Radio frequency power supply driven based on multiple pulse signals, and radio frequency power supply system

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of radio frequency power supplies, relates to a radio frequency power supply driven based on multiple pulse signals, and a radio frequency power supply system, and solves the problem of circuit damage prone to occur during pulse switching in existing radio frequency power supplies. A multi-pulse generator, a switching controller, and a switcher are arranged in a main control module of the radio frequency power supply, wherein the switching controller is connected between the output end of the radio frequency power supply and the switcher; the switcher is connected between the multi-pulse generator and an inverter of the radio frequency power supply; the multi-pulse generator generates multiples levels of pulse signals on the basis of a reference signal, wherein different levels of pulse signals have different output power and frequencies; on the basis of an acquired electrical signal of the output end of the radio frequency power supply, the switching controller sends a pulse switching instruction for pulse signals of corresponding levels; the switcher performs, on the basis of the pulse switching instruction, switching on multiple levels of pulse signals generated by the multi-pulse generator, and outputs the pulse signals to the inverter to drive the radio frequency power supply, so as to switch the output power and frequency of the radio frequency power supply.

Description

A radio frequency power supply and radio frequency power supply system based on multi-pulse signal drive Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of radio frequency power supply technology, and specifically relates to a radio frequency power supply and a radio frequency power supply system driven by multiple pulse signals. Background Art

[0002] The overall RF plasma power system architecture consists of an RF power supply, a matching box, and a chamber load. The RF power supply outputs a power signal to the matching box, which performs impedance matching and transfers the power signal to the chamber load. During operation, the RF power supply outputs an AC power signal, which is delivered to the chamber load via pulse excitation with a specific duty cycle. This AC power signal provides sufficient electrical energy to the input gas in the chamber, igniting and ionizing the gas. The magnetic field formed by the electrodes then moves the plasma in the direction of the relevant process.

[0003] During non-pulsed excitation, the chamber load may stall due to insufficient power, so a pulsed excitation that maintains the minimum ionization energy is required.

[0004] However, the main modules in conventional RF power supplies currently include an ADC module, a power amplifier, a VI sensor, and a main control module. The power amplifier primarily comprises an inverter and a transformer, with filters added as necessary. The inverter in the power amplifier often uses an H-bridge inverter circuit. However, during pulse switching, the multiple switching transistors in the H-bridge circuit can become fully conductive due to the continuous current flow, causing circuit damage. Improving RF power supplies to address these shortcomings is a pressing technical issue.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of the above analysis, the present application aims to disclose a radio frequency power supply and a radio frequency power supply system driven by a multi-pulse signal, which are used to solve the problem that the existing radio frequency power supply is prone to circuit damage during pulse switching.

[0007] On the one hand, the present application discloses a radio frequency power supply driven by a multi-pulse signal, wherein a multi-pulse generator, a switching controller and a switch are built into the main control module of the radio frequency power supply; wherein,

[0008] The switching controller is connected between the output end of the radio frequency power supply and the switch; the switch is connected between the multi-pulse generator and the inverter of the radio frequency power supply;

[0009] The multi-pulse generator generates a multi-level pulse signal based on a reference signal, and the output power and frequency of each level of the pulse signal are different;

[0010] The switching controller issues a pulse switching instruction of a pulse signal of a corresponding level according to the collected electrical signal from the output end of the radio frequency power supply;

[0011] The switch switches the multi-level pulse signal generated by the multi-pulse generator based on the pulse switching instruction, outputs it to the inverter to drive the radio frequency power supply, and switches the output power and frequency of the radio frequency power supply.

[0012] Based on the above solution, this application also makes the following improvements:

[0013] Furthermore, the inverter is an H-bridge inverter, H1 / H2 is a half-bridge control path of the H-bridge, and H3 / H4 is the other half-bridge control path of the H-bridge;

[0014] The multi-pulse generator includes N levels of pulse generators for generating pulse signals with levels from LV1 to LVN; wherein,

[0015] The pulse generator of level LVn includes LVn-H1 / H2 module and LVn-H3 / H4 module; LVn-H1 / H2 module and LVn-H3 / H4 module respectively generate pulse signals of level LVn for driving H1 / H2 half-bridge control path and H3 / H4 half-bridge control path of H-bridge inverter;

[0016] The value of n is 1 to N.

