Analysis and design of full-bridge LC parallel resonant plasma driver with variable-inductor based phase control

This paper presents the analysis and design of the full-bridge (FB) LC parallel resonant plasma driver at the radio-frequency (RF) operation with variable-inductor based phase control scheme. Since the switching frequency of the RF plasma module is mainly fixed at 13.56MHz for EMC regulation, the variable-inductor control scheme can adjust the transconductance amplitude to enable load-current regulation. Additionally, in order to have minimal conduction loss on the switches, the design criterion of the required dead-time for ZVS condition with the minimal circulating current of the LC parallel resonant tank is required. Based on the equivalent circuit models of the RF plasma module described prior work, the analysis and design of the driver for the RF plasma module are presented. Finally, by using the SIMPLIS^® simulation software, the FB LC parallel resonant plasma driver with the variable-inductor based phase control is simulated to validate the achievement of required functions. Furthermore, the dead-times and lagging phases are obtained from the simulation results, which are compared with the calculated results to validate the feasibility of design criterion.