The present invention controls, within a frequency range, an output command value not to exceed the upper limit of an output command permitted by a high-frequency amplifier. A method for controlling a high-frequency power supply device and the high-frequency power supply device involve performing frequency control within a frequency range of variable frequencies, limiting the upper limit of an output command value for controlling an output of a high-frequency amplifier within the frequency range of variable frequencies on the basis of an output limit value, and thereby preventing damaging of the high-frequency amplifier caused by an excessive command.

An ignition controlling method is performed in a film forming apparatus including: a processing container that accommodates a substrate; a plasma box formed on the processing container; a pair of electrodes arranged to sandwich the plasma box therebetween; and an RF power supply connected to the pair of electrodes via a matching box including a variable capacitor. The ignition controlling method includes: storing first information indicating a voltage between the electrodes for each of a plurality of adjustment positions of the variable capacitor, and second information indicating a voltage between the electrodes and the substrate; determining an initial position of the variable capacitor based on the first and second information; and selecting an area where a plasma ignition is to be performed from the plasma box and the processing container, by setting the adjustment positions of the variable capacitor to the initial position.

Various illustrative aspects are directed to a system. The system comprises a setpoint waveform streaming progenitor module, configured to receive inputs indicative of a desired setpoint waveform, and to output a data package based at least in part on the inputs indicative of the desired setpoint waveform, wherein the data package comprises a plurality of points, an interpolation method, and one or more interpolation parameters. The system further comprises a setpoint waveform streaming processing module, configured to receive the data package from the setpoint waveform streaming progenitor module, and to output a streaming setpoint waveform based at least in part on the data package.

Power supply devices for generating at least one electric high-frequency power signal for a plasma having at least a first plasma state and a second plasma state are provided. The power supply devices are configured to determine a first variable that characterizes a power reflected by the plasma in the first plasma state, determine a second variable that characterizes a power reflected by the plasma in the second plasma state, generate a third variable based on the first variable and the second variable, and control at least one of a frequency or a power of the high-frequency power signal based on the third variable.

Provided is a plasma control apparatus including a plasma electrode disposed in a plasma chamber and to which radio frequency (RF) power having a fundamental frequency configured to generate plasma is applied, an edge electrode disposed adjacent to the plasma electrode and corresponding to a plasma edge region, and a plasma control circuit electrically connected to the edge electrode, the plasma control circuit being configured to control an electrical boundary condition in a plasma edge boundary region of a first frequency component, a harmonic wave component generated by nonlinearity of the plasma and intermodulation distortion frequency components generated by a frequency component in the plasma chamber and each of the first frequency component and the harmonic wave component, wherein the plasma control circuit is configured to change the electrical boundary condition to control a standing wave in the plasma chamber.

Systems and methods for controlling directionality of ion flux at an edge region within a plasma chamber are described. One of the systems includes a radio frequency (RF) generator that is configured to generate an RF signal, an impedance matching circuit coupled to the RF generator for receiving the RF signal to generate a modified RF signal, and a plasma chamber. The plasma chamber includes an edge ring and a coupling ring located below the edge ring and coupled to the first impedance matching circuit to receive the modified RF signal. The coupling ring includes an electrode that generates a capacitance between the electrode and the edge ring to control the directionality of the ion flux upon receiving the modified RF signal.

An ion collector includes a plurality of segments and a plurality of integrators. The plurality of segments are physically separated from one another and spaced around a substrate support. Each of the segments includes a conductive element that is designed to conduct a current based on ions received from a plasma. Each of the plurality of integrators is coupled to a corresponding conductive element. Each of the plurality of integrators is designed to determine an ion distribution for a corresponding conductive element based, at least in part, on the current conducted at the corresponding conductive element. An example benefit of this embodiment includes the ability to determine how uniform the ion distribution is across a wafer being processed by the plasma.

A power supply system for a plasma process includes two separate power supplies of essentially identical performance characteristics, including a first power supply and a second power supply, and a data transfer connection operably coupling the two power supplies for data communication between the two power supplies. The first power supply is configured to: receive, in a standby mode, data via the data transfer connection from the second power supply supplying power to a plasma process in a normal operating mode, and supply, in an active backup mode, power to the plasma process in place of the second power supply, as a function of the received data. The first power supply can supply in the active backup mode to the plasma process the power having one or more characteristics that are substantially the same as those of the power provided by the second power supply in the normal operating mode.

Methods and apparatus for multi-station semiconductor deposition operations with RF power frequency tuning are disclosed. The RF power frequency may be tuned according to a measured impedance of a plasma during the semiconductor deposition operation. In certain implementations of the methods and apparatus, a RF power parameter may be adjusted during or prior to the deposition operation. Certain other implementations of the semiconductor deposition operations may include multiple different deposition processes with corresponding different recipes. The recipes may include different RF power parameters for each respective recipe. The respective recipes may adjust the RF power parameter prior to each deposition process. RF power frequency tuning may be utilized during each deposition process.

[OBJECT] To provide a radio-frequency power source capable of outputting radio-frequency power having a desired waveform changing at high speed.

[SOLUTION] A radio-frequency power source 1 includes two DC-RF converting circuits 4A, 4B and an RF combining circuit 5 for combining the outputs from both DC-RF converting circuits 4A, 4B. The DC-RF converting circuits 4A, 4B amplify radio-frequency voltages v.sub.a, v.sub.b inputted from a radio-frequency signal generating circuit 8, and output radio-frequency voltages v.sub.PA, v.sub.PB. The RF combining circuit 5 outputs radio-frequency voltage v.sub.PX at a ratio corresponding to the phase difference θ between the radio-frequency voltages v.sub.PA and v.sub.PB. A controlling circuit 9 switches the phase difference θ between θ1 and θ2. As a result, the power P.sub.X outputted from the RF combining circuit 5 becomes pulsed radio-frequency power having a high level period and a low level period. Since the switching of the phase difference θ can be performed at high speed, it is possible to output pulsed radio-frequency power with a high switching frequency between the first level and the second level.