[0017] Furthermore, the switch includes a linked switch group T1 and a switch group T2;

[0018] The switching switch group T1 includes N switches: switch T1-LV1-H1 / H2 to switch T1-LVN-H1 / H2; among which, switch T1-LVn-H1 / H2 is used to control the operation of the LVn-H1 / H2 module;

[0019] The switch group T2 includes N switches: switch T2-LV1-H3 / H4 to switch T2-LVN-H3 / H4; wherein, switch T2-LVn-H3 / H4 is used to control the operation of the LVn-H3 / H4 module;

[0020] When switching to the pulse signal of level LVn, the switches T1-LVn-H1 / H2 and T2-LVn-H3 / H4 of the pulse signal of level LVn are linked and closed, and the other switches are opened.

[0021] Furthermore, the RF power supply further includes a switching enable controller; wherein,

[0022] The switching enable controller is connected between the switch and the inverter of the radio frequency power supply;

[0023] The switching enable controller is used to reset the control signal of the inverter to zero during the switching process of the multi-level pulse signal; and is also used to generate the control signal of the inverter according to the input pulse signal during the non-switching process of the multi-level pulse signal;

[0024] The inverter drives the radio frequency power source based on a control signal of the inverter.

[0025] Furthermore, the switching enable controller includes an encoder, a pulse signal converter and an inverter controller; wherein,

[0026] The encoder is used to output a high potential or a low potential;

[0027] The pulse signal converter converts the pulse signal input by the switch to obtain an inverter control reference signal;

[0028] The inverter controller, during the switching process of the multi-level pulse signal, sets the control signal of the inverter output by the inverter controller to zero according to the low potential of the set time width provided by the encoder, and turns off the switching tube of the inverter; and also during the non-switching process of the multi-level pulse signal, outputs the inverter control reference signal as the control signal of the inverter to the switching tube of the inverter according to the high potential of the set time width provided by the encoder to perform power driving.

[0029] Furthermore, the pulse signal converter includes a DAC module, a first inversion module, a filtering module, a comparison module and a second inversion module arranged in sequence; wherein,

[0030] The switch outputs the input pulse signal in the form of a digital signal;

[0031] The DAC module converts the input pulse signal into an analog signal as a positive phase analog signal;

[0032] The first inversion module inverts the positive-phase analog signal to obtain an inverted-phase analog signal;

[0033] The filtering module filters the positive phase analog signal and the negative phase analog signal respectively;

[0034] The comparison module compares the filtered positive phase analog signal and the negative phase analog signal to obtain a comparison signal as a positive phase comparison signal;

[0035] The second inverting module inverts the positive comparison signal to obtain an inverted comparison signal;

[0036] The positive phase comparison signal and the negative phase comparison signal are combined to obtain the inverter control reference signal.

[0037] Furthermore, among the multi-level pulse signals generated by the multi-pulse generator, at least two levels of pulse signals are enabled; and simultaneously, during the switching process of the multi-level pulse signals, only the enabled pulse signals at each level are switched.

[0038] In one cycle of the reference signal, the sum of the total running time of the enabled pulse signals of each level and the total running time of the encoder maintaining a low level is less than the running time of one cycle of the reference signal.

[0039] Furthermore, if the multi-pulse generator only generates two-level pulse signals, including a high excitation pulse signal and a low excitation pulse signal; wherein,

[0040] High excitation pulse signals are used for ignition, ionization and process operation;

[0041] A low excitation pulse signal is used to maintain the two levels of ionization energy.

[0042] Furthermore, a DC / DC module is connected between the ADC module and the power amplifier of the radio frequency power supply; the DC / DC module converts the potential of the input power amplifier into a set potential value through direct current voltage conversion.

