High temperature sintering furnace systems and methods

A sintering furnace comprising:

• a housing defining an interior volume, an inlet to the interior volume, and an outlet from the interior volume;
• at least one heating element disposed within the interior volume of the housing between the inlet and the outlet, each heating element being constructed to subject a heating zone to a temperature profile;
• a conveying assembly constructed to move one or more substrates into, within, and out of the housing;
• and
• a control system operatively coupled to the at least one heating element and the conveying assembly, the control system comprising one or more processors and computer readable storage media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the control system to:
• (a) move, via the conveying assembly, a first substrate with one or more precursors thereon through the inlet to the heating zone;
• (b) subject, via the at least one heating element, the first substrate in the heating zone to a first temperature of at least 500° C. for a first time period;
• and
• (c) move, via the conveying assembly, the first substrate with one or more sintered materials thereon from the heating zone and through the outlet,
• wherein the sintering furnace further comprises, for each heating element:
• a first conductive fixture coupled to a first end of the respective heating element;
• a second conductive fixture coupled to a second end of the respective heating element, the second end being opposite the first end;
• a first metal clip coupled to the first conductive fixture and applying a clamping force to the first conductive fixture and the first end of the respective heating element;
• and
• a second metal clip coupled to the second conductive fixture and applying a clamping force to the second conductive fixture and the second end of the respective heating element.