Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.

Steve Dillon

Justin Mauck

Fernando Gustavo Tomasel

Andrew Shabalin

Juan Jose Gonzalez

A method and apparatus are described for making a coldplate. A first component of, for example copper, is explosion welded to a second component of, for example aluminum. The first metal component has a top surface opposite the second metal component and at least one channel proximate the top surface adapted to carry a cooling fluid. The coldplate can be used as an interior wall for a plasma chamber.

Explosion welded design for cooling components

In one aspect of the invention is a method to construct plasma chambers with improved wall resistance to deterioration. In one embodiment of the invention, a chamber is made of an aluminum alloy having low concentrations of elements that form non-soluble, intermetallic particles to address coating/substrate issues, has swaged-in cooling tubes to reduce thermal stress by improving thermal resistance, and has a plurality of dielectric gaps to decrease ion bombardment.

Deterioration resistant chambers for inductively coupled plasma production

In one aspect of the invention is a method to create a vacuum seal with extended lifetime to form a dielectric break in a vacuum chamber. The method includes the use of an elastic dielectric seal to form a high vacuum seal. It also includes the use of different means to protect the vacuum seal from direct exposure to the plasma and to reactive gases present inside the plasma chamber. Furthermore, it includes the use of elements to ensure a proper compression of the elastic seal, and to avoid its expansion or contraction when the pressures on both sides of the seal are different.

Vacuum seal protection in a dielectric break

A method and apparatus are described for inserting a cooling tube into a metal component to remove heat generated at the surface by flowing fluid through the tube, thereby cooling the metal component. A cooling tube is placed into a groove of a metal component having first and second surfaces, where the width of the groove at the surfaces is approximately equal to the outer diameter of the cooling tube. The metal component also has two ridges: a first ridge on one end of the groove at the first surface of the metal component, and a second ridge on the other end of the groove at the second surface of the metal component. After the cooling tube is placed in the groove of the metal component, the cooling tube is swaged into the groove of the metal component by applying pressure to the first and second ridges until the first ridge, second ridge, and cooling tube are flush with the top surface.

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Fort Collins, CO, United States of America

Steve Dillon