[0043] On the other hand, the present application also provides a radio frequency power supply system, comprising a plurality of radio frequency power supplies driven by a multi-pulse signal as described above; wherein one radio frequency power supply serves as a master radio frequency power supply to supply power to a connected chamber load; and the remaining radio frequency power supplies serve as slave radio frequency power supplies to supply power to their respective connected chamber loads;

[0044] The main control modules of each of the slave RF power supplies are respectively connected to the main control module of the master RF power supply, obtain a reference signal or a pulse switching instruction from the master RF power supply, and switch the output power and frequency of each slave RF power supply according to the reference signal or the pulse switching instruction obtained from the master RF power supply, so that the output power value, frequency value, and power and frequency switching of the master RF power supply and the slave RF power supply are kept consistent.

[0045] This application can achieve one of the following beneficial effects:

[0046] The RF power supply based on multi-pulse signal drive provided by the present application mainly improves the main control module of the RF power supply and the control links related to the main control module. Through the mutual cooperation of the multi-pulse generator, the switch, the switching controller, and the switching enable controller, the switching of multi-level pulse signals can be realized to switch the output power and frequency of the RF power supply accordingly. At the same time, by setting the control signal of the inverter to zero during the switching process of the multi-level pulse signal, the full conduction of the H-bridge in the inverter is effectively avoided, and it is not easy to cause circuit damage, so that the RF power supply can still operate stably during the pulse switching overshoot, which solves the problem that the existing RF power supply is prone to circuit damage and poor stability during pulse switching. It is suitable for various forms of RF power supplies or combinations of RF power supplies.

[0047] In addition, this application also provides a specific structure of a switching enable controller with a simple circuit structure and rigorous control logic, which provides a guarantee for providing reliable and stable inverter control signals and provides technical guidance for technical personnel in this field to implement this solution.

[0048] Finally, when using a multi-pulse signal with three or more levels, the number of levels can be flexibly selected based on actual needs. When using a two-level pulse signal, ionization and processing are performed during the high-excitation period of the pulse, while the plasma ionization state is maintained during the low-excitation period, allowing stable operation during pulse switching.

[0049] The RF power supply system provided in this application can realize master-slave control between the master and slave RF power supplies, so that the output power value, frequency value, and power and frequency switching of the master RF power supply and the slave RF power supply remain consistent, thereby simplifying the joint control of multiple RF power supplies and effectively expanding the application scenarios of RF power supplies.

[0050] In this application, the above-mentioned technical solutions can be combined with each other to achieve more preferred combination solutions. Other features and advantages of this application will be described in the subsequent description, and some advantages will become apparent from the description or be understood by practicing this application. The objectives and other advantages of this application can be achieved and obtained through the contents particularly pointed out in the description and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] The accompanying drawings are only used for the purpose of illustrating specific embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present application. Throughout the drawings, the same reference symbols denote the same components.

[0052] FIG1 is a first structural diagram of a radio frequency power supply based on multi-pulse signal driving provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG2 is a second structural diagram of a radio frequency power supply based on multi-pulse signal driving according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG3 is a third structural diagram of a radio frequency power supply driven by a multi-pulse signal according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG4 is a fourth structural diagram of a radio frequency power supply based on multi-pulse signal driving according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG5 is a circuit formed by a multi-pulse generator, a switch, and a switching enable controller provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG6 is a timing diagram of drive control of a radio frequency power supply based on multi-pulse signal drive according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG7 is a timing diagram of the drive control output provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG8 is a diagram of a radio frequency power supply with a single-phase power input (excluding a main control module) provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG9 is a diagram of a three-phase power input RF power supply (excluding a main control module) provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG10 is a diagram of a radio frequency power supply system according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] The preferred embodiments of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein the accompanying drawings constitute a part of the present application and are used together with the embodiments of the present application to illustrate the principles of the present application.

[0063] A specific embodiment of the present application discloses a radio frequency power supply driven by a multi-pulse signal, and a structural schematic diagram is shown in Figure 1. The main control module of the radio frequency power supply has a built-in multi-pulse generator, a switching controller and a switch; wherein the switching controller is connected between the output end of the radio frequency power supply and the switch; the switch is connected between the multi-pulse generator and the inverter of the radio frequency power supply; the multi-pulse generator generates a multi-level pulse signal based on a reference signal, and the output power and frequency of each level of pulse signal are different; the switching controller issues a pulse switching instruction for the pulse signal of the corresponding level according to the collected electrical signal at the output end of the radio frequency power supply; the switch switches the multi-level pulse signal generated by the multi-pulse generator based on the pulse switching instruction, and outputs it to the inverter to drive the radio frequency power supply, switching the output power and frequency of the radio frequency power supply.

