System for reliable, high throughput, complex electric field generation, and method for producing coatings therefrom

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure include a system for depositing a layered nanolaminate alloy including a controller for an electrodeposition process that includes a waveform synthesizer circuit configured to generate a complex waveform signal corresponding to a desired electrodeposition waveform to be output from an electrodeposition power supply. The controller also includes a synthesizer control circuit configured to control the waveform synthesizer circuit. Based at least in part on a recipe having information related to the electrodeposition process, the synthesizer control circuit controls the generation of the complex waveform signal by modulating in real-time at least one of a waveform shape, a frequency, an amplitude, an offset, a slew, a wavelength, a phase, a velocity, and a derivative of the complex waveform signal. The controller further includes a controller output circuit configured to transmit the complex waveform signal to an input of the electrodeposition power supply.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 an electrochemical processing tank;   a set of electrodes configured for depositing a multilayer nanolaminate coating on a workpiece;   an electrodeposition power supply connected to the set of electrodes, the electrodeposition power supply comprising an input connection configured to receive a complex waveform signal, the electrodeposition power supply configured to amplify the complex waveform signal to generate a desired electrodeposition waveform, the desired electrodeposition waveform configured to deposit at least one layer of the multilayer nanolaminate coating on the workpiece; and   a processor-based controller comprising:
 a waveform synthesizer circuit configured to generate the complex waveform signal; 
 a synthesizer control circuit configured to control the waveform synthesizer circuit based at least in part on a recipe having parameters related to the depositing at least one layer of the multilayer nanolaminate coating, the synthesizer control circuit configured to control the complex waveform signal generated by modulating in real-time a waveform shape, a frequency, an amplitude, an offset, a slew, a wavelength, a phase, a velocity, a derivative of the complex waveform signal, or a combination thereof; and 
 a controller output circuit connected to the input of the electrodeposition power supply, the controller output circuit configured to transmit the complex waveform signal to the input. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the synthesizer control circuit comprises a field-programmable gate array. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1  or  2 , wherein the recipe is stored in the processor-based controller. 
     
     
         4 . The system of any one of  claims 1  to  3 , wherein the recipe comprises instructions for generating the desired electrodeposition waveform; and
 wherein the instructions comprise a current density of the desired electrodeposition waveform, a current waveform profile of the desired electrodeposition waveform, a voltage waveform profile of the desired electrodeposition waveform, or a combination thereof. 
 
     
     
         5 . The system of any one of  claims 1  to  4 , wherein the modulating in real-time comprises modulating a first characteristic of a base first-order waveform using a second characteristic of a second first-order waveform based on a functional relationship between the first characteristic and the second characteristic to generate the complex waveform signal. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the base first-order waveform and the second first-order waveform are independently selected from a plurality of preloaded waveforms that are stored in the processor-based controller. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the electrodeposition power supply is one of a plurality of electrodeposition power supplies that are connected to the processor-based controller; and
 wherein the plurality of electrodeposition power supplies independently control individual portions of a cathode bus bar positioned along at least a portion of a length of the electrochemical processing tank.   
     
     
         8 . The system of any one of  claims 5  to  7 , wherein the first characteristic of the base first-order waveform and the second characteristic of the second first-order waveform independently comprise a waveform shape, a frequency, an amplitude, an offset, a slew, a wavelength, a phase, a velocity, a derivative of the respective first-order waveform, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the base first-order waveform is the complex waveform signal; and
 wherein the second first-order waveform is selected from a plurality of preloaded waveforms that are stored in the processor-based controller.   
     
     
         10 . The system of any one of  claims 1  to  4 , wherein the modulating in real-time comprises serially combining sub-waveform sequences to generate the complex waveform signal. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the modulating in real-time comprises generating the sub-waveform sequences for a desired number of cycle counts and in a desired sequence order. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein at least one of the desired number of cycle counts and the desired sequence order is independently dynamically modified based on a predetermined time period, a predetermined sub-waveform cycle count, a process step of the depositing at least one layer of the nanolaminate coating, a feedback signal related to the depositing at least one layer of the nanolaminate coating, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein at least one of the desired number of cycle counts and the desired sequence order is independently dynamically modified based on the feedback signal, and
 wherein the feedback signal relates to an electrolyte concentration, an electrolyte level, an electrolyte temperature, a coating thickness, a coating resistance, or a combination thereof.   
     
