Abstract: A tube-array showerhead for CVD or PECVD on large substrates delivers precursors to a process chamber via an array of tubes drilled with precision holes. The tubes rapidly become contaminated with use and must be changed frequently to maintain process quality. An improved manifold for a tube-array showerhead, intended for processes with a low pressure differential between the tubes and process chamber, includes holding-stubs to hold each tube by its ends outside the manifold block. At least one holding-stub for each tube is spring-loaded along the direction of the tube's operating axis. Contaminated tubes can be removed, and clean tubes installed, without disassembling the manifolds or disturbing any high-pressure-differential seals to the ambient atmosphere or precursor supplies. This invention reduces production costs by decreasing chamber down-time and reducing the risk of creating leaks when tubes are changed.

Abstract: In high-current electrical devices protected by fuses, additional performance data besides whether or not a fuse is blown is useful for diagnostics, repair, and preventing emerging failures from reaching a level that damages the device. An intelligent fuse-holder includes a built-in current sensor. The current sensor signals are passed through an A/D converter and analyzed by a microcontroller. Through an interface, a user can program the fuse-holder to periodically degauss the current sensor coil to improve performance or turn the sensor power off to conserve power. The user may also control various I/O signals carrying information about the fuse, the intelligent electronics, or the host board on which the fuse-holder is mounted.

Abstract: A power source affected by a geographically propagating condition (e.g. a weather-related condition) is monitored to detect changes in its power output. Characteristics of the monitored changes are analyzed to detect whether the changes are being caused by a geographically-propagating condition that could affect other power sources nearby. The information obtained from the measurements is used to extrapolate impending power-output changes in the same source, in one or more other sources, or in a collection of sources subject to effects of the propagating condition. The extrapolations enable one or more power generating systems associated with the source(s) to maintain the changes in its total power output within operating requirements.

Abstract: Tracking movement of clouds is used to predict the effects of cloud cover on irradiation of a solar-powered distributed power generation system. The predictions enable a solar power plant to maintain the changes in its total power output within operating requirements with less or no dependence on energy storage, back up generation, or load control, use centralized and/or local coordination of solar farm control systems to use storage to its best advantage, alternately reduce power fluctuations without cloud knowledge and use real time solar output prediction capabilities to be able to provide utilities with advance information regarding power fluctuations.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for efficiently securing solar panels on a roof surface that does not require penetration of the roof membrane. Supports for the solar panels are designed with a small footprint with sufficient spacing to allow free drainage between the supports. A simple, low-cost attachment member or clip can be integrated with each support to attach the panel to the support, and in some instances the clip (or its mount on the support) can also be used to lift the support to the roof. The panels can include one or more rails that can slide through a loosened clip, but be held securely in place by a tightened clip. The panels can be installed initially with the clips grasping the rails loosely and once the supports and rails are in their final positions, the clips can be fully tightened to form a rigid solar panel array.

Abstract: A substrate carrier is used in an in-line fabrication such as Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) for application of thin film on substrates. The carrier is in thermal communication with the substrate and thereby provides heat sinking. The carrier further permits movement of the substrate past a deposition apparatus at a deposition station.

Abstract: A testing apparatus or test jig is configured to accept a electrical device for testing prior to final assembly. In one example, a pair of conductive conveying belts compliantly engage a partially assembled photovoltaic (PV) module by its sides, and electrodes engage orthogonal sides of the module. The test apparatus or jig can be use for a variety of electrical tests, and may, for example be connected to a high potential (HiPot) tester.

Abstract: An aeroelastic solar-power-generating canopy is described that requires minimal construction efforts. The canopy can be formed over supporting structures such as columns, without requiring an existing roof. The canopy contains a plurality of solar panels arranged substantially adjacent to each other, which are coupled to attachment members. Linking members are coupled to the attachment members, the linking members providing a flexing point for the solar panels. A cable is coupled to the linking members, spanning a substantial portion of the distance covered by the solar panels, providing a restraining force. And, at least one of the attachment members and cable is coupled to a supporting structure, wherein the cable in conjunction with the linking members allows the solar panels to dynamically react to loads, the arranged solar panels operating as a covering and as a source of solar power.

Abstract: A group of solar power stations with inverters are adjusted in order to achieve optimum power output in accordance with maximum power-point tracking (MPPT). The MPPT data is used to perform adjustments. Power measurement factors, including Maximum Power Points (MPPs) are established to represent a bus-voltage setting that produces the maximum power output from an individual photovoltaic panel. These settings are established for the group so as to optimize power output under a variety of operating conditions.

Abstract: A treatment pattern (such as a focused spot, an image, or an interferogram) projected on a treatment target may lose precision if the treatment beam must pass through a birefringent layer before reaching the target. In the general case, the birefringent layer splits the treatment beam into ordinary and extraordinary components, which propagate in different directions and form two patterns, displaced from each other, at the target layer. The degree of birefringence and the orientation of the optic axis, which influence the amount of displacement, often vary between workpieces or between loci on the same workpiece. This invention measures the orientation of the optic axis and uses the data to adjust the treatment beam incidence direction, the treatment beam polarization, or both to superpose the ordinary and extraordinary components into a single treatment pattern at the target, preventing the birefringent layer from causing the pattern to be blurred or doubled.