[0064] Preferably, in this embodiment, the electrical signal collected from the output of the RF power supply can be a voltage, a current, or a combination of voltage and current. After collecting the electrical signal from the output of the RF power supply, the switching controller processes it to determine the control amount of the RF power supply's output power and frequency. Based on the matching relationship between the control amount of the RF power supply's output power and frequency and the pulse signals of each level, the controller determines the selected pulse signal of the corresponding level and issues a pulse switching instruction for the pulse signal of the corresponding level. Furthermore, during specific implementation, a DC / DC module is connected between the ADC module and the power amplifier of the RF power supply; the DC / DC module converts the DC voltage to a set potential value at the input of the power amplifier.

[0065] Preferably, the RF power supply driven by a multi-pulse signal further includes a switching enable controller. In this case, the structural schematic diagram of the RF power supply driven by a multi-pulse signal is shown in Figure 2. The switching enable controller is connected between the switch and the inverter of the RF power supply; the switching enable controller is configured to reset the inverter control signal to zero during the switching process of the multi-level pulse signal; and is further configured to generate the inverter control signal based on the input pulse signal during the non-switching process of the multi-level pulse signal; the inverter drives the RF power supply based on the inverter control signal.

[0066] In this embodiment, the multi-level pulse signal generated by the multi-pulse generator is stored in the main control module of the radio frequency power supply. FPGA, MCU, or similar electronic computing devices that can read parameters and output parameters corresponding signals can be used. The switching between the multi-level pulse signals is processed by the internal operation of the FPGA, which is a soft-controlled switching output; it can also be a standard signal generating circuit; or it can be a soft-drive hard control module with both soft and hard functions. The interface shown in Figure 1 can be used to realize data interaction between the main control module of the radio frequency power supply and the outside world. In the specific implementation process, the multi-pulse generator generates at least two levels of pulse signals, including a high excitation pulse signal and a low excitation pulse signal. Among them, the high excitation pulse signal is used for ignition, ionization and process operation, and the low excitation pulse signal is used to maintain two levels of ionization energy.

[0067] Preferably, the switching enable controller includes an encoder (ENC), a pulse signal converter and an inverter controller. At this time, the structural diagram of the RF power supply driven by multiple pulse signals is shown in Figure 3. In Figure 3, the encoder is used to output a high potential (representing a digital signal 1) or a low potential (representing a digital signal 0); the pulse signal converter converts the pulse signal connected to the switch to obtain an inverter control reference signal; the inverter controller, during the switching process of the multi-level pulse signal, sets the control signal of the inverter output by the inverter controller to zero according to the low potential of the set time width provided by the encoder, and turns off the switch tube of the inverter; and during the non-switching process of the multi-level pulse signal, according to the high potential of the set time width provided by the encoder, outputs the inverter control reference signal as the control signal of the inverter to the switch tube of the inverter for power driving. Specifically, the pulse signal converter includes a DAC module, a first inverting module, a filtering module, a comparison module and a second inverting module arranged in sequence. A switcher outputs the input pulse signal in the form of a digital signal; a DAC module converts the input pulse signal into an analog signal as a positive-phase analog signal; a first inverting module inverts the positive-phase analog signal to obtain an inverted-phase analog signal; a filtering module filters the positive-phase analog signal and the inverted-phase analog signal respectively; a comparison module compares the filtered positive-phase analog signal and the inverted-phase analog signal to obtain a comparison signal as a positive-phase comparison signal; a second inverting module inverts the positive-phase comparison signal to obtain an inverted-phase comparison signal; and the positive-phase comparison signal and the inverted-phase comparison signal are combined to obtain the inverter control reference signal.

