Patent ID: 8852347

Claim:
A gas heating device for use in a treatment system, comprising: a heating element array having a plurality of heating element zones, said heating element array arranged to be suspended within a treatment chamber below a gas distribution system and above a substrate, and configured to receive a flow of a process composition from said gas distribution system across or through said plurality of heating element zones and cause pyrolysis of one or more constituents of said process composition when heated, each of said plurality of heating element zones comprises one or more resistive heating elements, wherein each of said plurality of heating element zones is configured electrically independent of one another, and wherein each of said plurality of heating element zones is arranged to interact with at least a portion of said flow, pyrolyze at least part of said one or more constituents of said process composition in said portion of said flow, and convect pyrolized process composition directly to a corresponding region of said substrate; one or more power sources coupled to said heating element array, and configured to provide an electrical signal to each of said plurality of heating element zones; and a controller coupled to said one or more power sources, and configured to control said electrical signal to each of said plurality of heating element zones, wherein said controller is configured to control one or more electrical parameters including current, voltage, or power, or any combination of two or more thereof, a mounting structure configured to support at least one of said one or more resistive heating elements, a static mounting device coupled to said mounting structure and configured to fixedly couple said at least one of said one or more resistive heating elements to said mounting structure, and a dynamic mounting device coupled to said mounting structure and configured to maintain said at least one of said one or more resistive heating elements under tensile stress and automatically compensate for changes in a length of said at least one of said one or more resistive heating elements, wherein said dynamic mounting device comprises a thermal break configured to reduce heat transfer between said dynamic mounting device and said mounting structure, a static structure fixedly coupled to said mounting structure, and a dynamic structure having a capture member configured for retaining said at least one of said one or more resistive heating elements therearound and a slideable member configured to slidably mate with said static structure, and wherein said at least one of said one or more resistive heating elements comprises a first end fixedly coupled to said static mounting device, a second end fixedly coupled to said static mounting device, a bend coupled to said dynamic mounting device and located between said first end and said second end, a first straight section extending between said first end and said bend, and a second straight section extending between said second end and said bend.