Arc Analysis Based On Multiple Engineered Arc Detection Sources And State Data
A controller for an arc detection system includes at least one arc detector module configured to output at least one arc detection signal in a plasma processing system. An arc analysis module is configured to receive the at least one arc detection signal, to determine if at least one arc is present in the plasma processing system based on the at least one arc detection signal, and to generate an arc mitigation signal in accordance with the at least one arc.
1 . A controller for an arc detection system comprising:
at least one arc detector module configured to output at least one arc detection signal in a plasma processing system; and
an arc analysis module configured to receive the at least one arc detection signal, to determine if at least one arc is present in the plasma processing system based on the at least one arc detection signal, and to generate an arc mitigation signal in accordance with the at least one arc.
2 . The controller of claim 1 further comprising a state data module configured to obtain information about at least one state of the plasma processing system, wherein the arc analysis module determines if the at least one arc is present in the plasma processing system additionally based on the at least one state of the plasma processing system.
3 . The controller of claim 2 wherein the information about at least one state of the plasma processing system comprises at least one of current or historical data related to one or more measured or commanded power levels, measured or commanded pulsing information, pulse repetition rate, pulse duty cycle, pulse ramp rate between setpoints, timestamp information, recipe information, pulsed DC frequency, pulsed DC duty cycle, control loop statistics, recipe data, data shared between multiple power generators or power sources of a plasma processing system, and matching network data.
4 . The controller of claim 1 further comprising an arc mitigation module configured to receive commands from the arc analysis module and generate commands to at least one of mitigate the at least one arc or indicate a fault, or take no action.
5 . The controller of claim 4 wherein the arc mitigation module at least one of commands an adjustment to an electrical component of the plasma processing system, indicates a system fault, or engages a protection circuit.
6 . The controller of claim 1 wherein the at least one arc detector module is configured to output the arc detection signal in accordance with at least one sensed, measured, or determined electrical parameter or characteristic of the plasma processing system, including at least one of voltage, current, reverse power, forward power, active power, reactive power, gradients of at least one of voltage, current, energy, gradients of at least one of power, reverse power, forward power, active power, or reactive power, reflection coefficient, or a square of a magnitude of a reflection coefficient.
7 . The controller of claim 1 wherein the at least one arc detector module includes a plurality of arc detection sources, wherein the at least one arc detection signal includes a plurality of arc detection signals and each one of the plurality of arc detection sources generates a respective one of the plurality of arc detection signals.
8 . The controller of claim 7 wherein the arc analysis module assigns a weight to each arc detection signal of the plurality of arc detection signals, and the weights of the plurality of arc detection signals are one of compared, tallied, or accumulated to determine whether to respond to the at least one arc.
9 . The controller of claim 1 wherein the arc analysis module is configured to determine whether to respond to the determination that at least one arc is present in accordance with the arc detection signal and information about at least one state of the plasma processing system.
10 . The controller of claim 1 wherein the at least one arc includes a pair of arcs and the arc analysis module determines a time between the pair of arcs and triggers arc mitigation if the time is less than a predetermined time.
11 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising:
obtaining at least one arc detection signal in a plasma processing system; and
receiving the at least one arc detection signal, determining if at least one arc is present in the plasma processing system based on the at least one arc detection signal, and generating an arc mitigation signal in accordance with the at least one arc.
12 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions of claim 11 , the instructions comprising obtaining information about at least one state of the plasma processing system, wherein determining if the at least one arc is present in the plasma processing system is additional based on the at least one state of the plasma processing system.
13 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions of claim 12 wherein the information about at least one state of the plasma processing system comprises at least one of current or historical data related to one or more measured or commanded power levels, measured or commanded pulsing information, pulse repetition rate, pulse duty cycle, pulse ramp rate between setpoints, timestamp information, recipe information, pulsed DC frequency, pulsed DC duty cycle, control loop statistics, recipe data, data shared between multiple power generators or power sources of a plasma processing system, and matching network data.
14 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions of claim 11 , the instructions comprising receiving the arc mitigation signal and generating commands to at least one of mitigate the at least one arc or indicate a fault, or take no action.
15 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions of claim 14 , wherein mitigating the at least one arc further comprises at least one of commanding a power adjustment to an electrical component of the plasma processing system or engaging a protection circuit.
16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions of claim 11 wherein the at least one arc detection signal varies in accordance with at least one sensed, measured, or determined electrical parameter or characteristic of a plasma processing system including at least one of voltage, current, reverse power, forward power, active power, reactive power, gradients of at least one of voltage, current, energy, gradients of at least one of power, reverse power, forward power, active power, or reactive power, reflection coefficient, or a square of a magnitude of a reflection coefficient.
17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions of claim 11 , wherein the at least one arc detection signal includes a plurality of arc detections signals and the instructions further comprise instructions for obtaining the plurality of arc detection signals using two different approaches.
18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions of claim 17 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions for assigning a weight to each arc detection signal of the plurality of arc detection signals and for one of comparing, tallying, or accumulating the weights to determine whether to respond to the at least one arc.
19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions of claim 11 , wherein the instructions further comprise determining whether to respond to the determination that at least one arc is present in accordance with the arc detection signal and information about at least one state of the plasma processing system.
20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions of claim 11 , wherein the at least one arc includes a pair of arcs and the instructions further comprise instructions for determining a time between the pair of arcs and triggering arc mitigation if the time is less than a predetermined time.