Voltage regulator and power supply system using same

Abstract

The voltage regulator is arranged between a power supply and a pulsator of a plasma chamber and comprises an impedance element and a switch, and the impedance element is connected with the switch in series. One end, far away from the switch, of the impedance element is connected to a circuit between the first output end of the power supply and the first input end of the pulsator; one end, far away from the impedance element, of the switch is connected to a circuit between the second output end of the power supply and the second input end of the pulsator. Through the scheme provided by the invention, the function of quickly changing the voltage can be effectively realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of plasma applications, and in particular to a voltage regulator and a power supply system using the regulator. Background Art

[0002] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, in known plasma systems, it is usually necessary to drive and excite plasma through a power supply system to occur in a plasma chamber, wherein the plasma chamber is usually used to generate plasma, and the input end of the plasma chamber connected to the power supply is usually provided with a pulsator (or pulse generator) for generating a pulse signal and applying it to the plasma generation process.

[0003] In previously known DC power supplies, when we want to reduce the output voltage and turn off the converter in the DC power supply to naturally reduce the output voltage, the output voltage drops relatively slowly due to the relatively large capacity at the power supply output. In addition, the need to achieve a low level of voltage ripple forces the power supply output to have a relatively large capacity.

[0004] A solution is known from the specification of Japanese patent JP7004258B2, in which, in a re-ignition circuit, part of the high-frequency output power from the inverter circuit is provided by an auxiliary winding of a transformer, and a capacitor is charged by a circuit, wherein the current charged in the capacitor is discharged by a discharge circuit.

[0005] Due to this capacitance, the voltage change rate is too slow (this is most obvious in the output voltage's falling slope). At this time, the output capacitor is mainly discharged by the load. There is no voltage regulator that can quickly switch between different voltage levels to meet two requirements in power supply applications:

[0006] (1) It should have the characteristic of very low voltage ripple.

[0007] (2) It should be able to change the output voltage quickly. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The present application provides a voltage regulator and a power supply system using the regulator, which can realize the function of quickly changing voltage.

[0009] In a first aspect, the present application provides a voltage regulator, comprising: an impedance element and a switch arranged between a power supply and a pulsator of a plasma chamber, the impedance element and the switch being connected in series; an end of the impedance element away from the switch being connected to a circuit between a first output end of the power supply and a first input end of the pulsator; an end of the switch away from the impedance element being connected to a circuit between a second output end of the power supply and a second input end of the pulsator.

[0010] According to one scheme, an inductor is connected in series between the impedance element and the switch.

[0011] According to one scheme, an auxiliary resistor is connected in parallel with the inductor.

[0012] According to one scheme, a cooling chamber is arranged outside the impedance element, and a non-conductive liquid is present in the cooling chamber, which is cooled by a pump assembly with a refrigerant from a heat exchanger, and the cooling chamber, the pump assembly and the heat exchanger are connected by a pipe assembly.

[0013] According to one scheme, a cooling chamber is arranged outside the impedance element and / or the auxiliary resistor, and a non-conductive liquid is present in the cooling chamber, which is cooled by a pump assembly with a refrigerant from a heat exchanger, and the cooling chamber, the pump assembly and the heat exchanger are connected by a pipe assembly.

[0014] According to one scheme, an expansion chamber is arranged between the cooling chamber and the heat exchanger, and a gasifiable cooling liquid is contained in the expansion chamber, and the expansion chamber is provided with a diaphragm for separating the liquid and the gas.

[0015] According to one scheme, a heat sink is arranged outside the impedance element for cooling the impedance element by a cooling liquid, and the impedance element and its electrical connection are electrically isolated from the heat sink, and the heat sink is liquid-cooled and discharged by a pipe assembly.

[0016] According to one scheme, a heat sink is arranged outside the impedance element and / or the auxiliary resistor for cooling the impedance element by a cooling liquid, and the impedance element and / or the auxiliary resistor and its electrical connection are electrically isolated from the heat sink, and the heat sink is liquid-cooled and discharged by a pipe assembly.

