Patent Application
20200006041
The invention relates to an electrode unit for a plasma treatment system, wherein the electrode unit includes a plurality of plasma electrode pairs adapted to generate a capacitively coupled plasma, in particular in vacuo, and a different electrical high-frequency voltage is supplied to the two plasma electrodes of each plasma electrode pair in each case via an internal electrical supply network. Furthermore, the invention also relates to a carrier arrangement for a plasma treatment system, wherein the carrier arrangement contains at least two such electrode units.
Plasma processes are used, for example, in the production of solar cells, in microelectronics or in the finishing of substrate surfaces (e.g. glass) for deposition or removal of layers or particles, for doping of layers, for example by plasma immersion ion implantation, or for cleaning or activating the surface of a substrate. In the following, all these plasma processes are referred to as plasma treatment.
In capacitively coupled plasmas, the substrate to be treated is located in a space between two plasma electrodes, wherein a low or high-frequency voltage is applied to these two plasma electrodes. The substrate is usually acted upon with a voltage by a direct ohmic contact with one of the plasma electrodes. However, in particular with plasma-assisted deposition of dielectric layers, corresponding insulating layers can also form on the plasma electrode at least in a substrate edge region, which layers negatively influence the homogeneity of the deposition on other substrates subsequently deposited on the same plasma electrode.
In order to increase the throughput of substrates in the plasma treatment, batch systems in which several substrates are treated simultaneously are used. In this case, the substrates may be arranged side by side or one above the other with the surface to be processed. The substrates are in each case arranged between the plasma electrodes of a plasma electrode pair, wherein the plasma electrodes are electrically insulated from each other and connected to a voltage feed such that a plasma can be generated capacitively between the plasma electrodes of each of these plasma electrode pairs. In the case of substrates arranged one above the other, up to 200 plasma electrodes arranged in parallel at a typical distance from each other of 3 mm to 30 mm are electrically interconnected in a plasma electrode unit such that every second plasma electrode has a common electrical connection. An AC voltage which is sufficiently large to ignite a plasma between all the plasma electrodes is then applied to the resulting arrangement of two electrode groups having two terminals. Preferably, for this purpose a symmetrical voltage is applied with respect to the ground (vacuum chamber and other components) surrounding the plasma electrodes, i.e. when a positive voltage +U/2 is applied to the one electrode group, then −U/2 is applied to the other electrode group. Therefore, the voltage U is applied only between the plasma electrodes, which voltage is large enough to generate the plasma between the plasma electrodes. No plasma is generated to the surrounding ground parts, because the voltage applied here and being U/2 is too small for plasma generation. This type of plasma generation (symmetrical generator coupling) is particularly advantageous in plasma processes with many substrates on many plasma electrodes, because the insulation of live parts to avoid parasitic plasmas can be almost completely eliminated.
Such an electrode unit is described, for example, in EP 0 143 479 A1. In this case, the individual electrode plates are held at a defined distance from each other by electrically insulating spacers and are each contacted with an electrical conductor arranged on a carrier. The electrode unit thus contains two carriers, each with an electrical conductor, wherein the carriers extend in each case over the entire length of the electrode unit, i.e. from the first electrode plate to the last electrode plate.
DE 10 2015 004 352 A1 also describes a similar electrode unit, wherein each plate-shaped and electrically conductive substrate support is arranged in a respective plane and provided with a contact nose. A contact block made of an electrically highly conductive material, in particular graphite, is arranged between two electrically identically connected substrate supports, the contact block ensures the electrical connection between the individual substrate supports and thus the supply of the voltage across all the identically connected substrate supports while simultaneously maintaining a predetermined distance from each other.
Typically, solid graphite rods or contact pieces made of graphite with a cross section of (20×5) mm2 are used for supplying the voltage to identically connected plasma electrodes.
