An oxygen sensor for a gas, coal, oil or wood fired kiln that is orders of magnitude cheaper than the current state of the art oxygen sensors. It uses a TiO.sub.2 tip sintered between and bridging a 1 mm spacing between a pair of 22 gauge Nichrome® series 90 round annealed resistance wires (0.64 mm diameter and having 0.648 Ohms/ft resistance). The Nichrome® 90 wires do not contact each other. One of the wires is a signal wire that resides down the center of an insulating sheath and the other wire is a ground wire that is wound around the outside of a high temperature ceramic insulating sleeve. The sensor needs no temperature compensation and exhibits an approximate 50,000 ohms of resistance change from a neutral (ambient) atmosphere and a fully reduced atmosphere.

An oxygen sensor for a gas, coal, oil or wood fired kiln that is orders of magnitude cheaper than the current state of the art oxygen sensors. It uses a TiO.sub.2 tip sintered between and bridging a 1 mm spacing between a pair of 22 gauge Nichrome® series 90 round annealed resistance wires (0.64 mm diameter and having 0.648 Ohms/ft resistance). The Nichrome® 90 wires do not contact each other. One of the wires is a signal wire that resides down the center of an insulating sheath and the other wire is a ground wire that is wound around the outside of a high temperature ceramic insulating sleeve. The sensor needs no temperature compensation and exhibits an approximate 50,000 ohms of resistance change from a neutral (ambient) atmosphere and a fully reduced atmosphere.

A system for thermally bonding nonwoven fibers of assemblages of nonwoven fibers loosely held together may include a processing duct including an inlet end, an outlet end, and an intermediate portion extending between the inlet end and the outlet end. The system also may include one or more heat inlets located in the intermediate portion and configured to facilitate introduction of heat and air flow into the intermediate portion. The system further may include an inlet air feed at the inlet end and configured to separate the assemblages upon entry into the inlet end and propel the assemblages into the intermediate portion. The system also may include one or more heating devices configured to heat the assemblages as the assemblages are conveyed toward the outlet end to form processed assemblages, each of the processed assemblages including at least some nonwoven fibers adhered to one another.

Disclosed in the present application is a cooling system for a reflow furnace, the reflow furnace comprising a heating zone, and the cooling system being used to regulate a temperature of the heating zone, the cooling system comprising: at least one gas inlet and at least one gas discharge port, the at least one gas inlet and the at least one gas discharge port being disposed on the heating zone; a blowing apparatus; at least one gas intake pipeline, an inlet of the at least one gas intake pipeline being connected to the blowing apparatus, an outlet of the at least one gas intake pipeline being connected to the at least one gas inlet, the at least one gas intake pipeline being able to controllably establish fluid communication between the blowing apparatus and the at least one gas inlet; and at least one gas discharge pipeline, an inlet of the at least one gas discharge pipeline being connected to the at least one gas discharge port, an outlet of the at least one gas discharge pipeline being connected to the outside, and the at least one gas discharge pipeline being able to controllably establish fluid communication between the at least one gas discharge port and the outside. The cooling system of the present application can shorten the time taken for the reflow furnace to change from a higher heating temperature to a lower heating temperature.

Disclosed in the present application is a cooling system for a reflow furnace, the reflow furnace comprising a heating zone, and the cooling system being used to regulate a temperature of the heating zone, the cooling system comprising: at least one gas inlet and at least one gas discharge port, the at least one gas inlet and the at least one gas discharge port being disposed on the heating zone; a blowing apparatus; at least one gas intake pipeline, an inlet of the at least one gas intake pipeline being connected to the blowing apparatus, an outlet of the at least one gas intake pipeline being connected to the at least one gas inlet, the at least one gas intake pipeline being able to controllably establish fluid communication between the blowing apparatus and the at least one gas inlet; and at least one gas discharge pipeline, an inlet of the at least one gas discharge pipeline being connected to the at least one gas discharge port, an outlet of the at least one gas discharge pipeline being connected to the outside, and the at least one gas discharge pipeline being able to controllably establish fluid communication between the at least one gas discharge port and the outside. The cooling system of the present application can shorten the time taken for the reflow furnace to change from a higher heating temperature to a lower heating temperature.

