Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Prathna Ung

Hans L Melgaard

Daniel M Ruf

Matthew Benson

Phillip Vu

Brandon Oakes Long

Erik Richard Anderson

One embodiment is directed to an oven for heating fibers. The oven comprises a supply structure disposed within the oven between first and second ends of the oven. The supply structure comprises a plurality of plenums. The plenums are in fluid communication with a heating system. Each of the plenums comprises a pair of side walls, a bottom wall, and a top wall. Each of the plenums is configured so that first openings are formed in the respective side walls of that plenum. At least one plenum is configured so that one or more second openings are formed in at least one of the top wall or the bottom wall of at least one plenum. The at least one plenum is configured to supply heated gas from the heating system into the chamber from the first openings and said one or more second openings of the plenum.

Supply plenum for center-to-ends fiber oxidation oven

One embodiment is directed to an apparatus comprising a firing furnace comprising a heating chamber configured to fire a metallization layer of photovoltaic devices and a cooling chamber configured to cool the photovoltaic devices that have been heated by the heating chamber. The cooling chamber comprises lights to light anneal the photovoltaic devices to reduce light induced degradation as the photovoltaic devices are cooled in the cooling chamber. The cooling chamber of the firing furnace is configured to use residual heat from heating performed in the heating chamber of the firing furnace as heat for the light annealing of the photovoltaic devices. Light annealing is not performed in the heating chamber of the firing furnace.

Light annealing in a cooling chamber of a firing furnace

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Rosemount, MN, United States of America

Prathna Ung