Mrl Industries, Inc.

Sandvik Thermal Process Inc.

Sandvik Intellectual Property Ab

Kevin Peck

Noel Johnson

Thomas J Berdner

William D McEntire

Jim Sanches

Pontus K H Nilsson

Mike D Soliday

Ronald D VanOrden

Michael D Soliday

James Sanches

Bjorn W Larsson

Björn Å Larsson

Robin H Slater

A thermal process device for heat treating a product or plurality of products includes a thermal processing chamber having opposed distal ends and at least one controllable heating zone. At least one buffer zone disposed is at each of the distal ends, the buffer zones and at least one heating zone of the thermal processing chamber forming a heating element assembly having an inner and outer surface. At least one layer of insulating material is disposed along the at least one buffer and heating zones of the thermal processing chamber and forming part of the heating element assembly, the at least one layer of insulating material having a controlled efficiency being applied non-uniformly across an axial length of the heating assembly.

Thermal process device with non-uniform insulation

A thermal process device for heat treating a product or plurality of products includes a thermal processing chamber having opposed distal ends and a plurality of controllable heating zones. At least one buffer zone is disposed at each of the distal ends. The buffer zones and heating zones of the thermal processing chamber form a heating element assembly. The heating assembly has an inner and outer surface and a secondary shell is disposed about the outer surface of the heating element assembly and spaced therefrom to form an inlet flow passage for a flow of a temperature adjusting medium along the heating element assembly. A flow directing arrangement is configured to direct the flow of the temperature adjusting medium in the inlet flow passage to the different zones of the heating assembly to adjust the temperature in the heating zones, wherein a majority of the flow of the temperature adjusting medium is delivered to a central zone of the heating temperature assembly and then outward toward at least one of the distal ends.

Thermal process device

Spacer for a vertical support structure of a heating element coil includes a mating feature including complimentary components on first opposing sides of the spacer, a cavity, open to second opposing sides of the spacer, and an extension offset from an axis intersecting the mating features, the extension including a pocket sized to fit an individual loop of the heating element coil. The spacer can be incorporated into a support structure for a heating element coil interlocking adjacent loops of the coil so that they are retained in a collinear and concentric arrangement while allowing the loops of the coil to move freely inward and outward from the central axis in unison.

Support structure for heating element coil

A forced fluid switch including a first plenum in communication with a first port; a second plenum in communication with a second port; a third plenum in switched communication with the first plenum and the second plenum and in communication with a third port; a fourth plenum in switched communication with the first plenum and the second plenum and in communication with a fourth port; and wherein the forced fluid switch has at least a first forced fluid path and a second forced fluid path, wherein in the first forced fluid path, the third plenum is in communication with the first plenum and the fourth plenum is in communication with the second plenum, and wherein in the second forced fluid path, the third plenum is in communication with the second plenum and the fourth plenum is in communication with the first plenum. A method is provided for switching forced fluid.

Forced-fluid switch

A heating element includes a continuous planar strip and a plurality of mounting members. A path of the continuous strip from a first end to a second end is circuitous and includes a plurality of repeating cycles, each of which includes a plurality of first straight segments, a plurality of second straight segments and a plurality of radiused segments. A length of the first straight segment is greater than a length of the second straight segment and an angular sum of a single cycle of the circuitous path is greater than 360 degrees. The heating element can be incorporated into a heating assembly for, as an example, semiconductor processing equipment.

Precision strip heating element

A method for determining a maintenance interval for a consumable part and/or for equipment containing a consumable part obtains a plurality of measurements of temperature of the consumable part, receives each of the measurements at a totalizing unit, correlates each of the measurements to one of a plurality of temperature subranges, accumulates for each of the subranges an amount of time the measurements of temperature were correlated to each of the subranges, determines a total time by aggregating the accumulated time for each subrange with a weighting function, and generates a signal to prompt a maintenance event when the total time equals or passes a runtime setpoint. In supplement to or in alternative to the above, the method also correlates a subrange of two sequential measurements, indexes a breakpoint register if the correlated subranges are different, and generates a signal to prompt a maintenance event when a value of the breakpoint register equals or passes a breakpoint setpoint. A system for collecting, storing, and displaying runtime data of a resistive heating element in a semiconductor processing unit is also disclosed.

System to monitor a consumable part and method to monitor performance life and predict maintenance thereof

Methods to determine an instantaneous resistance value of an electric circuit and a measurement system to determine an instantaneous resistance value of an electric circuit are disclosed. Exemplary embodiments of the method measure an in-situ instantaneous voltage of the circuit and an in-situ instantaneous current of the circuit and calculate the instantaneous resistance. Optional temperature measurement can be included in the method and the calculated instantaneous resistance related to the measured temperature. The method can be applied to phase angle fired loads and to zero-cross (time proportioned) loads.

