Solid state pulsed power systems for plasma applications

Summary form only given. Diversified Technologies, Inc. (DTI) has developed and patented solid state technology to provide fast, high power opening and closing switches. These switches are modular, and can be combined in series and/or in parallel to provide a wide range of voltage, current, and power handling capabilities. To date, DTI has built solid state, hard switch pulsed power systems with at 1 kV to 160 kV, and peak power levels up to 70 MW, and capable of pulse frequencies from DC to 400 kHz. Initial applications of this capability have been for providing repetitive pulses of electrical power for RF amplifier systems (klystrons, TWTs, and gyrotrons) and for plasma processing. This paper describes the basic design and performance of these solid state modulators. Specific focus is placed on application of this pulsed power technology to plasma processes, such as plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) for both semiconductors and metal treatment. Examples of specific system applications include the use of DTI modulators for high volume diamond-like coating (DLC) and plasma source ion implantation (PSII) processes in metal processing, and high voltage, high peak power(100 kV, 500 A) modulators for semiconductor process research and operations.