Consulting Resume

Ness Engineering, Inc.
P.O. Box 261501
San Diego, CA 92196
(858) 566-2372
(858) 240-2299 FAX
richard.ness@nessengr.com

M.S.E.E. 1983 Texas Tech University
B.S.E.E. 1981 Texas Tech University

2001-Present: Ness Engineering, Inc., San Diego, California

1995-2008: CYMER, Inc. San Diego, California

2004-2008: Member of Technical Staff Engineer in SSPPM Engineering.

Corporate subject matter expert on pulsed power and power electronics.
Responsible Engineer for guiding overall technical development of XLA-300 (as well as later XLR-500/600) 6 kHz rep-rate MOPA excimer laser pulsed power system. Developed critical technologies for:
- Water cooled thermal management of 6 kHz Magnetic switch assemblies (US Patent 7,002,443)
- Coaxial cable with Litz wire center conductor and corresponding connector designs (US Patent 7,706,424)
- Electrical stress controlled HV cable termination design
Supported technical development of higher power, XLX-200, 6 kHz, SSPPMs for broadband excimer lasers used in flat panel annealing applications.

2000-2004: Member of Technical Staff Engineer in Research Dept.

Responsible for entire power system design to support development of a Dense Plasma Focus (DPF) system as an Extreme UltraViolet (EUV) light source for Next Generation Lithography. System highlights included:
- High Voltage Power Supply (HVPS), Command Resonant Charging System with De-Qing, SSPPM Pulse Generator and Magnetic Pulse Compressor, and a Separate Pre-Ionization Pulse Generator System.
- Developed 20 J/pulse DPF SSPPM power system and demonstrated operation at 5 kHz burst mode and 2.5 kHz continuous duty cycle (limited by thermal management of load electrodes)
- High average power required significant thermal management improvements in several areas
Led technical development of power system for first generation production Master Oscillator Power Amplifier (MOPA) XLA-100 laser product line requiring two separate 4 kHz power systems with differential timing synchronization better than 2-3 ns under all operating conditions (voltages, repetition rates, duty cycles, start-up transients, etc.)

1996-2000: Manager of Engineering Power Systems Department.

Introduced, staffed, and managed Power Systems Department for Cymer
Responsible for technical and personnel management of 5 engineers and 1 technician working on all HVPS and SSPPM development projects in support of multiple excimer laser programs
Work spanned over 6 generations of laser designs operating at rep-rates from 1 to 4 kHz with pulse energies of up to ~6 J
System designs provided improvements in output power levels, output pulse rise times, thermal management, reliability, etc.
Conducted testing and generated documentation for 2 kHz system module compliance to EN61010 safety standard
Executed 50B shot lifetime testing of 5000 series SSPPM test hardware to validate lifetime targets

1995-1996: Senior Electrical Engineer in Engineering Department.

Responsible for SBIR contract technology transfer into Cymer and engineering of initial generation Solid State Pulsed Power Module (SSPPM) for 1 kHz Excimer Laser using solid state switching and magnetic pulse compression
Oversaw generation of:
- Detailed drawings for parts, sub-assemblies, and assemblies
- Module and part specifications
- Multiple level BOMs (Bill of Materials)
- Assembly, test, and field service procedures
- Staffing of both engineering and manufacturing departments
- Parts and sub-assembly procurement
Interfaced with outside vendor to develop high regulation (+ 0.25% pulse to pulse repeatability), capacitor charging, High Voltage Power Supply (HVPS)
Responsible for AC Distribution module design
Developed and implemented initial volume manufacturing capability of SSPPM modules (over 3000 lasers of multiple design generations manufactured to date and installed in semiconductor fabrication plants all over the world, achieving SSPPM module lifetimes of >50B shots and uptime >99%)
Developed SSPPM into one of three primary corporate core technologies within Cymer (along with previously existing optics and laser chambers areas)

1993-1995: Technical Group Leader in Pulsed Power Technology and Product Development Department.

Program Manager and Technical Leader for a $1.4M compact pulse generator program
Program Manager and Technical Leader for a $6.1M program for the Superconducting Supercollider Laboratories consisting of 16 pulsed thyratron modulators for driving two types of klystrons in the linac portion of the accelerator.

1986-1993: Senior Staff Engineer in Pulsed Power Technology and Product Development Department.

Program Manager and Technical Leader for a $2M, 600 kV, 870 A, 50 Hz, 350 kW average power pulsed thyratron modulator
Principal Engineer for design of 7.2 MW (average power), 120 kV hard tube regulators on Boeing RF Free Electron Laser program
Principal Engineer on a program to develop a 750 kV, 3 kJ, 20 ohm, compact (200 pounds, 25 cubic feet) pulser system with 15 kW charging power supply
Project Engineer for a 0.5 MW (average power), 60 kHz, rep-rated solid-state modulator and high voltage power supply system designed and delivered to LLNL Laser Isotope Separation Program
Obtained DOE Q clearance.

1983-1986: Staff Engineer in DNA Programs Department.

Responsible for design, construction, checkout, and operation of a 24 channel CAMAC digitizer, IBM PC based computer-controlled data acquisition system in support of the CHECMATE railgun experiments
Assisted in integration and checkout of a 1.5 MVA high voltage power supply into the CHECMATE controls system
Responsible for design, construction, checkout, and operation of a $2.5M, 60 channel, fast digitizer, PDP-11/44 computer-controlled data acquisition system in support of two concurrently-running major experiment facilities studying radiation and EMP effects
System manager and operator for VAX-11/750
Obtained DOD Top Secret CNWDI clearance.

1981-1983: Texas Tech University Lubbock, Texas

Graduate research assistant in pulsed power switching laboratory.

Assisted in construction, modification, and testing of:
- Several spark gap switches
- Pulse forming networks
- Vacuum systems
- Diagnostic equipment for mass spectrometry, spectroscopy, and streak photography
Set up and operated a computerized CAMAC data acquisition system for use with high voltage and high current probes
Also built and tested a small (1 m. long) railgun