A Wide Load Range ZVS Inverter for Radio Frequency Capacitively Coupled Plasma

Capacitively Coupled Plasma (CCP) is widely used in thin film deposition, dielectric etching and dusty plasma experiments. Plasma generation is important equipment for CCP. It needs to output an adjustable radio frequency voltage within a wide load range. However, the current plasma generation is commonly composed of radio frequency power amplifier and matching network, which leads to either low power density or low frequency stability. In this paper, an inverter topology is proposed. It can realize zero voltage switching (ZVS) operation within a wide load range, thus generating CCP directly. The voltage gain and the ZVS operation condition are analyzed in detail. A step-by-step parameter design method is given. A 13.56-MHz 25-W prototype inverter which can realize ZVS within 0-1.2k$\Omega$0-130pF is tested in CCP discharges with argon, and the experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of the inverter and the effectiveness of the parameter design.