595 results about "Electric arc discharge" patented technology

Various safe switching mechanisms are provided for use with electrosurgical instruments which prevent arcing between the high-energy contacts as the high-energy source is activated. The switching mechanisms generally include a pair of high-energy contacts and a pair of activation contacts. An actuator is provided which initially engages the high-energy contacts in advance of engagement of the activation contacts to prevent arcing and subsequently disengages the activation contacts in advance of the high-energy contacts as the energy source is deactivated. A method of switching power to an electrosurgical instrument while avoiding damage to high-energy contacts is also disclosed.

Method and apparatus for detecting or suppressing electrical arcing or other abnormal change in the electrical impedance of a load connected to a power source. Preferably the load is a plasma chamber used for manufacturing electronic components such as semiconductors and flat panel displays. Arcing is detected by monitoring one or more sensors. Each sensor either responds to a characteristic of the electrical power being supplied by an electrical power source to the plasma or is coupled to the plasma chamber so as to respond to an electromagnetic condition within the chamber. Arcing is suppressed by reducing the power output for a brief period. Then the power source increases its power output, preferably to its original value. If the arcing resumes, the power source repeats the steps of reducing and then restoring the power output.

This device is a brushless high-voltage electrical generator, requiring suitable means of input rotary torque, for purposes of producing a very-high-energy external electrodynamic field or continuous quasi-coherent DC corona or arc discharge of uniform current density which completely encloses the machine's conductive housing. This housing is divided into distinct electrical sections and contains a flat conductive rotor which electrically links separate negative and positive housing sections and upon which a plurality of toroidal generating coils are rotatably mounted. Circular arrays of stationary permanent magnets are affixed within the housing which induce a constant DC voltage within said coils upon their rotation. The primary voltage so-generated is electrostatically impressed across the rotor such that great quantities of electronic charge may be transported between the opposite polarity sections of the housing, in such a manner that a much higher secondary voltage is caused to appear across interposed neutral sections thereof, and the resulting external breakdown current once initiated is independent of the generating coils' ampacity. Ancillary mechanical, electrical, an/or electronic features may be attached upon or within the housing to aid in harnessing and controlling the useful effects associated with the external dynamic electric field produced by the device.

This invention relates to an arc-based method for the deposition of insulating layers and to an arc-based method for low-temperature coating processes, in which an electric arc discharge, ignited and applied on the surface of a target in an arc source, is simultaneously fed a direct current and a pulsed or alternating current.

The invention further relates to an arc source in which the target is connected to a power supply unit that encompasses either a minimum of one pulsed high-current power supply 18, 18′ and an additional power supply 13′, 18″, or a power supply 21, 21′, 22 designed with switchable combinatorial circuitry.

In a simple method and device for producing plasma flows of a metal and/or a gas electric discharges are periodically produced between the anode and a metal magnetron sputtering cathode in crossed electric and magnetic fields in a chamber having a low pressure of a gas. The discharges are produced so that each discharge comprises a first period with a low electrical current passing between the anode and cathode for producing a metal vapor by magnetron sputtering, and a second period with a high electrical current passing between the anode and cathode for producing an ionization of gas and the produced metal vapor. Instead of the first period a constant current discharge can be used. Intensive gas or metal plasma flows can be produced without forming contracted arc discharges. The selfsputtering phenomenon can be used.

A gas distribution ceiling electrode for use as a capacitive source power applicator and gas distribution showerhead in a plasma reactor includes a metal base and a process-compatible protective layer on the interior surface of he electrode having a dopant impurity concentration within a range corresponding to a minimal change in RF power absorption in the protective layer at an RF source power frequency with changes in coating temperature and or thickness. The metal base may have a set of first arcuately slotted gas passages and a set of pressure-dropping orifices coinciding axially with the top ends of the gas passages. The protective coating a set of arcuately slotted gas passages in registration gas passages of the metal base. The pressure drop in the orifices and the electric field drop in the slotted gas passages are both sufficient to maintain the pressure and electric field within the gas passages within a range that prevents arcing.

A method of detecting arcing conditions includes sensing current and HF signals therefrom; bandpass filtering the HF signals and providing filtered signals; detecting peak signals and envelopes from the filtered signals; counting occurrences of the envelopes exceeding a first value; maintaining temporary values corresponding to the peak signals; determining a trip time as a function of the current; determining if any peak signal is greater than a second value, and responsively increasing a temporary value and, otherwise, decreasing the temporary value; determining if a predetermined function of the temporary values is greater than a fifth value, and adding the temporary values to an accumulator, and otherwise, decreasing the accumulator; and tripping open the power circuit if: a difference between the occurrences of current and immediately previous half cycle having the same polarity is at least two, the accumulator is greater than a seventh value, and the trip time is reached.

A vacuum coating and plasma treatment system includes a magnetron cathode with a long edge and a short edge. The magnetic pole of the magnetron results in an electromagnetic barrier. At least one remote arc discharge is generated separate from the magnetron cathode and in close proximity to the cathode so that it is confined within a volume adjacent to the magnetron target. The remote arc discharge extends parallel to the long edge of the magnetron target and is defined by the surface of the target on one side and the electromagnetic barrier on all other sides. There is a remote arc discharge cathode hood and anode hood extending over the arc discharge and across the short edge of the magnetron cathode. Outside of the plasma assembly is a magnetic system creating magnetic field lines which extend into and confine the plasma in front of the substrate.

