Psi Star

Other

Perry A Diederich

James F Battey

A plasma reactor comprises a working chamber that has at least one entry port. The working chamber is adapted to receive at least one article The entry port is adapted to receive a working gas into the working chamber. An electrical energy generator is provided. The plasma reactor includes at least one pair of electrodes which are positioned adjacent the working chamber entry port. The electrodes, which are connected to the generator, create an electric field adjacent the entry port that converts the working gas into a working plasma for interacting with a material of the article. The article to be processed is placed in a part of the working chamber which is free from electric fields. An electric field-free region downstream of the plasma generating region is provided in which the article is positioned. A plasma constraint member is provided to direct substantially all of the plasma flow through the articles held on said constraint member. The plasma reactor can be used to clean organic scums, films or epoxy glass from circuit boards and magnetic recording discs. With ammonia as the plasma, the reactor can be used to case harden alloys.

Plasma reactor and methods for use

A plasma reactor comprises a working chamber, the chamber being adapted to receive at least one article and a volume of plasma which is capable of interacting with a material of the article. A pair of electrodes are positioned about the chamber. Further, a radio-frequency generator is provided. More particularly, the plasma reactor includes a radio-frequency voltage transformer. The transformer includes a primary winding that is connected to the generator and a secondary winding the center of which is grounded. The secondary winding is adapted to transform the energy received from the primary winding into plasma-exciting energy at the electrodes, whereby the voltage between the plasma and the ground is small such that voltage discharge between the plasma and any grounded parts is minimized. The plasma reactor can be used to strip photoresist, etch silicon dioxide, aluminum and polysilicon from semiconductor wafers. It may also be used to clean organic scums, films or epoxy glass from circuit boards and magnetic recording discs. With ammonia as the plasma, the reactor can be used to case harden alloys.

Plasma reactor with voltage transformer

A plasma reactor comprises a working chamber, the chamber being adapted to receive at least one article and a volume of plasma which is capable of interacting with a material of the article. A pair of electrodes are positioned about the chamber. Further, a radio-frequency generator is provided. More particularly, the plasma reactor includes a radio-frequency voltage transformer. The transformer includes a primary winding that is connected to the generator and a secondary winding the center of which is grounded. The secondary winding is adapted to transform the energy received from the primary winding into plasma-exciting energy at the electrodes, whereby the voltage between the plasma and the ground is small such that voltage discharge between the plasma and any grounded parts is minimized.

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Fremont, CA, United States of America

Perry A Diederich