EP-4738619-A1 - HV CONNECTOR FOR INDUSTRIAL POWER EQUIPMENT

EP4738619A1EP 4738619 A1EP4738619 A1EP 4738619A1EP-4738619-A1

Abstract

High voltage connector (1,11) for an industrial power equipment configured to lead high current and withstand high voltage in particular usable for a plasma process equipment, the HV connector (1,11) is formed to fit into a corresponding plug (121) and comprises: - a plug-connecting-end (69 and an inner-end (7), - a connecting element (2), - an insulator body (3) surrounding the connecting element (2) at least partially, - the connecting element (2) having a rod shape which expands from the plug-connecting-end (6 to an inner-end (7), the connecting element (2) comprises a rod-diameter-changing-point 8, where the diameter of the connecting element (2) changes from a first rod-diameter (21) in direction to the plug-connecting-end (6) to a second rod-diameter (22) in direction to the inner-end (7), - the insulator body (3) having a shape with a hole (23), the hole (23) formed to surround the connecting element (2), the hole (23) having a hole-diameter-changing-point (9), where the hole-diameter of the hole (23) changes from a first hole-diameter (24) in direction to the plug-connecting-end (6) to a second hole-diameter (25) in direction to the inner-end (7), wherein the first hole-diameter (24) is equal to the first rod-diameter (21) and the second hole-diameter (25) is equal to the second rod-diameter (22), so that the insulator-body (3) fits tightly on the connecting element (2), and - the insulator body (3) is positioned in such a way that its hole-diameter-changing-point (9) is adjacent to the rod-diameter-changing-point (8) of the connecting element (2), so that the connecting element (2) and the insulator body (3) build a compound without free distance at both diameters.

Inventors

The designation of the inventor has not yet been filed

Assignees

TRUMPF Huettinger Sp. Z o. o.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20241030

Claims (15)

