ABSTRACT
The systems methodology suggests methods attempting to determine the performance limitations of Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) systems. “Hand-tuning” procedures were used to evaluate the performance of the RTP equipment at Stanford quickly. The general strategy of feedback combined with feedforward control was investigated for RTP control. In this strategy, a feedforward value of the lamp power was computed according to a predetermined relationship. This feedforward value was then added to a feedback value and the resultant lamp power was sent to the system. There were several challenges in customizing the temperature control system for operation in an all-RTP factory environment. These challenges included substantial differences among the eight reactors and thirteen processes, operation in a prototyping development environment, ill-conditioned processing equipment, calibrated pyrometers required for temperature sensing, equipment reliability tied to control power trajectories, multiple lamp-zone/sensor configurations, and numerous operational and communication modes.
