Impedance Matching Control Using Position-Based Power Limits
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing impedance matching apparatuses in high-frequency power supply systems for plasma processing struggle to determine abnormal voltage and current conditions accurately, leading to potential element breakage due to limited calculation capabilities and inability to monitor currents effectively.
Innovation Solution
An impedance matching apparatus with a matching unit, driving unit, controlling unit, input power acquiring unit, storing unit, and abnormality determining unit that detects and compares input power values with pre-stored allowable values to determine abnormal conditions, preventing element breakage by stopping power output when thresholds are exceeded.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If voltage calculation and monitoring is implemented to prevent element breakage, then element reliability is improved, but the system complexity and calculation load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-calculates and stores allowable power values in a lookup table before operation. During runtime, the system only performs simple retrieval and comparison operations rather than complex real-time voltage calculations, thereby improving reliability through monitoring while keeping the calculation load minimal
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a simplified model by storing pre-calculated power threshold data in a lookup table structure. Instead of performing complex voltage and current calculations during operation, the system uses this copied data structure for rapid comparison, reducing computational complexity while maintaining monitoring capability
2Measurement precision
If real-time voltage and current monitoring is performed to detect abnormal conditions, then measurement precision is improved, but the calculation load and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates allowable power values corresponding to different movable portion positions and stores them in advance. During operation, it only needs to retrieve the stored value matching the current position and compare with measured power, achieving precise abnormal condition detection without time-consuming real-time calculations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the monitoring task into discrete segments based on the movable portion positions. By creating separate allowable power values for each position segment, the system enables efficient lookup-based comparison rather than continuous complex calculation, improving both precision and speed
3Measurement precision
If complex voltage and current calculations are performed to determine abnormal conditions, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity decreases due to high calculation load
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs the complex calculation work in advance and stores the results in a lookup table. During the matching operation, the system only executes simple data retrieval and comparison, thereby maintaining high measurement precision while eliminating the productivity-reducing calculation burden
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copied representation of the complex calculation results in the form of a lookup table with pre-computed allowable power values. This copy enables rapid comparison operations during matching, preserving accuracy while dramatically improving operational speed
Data Source
AI summary
An impedance matching apparatus has: a storing portion 70 for previously storing, for plural positions which can be taken by a movable portion of a variable impedance element, allowable power values respectively corresponding to the plural positions of the movable portion; and an abnormality determining portion 80 for determining an allowable power value based on the present positions of the movable portion supplied from position detecting portions 41, 42 and the allowable power values stored in the storing portion 70, for comparing the allowable power value with an input power value, and for determining that it is abnormal when the input power value is larger than the allowable power value. Accordingly, the calculation load during the matching operation can be reduced.