This type of voltage feed is well suited for supplying a low-frequency voltage having a frequency ranging from 10 Hz to 1000 kHz uniformly to all the identically connected plasma electrodes. The same voltage is thus applied to each identically connected plasma electrode, so that a homogeneous plasma can be generated in all the plasma electrode pairs of the electrode unit.
While the above-mentioned symmetrical plasma wiring for low-frequency voltages of 10 Hz to 1000 kHz is prior art and is widely used, it is problematic for high-frequency plasmas with frequencies of 1 MHz to 100 MHz.
Plasma processes with voltages at higher frequencies, for example 13.56 MHz or 40 MHz, have particular advantages, such as a good homogeneity of the substrate treatment even with thick parasitic dielectric layers on the plasma electrodes in the substrate edge region and a gentle substrate treatment by a low energy of the ions striking the substrate from the plasma. Such high-frequency plasmas and the associated plasma processes (such as plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) or reactive ion etching (RIE)) have completely displaced low-frequency plasma processes in the semiconductor industry due to their process advantages mentioned above. They are normally used in single-disc reactors, i.e. a single substrate, such as a silicon wafer with a diameter of 300 mm, is processed in a single electrode arrangement of two plasma electrodes. The HF generator coupling takes place asymmetrically, i.e. the substrate lies on the ground electrode and a second electrode connected to the high-frequency voltage acts as a counter-electrode that is built well-insulated against ground outside of the electrode gap to prevent further parasitic plasmas there.
For voltages in this frequency range and/or electrode units having a very large number of identically connected plasma electrodes, for example 20 or more plasma electrodes, the generation of a symmetrical high-frequency plasma is problematic. In particular, the voltage distribution achieved across the electrode unit is no longer sufficiently homogeneous.
In order to solve this problem, various possibilities are known from the prior art. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,511 A describes an arrangement in which each identically connected plasma electrode, in the present case arranged side by side, is individually fed a voltage from outside via a separate coaxial cable with a length of (2N+1)λ/4 (with N=0, 1, 2 . . . ) from a high-frequency voltage generator, hereinafter referred to as an HF generator, and the associated matching network (matching network, match network or match box). For a large number of identically connected plasma electrodes this is very complex, for example due to the separate vacuum feedthrough of the voltage feed in a treatment chamber of the plasma treatment system.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,005 A, an electrode unit is described in which each identically connected plasma electrode is supplied with power via an individually adjustable inductance or capacitance in a separate supply line from the HF generator and the matching network, which however is also very complex, or which has a differential drive transformer and a centre-tapped coil, wherein in each case one end of the output winding of the transformer or each end of the coil is connected to a specific, simple one of the identically connected plasma electrodes. By use of additional coils, the power can also be further divided so that in each case 2n (with n=1, 2, 3 . . . ) plasma electrodes can be supplied with a same power. However, at the two ends of the centre-tapped coil or of the transformer, in each case half the output voltage of opposite sign is applied. The output voltage of the HF generator must be selected to be very high for a large number of identically connected plasma electrodes, which leads to problems in the implementation. In addition, here too, all the additional components such as inductors, capacitors, transformers and centre-tapped coils are arranged outside the treatment chamber and thus outside the electrode unit, leading to a large number of vacuum voltage feedthroughs.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an electrode unit in which nearly the same high-frequency voltage is fed to all the identically connected plasma electrodes, wherein the disadvantages of the prior art are avoided or reduced. Moreover, it is an object to provide a carrier arrangement for plasma treatment of a large number of substrates in which at least two such electrode units are advantageously arranged.
The object is achieved by an electrode unit according to claim 1 and by a carrier arrangement according to claim 16. Preferred embodiments can be found in the dependent claims.
