Impedance matching for one atmosphere uniform glow discharge plasma (OAUGDP) reactors

Summary form only given, as follows. The one atmosphere uniform glow discharge plasma (OAUGDP) reactor requires a power supply capable of delivering a few kilowatts at a frequency of 1-10 kilohertz, and an RMS voltage up to 20 kilovolts. The OAUGDP reactor with the plasma energized can be modeled as a capacitor in parallel with a resistor. In addition, the non-ideality of the transformer between the RF power supply and the plasma reactor introduces an imaginary part in its impedance. Thus, the load of the RF power supply, seen by its output terminals, is highly reactive. The impedance mismatch resulting from the absence of a matching network will cause a large reflected power from the plasma reactor back to the power supply that does not contribute to plasma formation, but requires an expensive over-rated power supply. The impedance of the power supply load should be optimized in order that the maximum power is delivered to the plasma. However, the equivalent impedance of plasma is strongly dependent on the power dissipated in it. By changing the parameters of the matching network, the impedance of the load can be optimized, and the plasma power can be maximized. The paper is a summary of our works on impedance matching. The design theory of two types of impedance matching circuits that match OAUGDP reactors to their power supplies is presented.