High accuracy in-situ resistance measurements methods

A circuit is provided that provides for the same power characteristics to an assembly of electrical resistive elements wired in parallel as to the assembly as wired in series. An input power source provides electrical resistive power to a plurality of load elements, wherein the plurality of load elements are connected in parallel to each other. A plurality of power splitters divide the power source into separate and equal power subsources such that there is one power splitter and one power subsource for each load element, wherein the power provided to each of the plurality of load elements is equal to the power of the electrical power source. Redundancy and fault tolerance is provided to the circuitry by permitting remaining load elements to continue to operate should one or more load elements fail.

Circuit and fault tolerant assembly including such circuit

Heating element assemblies, heating furnaces incorporating heating element assemblies, methods to form heating element assemblies, methods to form heating furnaces and methods to reduce a magnetic field in a bifilar coil are disclosed. The heating element assembly includes two components, each component formed from heating element wire. The two components are spatially positioned and electrically arranged, relative to each other, so that an electrical current applied to the heating element assembly simultaneously travels through the two components in opposite directions.

Magnetic field reduction resistive heating elements

The present invention provides a heat treating process chamber having a housing with a flow passage in communication with a vestibule assembly. The vestibule assembly includes an outer ring with a first groove and an inner ring with a second groove. The first groove is formed in an axially inwardly facing surface of the outer ring. The first groove has a portion open in a radially outer direction and an axially inner direction. The second groove opens in an axially inner direction and is formed in an axially outwardly facing surface of the inner ring. The first and second grooves form a passageway when they are in an axially superimposed relationship. The first groove forms a radially outwardly open end and the second groove forms an axially inwardly facing end of the passageway. The passageway communicates with the flow passage thereby allowing passage of a temperature adjusting medium.

Vestibule assembly for a heat treatment furnace

A method for monitoring the condition of a heating element involving installing the heating element in a location and setting the initial composition Cof the material as a reference baseline at an initial time Tcorresponding to said installation of the heating element. Data is then collected reflecting the subsequent composition Cof the heating element material after a subsequent time Tat the installed location and any change in the material composition of the heating element between Tand Tis monitored. An alarm is sent when the change reaches a threshold value indicating a possible failure condition. According to one embodiment, an impedance monitor is provided that calculates and compares impedance at the required levels of accuracy to determine changes in material composition. The impedance monitor, or portions thereof can be embedded within a microcontroller for increased portability and functionality.

Heating element condition monitor

A method for monitoring the condition of an electric current-carrying heating element involving installing the heating element in a location and setting the initial composition Cof the material as a reference baseline at an initial time Tcorresponding to said installation of the heating element. Data is then collected reflecting the subsequent composition Cof the heating element material after a subsequent time Tat the installed location and any change in the material composition of the heating element between Tand Tis monitored. An alarm is sent when the change reaches a threshold value indicating a possible failure condition. According to one embodiment, an impedance monitor is provided that calculates and compares impedance at the required levels of accuracy to determine changes in material composition. The impedance monitor, or portions thereof may be embedded within a microcontroller for increased portability and functionality.

A heating assembly for use in an electric furnace includes a helical heating element encircled by thermal insulation, and rows of spacers for keeping turns of the heating element spaced apart by predetermined distances. Each spacer includes circumferential side portions facing generally in a circumferential direction of the heating element and converging toward a center region of the spacer to form a radial undercut against which the insulation abuts. The spacers of each row have through holes extending parallel to a longitudinal axis of the heating element. A guide rod extends through the through holes of each row of spacers.

Retention mechanism for heating coil of high temperature diffusion furnace

An improved collar, interlocking arrangement, an electric furnace are provided. The improved arrangement includes an electrically insulating collar having a mounting flange and a passageway, an electrically conductive lead disposed at least partially within the passageway, and means for securing the lead relative to the passageway such that the lead is maintained in its proper position. An improved electric furnace includes an interior portion, thermal insulation disposed within the interior portion, at least one heating element disposed, an electrical lead having a first terminal portion disposed within the interior portion and a second terminal portion disposed outside the interior portion, an electrical connector electrically connected to the at least one heating element and disposed on the first terminal portion, an exterior wall, an electrically insulating collar, the lead being at least partially received within the collar, and the lead being secured relative to the collar such that the lead is maintained in its proper position.

Positive locking element lead retainer/insulator

The present invention provides a furnace which heat treats substrates. The furnace includes a heating section and working components. The heating section includes heating coils having spacers disposed within the heating coils where a mass of the heating coils and a mass of the spacers contributes to a mass of the heating section. The working components include a processing chamber and a transport mechanism. The processing chambers facilitates passage of a substrate through the heating section. The transport mechanism transports the substrate through the heating section and into the exit assembly. The heating section mass exceeds a combined mass of the processing chamber, the transport mechanism and the substrate within the heating section.

Growing community of inventors

Sonora, CA, United States of America

Kevin Peck