High voltage connector (1,11) for an industrial power equipment configured to lead high current and withstand high voltage in particular usable for a plasma process equipment, the HV connector (1,11) is formed to fit into a corresponding plug (121) and comprises: - a plug-connecting-end (69 and an inner-end (7), - a connecting element (2), - an insulator body (3) surrounding the connecting element (2) at least partially, - the connecting element (2) having a rod shape which expands from the plug-connecting-end (6 to an inner-end (7), the connecting element (2) comprises a rod-diameter-changing-point 8, where the diameter of the connecting element (2) changes from a first rod-diameter (21) in direction to the plug-connecting-end (6) to a second rod-diameter (22) in direction to the inner-end (7), - the insulator body (3) having a shape with a hole (23), the hole (23) formed to surround the connecting element (2), the hole (23) having a hole-diameter-changing-point (9), where the hole-diameter of the hole (23) changes from a first hole-diameter (24) in direction to the plug-connecting-end (6) to a second hole-diameter (25) in direction to the inner-end (7), wherein the first hole-diameter (24) is equal to the first rod-diameter (21) and the second hole-diameter (25) is equal to the second rod-diameter (22), so that the insulator-body (3) fits tightly on the connecting element (2), and - the insulator body (3) is positioned in such a way that its hole-diameter-changing-point (9) is adjacent to the rod-diameter-changing-point (8) of the connecting element (2), so that the connecting element (2) and the insulator body (3) build a compound without free distance at both diameters.
High voltage connector (1,11) of claim 1, further comprising: - an insulator ring (5) with a cone-shaped surface, - the insulator ring (5) with the cone-shaped surface is positioned between the rod-diameter-changing-point 8 and the hole-changing-point (9) in such a way that the insulator ring (5) is pressed between the insulator body (3) and the connecting element (2), so to tighten the compound of the insulator body (3), the insulator ring (5), and the connecting element (2).
High voltage connector (1,11) of any of the preceding claims, further comprising: - a metal housing (4) surrounding the insulator body (3) at least partially, - the metal housing (4) has a form of a tube (48) with a rectangular spreading ring (47) where the inner edge of the transition from the tube (48) to the ring (47) has a radius of at least 2 mm, in particular at least 3 mm. - the tube (48 of the metal housing (4) has an inner diameter (43) and the insulator body (3) has partially the same diameter as outer diameter so that the insulator body (3) fits tightly into the metal housing (4.
High voltage connector (1,11) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the insulator body (3) surrounds the inner edge of the metal housing (4) and the diameter of the insulating body (3) is rising in this region to a certain amount.
High voltage connector (1,11) of any of the preceding claims, further comprising: - a metal housing (4) surrounding the insulator body (3) at least partially, - at least a part of the metal housing (4) is positioned in a radial plane (26) of the insulator ring (5), in such a way that the expansion of the insulator body (3) is restricted by the metal housing (4).
High voltage connector (1,11) of any of the preceding claims, wherein - the mentioned connecting element (2) is a first connecting element (42), - the mentioned insulator ring (5) is a first insulator ring (45), and - the HV-connector comprises a second connecting element (52) and a second insulator ring (55), - the second connecting element (52) having the same features as the first connecting element (42) and the second insulator ring (55) has the same features as the first insulator ring (45), - and the insulator body (3) is surrounding both, the first connecting element (42) and the second connecting element (52), so that both connecting elements are spaced apart from each other and are electrically insulated from each other, and - the position of the second insulator ring (55) in respect to the second connecting element (52) is the same as the position of the first insulator ring (45) in respect to the first connecting element (42), - the position of the insulator body (3) in respect to the second insulator ring (55) and the second connecting element (52) is the same as the position in respect to the first insulator ring (45) and the first connecting element (42).
High voltage connector (1,11) of any of the preceding claims, wherein - the aforementioned rod-diameter-changing-point 8 is a first rod-diameter-changing-point 8, and the aforementioned hole-diameter-changing-point 9 is a first hole-diameter-changing-point (9), and - the connecting element (2) has a second rod-diameter-changing-point (58), where the diameter of the connecting element changes from the second rod-diameter (22) to a third rod-diameter (51) in direction to the inner-end, - the insulator body having a second hole-diameter-changing point (59), where the insulator-diameter of the hole (23 changes from the second hole-diameter (25) to a third hole-diameter (54) in direction to the inner-end, wherein the third hole-diameter (54) is equal to the third rod-diameter (51) , and the second rod-diameter-changing-point (58) is positioned adjacent to the second hole-diameter-changing-point (59), so that the insulator-body fits tight on the connecting element.
High voltage connector (1,11) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the second rod-diameter-changing-point (58) has a conus transition form the second rod-diameter (22) to the third rod-diameter (51), and the conus has an angle in the range from 3 deg to 45 deg, in particular from 7 deg to 13 deg, preferred 10 deg.
High voltage connector (1,11) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the second hole-diameter-changing-point (59 has a conus transition form the second hole-diameter (25) to the third hole-diameter (54), and the conus has an angle in the range from 3 deg to 45 deg, in particular from 7 deg to 13 deg, preferred 10 deg.
High voltage connector (1,11) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the first hole-diameter-changing-point 9 has a conus transition form the second hole-diameter (2 to the first hole-diameter (2, and the conus has an angle in the range from 3 deg to 45 deg, in particular from 10 deg to $0 deg, preferred 30 deg.
High voltage connector (1,11) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the insulator ring has a conus transition, and the conus has an angle in the range from 3 deg to 45 deg, in particular from 10 deg to 40 deg, preferred 30 deg.
High voltage connector (1,11) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the HV connector comprises an O-ring (37) positioned between the connecting element (2, 42, 52) and the insulator body (3), in particular adjacent to the inner-end (7).
High voltage connector (1,11) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the insulator body (3) has a ripped outer structure (39).
High voltage connector (1,11) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the connecting element (2) comprises an internal thread at the inner-end (7).
High voltage connector (1,11) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the conducting element (2, 42, 52) has on a point, where the insulation body surrounds the conducting element a rotation preventing element (27) and the insulating body (3) has at the same point a form which fits onto that rotation preventing element (27), so that both parts are hindered to rotate against each other.