An electrode unit suitable for plasma treatment of a plurality of substrates in a treatment chamber of a plasma treatment system has a plurality of plasma electrode pairs arranged along a first direction. Each plasma electrode pair consists of a first and a second plasma electrode arranged parallel to each other and opposite each other and electrically insulated from each other. Preferably, the first and second plasma electrodes of the electrode unit are arranged alternately along the first direction. Each plasma electrode pair is suited to ignite a plasma in a plasma space between the first and second plasma electrodes when a defined voltage is present between the first and second plasma electrodes. The electrode unit further has at least one internal electrical supply network capable of feeding, within the treatment chamber, a first voltage to each first plasma electrode of the electrode unit and a second voltage different from the first voltage to each second plasma electrode of the electrode unit, wherein at least one of the first and the second voltage is a high-frequency voltage and has a frequency in the range between 1 MHz and 100 MHz. Preferably, both the first voltage and the second voltage are high-frequency voltages. The at least one internal electrical supply network, together with the plasma electrodes, the plasmas generated between the plasma electrodes, and the substrates, forms an internal electrical network of the electrode unit during operation, i.e. given application of an electrical voltage sufficient to ignite and maintain the plasmas, wherein the internal electrical network is inherent in the electrode unit and can be controlled from outside only through the supplied voltages.
To feed the first and the second voltage to the at least one internal electrical supply network, the electrode unit further has a first connection terminal and a second connection terminal. The first connection terminal is adapted to feed the first voltage to the at least one internal electrical supply network, and the second connection terminal is adapted to feed the second voltage to the at least one internal electrical supply network. A high-frequency power provided by at least one generator arranged outside the treatment chamber can be transmitted via ohmic contacts to the first and the second connection terminal. Alternatively, a coupling arrangement can also be used that generates the abovementioned voltages to the connection terminals contactlessly by capacitive or inductive transmission of a high-frequency power provided by a generator.
The first and the second voltages differ in at least one of the following features: effective value, frequency or phase. Preferably, the first and the second voltage are generated symmetrically with respect to ground, i.e. they differ not in frequency and effective value but by a phase position differing by 180°. However, an asymmetrical voltage feed is also possible, for example by the first or the second voltage being a high-frequency voltage while the other voltage is equal to zero and corresponds to ground. In any event, the electrode voltage resulting from the difference in the electrical potentials of the plasma electrodes of a plasma electrode pair during operation is a high-frequency voltage with a defined frequency in the range of 1 MHz to 100 MHz.
The at least one internal electrical supply network of the electrode unit according to the invention is designed according to the arrangement of the plasma electrodes in the electrode unit, in particular the number and spacing of the plasma electrodes from each other, and according to the frequency of the first voltage and/or the second voltage, wherein in particular it is adapted to the frequency of the electrode voltage. In other words, the at least one internal electrical supply network is designed such that the electrode unit is adapted for operation with a concrete first voltage and a concrete second voltage. During operation, the at least one internal electrical supply network together with at least one external matching network is set to resonance and matching of the internal electrical network of the electrode unit and a homogeneous voltage distribution inside the electrode unit. The at least one external matching network is arranged between a voltage generator disposed outside the treatment chamber and at least one of the first or second connection terminals. By means of the concrete design of the at least one internal electrical supply network, almost the same voltage is present between the first and the second plasma electrode of each plasma electrode pair during operation and a virtually identical plasma power density is generated on each substrate. This is particularly advantageous when there are more than ten plasma electrode pairs in an electrode unit.
The at least one internal electrical supply network has supply lines between the first and the second connection terminal and at least two first and at least two second plasma electrodes and/or intermediate lines between two adjacent first or second plasma electrodes, respectively, and in each case a feed point to a first or second system of interconnected intermediate lines and in each case a connecting line between the first and the second connection terminal and the associated feed point. The concrete design of the supply network consists of a suitable arrangement of the supply lines and/or suitable geometric dimensions of the supply lines and/or of the intermediate lines and/or of the connecting lines and/or a suitable material of the supply lines and/or of the intermediate lines and/or of the connecting lines and/or a suitable arrangement of the feed point with respect to the electrode unit along the first direction. All the supply lines and/or intermediate lines and/or connecting lines are real electrical lines, i.e. having a defined parasitic inductance or parasitic capacitance, the influence of which on the internal electrical network of the electrode unit given application of a high-frequency voltage with a frequency in the range between 1 MHz and 100 MHz is not negligible.