     
         14 . The system of any one of  claims 1  to  13 , wherein the processor-based controller further comprises a network communications circuit communicatively connected to an external communications network, the network communications circuit configured to receive the recipe from a remote computing device. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , further comprising one or more other processor-based controllers configured to be connected to the external communications network;
 wherein the processor-based controller is configured to be connected to the one or more other processor-based controllers via the external communications network; and   wherein each of the processor-based controllers represents a node on the external communications network.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein each node of the external communications network is configured to receive the recipe. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15  or  16 , wherein the processor-based controller is further configured to transmit at least a portion of the instructions of the recipe to the one or more other processor-based controllers via the external communications network. 
     
     
         18 . The system of any one of  claims 2  to  17 , wherein the processor-based controller is configured to generate a plurality of complex waveform signals, and the field-programmable gate array has parallel processing capability to simultaneously and independently control the waveform synthesizer circuit to generate each of the plurality of complex waveform signals. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the processor-based controller is configured to adjust a current density, a voltage, a waveform phase, or a combination thereof, of the desired electrodeposition waveform to compensate for variations in the deposition of the at least one layer of the nanolaminate coating on the workpiece. 
     
     
         20 . The system of any one of  claims 1  to  19 , wherein the processor-based controller is configured to use a power supply driver file corresponding to the electrodeposition power supply to take into account a characteristic of the electrodeposition power supply. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the power supply driver file is based on a calibration procedure performed on the electrodeposition power supply by the processor-based controller; and
 wherein the calibration procedure comprises:
 transmitting a calibration waveform signal to the electrodeposition power supply; 
 placing a known load across output terminals of the electrodeposition power supply; 
 measuring a slew rate, a percent overshoot, or a combination thereof, of the electrodeposition power supply; and 
 creating the power supply driver file using at least results of the measuring the slew rate, the percent overshoot, or the combination thereof. 
   
     
     
         22 . The system of any one of  claims 1  to  21 , further comprising a tank automation controller configured to control an electrolyte level, an electrolyte temperature, an agitation rate, a flow rate of the respective electrochemical processing tank, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         23 . The system of any one of  claims 1  to  22 , wherein the electrodeposition power supply is configured to transmit the desired electrodeposition waveform to the set of electrodes. 
     
     
         24 . The system of any one of  claims 1  to  22 , wherein the processor-based controller is configured to transmit the desired electrodeposition waveform to the set of electrodes. 
     
     
         25 . A controller for an electrodeposition process, comprising:
 a waveform synthesizer circuit configured to generate a complex waveform signal corresponding to an electrodeposition waveform, the waveform synthesizer circuit being further configured to transmit the complex waveform signal to an electrodeposition power supply;   a synthesizer control circuit configured to control the waveform synthesizer circuit based at least in part on a recipe having parameters related to depositing at least one layer of a multilayer nanolaminate coating, the synthesizer control circuit configured to control the complex waveform signal generated by modulating in real-time a waveform shape, a frequency, an amplitude, an offset, a slew, a wavelength, a phase, a velocity, a derivative of the complex waveform signal, or a combination thereof; and   a controller output circuit configured to transmit the complex waveform signal to an input of the electrodeposition power supply.   
     
     
         26 . The controller of  claim 25 , wherein the synthesizer control circuit comprises a field-programmable gate array. 
     
     
         27 . The controller of  claim 25  or  26 , wherein the recipe comprises instructions for generating the electrodeposition waveform; and
 wherein the instructions comprise a current density of the electrodeposition waveform, a current waveform profile of the electrodeposition waveform, a voltage waveform profile of the electrodeposition waveform, or a combination thereof. 
 
