RF generators are an important branch of power electronics technology, widely used in plasma processing, semiconductor manufacturing, and materials processing. In typical sputtering systems, the RF generator outputs a sinusoidal or pulsed waveform, with operating frequencies typically ranging from 2 MHz to 60 MHz. Output power can range from tens of watts to tens of kilowatts, and the output characteristic impedance is 50 Ω to match transmission lines and loads.

In sputtering equipment, 13.56 MHz is the internationally accepted industrial frequency band. When RF voltage is applied between two parallel electrodes, electrons in the chamber are accelerated by the high-frequency electric field. After gaining sufficient kinetic energy, they undergo inelastic collisions with neutral gas molecules, creating an ionization avalanche and forming a high-density plasma. This process allows sputtering to be carried out at a low working pressure of about 1 Pa, significantly reducing the scattering of sputtered particles by gas molecules, while improving both the deposition rate and film quality.

RF generator also give rise to a key phenomenon — the self-bias effect. Due to the difference in mobility between electrons and ions, as well as the asymmetric coupling of the RF voltage, the target surface accumulates a negative DC bias, placing it automatically at a negative potential. This negative bias effectively attracts positive ions to bombard the target, achieving efficient sputtering. On the substrate side, the self-bias is usually small, resulting in negligible ion bombardment energy. Therefore, damage to the substrate and the growing film can be ignored, which is particularly important for the fabrication of high-precision thin films.

In addition to sputtering applications in physical vapor deposition, RF generator also play critical roles in plasma etching, inductively coupled plasma sources, RF heating, medical radiofrequency ablation, and wireless power transfer. With advances in power electronics devices (such as GaN and SiC) and high-frequency conversion technologies, RF generator are moving toward higher efficiency, wider frequency ranges, and higher power densities, providing solid technical support for modern industry and research.

As a specialist manufacturer of RF generator, Wattsine Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. currently offers the ESM and ESL series, with power ratings ranging from 1 kW to 30 kW and frequencies ranging from 2 MHz to 60 MHz. The 13.56 MHz, 2 kW model comes with a built-in matching unit.