The parasitic line inductances or line capacitances can be influenced, for example, by the suitable choice of the geometric dimensions and/or the material of the supply lines and/or of the intermediate lines and/or of the connecting lines.
All the designs mentioned of the at least one internal electrical supply network are explained below with reference to the drawings.
The nature of the concrete design of the at least one supply network, for example concrete materials and concrete dimensions of the lines in the supply network or the concrete arrangement of a feed point in the supply network, can be evaluated with the aid of computer modelling or simulations and selected corresponding to an arrangement of plasma electrodes in the electrode unit.
With more than 50 plasma electrode pairs in an electrode unit, however, the effort of the concrete design of the internal electrical supply network is very high. Therefore, the carrier arrangement according to the invention for plasma treatment of a large number of substrates in a plasma treatment chamber has at least two of the above-described electrode units according to the invention. Preferably, each electrode unit contains between 20 and 30 plasma electrode pairs, particularly preferably 25 plasma electrode pairs.
In the following, the invention and its various embodiments will be explained with reference to the embodiments and the drawings, in which:
Moreover, there is also the possibility that the electrode unit 1 is moved in the chamber in a straight, rotating or otherwise uniform or non-uniform manner during the plasma treatment. The substrates 4 are not part of the electrode unit 1.
The electrode unit 1 has a large number of plasma electrode pairs arranged along a first direction (a-axis). Each plasma electrode pair consists of a first plasma electrode 2 and a second plasma electrode 3, arranged parallel to each other and opposite each other and electrically insulated from each other. Preferably, the first and the second plasma electrode 2, 3 are arranged alternating along the first direction and extend with a surface area, on which a substrate 4 rests during a plasma treatment, perpendicular to the first direction, i.e. in a plane parallel to a plane spanned by the two other directions (b and c-axes) of a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system to which the first direction also belongs. However, the surfaces of the first plasma electrodes 2 and the second plasma electrodes 3 can also extend in a plane spanned by the first direction and a further direction, so that the respective plasma electrodes are arranged side by side along the first direction. The plasma electrodes of a plasma electrode pair then lie opposite one other along one of the other two directions of the Cartesian coordinate system. The first and the second plasma electrodes 2, 3 are made of an electrically conductive material, such as graphite or aluminium, so that a plasma is ignited in a plasma space 5 upon application of a defined voltage between the first and second plasma electrode 2, 3 of a plasma electrode pair.
The surface area of the plasma electrodes 2, 3 is typically slightly larger than the surface area of the substrates 4 to be treated, wherein the outer shape (outline, contour) of the surface area of the plasma electrodes 2, 3 approximately corresponds to that of the substrates 4. However, for electrically well-conductive substrates 4, only part of the substrate 4 may be in contact with the respective plasma electrode, wherein this plasma electrode can then have an arbitrary shape. For example, a plasma electrode 2, 3 has an area of (200×200) mm2 at a size of the substrate 4 of (156×156) mm2. The distance between the first plasma electrode 2 and the second plasma electrode 3 of a plasma electrode pair is in the range between 3 mm and 50 mm.
The electrode unit 1 has n plasma electrodes 2, 3, where n is usually an even number between 10 and 200. In this case, there are n/2 first plasma electrodes 2 (labelled in the drawing E1, E3, E5, . . . , En-1) and n/2 second plasma electrodes 3 (labelled in the drawing E2, E4, . . . , En). However, there can also be an odd number of plasma electrodes 2, 3 present. The individual plasma electrodes 2, 3 are spaced apart from each other along the first direction by insulating supports 6 and are supported by them. The supports 6 may have different shapes and can be, for example, a plurality of rod-shaped supports, each extending along the first direction, or be formed as a housing in which the plasma electrodes are arranged and having openings for introducing the substrates 4 on at least one side.
