Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.

Chad S Samuels

A generator and a method for controlling the generator are disclosed. The method comprises receiving a power sequence comprising a plurality of power states, creating a dynamic reference-time response within each state, and determining a dynamic average-delivered-power value within each state. An error signal is calculated within each state, and a controller output is produced using the error signal. An internal setpoint is produced based upon the error signal, and a power amplifier is controlled using the internal setpoint to control output power.

Dynamic control-setpoint modification

An adaptive engine and adaptive control method. The method comprises receiving an input regressor and applying one or more estimation laws to the input regressor to estimate a plurality of estimated model parameter tensors for a nonlinear model. The method also includes computing an estimation error or a cost function using a system output measurement and an estimated system output for the previous iteration and determining a model order based at least in part on the estimation error or the cost function and receiving two or more possible control signals each using a corresponding control portion of the nonlinear model. In addition, the method includes generating two or more estimated system outputs each using a corresponding estimation portion of the nonlinear model and selecting a preferred control signal from a set comprising at least the two or more possible control signals or a preferred combination of possible control signals.

Adaptive PID controller

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatus for estimation law modules of an adaptive engine. The estimation law modules estimate estimated model parameter tensors for each control sample within a frame. These estimated model parameter tensors are passed to control law modules and used to determine possible control signals as well as being passed to an estimation portion of a nonlinear model of the system, along with the possible control signals, to estimate estimated system outputs corresponding to each of the possible control signals. A selector module can then select a control as one of the possible control signals or a combination of two or more of the possible control signals, based on comparing the corresponding estimated system outputs to a reference signal, and/or measured system outputs.

Adaptive engine with estimation law modules for plasma processing power system

An adaptive engine and a method of adaptive control are disclosed. The method comprises receiving an input regressor, where the input regressor comprises a reference signal, a system output measurement, and a control output. The method includes applying one or more estimation laws to the input regressor to estimate two or more sets of estimated model parameter tensors, Θ; receiving two or more possible control signals; generating two or more estimated system outputs; and selecting a control signal from a set comprising at least the first possible control signal and the second possible control signal, or a combination of possible control signals blended from two or more of the sets.

Adaptive engine for tracking and regulation control using a control law selector and combiner

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatus for adjusting at least one actuator using at least one control output value to control a plasma processing system. More specifically, the controlling is based on receiving a reference signal defining target values for a parameter that is controlled at an output within the plasma processing system; obtaining a measure of the parameter, where the parameter is measured at a first sampling frequency; calculating one or more internal control signal values at a second sampling frequency; predicting, using an internal model, one or more internal measurements of the controlled parameter at the second sampling frequency; and adjusting, based upon the one or more control output values, at least one actuator at the first sampling frequency, where the control output values are based on the internal control signal values and the predicted internal measurements.

Multi-step predictive control system

Fuzzy control systems and methods are disclosed. A method includes receiving a reference signal defining target values for a parameter that is controlled at an output of the plasma processing system and obtaining a measure of the parameter that is controlled at the output. A fuzzy controller provides a control signal to adjust at least one actuator based at least upon the reference signal and the measure of the controlled parameter. In addition, output membership functions of the fuzzy controller, input membership functions of the fuzzy controller, and a rule base of the fuzzy controller are adapted while controlling an output of a system based at least upon the based at least upon an estimated model parameter tensor, the reference signal and the measure of the controlled parameter, and the control signal.

Plasma processing control system with adaptive fuzzy controller

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatus for an adaptive engine with a bifurcated nonlinear model. The adaptive controller uses a nonlinear model having a control portion and an estimation portion, wherein the estimation portion uses a time-varying linear system to approximate nonlinear behavior of the system. Further, the time-varying linear system receives a structure of the underlying matrices for every frame of control samples allowing the time-varying linear system to model large nonlinearities and to pre-process this linear approximation for each frame. At the same time, the time-varying linear system also uses estimated model parameter tensors in the underlying matrices that are updated or adapted every control cycle, in real-time, throughout a frame, such that the linear approximation is also able to approximate small nonlinearities in the system. This bifurcation of a linearized model provides a faster and more robust adaptive controller.

