set power; means for generating a pulse output having a pulse width corresponding to a difference between a current set value formed on the basis of the integration output and the current detected by the current detection unit; means for on/off controlling the switching unit according to the pulse output from the generating means; means for stopping the instantaneous power from being supplied to the integration means when the first switch is closed in response to the arc discharge; and means for controlling the current supplied to the sputtering apparatus by on/off controlling the switching unit using the pulse output generated from the pulse outputting means in accordance with an integration output held in the integration means when the supply of the instantaneous power to the integration means is stopped by the stopping means.