All the first plasma electrodes 2, i.e. E1 to En-1, are connected via a common first distribution line 7 to a first connection terminal A, while all the second plasma electrodes 3, i.e. E2 to En, are connected via a common second distribution line 8 to a second connection terminal B. Two generators 9a and 9b, which generate two voltages of the same frequency and amplitude but having a different phase position (e.g. 180° phase offset) relative to ground, are connected to the connection terminals A and B. Instead of the two generators, coupling arrangements can also be employed that transmit a power to the electrode arrangement contactlessly by inductive or capacitive means and deliver two voltages phase-shifted by 180° with respect to ground from their respective electrical coupling network to the terminals A and B, which are further connected to the distribution lines 7, 8.
According to the prior art, the first and the second distribution lines 7, 8 are usually designed as solid graphite rods or plates or contact pieces made of graphite having a cross section (in the b-c plane) of, for example, (20×5) mm2. The length of the distribution lines 7, 8 along the first direction (a-axis) results from the number of plasma electrodes 2, 3 or the distance between connection terminals A and B and the last plasma electrodes 2 and 3, which are supplied with voltage via the respective distribution lines 7 and 8, respectively.
For low-frequency voltages applied to the plasma electrodes 2, 3, i.e. for voltages with a frequency in the range of 10 Hz to 1000 kHz, the distribution lines 7 and 8 act as ideal conductors, the parasitic inductances and parasitic capacitances of which can be ignored. Therefore, all the first plasma electrodes 2 and all the second plasma electrodes 3 can be considered as parallel-connected and have the same voltage. The internal electrical network of electrode unit 1 can thus be characterised by the electrical equivalent circuit diagram shown on the right in
However, for plasma processes with voltages having higher frequencies, such as 13.56 MHz or 40 MHz, and/or electrode units with a very high number of identically connected plasma electrodes, for example 10 or more plasma electrodes, the voltage distribution thus reached is no longer sufficiently homogeneous. This is explained in more detail later with reference to
To achieve a homogeneous plasma ignition over all the plasma electrode pairs of electrode unit 10 during operation, the electrode unit 10 has at least one internal electrical supply network that feeds a first voltage provided by the generator 19a and the external matching network 190a to all the first plasma electrodes 12, and a second voltage provided by the generator 19b and the external matching network 190b to all the second plasma electrodes 13.
Which voltage differences are tolerable for a concrete plasma treatment of substrates depends on the requirements imposed on the homogeneity of the plasma treatment over the plurality of substrates. This means: Which voltage differences are still tolerable essentially depends on the homogeneity goals specified by a user of the plasma treatment system for a concrete plasma treatment process. In solar cell production, for example, it is generally assumed that a deviation of 10% or less between the electrode voltages within the electrode unit is tolerable.
For this purpose, the lines present in the at least one internal electrical supply network, i.e. supply lines and/or intermediate lines and/or connecting lines, are no longer formed as a solid structure of graphite as in the prior art but instead, for example, are formed as metal strips with a thickness in the range of 0.1 mm to 5 mm, preferably in the range of 0.2 mm to 0.5 mm, and a width in the range of 1 mm to 100 mm, preferably 20 mm to 60 mm. The thickness and the width characterise the cross-sectional area of the line, while the length of the line is measured along the direction of current flow. The length of the metal strips used in one network can vary and depends on the type of line.
The metal strips preferably are made of a highly conductive material such as aluminium, copper, silver or silver-plated copper (copper with a silver layer on the surface). The selection of the material depends not just on the electrical conditions in the internal electrical network of the electrode unit during operation, but also on the chemical properties of said materials with respect to the substances, molecules, radicals, etc. present in the treatment chamber, and in particular in the plasma.
For example, the metal strips are made of copper and each have a thickness of 0.25 mm and a width of 30 mm.
If the metal strips are made of aluminium, they have a thickness of 0.5 mm and a width of 50 mm.