Adaptive engine with bifurcated nonlinear model

Various illustrative aspects are directed to a system. The system comprises a setpoint waveform streaming progenitor module, configured to receive inputs indicative of a desired setpoint waveform, and to output a data package based at least in part on the inputs indicative of the desired setpoint waveform, wherein the data package comprises a plurality of points, an interpolation method, and one or more interpolation parameters. The system further comprises a setpoint waveform streaming processing module, configured to receive the data package from the setpoint waveform streaming progenitor module, and to output a streaming setpoint waveform based at least in part on the data package.

Robust tensorized shaped setpoint waveform streaming control

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatus for generating a control signal for one or more actuators that is adjusted from a control signal dictated by setpoints, where the adjustment accounts for predicted delays and amplitude errors. More specifically, cross correlation between measurements of the actuator(s) outputs and time-shifted setpoints can be optimized for a time-shift that minimizes the cross correlation. The time-shifted setpoints along with the measurements can then be used to determine an amplitude difference and to remove noise from the amplitude difference. Dynamic uncertainty can then be found from this denoised data set and further optionally used to find the noise that was removed. The time delay, noise, and dynamic uncertainty can be used to preemptively adjust the control signal.

Systems and methods for delay and amplitude correction

An adaptive engine and method of adaptive control. The adaptive control method comprises receiving a reference signal, a system output measurement, and a control output. The method also includes applying one or more estimation laws to estimate an estimated model parameter tensor, θ, for a nonlinear model; generating a possible control signal or an internal possible control signal using a control portion of the nonlinear model; receiving a linear time varying system corresponding to the reference signal, and the possible control signal or the internal possible control signal; and generating one or more of a predicted system output and an estimated system output using an estimation portion of the nonlinear model.

Adaptive engine with sliding mode predictor

Various illustrative aspects are directed to a system that comprises a tensor data pre-processing circuit and a tensor data write/read circuit. One or more output ports of the tensor data pre-processing circuit are operably coupled to one or more input ports of the tensor data write/read circuit.

Tensor non-linear signal processing random access memory

An example device comprises a reference model module, an adaptation law module, and an adaptive control module. The reference model module is configured to receive a setpoint input and a reference model input, and to generate a reference model output. The adaptation law module is configured to receive the reference model output from the reference model module, to perform a signum projection tensor operation based at least in part on the reference model output, and to generate a signum projection adaptation law output. The adaptive control module is configured to receive the adaptation law output from the adaptation law module, to receive the setpoint input, and to receive a sensor system output from a sensor system, and to generate an adaptive control signal.

Model reference adaptive control with signum projection tensor operations

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatus for a plasma processing system. A method comprises receiving a reference signal defining target values for a parameter that is controlled at an output within the plasma processing system, obtaining a measure of the parameter that is controlled at the output, and calculating a delay between the target values of the setpoint signal and corresponding actual parameter values achieved at the output. The method also comprises providing, based upon the delay, a time-shifted amplitude error indicative of an error between the target values and the actual parameter values and adjusting at least one actuator, based upon the delay and the time-shifted amplitude error, in advance of when an actual parameter value is desired at an actuator output of the at least one actuator while maintaining the output within a threshold range.

Adaptive predictive control system

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatus for generating a multi-level pulsed waveform using a DC section and a power amplifier. To improve DC section efficiency, a master state is used to determine when the rail voltage can be lowered, and to only allow a state assigned as the master state to lower the rail voltage. Selection of the master state is based on (1) any state having to raise the rail voltage to meet a power demand or (2) a state having the highest drive voltage as determined at the end of each pulse cycle. Further, to avoid challenges from integrator controller, drive voltage is carried over from a last state of one pulse cycle to a first state of a next pulse cycle and assignment of master state in the first state of each pulse cycle is not important and can be arbitrarily selected.

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Fort Collins, CO, United States of America

Chad S Samuels