KR-20260065151-A - APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SUPPLYING POWER

KR20260065151AKR 20260065151 AKR20260065151 AKR 20260065151AKR-20260065151-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a power supply device and method, and more specifically, to a power supply device and method for supplying power to a plurality of loads. A power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a power supply device for supplying power to a plurality of loads, comprising: a plurality of signal generators capable of generating power signals input to each of the plurality of loads; and a reference signal generator connected to the plurality of signal generators to generate a reference signal capable of changing the frequency for impedance matching and to input the generated reference signal to the plurality of signal generators in common.

Inventors

이혁수

Assignees

(주)아센디아

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20241101

Claims (12)

As a power supply device for supplying power to multiple loads, A plurality of signal generators capable of generating power signals input to the plurality of loads, respectively; and A power supply device comprising: a reference signal generating unit connected to a plurality of signal generating units, such that the generated reference signal can be input in common to the plurality of signal generating units for impedance matching, and the generated reference signal can be input to the plurality of signal generating units.
In claim 1, The above reference signal generating unit is a power supply device that generates a reference signal according to sequence data containing information regarding frequency change conditions.
In claim 2, The above reference signal generating unit is a power supply device capable of generating the above sequence data.
In claim 2, The above plurality of signal generators can generate the sequence data, and The above reference signal generating unit is a power supply device that receives sequence data from the above plurality of signal generating units and generates a reference signal.
In claim 3, A power supply device in which the above plurality of signal generators measure the output terminal impedance and generate the sequence data according to the measured output terminal impedance.
In claim 1, A power supply device further comprising a plurality of matching members capable of matching impedances by adjusting at least one of capacitance and inductance between the plurality of signal generating members and the plurality of loads.
As a power supply method for supplying power to multiple loads, A process of generating a reference signal capable of changing the frequency for impedance matching; and A power supply method comprising the process of amplifying each generated reference signal to generate power signals input to each of the plurality of loads.
In claim 7, The process of generating the above reference signal is a power supply method that generates a reference signal according to sequence data containing information regarding frequency change conditions.
In claim 8, The above sequence data is a power supply method that is generated in advance before supplying power to the plurality of loads.
In claim 8, The above sequence data is a power supply method generated while power is supplied to the plurality of loads.
In claim 10, The above sequence data is a power supply method generated by measuring the output impedance of a signal generator capable of generating a power signal.
In claim 8, The process of generating the above reference signal is, A process of generating a digital signal according to the above sequence data; and A power supply method including a process of converting a generated digital signal into an analog signal.

Description

Apparatus and Method for Supplying Power The present invention relates to a power supply device and method, and more specifically, to a power supply device and method for supplying power to a plurality of loads. A plasma processing device for semiconductor manufacturing includes a processing unit capable of performing various processes using plasma. The processing unit is used in various applications, such as etching, deposition, cleaning, and ashing processes, and receives power signals from a power supply to form and maintain plasma in a reaction space. The power supply device can supply power to a plurality of loads included in the processing device to equalize the density of the plasma or to improve the productivity of the product. For example, the processing device may include electrodes divided into a plurality, and a power signal may be supplied to each of the divided electrodes. In addition, the processing device may have a plurality of reaction spaces to process a plurality of wafers, and a power signal may be supplied to each of the electrodes provided in the divided reaction spaces. Accordingly, when supplying power signals to multiple loads, it is necessary to perform impedance matching to minimize reflected waves transmitted from the loads. Such impedance matching must be performed quickly to ensure process reliability and improve productivity. Furthermore, the power signals supplied to the multiple loads after impedance matching must have the same frequency. If power signals with different frequencies are supplied to the multiple loads, noise is generated due to mutual interference, or crosstalk, which leads to a problem where the plasma cannot be formed stably. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the structure of a reference signal generation unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below but may be implemented in various different forms, and the embodiments of the present invention are provided merely to ensure that the disclosure of the present invention is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the invention. To explain the invention in detail, the drawings may be exaggerated, and like reference numerals in the drawings refer to like elements. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a reference signal generation unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a power supply device for supplying power to a plurality of loads (230), and comprises a plurality of signal generators (120) capable of generating power signals input to each of the plurality of loads (230), and a reference signal generator (110) connected to the plurality of signal generators (120) so as to generate a reference signal capable of changing the frequency for impedance matching and to input the generated reference signal to the plurality of signal generators (120) in common. In addition, the power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention may further comprise a plurality of matching units (130) capable of matching impedance between the plurality of signal generators (120) and the plurality of loads (230). In the following description, the case in which power signals are supplied to four loads (230) via four paths, i.e., four channels, is described as an example. However, the number of loads (230) and the number of channels supplying power signals to said loads are not limited to this and can be changed in various ways. Furthermore, in describing the present invention, the term "connection" includes both wired and wireless connections for the transmission of electrical signals. The reference signal generation unit (110) generates a reference signal that is commonly input to a plurality of signal generation units (120). Here, the reference signal refers to a signal having a frequency that serves as a reference for the signal generation unit (120) to generate a power signal. As described below, the signal generation unit (120) amplifies the reference signal to generate a power signal. At this time, amplification maintains the frequency of the reference signal and changes its amplitude, so that the power signal generated by amplification has the same frequency as the reference signal. The reference signal generation unit (110) can thus generate a reference signal having a frequency that serves as a reference for generating a power signal. Here, the reference signal generation unit (110) can generate a re