[0068] In this embodiment, the inverter is an H-bridge inverter, H1 / H2 is a half-bridge control path of the H-bridge, and H3 / H4 is the other half-bridge control path of the H-bridge. The multi-pulse generator includes N levels of pulse generators for generating pulse signals of levels from LV1 to LVN; wherein the pulse generator of level LVn includes LVn-H1 / H2 modules and LVn-H3 / H4 modules; the LVn-H1 / H2 modules and LVn-H3 / H4 modules respectively generate pulse signals of level LVn for driving the H1 / H2 half-bridge control path and the H3 / H4 half-bridge control path of the H-bridge inverter; the value of n is 1 to N. Preferably, the switch includes a linked switching switch group T1 and a switching switch group T2. At this time, the structural schematic diagram of the RF power supply driven by the multi-pulse signal is shown in Figure 4. The switching switch group T1 includes N switches: switch T1-LV1-H1 / H2 to switch T1-LVN-H1 / H2; among them, switch T1-LVn-H1 / H2 is used to control the operation of the LVn-H1 / H2 module; the switching switch group T2 includes N switches: switch T2-LV1-H3 / H4 to switch T2-LVN-H3 / H4; among them, switch T2-LVn-H3 / H4 is used to control the operation of the LVn-H3 / H4 module; when switching to a pulse signal of level LVn, the switches T1-LVn-H1 / H2 and T2-LVn-H3 / H4 of the pulse signal of level LVn are linked and closed, and the other switches are disconnected. In Figure 4, the DAC module includes a first DAC unit and a second DAC unit; the first inverting module includes a first inverter and a second inverter; the filtering module includes a first filter, a second filter, a third filter, and a fourth filter; the comparison module includes a first differential comparator and a second differential comparator; the second inverting module includes a third inverter and a fourth inverter; the output end of the switching switch group T1 is connected to the input end of the first DAC unit; one output end of the first DAC unit is connected to the input end of the first filter, and the other output end is connected to the input end of the second filter after being inverted by the first inverter, and the output ends of the first filter and the second filter are respectively connected to the non-inverting input end of the first differential comparator. The output of the first differential comparator is connected to the input of the third inverter; the output of the switching switch group T2 is connected to the input of the second DAC unit; one output of the second DAC unit is connected to the input of the third filter, and the other output is connected to the input of the fourth filter after being inverted by the second inverter; the outputs of the third filter and the fourth filter are respectively connected to the non-inverting input and the inverting input of the second differential comparator; the output of the second differential comparator is connected to the input of the fourth inverter; the four signals outputted from the output of the first differential comparator, the output of the third inverter, the output of the second differential comparator, and the output of the fourth inverter are combined to form the inverter control reference signal.

[0069] Preferably, the inverter controller includes a first AND gate, a second AND gate, a third AND gate, and a fourth AND gate; wherein the output of the first differential comparator is connected to the first input of the first AND gate, the output of the third inverter is connected to the first input of the second AND gate, the output of the second differential comparator is connected to the first input of the third AND gate, and the output of the fourth inverter is connected to the first input of the fourth AND gate; the second inputs of the first, second, third, and fourth AND gates are respectively connected to the output of the encoder; and the outputs of the first, second, third, and fourth AND gates are respectively connected to the control terminals of H1, H2, H3, and H4. In this case, the circuit formed by the multi-pulse generator, the switch, and the switch enable controller is shown in Figure 5.

[0070] Preferably, at least two levels of pulse signals are enabled among the multi-level pulse signals generated by the multi-pulse generator; and during the switching process of the multi-level pulse signals, only the enabled pulse signals of each level are switched. That is, when the total number of levels of all pulse signals generated by the multi-pulse generator is N, the number of enabled pulse signals is m, 2≤m≤N; during the switching process of the multi-level pulse signals, only the enabled m-level pulse signals are switched. Furthermore, within one cycle of the reference signal, the sum of the total operating time of the enabled pulse signals of each level and the total operating time during which the encoder remains at a low level is less than the operating time of one cycle of the reference signal.

[0071] Below, assuming that the frequency of the reference signal is 1 KHz and the duty cycle is 50% (expressed as REF-1 KHz-50%), and taking the dual-stage pulse signal switching as an example, the operation process of the RF power supply driven by the multi-pulse signal will be described.