[0017] According to one scheme, a fan is arranged at the position of the impedance element and / or the auxiliary resistor for cooling the impedance element. In a second aspect, the application provides a power supply system, comprising the above-mentioned voltage regulator, and further comprising a power supply, the power supply at least comprising a first output end and a second output end, and an impedance element and a switch are connected in series between the first output end and the second output end.

[0018] By the above technical scheme, compared with the prior art, the application has the following beneficial effects:

[0019] By controlling the switch, the resistance effect of the impedance element can effectively improve the speed of the level change, and the electrical signal has extremely low voltage ripple characteristics. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 and Figure 2It is the background technology figure of this application,

[0021] Figure 3 This is a circuit diagram of the first embodiment of the present application.

[0022] Figure 4 This is the electrical signal waveform diagram of the first embodiment of the present application.

[0023] Figure 5 This is a circuit diagram of the second embodiment of the present application.

[0024] Figure 6 This is a circuit diagram of the third embodiment of the present application.

[0025] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a water cooling module in any embodiment of the present application,

[0026] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a radiator of any embodiment of the present application,

[0027] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the fan layout of any embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The present application discloses a voltage regulator, which is applied to the field of plasma and is used to regulate the voltage between a power supply and a plasma chamber.

[0029] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, in the first embodiment, the voltage regulator disclosed in the present application is arranged between the power supply 1 and the plasma chamber 2, wherein the power supply 1 includes a first output terminal and a second output terminal, and the plasma chamber 2 includes a first input terminal and a second input terminal. The first output terminal of the power supply 1 is electrically connected to the first input terminal of the plasma chamber, and the second output terminal of the power supply 1 is electrically connected to the second input terminal of the plasma chamber 2 to achieve basic energy supply.

[0030] The voltage regulator includes an impedance element 3 and a switch 4 connected in series with the impedance element 3. The impedance element 3 and the switch 4 are electrically connected between the first output terminal and the second output terminal. This connection allows the voltage to be regulated by controlling the on and off of the switch 4 during power-on. Closing the switch 4 to reduce the output voltage connects the impedance element 3 to the circuit. Impedance element 3 can be a resistor or a capacitor. Its connection adds an additional load to the circuit, shortening the discharge time of the output capacitor in the power supply.

[0031] like Figure 4 As shown in Figure 1, this circuit accelerates the slope of the VDC characteristic by discharging the output capacitor of the DC power supply. The increase in slope is still limited by the power of the DC power supply. Figure 3The graph shows that at the switching moment IS, the discharge change of the capacitor current is too large. After the above-mentioned impedance element 3 is connected, the voltage waveform is different from the Figure 1 、 Figure 2 The voltage waveform presented in the prior art undergoes significant changes, and the voltage changes more rapidly and smoothly.

[0032] like Figure 5 The second embodiment disclosed in the present application is shown. The difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that an additional inductor 5 is connected in series between the impedance element 3 and the switch 4. The coil of the inductor can cooperate with the impedance element 3 to further reduce the output voltage when the switch 4 is closed, thereby achieving an effect of shortening the discharge time that is better than the first embodiment.

[0033] like Figure 6 The third embodiment disclosed in this application is shown. This embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that an auxiliary resistor 6 is connected in parallel with the inductor 5. This auxiliary resistor modifies the IS characteristic to a more constant value. This further optimizes the effect of inductor 5 in the circuit. Because the discharge current of the capacitor varies greatly, the design current of switch 4 is relatively high. Therefore, it can operate normally at the same current value as when switch 4 is turned on. The use of inductor 5 and auxiliary resistor 6 flattens the current characteristic.

[0034] Specifically, the auxiliary resistor 6 has the following functions:

[0035] (1) It can reduce the Q value: The quality factor (Q value) of an inductor is proportional to its inductance and its internal resistance. The internal resistance of an inductor is usually small, so the Q value is high. If a resistor is connected in parallel with an inductor, the overall Q value of the circuit will be reduced. The reduction in Q value means that the circuit's resonance sharpness is reduced and the bandwidth is increased, but the loss will also increase.

[0036] (2) Oscillation suppression: In some circuits (such as filters or oscillator circuits), high Q values ​​may cause unwanted oscillations. A parallel resistor can suppress these unwanted oscillations by reducing the Q value.

