HTS Deposition Chamber Layout for Uniform Wide-Substrate Heating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional deposition methods for high temperature superconductors (HTS) face challenges with non-uniform temperature distribution and high heat losses on wide and long substrates, leading to non-uniform thickness, composition, and crystallinity, as well as significant material loss and by-product formation.
Innovation Solution
A deposition apparatus and method that uses a deposition chamber with side walls arranged to confine infrared emissions between parts of the substrate, employing a heating system with embedded heating elements in the walls to maintain uniform temperature and reduce heat losses, and a substrate transport system to ensure uniform deposition on wide substrates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional cold-wall reactor is used for HTS deposition, then the precursor material does not react before reaching the substrate, but significant heat losses occur (around 10-100 kW for 100 cm wide substrates) leading to non-uniform temperature distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful infrared radiation heat losses into a beneficial effect by arranging the substrate to face itself, allowing the IR radiation to be reflected back onto the substrate surface, thereby maintaining uniform temperature distribution while reducing net heat losses from the system
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new spatial dimension by folding the substrate back onto itself within the deposition chamber, creating a self-facing configuration that fundamentally changes the heat radiation geometry and eliminates the need for additional heating infrastructure
2Productivity
If substrate width is increased to improve throughput, then more material can be deposited simultaneously, but temperature uniformity and deposition quality deteriorate due to increased heat losses
Solution Approach 1:
By converting the harmful infrared heat losses into beneficial self-heating radiation, the system maintains temperature uniformity across wide substrates (up to 100 cm and beyond), enabling increased throughput without sacrificing deposition quality or uniformity
Solution Approach 2:
The self-facing substrate configuration creates a new spatial arrangement that allows wide substrates to maintain thermal uniformity, breaking the conventional limitation that restricted substrate width to below 5 cm for quality deposition
3Temperature
If conventional heating systems are used with wide substrates, then the substrate can be heated, but non-uniform temperature distribution occurs along the width and length of the substrate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful infrared radiation that escapes from the substrate edges into a beneficial effect by having the substrate face itself, so the IR radiation is reflected back onto the substrate surface, creating self-uniform heating and eliminating temperature gradients across the substrate
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate serves its own heating needs by reflecting its own infrared radiation back onto itself, eliminating the need for complex external heating systems and achieving self-uniform temperature distribution across the entire substrate surface
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Achieves uniform temperature and composition along the width and length of wide substrates, reduces heat losses, and increases throughput while minimizing material loss and by-products.
Implementation Method 1
the transport of the at least one substrate in the deposition chamber is performed in such a way that an infrared emission between both first and second parts of the first surface is confined between both first and second parts of the first surface
Implementation Method 2
a heating system for heating the at least one substrate in the deposition chamber at a first temperature
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a deposition apparatus (100) for depositing a high temperature superconductor material onto a first surface (11) of at least one substrate (10), the deposition apparatus comprising: - a deposition chamber (101) comprising side walls (111, 112); - a substrate transport system for transporting the at least one substrate in the deposition chamber along one or more of the side walls; - a heating system for heating the at least one substrate in the deposition chamber at a first temperature; - a precursor inlet (160) for delivering a gas flow (20) including an HTS material precursor into the deposition chamber; wherein the side walls of the deposition chamber are arranged in such a way that, when the at least one substrate is transported along the one or more side walls of the deposition chamber, a first part (11A) of the first surface faces a second part (11B) of the first surface.