In the embodiment shown in
With reference to the following drawings, embodiments of the electrode unit 10 according to the invention with two internal electrical supply networks 17, 18 should be presented, wherein the two supply networks 17, 18 are each spatially and electrically separated from each other. This means that the distance of the two supply networks 17, 18 from each other is large enough that a capacitive and inductive coupling between the lines of the two supply networks 17, 18 is negligible. This distance is preferably in the range of 100 mm to 500 mm, for example 200 mm. The spatial and electrical separation can be implemented, for example, by an arrangement of the two supply networks 17, 18 on different sides of electrode unit 10 with respect to a direction which is perpendicular to the first direction. For example, the two supply networks 17, 18 are arranged on opposite sides of the electrode unit 10 with respect to the b-axis, as shown in
As already mentioned, the connecting lines 171, 181 and the intermediate lines 172a-172i, 182a-182i can be formed as metal strips made of particularly highly conductive materials like copper or aluminium. The intermediate lines 172a-172i, 182a-182i can have a length greater than the distance between two adjacent identically connected plasma electrodes 12, 13 along the first direction, i.e. for example, greater than the distance between electrode E1 and electrode E3. This distance is between 6 mm and 100 mm, as also with the electrode unit according to the prior art. The length of the connecting lines 171, 181 can also be greater than the distance of the respective connection terminals A, B from the first and second plasma electrodes 12, 13 arranged as first within the electrode unit 101. By means of use of low-inductance connecting lines and intermediate lines compared to the distribution lines in the electrode unit according to the prior art, the differences in the electrode voltages through the electrode unit are greatly reduced.
This is shown in
As can be seen, the voltage deviation within the electrode unit according to the prior art is around 4% for a frequency of 4 MHz and therefore still tolerable. However, for higher frequencies a strongly inhomogeneous voltage distribution is present that is no longer tolerable, because it allows no homogeneous plasma treatment of the substrates through the electrode unit. By contrast, the voltage distribution for 13.56 MHz in the first embodiment of the electrode unit according to the invention is already greatly improved and can be tolerated even at 13.56 MHz.
A second embodiment 102 of the electrode unit according to the invention and the associated electrical equivalent circuit diagram are shown in
As shown in
This arrangement of the second embodiment 102 is called reverse wiring or reverse generator coupling. The high-frequency voltage is forwarded between the respective plasma electrodes 12, 13 in the first supply network 17 along the first direction and in the second supply network 18 along a second direction opposite to the first direction. Consequently, a current that flows during the plasma treatment goes through the same number of parasitic line inductances L and parasitic capacitances between the connection terminals A and B for each plasma electrode pair, thus further increasing the homogeneity of the voltage distribution.
This can clearly be seen in
Here too a strong voltage inhomogeneity can be seen for the electrode unit according to the prior art for the frequencies 13.56 MHz and 40 MHz (
The first system 170 and the second system 180 thus each have a first part 170a, 180a and a second part 170b, 180b. The first part 170a, 180a in each case comprises the intermediate lines 172c-172i and 182i, which are arranged between the first and second plasma electrodes 12, 13 each arranged as last in the electrode unit 103, i.e. between the electrodes En-1 and En, and the respective feed point 173, 183. The second part 170b, 180b, by contrast, comprises the intermediate lines 172a, 172b and 182a-182h, arranged between the first and second plasma electrodes 12, 13 each arranged as first in the electrode unit 103, i.e. between the electrodes E1 and E2, and the respective feed point 173, 183. Therefore, the fed-in first voltage and the fed-in second voltage are forwarded in the first direction in the first part 170a of the first system 170 and in the first part 180a of the second system 180, and in a second direction opposite to the first direction in the second part 170b of the first system 170 and in the second part 180b of the second system 180.