     
     
         28 . The controller of any one of  claims 25  to  27 , wherein the recipe is stored in the controller. 
     
     
         29 . The controller of any one of  claims 25  to  28 , wherein the modulating in real-time comprises modulating a first characteristic of a base first-order waveform using a second characteristic of a second first-order waveform based on a functional relationship between the first and second characteristics to generate the complex waveform signal. 
     
     
         30 . The controller of  claim 29 , wherein the base first-order waveform and the second first-order waveform are independently selected from a plurality of preloaded waveforms that are stored in the controller. 
     
     
         31 . The controller of  claim 30 , wherein the plurality of preloaded waveforms comprises a triangular waveform, a sinewave, a square wave, or a custom waveform. 
     
     
         32 . The controller of any one of  claims 29  to  31 , wherein the first characteristic of the base first-order waveform and the second characteristic of the second first-order waveform independently comprise a waveform shape, a frequency, an amplitude, an offset, a slew, a wavelength, a phase, a velocity, a derivative of the respective first-order waveform, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         33 . The controller of  claim 29 , wherein the base first-order waveform is the complex waveform signal, and
 wherein the second first-order waveform is selected from a plurality of preloaded waveforms that are stored in the controller.   
     
     
         34 . The controller of any one of  claims 25  to  28 , wherein the modulating in real-time comprises serially combining sub-waveform sequences to generate the complex waveform signal. 
     
     
         35 . The controller of  claim 34 , wherein the modulating in real time comprises generating the sub-waveform sequences for a sub-waveform cycle count and in a sub-waveform sequence order. 
     
     
         36 . The controller of  claim 35 , wherein at least one of the sub-waveform cycle count and the sub-waveform sequence order is independently dynamically modified based on a predetermined time period, a predetermined sub-waveform cycle count, a process step of the electrodeposition process, a feedback signal related to the electrodeposition process, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         37 . The controller of  claim 36 , wherein at least one of the sub-waveform cycle count and the sub-waveform sequence order is independently dynamically modified based on the feedback signal; and
 wherein the feedback signal relates to an electrolyte concentration, an electrolyte level, an electrolyte temperature, a coating thickness, a coating resistance, or a combination thereof.   
     
     
         38 . The controller of any one of  claims 25  to  37 , further comprising a network communications circuit communicatively connected to an external communications network, the network communications circuit configured to receive the recipe via the external communications network. 
     
     
         39 . The controller of  claim 38 , wherein the external communications network is connected to one or more other controllers, and each of the one or more other controllers represents a node on the external communications network. 
     
     
         40 . The controller of  claim 39 , wherein the network communication circuit is configured to transmit at least a portion of the instructions of the recipe to the one or more other controllers via the external communications network. 
     
     
         41 . The controller of  claim 26 , wherein the controller is configured to generate a plurality of complex waveform signals corresponding to a plurality of electrodeposition waveforms; and
 wherein the field-programmable gate array comprises parallel processing capability to simultaneously and independently control the waveform synthesizer circuit to generate each of the plurality of complex waveform signals.   
     
     
         42 . The controller of  claim 41 , wherein the controller is configured to adjust a current density, a voltage, a waveform phase, or a combination thereof, of the respective electrodeposition waveform to compensate for variations in the electrodeposition process. 
     
     
         43 . The controller of any one of  claims 25  to  42 , wherein the controller is configured to use a power supply driver file corresponding to the electrodeposition power supply to take into account a characteristic of the electrodeposition power supply. 
     
     
         44 . The controller of  claim 43 , wherein the characteristic comprises a slew-rate, a percent overshoot, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         45 . The controller of  claim 43  or  44 , wherein the power supply driver file is based on a calibration procedure performed by the controller on the electrodeposition power supply, and
 wherein the calibration procedure comprises:
 transmitting a calibration waveform signal to the electrodeposition power supply; 
 placing a known load across output terminals of the electrodeposition power supply; 
 measuring a slew rate, a percent overshoot, or a combination thereof, of the electrodeposition power supply; and 
 creating the power supply driver file using at least results of the measuring the slew rate, the percent overshoot, or the combination thereof. 
 
