A sintering apparatus is provided. The sintering apparatus includes a case having an internal space formed therein and including a door provided in a front portion thereof to open and close the internal space, a magnetron coupled to the case and oscillating microwaves toward the internal space, a heat insulating unit disposed in the internal space to form a chamber space and blocking transmission of heat of the chamber space to the internal space, a susceptor unit disposed in the chamber space and having a sintering space in which a to-be-sintered material is accommodated, and a cooling unit cooling at least one of the case or the chamber space.

A furnace and a semiconductor processing equipment are provided. The furnace includes a furnace body and a heat exchange device, the furnace body includes a furnace tube and an insulation layer disposed around the furnace tube, a heat exchange gas channel is formed between an outer wall of the furnace tube and the insulation layer, the heat exchange gas channel includes a first gas inlet and a first gas outlet. The heat exchange device includes a gas flow channel and a cooling channel, the gas flow channel is connected to the first gas outlet, the cooling channel provides a cooling medium for exchanging heat with a gas in the gas flow channel.

A cooling plate for a metallurgical furnace comprising a body (12) with a front face (18) and an opposite rear face (20), the body having at least one coolant channel (14) therein; the front face (18) being turned towards the furnace interior and preferably comprises alternating ribs (22) and grooves (24). The cooling plate includes wear detection means comprising: a plurality of closed pressure chambers (26, 28) distributed at different locations in said body, said pressure chambers being positioned at predetermined depths below the front face (18) of said body; and a pressure sensor (30) associated with each pressure chamber (26, 28) in order to detect a deviation from a reference pressure inside said pressure chamber when the latter becomes open due to wear out of said body.

This heat treatment apparatus is configured such that a treating target is conveyed via an intermediate conveyance chamber and accommodated in a heating chamber. The heat treatment apparatus is provided with a gas cooling chamber that is disposed adjacent to the intermediate conveyance chamber and in which the treating target is cooled using a cooling gas containing an oxidizer.

A heat treatment apparatus including: a cylindrical processing container; a heater configured to heat the processing container; and a cooler configured to cool the processing container, wherein the cooler includes: discharge holes provided at intervals in a longitudinal direction of the processing container, the discharge holes being configured to discharge a cooling medium toward the processing container; a branch configured to divide the cooling medium into a plurality of flowing paths that communicate with the discharge holes; and blowers provided for respective ones of the flowing paths, the blowers being configured to send the cooling medium to the discharge holes that communicate with the respective ones of the flowing paths.

A heater assembly with enhanced cooling pursuant to various embodiments described herein makes use of fluidic flow in the insulation or in the space used for insulation. By creating a natural convection or forced convection flow, the heater cools down faster, it can operate at lower temperatures and/or higher temperature precision, and it can improve temperature controllability by generating higher heat loss rates.

A heater assembly with enhanced cooling pursuant to various embodiments described herein makes use of fluidic flow in the insulation or in the space used for insulation. By creating a natural convection or forced convection flow, the heater cools down faster, it can operate at lower temperatures and/or higher temperature precision, and it can improve temperature controllability by generating higher heat loss rates.

The vacuum heat treatment device includes: a guide plate used to guide a cooling medium supplied by a cooling unit, into a heat-insulating container through one of at least two openings of the heat-insulating container in a state where the two openings of the heat-insulating container are opened; and a movement mechanism used to move the guide plate so that at least part of the guide plate is inserted into a movement area of a cover portion in a state where the two openings of the heat-insulating container are opened and so that the guide plate is retracted from the movement area of the cover portion before the cover portion is moved in order to close the two openings of the heat-insulating container.

The heat treatment method of the present invention includes: a first step of mist cooling a treatment object retained at a prescribed temperature by supplying mist-like coolant, to a target temperature near to and higher than a first transformation point at which a structure of the treatment object begins to be transformed into a prescribed structure; a second step, following the first step, of retaining the treatment object for a prescribed time in a state where supply of mist-like coolant is stopped; and a third step, following the second step, of cooling the treatment object to a temperature lower than or equal to the first transformation point. According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a heat treatment method capable of suppressing irregularity and deformation in the structure of the treatment object.

Disclosed is an air-cooled induction heating device for inductively heating a graphite susceptor and subsequently melting a metal contained within the susceptor. The device comprises a crucible for receiving a susceptor therewithin, an induction coil spirally encircling the crucible such that, no contact is observed therebetween, and a power supply source for powering the induction coil wherein, powering the induction coil results in the inductively heating up and subsequent melting of the susceptor.