[0072] The control data of H1 / H2 / H3 / H4 of the corresponding level is selected according to the level of the pulse signal. In this embodiment, the control mode corresponding to H1 / H2 / H3 / H4 and the pulse signal of level LV1 is represented as path A, and the control mode corresponding to H1 / H2 / H3 / H4 and the pulse signal of level LV2 is represented as path B. In this embodiment, with the reference signal as a reference, the on-off (or switching) of path A / B and the 0-1 switching process of ENC are driven and controlled. The timing diagram of the drive control of the RF power supply driven by multiple pulse signals is shown in Figure 6. In Figure 6, path A and path B are switched alternately, and ENC is switched during the alternation between path A and path B. Among them, the duty cycle of the ENC startup time does not exceed 1% of the cycle length of the reference signal. In principle, the smaller the better. The timing diagram in Figure 6 is explained as follows:

[0073] (1) When the reference signal switches to a high level (which is a switching process of a multi-level pulse signal), the ENC outputs a low level, so that all the switches of the inverter are turned off and the inverter outputs zero potential;

[0074] (2) When the reference signal remains at a high level (belonging to the non-switching process of the multi-level pulse signal), ENC outputs a high level, so that the on-off state of the switch tube in the inverter matches path A, and the inverter is driven by the pulse signal LV1 of the corresponding level corresponding to path A;

[0075] (3) When the reference signal switches to a low level (which is a switching process of a multi-level pulse signal), the ENC outputs a low level, so that all the switches of the inverter are turned off, and the inverter outputs zero potential;

[0076] (4) When the reference signal remains at a low level (belonging to the non-switching process of the multi-level pulse signal), ENC outputs a high level, so that the on-off state of the switch tube in the inverter matches path B, and the corresponding level pulse signal LV2 corresponding to path B is used to power drive the inverter.

[0077] Specifically, during the alternating switching between paths A and B, the RF power base signal (the output signal of the pulse signal converter) also switches between LV1 and LV2, and the pulse signal converter generates the corresponding power and frequency outputs for LV1 / LV2. Meanwhile, ENC is normally 1, but during the switching between paths A and B, ENC will have a very small duty cycle time to output 0 power. According to the structure of the multi-pulse drive generator of the RF power supply, the output of ENC will first be ANDed with the RF power base signal. According to the AND gate truth table, if any input is 0, the output is 0. Therefore, when ENC is 0, regardless of which level of base signal output it is connected to, it is 0. Therefore, during the alternating switching between paths A and B, because the control signals to the inverter are all 0, the inverter does not operate during this period. The timing diagram of the drive control output is shown in Figure 7. In Figure 7, a waveform with a relatively low amplitude illustrates the waveform detail timing diagram of the drive control signal corresponding to the LV2 pulse signal in Figure 6, and a waveform with a relatively high amplitude illustrates the waveform detail timing diagram of the drive control signal corresponding to the LV1 pulse signal in Figure 6. The waveform with an amplitude of nearly 0 between the two waveforms illustrates the waveform detail timing diagram when the drive control signal is 0. Therefore, there is no situation where the H-bridge switch tube is fully turned on. The above method is applicable to single-phase power input and three-phase power input. The RF power supply (excluding the main control module) with single-phase power input and three-phase power input are shown in Figures 8 and 9 respectively. At the same time, Figures 8 and 9 illustrate the inverter structure in the RF power supply.

[0078] When switching to path A, path A1 (LV1-H1 / H2) and path A2 (LV1-H3 / H4) alternate based on the frequency of pulse signal LV1. This switching can be software or hardware. Referring to Figure 5, when path A1 is active, the FPGA outputs control signal X for H1 / H2 of LV1. Signal X is a digital signal that is converted to analog signal X' by the DAC. Analog signal X' is split into two paths. One path passes through a NOT gate, generating two positive and negative signals, X1 and X2. These two signals are filtered and input to a differential comparator to generate control signal Y. The same signal Y is split into two paths. One path passes through a NOT gate, generating two positive and negative signals, Y1 and Y2, which are used to control H1 and H2 of the same half-bridge. Similarly, when path A2 is active, the FPGA outputs control signals for H3 / H4 of LV1 in a similar manner, controlling H3 and H4 of the same half-bridge. In principle, H1 and H3 conduct with the same duty cycle, while H2 and H4 conduct with the same duty cycle. Similarly, when switching to path B, path B1 (LV2-H1 / H2) and path B2 (LV2-H3 / H4) alternate according to frequency, causing H1 / H3 and H2 / H4 in LV2 to alternate. During the aforementioned switching process between paths A / B, if paths A / B are physical circuits, they can also be replaced by path selectors.

