Internal Model Control of a Physical Vapor Depositioneffusion Source

Internal model based temperature controllers are developed for effusion sources that are part of a continuous process for production of thin-film photovoltaic modules. Operation of this system in a research framework necessitates the ability to perform fast, overshoot-free reference changes. To address input constraints, controllers are implemented using an anti-windup scheme. Both empirical ARMAX models and a simplified fundamental model are utilized. Controllers were designed in simulation studies and tested in experiments and a very good match between simulation and experiment was obtained.