Automatic Control of An Antenna Matching Network For A Helicon Plasma Source
Automatic Control of An Antenna Matching Network For A Helicon Plasma Source
Automatic Control of An Antenna Matching Network For A Helicon Plasma Source
This poster describes the design and operation of an automatic matching network for a Helicon
plasma source. The driving point impedance of an antenna used to couple RF power into a
Helicon plasma source has a typical resistance of a few ohms and a significant inductive
reactance. A matching network is therefore required to match an RF generator with its output
impedance of 50 Ohms to the antenna. If the matching network is correctly adjusted the
forward power to the plasma is maximised while minimising the power reflected back to the
generator.
Traditional matching networks use an L-section matching network together with a series
capacitor to null out the reactance of the antenna. The network employed in this Laboratory
however uses a balun wired as a step-down transformer as it provides a partial impedance
match and reduces the sensitivity of the match to the values of the matching components and
thus simplifies the tuning process [1].
Figure 1 shows a matching network employing a balun. The series capacitor Cs nulls the
antenna reactance and also any reflected reactance from the plasma. The parallel capacitor CB
tunes the L-section matching network formed by CB, the leakage inductance Le and any
residual reactance reflected back across the balun. In practice it is found when using this
network that CB requires virtually no adjustment while Cs needs continuous adjustment as the
conditions change in the plasma.
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in about 4 seconds. Sensor SI is a precision 10 turn potentiometer fed by a 10V DC source
connected by a belt drive to the shaft of Ml. S2 is a single turn potentiometer connected
directly to the shaft of CB.
A driver system has been developed to control the matching network. This system consists of
two high power operational amplifiers for driving the motors in either direction and analog
signalling conditioning for the signals coming from the sensors. The system is run using a
Motorola HCll-based controller card developed in this laboratory [2]. The card accepts the
conditioned sensor signal via a multiplexed ADC to provide input information proportional to
the position of the capacitors and hence, through appropriate calibration, the values of their
capacitance;;"Two further inputs from the RF generator provide information about the values of
the forward and reflected power to the antenna. The HC11 provides analog output- signals to
the power amplifiers that determine in which direction the motors should turn while pulse
width modulation of the motor currents controls the rate at which the motors turn. Further
output signals control the power levels delivered by the RF generator. Communication with the
central control computer is provided via a GPIB interface built into the HC11 card. Front panel
displays provide visual readout of the capacitance values while a set of toggle switches allows
manual operation of the system.
The system can be run in either an open loop or closed loop configuration. In the open loop
mode commands can be sent over the GPIB link which instruct the controller to move the
capacitors to a nominated, value. Software end stops that prevent the capacitors being wound
beyond their limits are included in the HCll's firmware. Further commands specify the RF
power to be delivered and whether it should be applied as a step function or ramped in time to
a particular value.
In the closed loop mode the capacitors are adjusted automatically in such a way as to minimise
the reflected RF power at any operating condition based on the reflected power signal received
from the generator. Because of the insensitivity of the network to the value of CB the software
initially sets CB to a predetermined value and then adjusts Cs using a binary search algorithm to
minimise the reflected power. Typical results will be presented in the poster illustrating the
operation of the system.
[1] Rayner J P, Cheetham A D and French G N, 1996, J Vac Sci Technol, A14 2048-2055
[2] Cheetham A D, Rayner J P, Lund T, Davidson L, and McGuire J, 1995, Proc 20th AINSIE
Plasma Science and Technology Conference, Adelaide, ISBN 0 9598472-4-3 pp25.
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