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A predictive failure system for a power delivery system. The power delivery system includes a number of modules which are interconnected to a system monitor. The system monitor collects data on operating parameters of each module and environmental parameters. The system monitor analyzes the data in

A predictive failure system for a power delivery system. The power delivery system includes a number of modules which are interconnected to a system monitor. The system monitor collects data on operating parameters of each module and environmental parameters. The system monitor analyzes the data in order to define conditions based upon the parameters. The parameters are then applied against a set of rules to determine whether a warning or a fault indicator should be generated. The system monitor may be implemented locally as part of the power delivery system or may be located remotely from the power delivery system to enable off site data collection and analysis.

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1. A method of monitoring a power delivery system comprising the steps of:providing a power supply which generates a power signal for operating a plasma chamber, a sensor for detecting at least one parameter of the power delivery system, and a controller for receiving input from the sensor and provi

1. A method of monitoring a power delivery system comprising the steps of:providing a power supply which generates a power signal for operating a plasma chamber, a sensor for detecting at least one parameter of the power delivery system, and a controller for receiving input from the sensor and providing control signals to vary operation of the power supply; monitoring a plurality of parameters associated with the power delivery system, including collecting historical data on the parameters, defining at least one condition for at least one parameter based on the historical data, and modeling physical outcomes in accordance with selected parameters; and applying a set of rules to the at least one condition to determine a state of operation of the power delivery system. 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of defining a set of rules of operation based upon the parameters associated with the power delivery system.3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of signaling fault conditions of the power delivery system in accordance with an outcome of the step of applying the set of rules to the parameters.4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of defining the at least one condition further comprises the step of utilizing one of a fuzzy logic system and a neural network system to define the at least one condition.5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of defining the at least one condition further comprises the step of defining a range wherein if a parameter falls within the range, the condition for the at least one parameter is acceptable.6. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing an expert system to receive the rules and the at least one condition, wherein the expert system indicates a failure mode criteria in accordance with the application of the rules to the conditions.7. The method of claim 1 wherein the parameters include at least one of the group of power conversion efficiency, operating hours of the power delivery system, output actuation of the power delivery system, component temperature, ambient temperature, humidity, particle contamination, communications link error rate, response characteristic, drift in input power, drift in output power, number of contact cycles, number of thermal cycles, number of transients, feedback, and trends in parameter values.8. A power delivery system, comprising:a power supply receiving an input power and generating a power signal for operating a plasma chamber; a sensor for detecting at least one parameter associated with the power delivery system; a controller for receiving input from the sensor and providing control signals to vary operation of the power supply; and a system monitor, the system monitor receiving as input a plurality of signals that define the parameters associated with the power delivery system, the system monitor including a set of rules of operation and applying the set of rules to the parameters to predict a future state of operation of the power delivery system. 9. The power delivery system of claim 8 wherein the system monitor indicates a warning in accordance with the state of operation of the power delivery system.10. The power delivery system of claim 8 wherein the system monitor further comprises a database for collecting data on the parameters input to the system monitor.11. The power delivery system of claim 10 wherein the system monitor further comprises a data analysis module that defines at least one condition for at least one parameter and applies the set of rules to the at least one condition.12. The power delivery system of claim 11 wherein analysis engine includes one of a fuzzy logic system and a neural network system to define the at least one condition.13. The power delivery system of claim 11 wherein the analysis engine defines the at least one condition by defining a range wherein if a parameter falls within the range, the condition for the at least one parameter is acceptable.14. The power delivery system of claim 11 wherein the analysis engine defines the at least one condition by modeling physical outcomes in accordance with selected parameters.15. The power delivery system of claim 11 further comprising an expert system to receive the rules and the at least one condition, wherein the expert system indicates a failure mode criteria in accordance with the application of the rules to the conditions.16. The power delivery system of claim 11 further comprising a match network receiving the output power, the match network generating an impedance between the power supply and a load.17. The power delivery system of claim 11 wherein the parameters include at least one of the group of power conversion efficiency, operating hours of the power delivery system, output actuation of the power delivery system, component temperature, ambient temperature, humidity, particle contamination, communications link error rate, response characteristic, drift in input power, drift in output power, number of contact cycles, number of thermal cycles, number of transients, feedback, and trends in parameter values.18. A method of monitoring a power delivery system comprising the steps of:providing a power supply which generates a power signal for operating a plasma chamber, a