[0079] Another specific embodiment of the present application further provides an RF power supply system, the structural schematic diagram of which is as shown in Figure 10, including multiple RF power supplies of the above structure; wherein, one RF power supply serves as a master RF power supply to power the connected chamber load; the remaining RF power supplies serve as slave RF power supplies (S slave RF power supplies are shown as an example in Figure 10), which respectively power the chamber loads connected to them; the main control module of each slave RF power supply is respectively connected to the main control module of the master RF power supply, obtains a reference signal or a pulse switching instruction from the master RF power supply, and switches the output power and frequency of each slave RF power supply according to the reference signal or pulse switching instruction obtained from the master RF power supply, so that the output power value, frequency value, and power and frequency switching of the master RF power supply and the slave RF power supply remain consistent.

[0080] Specifically, when the master control modules of each slave RF power supply obtain a reference signal from the master RF power supply, each slave RF power supply's master control module switches the multi-level pulse signal generated by its respective multi-pulse generator based on the same reference signal and its own generated pulse switching instruction, and outputs the signal to its respective inverter to drive the RF power supply, thereby switching the output power and frequency of the RF power supply. When the master control modules of each slave RF power supply obtain a pulse switching instruction from the master RF power supply, each slave RF power supply's master control module directly switches the multi-level pulse signal generated by its respective multi-pulse generator based on the same pulse switching instruction, and outputs the signal to its respective inverter to drive the RF power supply, thereby switching the output power and frequency of the RF power supply. Both approaches ensure that the output power and frequency values ​​of the master and slave RF power supplies, as well as the switching of power and frequency, remain consistent.

[0081] The above is only a preferred specific implementation method of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or replacements that can be easily thought of by any technician familiar with this technical field within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be covered by the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A radio frequency power source driven by a multi-pulse signal, characterized in that: The main control module of the radio frequency power supply has a built-in multi-pulse generator, a switching controller and a switch; wherein, The switching controller is connected between the output end of the RF power supply and the switch; the switch is connected between the multi-pulse generator and the inverter of the RF power supply; The multi-pulse generator generates a multi-level pulse signal based on a reference signal, and the output power and frequency of each level of the pulse signal are different; The switching controller sends a pulse switching instruction of a pulse signal of a corresponding level according to the collected electrical signal at the output end of the radio frequency power supply; The switch switches the multi-level pulse signal generated by the multi-pulse generator based on the pulse switching instruction, and outputs it to the inverter to drive the radio frequency power supply, thereby switching the output power and frequency of the radio frequency power supply.

2. The radio frequency power source based on multi-pulse signal driving according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inverter is an H-bridge inverter, H1 / H2 is a half-bridge control path of the H-bridge, and H3 / H4 is another half-bridge control path of the H-bridge; The multi-pulse generator includes N levels of pulse generators for generating pulse signals with levels from LV1 to LVN; wherein, The pulse generator of level LVn includes LVn-H1 / H2 module and LVn-H3 / H4 module; LVn-H1 / H2 module and LVn-H3 / H4 module respectively generate pulse signals of level LVn for driving H1 / H2 half-bridge control path and H3 / H4 half-bridge control path of H-bridge inverter; The value of n is 1 to N.

3. The radio frequency power source based on multi-pulse signal driving according to claim 2, characterized in that: The switch includes a linked switch group T1 and a switch group T2; The switching switch group T1 includes N switches: switch T1-LV1-H1 / H2 to switch T1-LVN-H1 / H2; wherein the switch T1-LVn-H1 / H2 is used to control the operation of the LVn-H1 / H2 module; The switching switch group T2 includes N switches: switch T2-LV1-H3 / H4 to switch T2-LVN-H3 / H4; wherein the switch T2-LVn-H3 / H4 is used to control the operation of the LVn-H3 / H4 module; When switching to a pulse signal of level LVn, switches T1-LVn-H1 / H2 and T2-LVn-H3 / H4 of the pulse signal of level LVn are linked and closed, and the remaining switches are opened.