A method and apparatus for providing a fluid distribution element for an electrostatic chuck that reduces plasma formation and arcing within heat transfer fluid passages. One embodiment comprises a plate and a dielectric component, where the dielectric component is inserted into the plate. The plate is adapted to be positioned within a channel to define a plenum, wherein the dielectric component provides at least a portion of a fluid passage coupled to the plenum. A porous dielectric layer, formed upon the dielectric component, provides at least another portion of a fluid passage coupled to the plenum. In other embodiments, the fluid distribution element comprises various arrangements of components to define a fluid passage that does not provide a line-of-sight path from the support surface for a substrate to a plenum.

A plasma generating apparatus has a plasma-generating vessel into which a gas is introduced. A coaxial line is inserted into the plasma-generating vessel. The coaxial line is insulated from the vessel with an insulator. The coaxial line has a central conductor and an outer conductor, to both of which microwave is supplied from a magnetron. That part of the central conductor which is located inside the plasma-generating vessel has, disposed therein, permanent magnets which form a cusp field. A seed plasma is formed around the permanent magnets by microwave discharge. A direct-current voltage is applied from a direct-voltage source between the outer conductor 24 and the plasma-generating vessel. Upon this application, electrons in the seed plasma move toward the inner wall of the plasma-generating vessel and are accelerated to ionize the gas. The ionized gas serves as seeds to cause arc discharge between the outer conductor and the plasma-generating vessel to generate a main plasma. By disposing an extracting electrode at the opening of the plasma-generating vessel, ion beams can be extracted from the main plasma.

In a vacuum arc evaporation apparatus, to stably maintain vacuum arc discharge at an arc source when depositing a cathode material on a substrate, namely a magnetic recording medium, an ungrounded anode of a coil-type tube is placed inside an arc source discharge vacuum chamber. A DC arc power supply is connected between the cathode and the anode to cause an arc current to flow in the anode to generate a first magnetic field in one direction, from the cathode toward the anode. A second magnetic field is generated in the opposite direction, from the anode to the cathode by feeding a specified current to an external coil positioned around the discharge chamber. The external coil includes an around-cathode coil and an around-anode coil. The arc discharge can be started by operating a striker to carry out the deposition.

Arc suppression systems, devices and methods for avoiding undesirable arcing conditions inside a liquid-filled tank of a high-voltage electrical apparatus.

Method for producing poorly conductive and in particular nonconductive layers on at least one work piece by means of a vacuum-coating process in which an electric arc discharge is activated between at least one anode and the cathode of an arc source in a reactive-gas atmosphere, whereby on the surface of a target that is electrically connected to the cathode either none or only a small outer magnetic field is generated that extends essentially perpendicular to the target surface for assisting the evaporation process, the degree of recoating of the target surface by other coating sources is less than 10%, and the magnetic field is generated with a magnet system that encompasses at least one axially polarized coil with a geometry similar to the circumference of the target.

The present invention relates to a device for indoor air purification and sterilization which excites indoor air by arc discharge to decompose bad odor and sterilize air, wherein an excited state is maintained by applying a magnetic field and the contact time between molecules activated by arc and pollutants is extended, thereby improving air purification and sterilization effects, and the noise generated by arc discharge is reduced by a silencer and ozone and static electricity are removed by a filter which removes ozone and a metal filter for removing static electricity, respectively, thereby enabling very suitable configuration for indoor air purification and sterilization.

Disclosed a nitric oxide supply system of respiratory failure rescue device belongs to the disease therapy apparatus, which avoids the high concentration NO gas cylinder, the high concentration dry gas cylinder and the nitrogen-oxygen mixed gas cylinder. The invention uses the air as raw material for attaining the NO at any time without the storage and via controlling the electric discharge condition, generates NO gas at most with least NO2 harmful gas to attain the low ratio of NO2/NO. While the concentration of NO ranges from 0-200 ppm in the pulse frequency of 1-90 Hz. The invention comprises an air pump connected in series to the gas passage, a clean-dry air generating device, a flow counter, a pulse generate and control circuit, a arc discharge reactor, a particle filter film, a NO2 catalytic reduction conversion apparatus, a cooler, a particle filter film, a selective absorber and a gas monitor.

In a method of detecting arc discharge in a glow-discharge apparatus GD that has a high-frequency power source PS, a cutting pulse is output for time T1 to the high-frequency power source PS to stop a supply of power to the glow-discharge apparatus GD, when dVr/dt−dVf/dt increases over a first level, where Vf and Vr are a traveling-wave voltage and a reflected-wave voltage applied to the glow-discharge apparatus GD, respectively. Arc discharge is determined to have developed in the glow-discharge apparatus, when Vr/Vf increases to a second level or a higher level within a preset time To after the supply of power to the glow-discharge apparatus is stopped.

A coating system includes a vacuum chamber and a coating assembly. The coating assembly includes a vapor source, a substrate holder, a remote anode electrically coupled to the cathode target, and a cathode chamber assembly. The cathode chamber assembly includes a cathode target, an optional primary anode and a shield which isolates the cathode target from the vacuum chamber. The shield defines an opening for transmitting an electron emission current of a remote arc discharge from the cathode target to the remote anode that streams along the target face long dimension. A primary power supply is connected between the cathode target and the primary anode while a secondary power supply is connected between the cathode target and the remote anode. Characteristically, a linear remote anode dimension and a vapor source short dimension are parallel to a dimension in which an arc spot is steered along the cathode target.