As already mentioned with reference to
The fourth embodiment 104 of the electrode unit according to the invention shown in
In the embodiments shown in
As can be learned from the associated electrical equivalent circuit diagram (right side of
With such a hybrid, the voltage supply can be realized for an electrode unit with a number of first and second plasma electrodes 12, 13 which are in each case unequal to a power of 2 (≠2n), and which therefore cannot be supplied with power through a purely tree-shaped supply network of supply lines as shown in
Furthermore, an internal supply network of the electrode unit according to the invention can also have multiple systems of interconnected intermediate lines, wherein the connecting lines between the associated connection terminal and the respective feed points into the systems are implemented by supply lines arranged in a tree-shaped and branched manner. Thus, in particular given a large number of plasma electrodes, the homogeneity of the voltage distribution through the identically connected plasma electrodes of the electrode unit can be further improved.
Preferably, the two internal supply networks 17 and 18, which are present in the already-described embodiments of the electrode unit according to the invention, are designed identically. In other words, the type of voltage distribution through supply lines and/or systems of interconnected intermediate lines is the same for both supply networks.
Of course, the number of plasma electrodes in the embodiments for which a concrete number is shown in
With reference to
Another design of the electrode unit according to the invention is explained with respect to
Of course, the dielectric layer can also be formed on the surface of the respective plasma electrodes 12, 13 facing the substrate 14 or on both surfaces of the plasma electrodes 12, 13. Furthermore, the dielectric layer can be arranged not on all the plasma electrodes 12, 13 but only on at least one or on selected plasma electrodes 12, 13. In addition, the supply networks 17, 18 can be designed arbitrarily according to the embodiments described above or only one electrical supply network can be present corresponding to
The high-frequency voltage generators 19a and 19b shown in
For all the embodiments presented thus far, the at least one internal electrical supply network can contain other passive electrical components besides the supply lines and/or intermediate lines and/or connecting lines. These can be additional inductors or capacitors that serve for further homogenisation of the voltage distribution beyond the electrode unit.
The at least one internal electrical supply network can also be designed as a printed circuit board with integrated electrical lines and integrated passive electrical components.
Some or all of the above-mentioned possibilities for improving the homogeneity of a voltage distribution with identically connected plasma electrodes of an electrode unit and the embodiments described can also be combined with each other so long as they are not mutually exclusive.
A carrier arrangement 40 according to the invention is further explained with reference to
The carrier arrangement 40 in each case has at least two electrode units according to the invention arranged in a stationary manner next to each other along the third direction inside the carrier arrangement 40. Three such electrode units 10a-10c are shown schematically in
According to a first embodiment of the carrier arrangement 40 according to the invention, shown in
According to a second embodiment of the carrier arrangement 40 according to the invention, which is shown in
Preferably, the supply networks of all the electrode units of the carrier arrangement are arranged in the same manner as shown in
Furthermore, besides electrode units arranged next to each other along the third direction (x-axis) (as shown in
1 electrode unit according to the prior art
2 first plasma electrode
3 second plasma electrode
4 substrate
5 plasma space
6 insulating support
7 first distribution line
8 second distribution line
9 low-frequency voltage generator 10, 10a-10c, electrode unit according to the invention
101-109
12 first plasma electrode
13 second plasma electrode
14 substrate
15 plasma space
16 insulating support
17 first supply network
18 second supply network
19
a, 19b high-frequency voltage generator
20 supply network
30 dielectric layer
40 carrier arrangement
41 plasma electrode
42 connection unit
170 first system
170
a first part of the first system
170
b second part of the first system
171 first connecting line
172
a-172i first intermediate line
173 first feed point
174
a-174g first supply line
175
a-175c first node
180 second system
180
a first part of the second system
180
b second part of the second system
181 second connecting line
182
a-182i second intermediate line
183 second feed point
184
a-184g second supply line
185
a-185c second node
190
a, 190b external matching network
210 first system
211 first connecting line
212
a-212i first intermediate line
213 first feed point
220 second system
221 second connecting line
222
a-222i second intermediate line
223 second feed point
A first connection terminal
B second connection terminal
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17158448.5 | Feb 2017 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2018/051874 | 1/25/2018 | WO | 00 |