 
     
     
         46 . A method for electrodepositing a coating on a workpiece, the method comprising:
 selecting a recipe corresponding to an electrodeposition process;   producing a specialized recipe by adjusting the recipe based on information related to workpiece geometry, workpiece surface area, an electrodeposition power supply, or a combination thereof;   generating a complex waveform signal corresponding to a desired electrodeposition waveform that is based on the adjusted recipe, the generating comprising modulating in real-time a waveform shape, a frequency, an amplitude, an offset, a slew, a wavelength, a phase, a velocity, a derivative of the complex waveform signal, or a combination thereof, based at least on the recipe;   providing the complex waveform signal to the electrodeposition power supply;   generating an electrodeposition waveform based on the complex waveform signal by the power supply; and   transmitting the electrodeposition waveform to an electrode set in an electrodeposition processing tank, thereby depositing the coating on the workpiece.   
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 46 , wherein the complex waveform signal is generated using a field-programmable gate array. 
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 46  or  47 , wherein the recipe comprises instructions for generating the electrodeposition waveform, and
 wherein the instructions comprise at least one of a current density of the electrodeposition waveform, a current waveform profile of the electrodeposition waveform, a voltage waveform profile of the electrodeposition waveform, or a combination thereof. 
 
     
     
         49 . The method of any one of  claims 46  to  48 , wherein the generating the complex waveform signal comprises modulating a first characteristic of a base first-order waveform using a second characteristic of a second first-order waveform based on a functional relationship between the first and second characteristics. 
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 49 , wherein the base first-order waveform and the second first-order waveform are independently selected from a plurality of preloaded waveforms that are stored in a processor-based controller. 
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 50 , wherein the plurality of preloaded waveforms comprises a triangular waveform, a sinewave, a square wave, or a custom waveform. 
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 49 , wherein the first characteristic of the base first-order waveform and the second characteristic of the second first-order waveform independently comprise a waveform shape, a frequency, an amplitude, an offset, a slew, a wavelength, a phase, a velocity, a derivative of the first-order waveform, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 49 , wherein the base first-order waveform is the complex waveform signal; and
 wherein the second first-order waveform is selected from a plurality of preloaded waveforms.   
     
     
         54 . The method of any one of  claims 46  to  48 , wherein the generating the complex waveform signal comprises serially combining sub-waveform sequences. 
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein the serially combining sub-waveform sequences comprises generating the sub-waveforms for a sub-waveform cycle count and in a sub-waveform sequence order. 
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 55 , wherein the sub-waveform cycle count, the sub-waveform sequence order, or a combination thereof, is independently dynamically modified based on a predetermined time period, a predetermined sub-waveform cycle count, a process step of the depositing the coating, a feedback signal related to the depositing the coating, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 56 , wherein the sub-waveform cycle count, the sub-waveform sequence order, or a combination thereof, is independently dynamically modified based on the feedback signal, and
 wherein the feedback signal relates to an electrolyte concentration, an electrolyte level, an electrolyte temperature, a coating thickness, a coating resistance, or a combination thereof.   
     
     
         58 . The method of any one of  claims 47  to  57 , further comprising generating a plurality of complex waveform signals by the field-programmable gate array, which has parallel processing capability to simultaneously and independently generate each of the plurality of complex waveform signals. 
     
     
         59 . The method of any one of  claims 46  to  58 , wherein the generating the complex waveform signal takes into account a characteristic of the electrodeposition power supply. 
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 59 , wherein the characteristic comprises a slew-rate, a percent overshoot, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         61 . The method of any one of embodiments 46 to 60, wherein the electrodeposition waveform is transmitted from the power supply to the electrode set. 
     
     
         62 . The method of any one of embodiments 50 to 60, wherein the electrodeposition waveform is transmitted from the processor-based controller to the electrode set.