Method and apparatus for plasma ignition in toroidal plasma sources

1. A plasma apparatus of a plasma processing system, the plasma apparatus defining a toroidal plasma channel, the plasma apparatus comprising:

a plurality of end blocks defining respective portions of the toroidal plasma channel, each end block comprising an end-block tube constructed from a first electrically conductive material and a dielectric coating disposed on an interior surface of the end-block tube; and

a plurality of mid-blocks defining respective portions of the toroidal plasma channel, each mid-block comprising at least one heat sink located adjacent to a substantially linear tube with a thermal interface disposed therebetween, the thermal interface in physical communication with the tube and the at least one heat sink, wherein the mid-block tube has a substantially uniform wall thickness and is constructed from a dielectric material, and wherein the at least one heat sink is constructed from a second electrically conductive material,

wherein the plurality of end blocks and the plurality of mid-blocks are connected to cooperatively define the toroidal plasma channel.

2. The plasma apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second electrically conductive material of the at least one heat sink is copper.

3. The plasma apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric material of each mid-block tube is alumina (Al 2 O 3 ), ceramic or sapphire.

4. The plasma apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric material of each mid-block tube is quartz (SiO 2 ), an oxide, a nitride of one of group II element or group III element, a lanthanide, or a mixture thereof.

5. The plasma apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the wall thickness of each mid-block tube is about 1.5 mm.

6. The plasma apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one heat sink of each mid-block comprises two heat sinks adjacent to the corresponding mid-block tube, each heat sink surrounding approximately one half of an outer circumference of the mid-block tube along a length of the mid-block tube.

7. The plasma apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an ignition circuit connected to each mid-block, the ignition circuit configured to bias the at least one heat sink, thereby applying an electric field to a gas inside of the corresponding mid-block tube to ignite a plasma therein.

8. The plasma apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising an ignition circuit connected to each mid-block, the ignition circuit configured to bias the two heat sinks at different voltages, thereby applying an electric field to a gas inside the corresponding tube to ignite a plasma therein.

9. The plasma apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of end blocks are electrically grounded.

10. The plasma apparatus of claim 6 , wherein each mid-block further comprises a plurality of flanges electrically isolating the two heat sinks from each other, the plurality of flanges constructed from an electrically insulating material.

11. The plasma apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each mid-block further comprises two face plates located at corresponding two ends of the mid-block tube, the two face plates constructed from an electrically insulating material to provide electrical isolation between the at least one heat sink of the mid-block and the end blocks during ignition.

12. The plasma apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the dielectric coating is about 40 μm to about 50 μm.

13. The plasma apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first electrically conductive material of each end-block tube is aluminum.

14. The plasma apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of end blocks includes at least an inlet block for injecting a gas into the plasma channel and an outlet block for allowing one or more byproducts of a plasma to exit from the plasma channel.

15. A method for igniting a plasma in a plasma apparatus that defines a toroidal plasma channel, the method comprising:

providing the plasma apparatus comprising a plurality of end blocks and a plurality of mid-blocks, the end blocks and the mid-blocks being connected to cooperatively define the toroidal plasma channel, wherein each end block includes an end-block tube constructed from an electrically conductive material and a dielectric coating disposed on an interior surface of the end-block tube, and wherein each mid-block includes at least one electrically conductive heat sink adjacent to a dielectric tube and a thermal interface disposed therebetween;

electrically biasing the at least one heat sink of each mid-block to generate a capacitive spark discharge inside of the mid-block tube of each mid-block; and

initiating a plasma discharge in a gas in the toroidal plasma channel using the spark discharge.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising electrically isolating the at least one heat sink of each mid-block from the plurality of end blocks.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the at least one heat sink of each mid-block comprises two heat sinks adjacent to the corresponding mid-block tube, each heat sink surrounding approximately one half of an outer circumference of the mid-block tube along a length of the mid-block tube.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising electrically isolating the two heat sinks of each mid-block from each other.

19. The method of claim 17 , further comprising electrically biasing the two heat sinks at different voltages, thereby applying an electric field to a gas inside the corresponding mid-block tube to initiate the plasma discharge.

20. The method of claim 15 , further comprising electrically grounding the plurality of end blocks.