Granted Patent B2

US 12,749,652 · App. 18/794,876 · Granted Sep 29, 2026

Inventor: Faleh Alskran (Timnath, CO)

Assignee: Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.

H01J37/32174H01J37/32128H01J37/32935

Abstract

Claims (37)

1 . A bias supply to produce a waveform, the apparatus comprising:

a switch in a current path that couples a first node to a second node;

a DC power supply coupled to the current path; and

a controller comprising:

bias control logic configured to, while the DC power supply is applying power, repeatedly close and open the switch to produce peak voltages and portions between the peak voltages; and

pulse-mode control logic configured to:

remove a DC voltage from the DC power supply; and

while the power supply is not applying the DC voltage, close the at least one switch to circulate current through the switch and the DC power supply.

2 . The bias supply of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control the power supply to apply power in advance of an ON pulse.

3 . The bias supply of claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to receive a signal that indicates when the ON pulse begins.

4 . The bias supply of claim 1 , wherein the second node is coupled to the first node via a first inductor to form the current path.

5 . The bias supply of claim 1 , wherein the power supply is arranged in series with a second inductor, and the series arrangement of the power supply and the second inductor is coupled between the current path and the second node.

6 . The bias supply of claim 5 , wherein the current is circulated through the at least one switch, the second inductor, and the power supply.

7 . The bias supply of claim 1 , wherein the power supply is controllable to control current provided to the first node to control a ramped voltage between each of the peak voltages at the first node.

8 . A method for producing a waveform comprising:

applying, during an ON pulse, a waveform using switching of at least one a switch in connection with a DC voltage;

removing the DC voltage and closing the at least one switch to circulate current during an OFF pulse;

reapplying, in advance of another ON pulse, the DC voltage; and

initiating the switching after reapplying the DC voltage to reapply the waveform during another ON pulse.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein applying the waveform comprises repeatedly coupling a voltage to, and decoupling the voltage from, a first node to produce peaks of the waveform.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein applying the waveform comprises repeatedly coupling the first node to, and decoupling the first node from, a second node via a switch and a first inductor to produce the peaks of the waveform.

11 . The method of claim 10 comprising:

providing the DC voltage to a second inductor to produce current to create a negative voltage ramp between each of the peaks of the waveform.

12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein each cycle of the waveform comprises a peak voltage, a voltage step following the peak voltage, and a ramped voltage following the voltage step.

13 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the DC voltage is a greater magnitude than −1000 volts.

14 . A system, the system comprising:

a source generator configured to apply pulsed power to a plasma chamber; and

a bias supply configured to:

apply, during an ON pulse of the source generator, a waveform using switching in connection with a DC voltage;

removing the DC voltage while circulating current during an OFF pulse of the source generator;

reapply, in advance of another ON pulse, the DC voltage; and

initiating the switching after reapplying the DC voltage to reapply the waveform during the other ON pulse.

15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the bias supply is configured to apply the waveform by repeatedly coupling a voltage to, and decoupling the voltage from, a first node to produce peaks of the waveform.

16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the bias supply is configured to apply the waveform by repeatedly coupling the first node to, and decoupling the first node from, a second node via a switch and a first inductor to produce the peaks of the waveform.

17 . The system of claim 16 wherein the bias supply is configured to provide the DC voltage to a second inductor to produce current to create a negative voltage ramp between each of the peaks of the waveform.

18 . The system of claim 14 , wherein each cycle of the waveform comprises a peak voltage, a voltage step following the peak voltage, and a ramped voltage following the voltage step.

19 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the DC voltage is a greater magnitude than −1000 volts.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (400)