RTP Lamp Housing Brazing With Gold-Free Alloy for Crack-Free Joints
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lamp assembly designs for rapid thermal processing (RTP) chambers are costly due to expensive braze materials and prone to voids and cracks in braze joints, which affect the reliability and efficiency of the heating process.
Innovation Solution
A lamp housing design using a copper plate and tubes brazed with a nickel or copper-containing alloy that does not include gold, along with an annular jacket, where the braze alloy is applied at specific interfaces and heated to join the components, reducing costs and improving joint integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional brazing material is used for lamp assemblies, then the braze joints may provide initial connectivity, but the cost is high and the joints are prone to forming voids and cracks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters of the braze alloy by specifying precise compositional ranges (e.g., copper 65-85 wt%, nickel 5-20 wt%, zinc 5-20 wt%, with optional additions of tin, indium, silver, and titanium). This parameter optimization resolves the contradiction by achieving reliable, void-free braze joints at reduced cost through controlled material composition rather than using conventional expensive gold-based alloys.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a multi-component composite braze alloy system combining copper, nickel, zinc, and trace elements (tin, indium, silver, titanium). This composite material approach resolves the technical contradiction by synergistically combining the advantages of each element: copper provides base strength and cost-effectiveness, nickel enhances creep resistance and joint integrity, zinc improves fluidity and wetting, and trace elements eliminate voids and cracks, achieving reliable joints at lower cost than conventional materials.
2Reliability
If conventional brazing processes are used for lamp assemblies, then assembly can be formed, but voids and cracks form in the braze joints reducing reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies precise processing parameters including heating temperature ranges (above the liquidus temperature of the braze alloy but below the melting point of base metals), heating rates, and cooling rates. These parameter controls resolve the contradiction by ensuring complete filler metal flow that eliminates voids and cracks while maintaining joint integrity, achieving high manufacturing precision without compromising reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent requires preliminary preparation of bonding surfaces including cleaning, degreasing, and activation before brazing. This preliminary action resolves the contradiction by ensuring optimal surface conditions that promote complete wetting and penetration of the braze alloy, preventing void and crack formation while maintaining high joint quality and reliability.
3Strength
If expensive braze materials are used in lamp assemblies, then joint strength may be improved, but the overall manufacturing cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent develops a composite braze alloy system that replaces expensive gold-based materials with a cost-effective combination of copper, nickel, zinc, and trace elements. This composite material achieves equivalent or superior joint strength through synergistic effects: copper provides base strength, nickel enhances high-temperature creep resistance, zinc improves fluidity for complete joint penetration, and trace elements (tin, indium, silver, titanium) eliminate defects. The result is strong, reliable joints at significantly reduced material cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the compositional parameters of the braze alloy to achieve maximum strength-to-cost ratio. By controlling the precise ranges of copper (65-85 wt%), nickel (5-20 wt%), zinc (5-20 wt%), and trace elements, the patent achieves optimal balance between joint strength, fluidity, wetting characteristics, and cost, resolving the contradiction between strength and manufacturing cost.
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
The solution provides a cost-effective and reliable braze joint with reduced voids and cracks, enhancing the efficiency and durability of the RTP chamber's heating system.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of tubes brazed via a braze alloy to the first plate at first ends of the plurality of tubes and brazed to the copper plate via the braze alloy at second ends of the plurality of tubes
Implementation Method 2
heating the braze alloy to join the plurality of hollow tubes to the first plate, the plurality of hollow tubes to the copper plate, and the annular jacket to the first plate
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of lamp housings for a process chamber are provided herein. In some embodiments, a lamp housing for a process chamber includes: a first plate having a plurality of first openings; a copper plate having a plurality of second openings; a plurality of tubes brazed via a braze alloy to the first plate at first ends of the plurality of tubes and brazed to the copper plate via the braze alloy at second ends of the plurality of tubes, wherein the plurality of tubes have central openings that are aligned with the plurality of first openings and the plurality of second openings, and wherein the braze alloy comprises a nickel containing alloy or a copper containing alloy, wherein the copper containing alloy does not include gold; and an annular jacket circumscribing the plurality of tubes and brazed to the first plate via the braze alloy.