[0037] (3) Stabilizing circuit response: In some applications, the combination of inductors and other circuit components may result in unstable response characteristics. Parallel resistors can stabilize these responses and prevent unstable oscillations or overshoot.

[0038] (4) Control the parasitic effects of inductors: In high-frequency circuits, the parasitic capacitance of inductors may cause high-frequency oscillations or unwanted resonances. Parallel resistors can reduce these parasitic effects by absorbing some of the energy.

[0039] Since the technical solution of this application is generally used for DC power supplies or high-voltage power supplies, high voltage may also be present on the above-mentioned 3, 4, 5, and 6. Therefore, it is advantageous to simplify the circuit as much as possible. The use of switch 4 is relatively slow, so it does not cause surge problems on inductor 5 during shutdown because the current is not interrupted quickly, which makes the alternative solution described in this embodiment possible.

[0040] In any embodiment of the present application, a unit for cooling the impedance element 3 may be provided at the location of the impedance element 3 .

[0041] Among them, such as Figure 7 The first embodiment is shown, using liquid cooling to cool and dissipate heat from the impedance element 3. A cooling chamber 7 is provided outside the impedance element 3, enclosing it within the chamber. The cooling chamber is connected to a pump assembly 10 and a heat exchanger 11 via a pipe 8. The heat exchanger utilizes a non-conductive liquid within the cooling chamber 7. Such dielectric liquids are typically insoluble (or poorly soluble) in water and other ionic media, minimizing the risk of damage to the insulation. Furthermore, the dielectric liquid should be as environmentally and operator-friendly as possible in terms of odor, toxicity, degradation resistance, and maintainability. Based on these considerations, the most widely used coolants in immersion cooling are primarily hydrocarbons, organosilicon compounds, and fluorocarbons. This liquid is cooled by a refrigerant in the heat exchanger 11 via the pump assembly 10. The heat exchanger allows the flow of coolant through channels 12 and 13. The coolant used here can be water or other liquids with good thermal conductivity, thereby exchanging heat with the non-conductive coolant to achieve heat dissipation.

[0042] In another embodiment of the present application, air cooling can be used to dissipate heat from the impedance element 3, such as Figure 9 As shown, a fan 21 is provided beside the impedance element to dissipate heat from the impedance element. The heat from the impedance element 3 is received by the movement of air or other gas (preferably insulating gas SF6).

[0043] Furthermore, to allow the non-conductive liquid to expand as the temperature rises, the system includes an additional expansion chamber 14. In this chamber, the refrigerant 15 can expand to the position of the gas 16. The liquid and gas can be separated from each other using a membrane 17.

[0044] In the second and third embodiments, the auxiliary resistor 6 can also be provided with a cooling unit, wherein:

[0045] like Figure 7As shown, water cooling can be used for heat dissipation. A cooling chamber 7 is provided outside the auxiliary resistor 6, so as to enclose the auxiliary resistor 6 in the cooling chamber 7, and the cooling chamber is connected with a pump assembly 10 and a heat exchanger 11 through a pipe 8. The heat exchanger is filled with a non-conductive liquid, which is usually insoluble (or hardly soluble) in water and other ionic media, so as to maximize the insulation and prevent the insulation from being easily damaged. Meanwhile, the liquid itself should be as friendly as possible to the environment and the operating personnel in terms of odor, toxicity, degradation difficulty, maintainability, etc. Based on the above considerations, the cooling liquid currently widely discussed in the field of immersion liquid cooling mainly includes hydrocarbon and organosilicon compounds and fluorocarbon compounds. The liquid is cooled by the heat exchanger 11 using a refrigerant through the pump assembly 10. The heat exchanger can be cooled by a cooling liquid flowing through a channel 12 and a channel 13. The cooling liquid used here can be water or other liquid with good thermal conductivity, so as to exchange heat with the aforementioned non-conductive cooling liquid and achieve the effect of heat dissipation.

[0046] In another embodiment of the present application, air cooling can be used for heat dissipation of the auxiliary resistor 6, as shown in Figure 9 A fan 21 is provided beside the auxiliary resistor 6 to cool the impedance element. The heat from the auxiliary resistor 6 is received by the movement of air or other gas (preferably, insulating gas SF6).