A method for heating ware in a kiln. The ware space of the kiln includes a plurality of temperature control zones oriented in a first direction, and a plurality of temperature control zones oriented in a second direction. The method includes heating the ware space in a first heating stage, a second heating stage, and a third heating stage. At least one of the following conditions is satisfied: (i) in one of the heating stages, a temperature control zone oriented in the first direction has a setpoint temperature that is different from a setpoint temperature of one other temperature control zone oriented in the first direction; and (ii) in one of the heating stages, one temperature control zone oriented in the second direction has a setpoint temperature that is different from a set point temperature of one other temperature control zone oriented in the second direction, wherein the first direction is a vertical direction and the second direction is a horizontal direction.

A method for heating ware in a kiln. The ware space of the kiln includes a plurality of temperature control zones oriented in a first direction, and a plurality of temperature control zones oriented in a second direction. The method includes heating the ware space in a first heating stage, a second heating stage, and a third heating stage. At least one of the following conditions is satisfied: (i) in one of the heating stages, a temperature control zone oriented in the first direction has a setpoint temperature that is different from a setpoint temperature of one other temperature control zone oriented in the first direction; and (ii) in one of the heating stages, one temperature control zone oriented in the second direction has a setpoint temperature that is different from a set point temperature of one other temperature control zone oriented in the second direction, wherein the first direction is a vertical direction and the second direction is a horizontal direction.

A method for heating ware in a kiln. The ware space of the kiln includes a plurality of temperature control zones oriented in a first direction, and a plurality of temperature control zones oriented in a second direction. The method includes heating the ware space in a first heating stage, a second heating stage, and a third heating stage. At least one of the following conditions is satisfied: (i) in one of the heating stages, a temperature control zone oriented in the first direction has a setpoint temperature that is different from a setpoint temperature of one other temperature control zone oriented in the first direction; and (ii) in one of the heating stages, one temperature control zone oriented in the second direction has a setpoint temperature that is different from a setpoint temperature of one other temperature control zone oriented in the second direction.

There are provided a method for producing a photovoltaic element with stabilised efficiency, and a device which may be used to carry out the method, for example in the form of a specially adapted continuous furnace. A silicon substrate to be provided with an emitter layer and electrical contacts is thereby subjected to a stabilisation treatment step. In that step, hydrogen, for example from a hydrogenated silicon nitride layer, is introduced into the silicon substrate, for example within a zone (2) of maximum temperature. The silicon substrate may then purposively be cooled rapidly in a zone (3) in order to avoid hydrogen effusion. The silicon substrate may then purposively be maintained, for example in a zone (4), within a temperature range of from 230° C. to 450° C. for a period of, for example, at least 10 seconds. The previously introduced hydrogen may thereby assume an advantageous bond state. At the same time or subsequently, a regeneration may be carried out by generating excess minority charge carriers in the substrate at a temperature of at least 90° C., preferably at least 230° C. Overall, with the proposed method, a regeneration process in the production of a photovoltaic element may be accelerated significantly so that it may be carried out, for example, in a suitably modified continuous furnace.

There are provided a method for producing a photovoltaic element with stabilised efficiency, and a device which may be used to carry out the method, for example in the form of a specially adapted continuous furnace. A silicon substrate to be provided with an emitter layer and electrical contacts is thereby subjected to a stabilisation treatment step. In that step, hydrogen, for example from a hydrogenated silicon nitride layer, is introduced into the silicon substrate, for example within a zone (2) of maximum temperature. The silicon substrate may then purposively be cooled rapidly in a zone (3) in order to avoid hydrogen effusion. The silicon substrate may then purposively be maintained, for example in a zone (4), within a temperature range of from 230° C. to 450° C. for a period of, for example, at least 10 seconds. The previously introduced hydrogen may thereby assume an advantageous bond state. At the same time or subsequently, a regeneration may be carried out by generating excess minority charge carriers in the substrate at a temperature of at least 90° C., preferably at least 230° C. Overall, with the proposed method, a regeneration process in the production of a photovoltaic element may be accelerated significantly so that it may be carried out, for example, in a suitably modified continuous furnace.