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| ORNL sees bright future for new manufacturing technique By controlling materials at the nanoscale, Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers believe they can greatly improve manufacturing processes of products ranging from solar cells to computers to flat-panel displays. At the center of the optimism is a 750-kilowatt radiant plasma arc lamp that boasts 3,000 times higher heating rates and three times higher processing temperatures than those possible with conventional technologies. The Mattson Technology lamp, designed and developed by Mattson Technology and housed at the Department of Energy's ORNL, can heat a surface at a rate of 1 million degrees Fahrenheit per second. Those capabilities coupled with ORNL proprietary 'pulse thermal processing' technology already have led to significant advances in fusing wear-resistant coatings to aluminum and in several other manufacturing applications. Now, researchers plan to add another component to the mix: flexible electronics, which encompass such devices as flexible solar cells and thin-film transistors for flexible flat-panel displays. The pulse thermal processing method has potential applications in thin-film transistors and magnet media, but especially in photovoltaics aimed at developing more efficient solar cells, which convert radiant energy from the sun into usable energy. ORNL's low-cost enabling technology allows manufacturers to process materials on inexpensive low-temperature substrates such as plastics. The plasma arc lamp can process areas up to 1,000 square centimeters and is capable of 1 millisecond pulses of 12 megawatts. The combination of control and power opens new possibilities for the manufacture of advanced materials. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Construction News :: home page |