[0047] In any embodiment of the present application, the cooling liquid flowing through the cooling chamber 7 can be a non-insulating liquid, such as water or ethylene glycol, etc. At this time, as shown in Figure 8 The cooling liquid is supplied through a channel 19 and transported through a channel 20. During the transportation, the cooling liquid needs to be electrically isolated from the electrical connection 9 and the impedance element 3.

[0048] In any embodiment of the present application, the auxiliary resistor 6 and the impedance element 3 can share a set of heat dissipation systems, or can use independent heat dissipation systems respectively.

[0049] The present application also discloses a power supply system, as shown in Figure 1-9 The power supply system includes a power supply 1, wherein the power supply 1 at least includes a first output end and a second output end, and a voltage regulator as shown in any of the above embodiments is connected in series between the first output end and the second output end. The output of the power supply 1 is connected to the plasma chamber 2 through the voltage regulator for energizing the plasma chamber 2.

[0050] Any embodiment of the present application uses an additional load, which increases the discharge current, which in turn accelerates the drop of the output voltage, thereby allowing the manufacture of a direct current power supply capable of quickly changing the generated voltage value. More importantly, the solution according to the present application allows a low level of voltage ripple to be achieved by placing a relatively large capacity at the output of the power supply.

Claims

1. A voltage regulator, arranged between a power supply and a pulsator of a plasma chamber, characterized in that: The device comprises an impedance element (3) and a switch (4), wherein the impedance element (3) and the switch (4) are connected in series; an end of the impedance element (3) away from the switch (4) is connected to a circuit between a first output end of the power supply and a first input end of the pulsator; One end of the switch (4) away from the impedance element (3) is connected to a circuit between the second output end of the power supply and the second input end of the pulsator.

2. The voltage regulator according to claim 1, wherein: An inductor (5) is connected in series between the impedance element (3) and the switch (4).

3. The voltage regulator according to claim 2, wherein: The inductor (5) is connected in parallel with an auxiliary resistor (6).

4. The voltage regulator according to claim 2, wherein: A cooling chamber (7) is provided on the outside of the impedance element (3). Non-conductive liquid is present in the cooling chamber (7). The liquid is cooled by a refrigerant in a heat exchanger (11) via a pump assembly (10). The cooling chamber (7), the pump assembly (10) and the heat exchanger (11) are connected via a pipe assembly (8).

5. The voltage regulator according to claim 3, wherein: A cooling chamber (7) is provided outside the impedance element (3) and / or the auxiliary resistor (6). Non-conductive liquid is present in the cooling chamber (7). The liquid is cooled by a refrigerant through a heat exchanger (11) via a pump assembly (10). The cooling chamber (7), the pump assembly (10) and the heat exchanger (11) are connected via a pipe assembly (8).

6. The voltage regulator according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: An expansion chamber (14) is provided between the cooling chamber (7) and the heat exchanger (11), wherein the expansion chamber (14) contains a gasifiable cooling liquid, and the expansion chamber (14) is provided with a diaphragm (17) for separating liquid and gas.

7. The voltage regulator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: A radiator (18) is provided outside the impedance element (3) for cooling the impedance element (3) by means of a cooling liquid. The impedance element (3) and its electrical connection (9) are electrically isolated from the radiator (18). The radiator (18) is liquid-cooled and discharged by a pipe assembly (8).

8. The voltage regulator according to claim 3, wherein: A radiator (18) is provided outside the impedance element (3) and / or the auxiliary resistor (6) for cooling the impedance element (3) by means of a cooling liquid. The impedance element (3) and / or the auxiliary resistor (6) and their electrical connections (9) are electrically isolated from the radiator (18). The radiator (18) is liquid-cooled and discharged by a pipe assembly (8).

9. The voltage regulator according to claim 3, wherein: A fan (21) is provided at the position of the impedance element (3) and / or the auxiliary resistor (6) for cooling the impedance element (3).

10. A power supply system comprising the voltage regulator according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The invention comprises a power supply, the power supply comprising at least a first output end and a second output end, an impedance element (3) and a switch (4) being connected in series between the first output end and the second output end.

Images