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Title [REGULAR PAPER] A Single-chip Resonance-frequency Tracking Microwave-excited Plasma Driver IC for Portable Biomedical Applications
Authors (Cheolmin Ahn) ; (Soon Ku Kwon) ; (Bumjin Park) ; (Jahyun Koo) ; (Jae-Yoon Sim)
DOI https://doi.org/10.5573/JSTS.2020.20.3.231
Page pp.231-241
ISSN 1598-1657
Keywords Portable microwave generator; atmospheric-pressure plasma; low-temperature plasma; power efficiency; impedance matching
Abstract This paper presents a first-time single-chip microwave-excited plasma driver IC with resonance-frequency tracking and output-power-regulation scheme for biomedical applications. The power module includes a driver IC and a power amplifier, and is designed to provide stable microwave power that is required for generation of a plasma jet. A 2.4-GHz coaxial transmission line resonator is used to generate the plasma jet using input microwave power. The proposed system continuously monitors the resonance frequency, and controls it by adaptively changing the microwave frequency. To prevent the plasma jet from becoming high enough to damage human skin, the system monitors the power entering the resonator and keeps it constant. The proposed microwave plasma driver IC is implemented in a 0.18-μm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor process. The system generates stable 1 W with a frequency tracking.