4. The radio frequency power source based on multi-pulse signal driving according to claim 3, characterized in that: The RF power supply also includes a switching enable controller; wherein, The switching enable controller is connected between the switch and the inverter of the radio frequency power supply; The switching enable controller is used to reset the control signal of the inverter to zero during the switching process of the multi-level pulse signal; and is also used to generate the control signal of the inverter according to the connected pulse signal during the non-switching process of the multi-level pulse signal; The inverter drives the radio frequency power source based on a control signal of the inverter.

5. The radio frequency power source based on multi-pulse signal driving according to claim 4, characterized in that: The switching enable controller includes an encoder, a pulse signal converter and an inverter controller; wherein, The encoder is used to output a high potential or a low potential; The pulse signal converter converts the pulse signal input by the switch to obtain an inverter control reference signal; The inverter controller, during the switching process of the multi-level pulse signal, sets the control signal of the inverter output by the inverter controller to zero and turns off the switch tube of the inverter according to the low potential of the set time width provided by the encoder; and also during the non-switching process of the multi-level pulse signal, outputs the inverter control reference signal as the control signal of the inverter to the switch tube of the inverter for power driving according to the high potential of the set time width provided by the encoder.

6. The radio frequency power source based on multi-pulse signal driving according to claim 5, characterized in that: The pulse signal converter comprises a DAC module, a first inversion module, a filtering module, a comparison module and a second inversion module arranged in sequence; wherein, The switch outputs the connected pulse signal in the form of a digital signal; The DAC module converts the input pulse signal into an analog signal as a positive phase analog signal; The first inversion module inverts the positive phase analog signal to obtain an inverted phase analog signal; The filtering module filters the positive phase analog signal and the negative phase analog signal respectively; The comparison module compares the filtered positive phase analog signal and the negative phase analog signal to obtain a comparison signal as a positive phase comparison signal; The second inversion module inverts the positive comparison signal to obtain an inverted comparison signal; The positive phase comparison signal and the negative phase comparison signal are combined to obtain the inverter control reference signal.

7. The radio frequency power source based on multi-pulse signal driving according to claim 6, characterized in that: Among the multi-level pulse signals generated by the multi-pulse generator, at least two levels of pulse signals are enabled; meanwhile, during the switching process of the multi-level pulse signals, only the enabled pulse signals at each level are switched. In one cycle of the reference signal, the sum of the total running time of the enabled pulse signals of each level and the total running time of the encoder maintaining a low level is less than the running time of one cycle of the reference signal.

8. The radio frequency power source based on multi-pulse signal driving according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: If the multi-pulse generator only generates two-level pulse signals, including a high excitation pulse signal and a low excitation pulse signal; wherein, High excitation pulse signals are used for ignition, ionization and process operation; A low excitation pulse signal is used to maintain the two levels of ionization energy.

9. The radio frequency power source based on multi-pulse signal driving according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: A DC / DC module is connected between the ADC module of the radio frequency power supply and the power amplifier; the DC / DC module converts the potential of the input power amplifier to a set potential value through direct current voltage conversion.

10. A radio frequency power supply system, characterized in that: Comprising a plurality of RF power supplies driven by multi-pulse signals as described in any one of claims 1 to 9; wherein one RF power supply is used as a master RF power supply to supply power to a connected chamber load; and the remaining RF power supplies are used as slave RF power supplies to supply power to their respective connected chamber loads; The main control modules of each of the slave RF power supplies are respectively connected to the main control module of the master RF power supply, obtain reference signals or pulse switching instructions from the master RF power supply, and switch the output power and frequency of each slave RF power supply according to the reference signal or pulse switching instruction obtained from the master RF power supply, so that the output power value, frequency value, and power and frequency switching of the main RF power supply and the slave RF power supply remain consistent.

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