Inductively-coupled RF power source

1. A system for implementing a power source, comprising:

a power amplifier that generates a radio-frequency power signal with an adjustable operating frequency, said power amplifier also generating a reference phase signal derived from said radio-frequency power signal;

an impedance match that provides said radio-frequency power signal to a plasma coil that has a variable resonance condition;

a phase probe positioned adjacent to said plasma coil to generate a coil phase signal corresponding to said adjustable operating frequency; and

a phase-locked loop device that generates a drive signal to said power amplifier to control said adjustable operating frequency, said drive signal being based upon a phase relationship between said reference phase signal and said coil phase signal, said adjustable operating frequency then tracking said variable resonance condition.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein a phase detector of said phase-locked loop device receives and compares said reference phase signal and said coil phase signal to determine said phase relationship.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said phase detector generates an error voltage that represents a magnitude and a polarity of said phase relationship.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said error voltage is equal to zero volts if said adjustable operating frequency is equal to said variable resonance condition.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein said reference phase signal and said coil phase signal are sampled so that said phase relationship is ninety degrees out-of-phase when said error voltage is equal to zero volts.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said phase detector adjusts said error voltage so that said adjustable operating frequency is set to a resonance slope frequency that is different from a peak resonance frequency of said plasma coil.

7. The system of claim 3 wherein an integrator device performs a filtering process upon said error voltage to removed unwanted radio-frequency components.

8. The system of claim 3 wherein a voltage-controller oscillator of said phase-locked loop device generates said drive signal at said adjustable operating frequency in response to an amplitude and a polarity of said error signal.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein said power amplifier is operated in a Class E mode to limit power consumption requirements.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein said power amplifier of said power source is directly close-coupled to said impedance match.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein said impedance match has dynamic variable impedance characteristics with respect to said power amplifier.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein said impedance match is implemented with fixed non-adjustable electronic components.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein said impedance match transfers said radio-frequency power signal from said power amplifier to said plasma coil in a balanced manner, said impedance match including a radio-frequency transformer with a grounded center tap.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein said plasma coil of said power source is utilized to initiate and sustain a test sample in a plasma state within a plasma torch for analysis with at least one of an optical emission measurement technique and a mass spectrometry measurement technique.

15. The system of claim 1 further comprising a controller device of said power source, said controller device monitoring a plasma status of a test sample being analyzed, said controller device also monitoring a temperature parameter from a heat sensor in said power source.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein said impedance match is implemented with temperature stabilization provided by an adjacent cooling mechanism.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein said power source includes a variable power supply that is adjustable to select an operating voltage for said radio-frequency power signal.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein said power source includes a host interface to permit bi-directional communications between said power source and an external host device.

19. The system of claim 1 wherein said power source is implemented as a self-contained modular device to facilitate incorporating said power source into a host analytical instrument without modifications.

20. The system of claim 1 wherein said power amplifier is operated in a class B mode to reduce an efficiency of power generation for sustaining a low-power plasma operation.

21. A method for implementing a power source, comprising:

generating a radio-frequency power signal with an adjustable operating frequency by utilizing a power amplifier that also generates a reference phase signal derived from said radio-frequency power signal;

utilizing an impedance match to provide said radio-frequency power signal to a plasma coil that has a variable resonance condition;

positioning a phase probe adjacent to said plasma coil to generate a coil phase signal corresponding to said adjustable operating frequency; and

generating a drive signal to said power amplifier from a phase-locked loop device to control said adjustable operating frequency, said drive signal being based upon a phase relationship between said reference phase signal and said coil phase signal, said adjustable operating frequency then tracking said variable resonance condition.