RADIO-FREQUENCY POWER UNIT

摘要

PROBLEM: To improve the stability of the process of the plasma ignition, by allowing a high current to pass through an induction coil without increasing the power-supply voltage in the process of the plasma ignition.;SOLUTION: An impedance conversion circuit 16 including an inductor 17 and a capacitor 18 is arranged between a full-bridge drive circuit 13 for switching DC voltage and an LC resonance circuit 19 including an induction coil 21 for plasma generation. The capacitance of the capacitor 18 can be varied between two levels, with a switching driver 23 serving as a switcher. When the plasma is to be ignited, the capacitance of the capacitor 18 is set at the higher level to allow a high current to be supplied to the LC resonance circuit 19. After the plasma is brought into a steady state of lighting, the capacitance of the capacitor 18 is changed to the lower level at which an impedance matching is achieved so as to maximize the power efficiency.

主权项

1. A radio-frequency power unit comprising: a DC voltage source; an LC resonance circuit including an induction coil for plasma generation and a capacitor; and a switching circuit including a semiconductor switching element for switching DC power supplied from the DC voltage source and for supplying the thereby obtained power to the LC resonance circuit, thus supplying radio-frequency power into the induction coil so as to generate plasma, the radio-frequency power unit further comprising:
a) an impedance converter arranged between the switching circuit and the LC resonance circuit, the impedance converter being capable of switching an impedance conversion factor among a plurality of levels; and b) a controller for operating the impedance converter so as to switch the impedance conversion factor from a value used during a period of plasma ignition to a value used during a period with a steady state of lighting after the plasma is ignited.