Coherent feedforward impedance correction and feedback power regulation in a plasma processing RF power delivery system

A breadth of advanced manufacturing technologies utilize plasma based material processing. A central system to plasma processing schemes is the RF power delivery and associated components. In a conventional RF power delivery system, the RF power supply performs power regulation for a desired power leveling quantity, and an impedance tuning network operates autonomously to match the dynamic and nonlinear plasma impedance to the transmission line impedance. We centralize these controllers to the RF power supply and remove systematic redundancy, coupling our feedforward controller with the conventional power feedback controller. With our RF power delivery control scheme, next generation plasma tool requirements for thin-film manufacturing is achievable with performance gains to commensurate with a lower system cost.