Patent attributes
Systems, methods and apparatus for regulating ion energies in a plasma chamber are disclosed. An exemplary system includes an ion-energy control portion, and the ion-energy control portion provides at least one ion-energy control signal responsive to at least one ion-energy setting that is indicative of a desired distribution of energies of ions bombarding a surface of a substrate. A controller is coupled to the switch-mode power supply, and the controller provides at least two drive-control signals. In addition, a switch-mode power supply is coupled to the substrate support, the ion-energy control portion and the controller. The switch-mode power supply includes switching components configured to apply power to the substrate responsive to the drive signals and the ion-energy control signal so as to effectuate the desired distribution of the energies of ions bombarding the surface of the substrate.