sensor for detecting at least one parameter of the power supply, and a controller for receiving input from the sensor and providing control signals to vary operation of the power supply; communicating at least one of the plurality of parameters to a remote site; monitoring the plurality of parameters associated with the power delivery system and communicated to the remote site; and providing a database at the remote site for storing the plurality of parameters communicated to the remote site. 19. The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of analyzing the data communicated to the remote site to monitor operation of the power delivery system.20. The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of signaling fault conditions of the power delivery system in accordance with an outcome of the step of applying the set of rules to the parameters.21. The method of claim 18 further comprising the steps of:at the remote site, monitoring selected ones of the plurality of parameters associated with the power delivery system; and at the remote site, applying a set of rules to the parameters to determine a state of operation of the power delivery system. 22. The method of claim 21 further comprising the step of at the remote site, defining a set of rules of operation based upon the parameters associated with the power delivery system.23. The method of claim 21 wherein the step of monitoring the parameters further comprises the step of collecting historical data on the parameters and defining at least one condition for at least one parameter based on the historical data, and the step of applying the set of rules to the parameters applies the set of rules to the at least one condition.24. The method of claim 21 wherein the step of monitoring the parameters further comprises the step of collecting historical data on the parameters on a plurality of power delivery systems at a plurality of remote sites and defining at least one condition for at least one parameter based on the historical data, and the step of applying the set of rules to the parameter applies the set of rules to the at least one condition.25. The method of claim 24 wherein the step of defining the at least one condition further comprises the step of utilizing one of a fuzzy logic system and a neural network system to define the at least one condition.26. The method of claim 24 wherein the step of defining the at least one condition further comprises the step of defining a range wherein if a parameter falls within the range, the condition for the at least one parameter is acceptable.27. The method of claim 24 wherein the step of defining the at least one condition further comprises the step of modeling physical outcomes in accordance with selected parameters.28. The method of claim 24 further comprising providing an expert system to receive the rules and the at least one condition, wherein the expert system signals indicates a failure mode criteria in accordance with the application of the rules to the conditions.29. A system comprising:a power delivery system including: a power supply receiving an input power and generating a power signal for operating a plasma chamber; a sensor for detecting at least one parameter of the power delivery system; and a controller for receiving input from the sensor and providing control signals to vary operation of the power supply; and a remote monitor located remotely from the power delivery system, the remote monitor receiving data from the power delivery system, the remote monitor including a database for storing the data received from the power delivery system, the data including a plurality of signals that define parameters associated with the power delivery system, the remote monitor predicting a future state of operation of the power delivery system. 30. The system of claim 29 wherein the remote monitor includes a rules database for storing a set of rules of operation of the power delivery system and applying the set of rules to the parameters to determine a state of operation of the power delivery system.31. The power delivery system of claim 30 wherein the remote monitor indicates a warning in accordance with the state of operation of the power delivery system.32. The power delivery system of claim 30 wherein the remote monitor further comprises a data analysis module that defines at least one condition for at least one parameter and applies the set of rules to the at least one condition.33. The system of claim 32 wherein analysis engine includes one of a fuzzy logic system and a neural network system to define the at least one condition.34. The system of claim 32 wherein the analysis engine defines the at least one condition by defining a range wherein if a parameter falls within the range, the condition for the at least one parameter is acceptable.35. The system of claim 32 wherein the analysis engine defines the at least one condition by modeling physical outcomes in accordance with selected parameters.36. The system of claim 29 wherein data exchanged between the remote monitor and the power delivery system is encrypted.37. The system of claim 29 wherein parameters sent to the remote monitor from the power delivery system may be defined by an operator.38. A method of monitoring a power delivery system comprising:providing a power supply which generates a power signal for operating a plasma chamber, a sensor for detecting at least one parameter of the power delivery system, and a controller for receiving input from the sensor and providing control signals to vary operation of the power supply; monitoring a plurality of parameters associated with the power delivery system; and applying a set of rules to the parameters to determine a state of operation of the power delivery system. 39. The method of claim 38 wherein varying operation of the power supply comprises varying the power signal used in operating the plasma chamber.40. A power delivery system comprising:a power supply receiving an input power and generating a power signal for operating a plasma chamber; a sensor for detecting at least one parameter associated with the power delivery system; a controller for receiving input from the sensor and providing control signals to vary operation of the power supply; and a system monitor, the system monitor receiving as input a plurality of signals that define the parameters associated with the power delivery system, the system monitor including a set of rules of operation and applying the set of rules to the parameters to determine a state of operation of the power delivery system and adjusting operation of the power supply to adjust the parameters.