Description

The invention relates to industrial power equipment and a high voltage connector for such industrial power equipment. One special industrial power equipment is plasma process equipment. Plasma process equipment shall mean a plasma power supply, a plasma chamber, a plasma electrode, or a impedance matching network, a measuring equipment, or a combiner or splitter, placed between a plasma power supply, a plasma chamber, e.g.. Plasma process shall mean processing such as deposition or etching of parts, e.g. semiconductor parts, with a plasma processing such as sputtering, PVD, PECVD, plasma spray, and/or similar processes. Many modern semiconductor chip fabrication processes include generation of a plasma from which ions and/or radical constituents are derived for use in either directly or indirectly affecting a change on a surface of a substrate exposed to the plasma. For example, various plasma-based processes can be used to etch material from a substrate surface, deposit material onto a substrate surface, or modify a material already present on a substrate surface. The plasma is often generated by applying radiofrequency (RF) or HV DC power or HV DC pulsed power to a process gas in a controlled environment, such that the process gas becomes energized and transforms into the desired plasma. The characteristics of the plasma are affected by many process parameters including, but not limited to, material composition of the process gas, flow rate of the process gas, geometric features of the plasma generation region and surrounding structures, temperatures of the process gas and surrounding materials, frequency of the RF or pulsed HV power applied, and magnitude of the power applied, among others. Various plasma process equipment must be connected with cables. Those cables are typically connected with plugs at the cables and corresponding connectors at the cabinets of the plasma process equipment. Such connectors and plugs have sometimes high challenges related to current they must lead and voltage they must withstand. Often the combination of the cabinets and the connectors mounted at the cabinets is also a challenge. When HV and HF comes together, those challenges rise. "HV" shall be the abbreviation for high voltage. High voltage shall mean voltages about 8 kV or more, in particular about 15 kV or more, preferred about 29 kV or more. Plasma process equipment uses such HV in an increasing number of equipment due to the rising challenges in semiconductor industry. High current shall mean current about 10 A or more, in particular about 100 A or more, preferred about 1 kA or more. High power and therefore these high amounts of current are also more and more a wanted feature of such equipment due to the rising challenges in semiconductor industry. In this application, "HF" or "RF" stands for radio frequency. Radio frequency here means a frequency of at least 1 MHz. Preferably, this also means a frequency of no more than 100 MHz. Such industrial process arrangements are often operated at a very high performance. Very high power here means an electrical output power of at least 10 kW. It is a task to build a HV connector for industrial power equipment that withstands high voltage and is reliable in this industrial power equipment, especially in plasma process equipment. The task will be solved by a HV connector according to claim 1. Further aspects are disclosed in the description and in all other claims. In one aspect the HV connector is configured to lead high current and withstand high voltage and is, in particular usable for a plasma process equipment. The HV connector is formed to fit into a corresponding plug. The HV connector comprises: a plug-connecting-end and an inner-end,a connecting element,an insulator body surrounding the connecting element at least partially,the connecting element having a rod shape which expands from the plug-connecting-end to an inner-end, the connecting element comprises a rod-diameter-changing-point, where the diameter of the connecting element changes from a first rod-diameter in direction to the plug-connecting-end to a second rod-diameter in direction to the inner-end,the insulator body having a shape with a hole, the hole formed to surround the connecting element, the hole having a hole-diameter-changing-point, where the hole-diameter of the hole changes from a first hole-diameter in direction to the plug-connecting-end to a second hole-diameter in direction to the inner-end, wherein the first hole-diameter is equal to the first rod-diameter and the second hole-diameter is equal to the second rod-diameter, so that the insulator-body fits tightly on the connecting element, andthe insulator body is positioned in such a way that its hole-diameter-changing-point is adjacent to the rod-diameter-changing-point of the connecting element, so that the connecting element and the insulator body build a compound without free distance at both diameters. "Diameter-changing-point" should be