*Thomas Schütte, Peter Neiß, Jan-Peter Urbach, PLASUS GmbH, Mering, Germany
While optical filter systems – so called PEMs – have reached their limits regarding plasma monitoring and process control for today’s advanced plasma processes, the spectroscopic and multi-sensor approach of the EMICON SA system opens new opportunities for securing stable and continuous process control in production lines: All process relevant plasma species can be detected simultaneously and monitored in real-time. Synchronized evaluation and analysis of the signals provide an overall picture of the process condition at any time and overcomes the problems of drifting signals and frequent signal calibration. Appropriate control algorithms are available to stabilize and optimizes the working point. The multi-channel setup allows the simultaneous measurement at up to 8 different plasma positions or process chambers - each position providing full data from all process relevant plasma species. Besides the spectroscopic data recording additional sensor modules for voltage recording, pulse current and pulse voltage curve recording can be incorporated in the EMICON SA system. Integration of the EMICON SA system into the system control of the production line is ensured by common industrial interfaces like Profibus, EtherCAT, etc. or by OPC-UA interface for connecting to big data systems of Industry 4.0 and AI. Examples of selected industrial applications are presented demonstrating the powerful and secure process control features of the EMICON SA system for state of the art plasma processes.