Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MONITORING FAULTS, ANOMALIES, AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF A SWITCHED MODE ION ENERGY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

Abstract:

Systems, methods and apparatus for applying a periodic voltage function are disclosed. An exemplary method comprises applying a modified periodic voltage function to an electrical node and monitoring the modified periodic voltage function over multiple cycles to monitor a relationship d .times. V 0 dt - I c C 1 = D ##EQU00001## to represent a status of a plasma process or the plasma processing chamber, where I.sub.c represents a controllable ion compensation current, D is a unitless value, d .times. V 0 dT ##EQU00002## represents a portion of the modified periodic voltage function that includes a negative voltage ramp, and C.sub.1 is an effective capacitance including a capacitance of a substrate support.