Abstract: A horn for vibratory solid-state ultrasonic welding of metals and similarly-behaved materials “self-levels” to produce wide continuous seams or large-area spot-welds between delicate workpieces without damage, even if the workpieces are not perfectly flat and parallel to the nominal toolface angle. The horn toolface flexes under pressure to conform to skew-angled workpieces because it is disposed on a tool head supported by a tool neck cut from the tool body. The tool head, the tool neck, or both are anisotropically compliant. When resonances are properly optimized for typical VSS modes of vibration, atypical but useful localized modes are excited at the compliant toolface edges, actually intensifying the bond energy where one might normally expect unwanted damping. Various design approaches optimize the characteristics of the tool head and tool neck to various materials and bonding configurations. The horns can be configured for use with existing ultrasonic welders.

Abstract: Multilayer radiation curable liquid coating compositions are provided that include one or more UV oligomers including at least one aliphatic urethane acrylic oligomer; at least one acrylate diluent monomer selected from a mono-, bi-, and tri-functional reactive acrylate diluent monomers; at least one photo-initiator; at least one UV absorber; at least one hindered amine light stabilizer; and at least one antioxidant, where the liquid composition does not comprise a solvent and does not comprise an adhesion promoter. The UV oligomer in the base coat composition has elongation higher than 200% and tensile strength lower than 1000 psi. The UV oligomer in the top coat composition has tensile strength higher than 5000 psi. A coating system is provided that includes a liquid primer coat composition, a liquid base coat composition and a liquid top coat composition.

Abstract: Pre-aligned, kinematically mounted modules including processing lasers, beam trains, and individually calibrated control beams are quickly and easily replaced on subassembly bases with minimal in situ alignment, and can maintain working-spot position to micron tolerances over ambient temperature variations of ±10° C. Subassembly bases, with features for kinematically mating to a plurality of pre-aligned laser modules and to a platform base incorporated in the laser processing tool, enable multi-module subassemblies to be quickly replaced with spare subassemblies of the same type, or swapped for subassemblies of a different type. The mating features and reversible locks are designed to mitigate thermal effects that are often a dominant cause of alignment drift in processing lasers.

Abstract: A laser ablation system is controlled by an autofocus subsystem particularly optimized for precision ablation of large workpieces, in an open factory environment where temperatures are not tightly controlled, where the workpieces may have high-spatial-frequency features that affect the focus condition of the working beam. The autofocus operates at a high bandwidth to support high process speed. The autofocus beam shares most of its optical path with the working beam, so its measurements account for thermal effects in the beam train as well as the workpiece. The autofocus beam measures target or adjacent areas just before, or during, ablation, so that temperature drifts do not have time to change the effective focus error. The autofocus spot is substantially the same size as the working spot, so its measurements account for workpiece features of the same spatial frequencies that affect the working beam.

Abstract: A tube-array showerhead for CVD or PECVD on large substrates delivers precursors to a process chamber via an array of tubes drilled with precision holes. The tubes rapidly become contaminated with use and must be changed frequently to maintain process quality. An improved manifold for a tube-array showerhead, intended for processes with a low pressure differential between the tubes and process chamber, includes holding-stubs to hold each tube by its ends outside the manifold block. At least one holding-stub for each tube is spring-loaded along the direction of the tube's operating axis. Contaminated tubes can be removed, and clean tubes installed, without disassembling the manifolds or disturbing any high-pressure-differential seals to the ambient atmosphere or precursor supplies. This invention reduces production costs by decreasing chamber down-time and reducing the risk of creating leaks when tubes are changed.

Abstract: A system comprises a processing chamber for maintaining a hydrogen plasma at low pressure. The processing chamber has a long, wide, thin geometry to favor deposition of thin-film silicon on sheet substrates over the chamber walls. The sheet substrates are moved through between ends. A pair of opposing radio frequency electrodes above and below the workpieces are electrically driven hard to generate a flat, pancaked plasma cloud in the middle spaces of the processing chamber. A collinear series of gas injector jets pointed slightly up on a silane-jet manifold introduce 100% silane gas at high velocity from the side in order to roll the plasma cloud in a coaxial vortex. A second such silane-jet manifold is placed on the opposite side and pointed slightly down to further help roll the plasma and maintain a narrow band of silane concentration.

Abstract: A chemical vapor deposition method includes a step of maintaining a hydrogen plasma at low pressure in a processing chamber. The processing chamber has a long, wide, thin geometry to favor deposition of thin-film silicon on sheet substrates over the chamber walls. The sheet substrates are moved through between ends. A pair of opposing radio frequency electrodes above and below the workpieces are electrically driven hard to generate a flat, pancaked plasma cloud in the middle spaces of the processing chamber. A collinear series of gas injector jets pointed slightly up on a silane-jet manifold introduce 100% silane gas at high velocity from the side in order to roll the plasma cloud in a coaxial vortex. A second such silane-jet manifold is placed on the opposite side and pointed slightly down to further help roll the plasma and maintain a narrow band of silane concentration.