초록 ▼

An additional isolation valve is incorporated into a vacuum processing system to increase the life of the system's mechanical pump, reduce maintenance costs and downtime, prevent particle back streaming and reduce safety risks to maintenance technicians. The system has a process chamber with at leas

An additional isolation valve is incorporated into a vacuum processing system to increase the life of the system's mechanical pump, reduce maintenance costs and downtime, prevent particle back streaming and reduce safety risks to maintenance technicians. The system has a process chamber with at least one port, a foreline valve connected to the port, and a vacuum manifold in fluid communication with the foreline valve. The mechanical pump is connected to the vacuum manifold for evacuating the contents of the process chamber. The isolation valve is connected between the foreline valve and the vacuum manifold and is operated in unison, or primarily in unison, with the foreline valve.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A processing system comprising:a process chamber having at least one port;a foreline valve connected to said at least one port;a vacuum manifold in fluid communication with said foreline valve;a pump connected to said vacuum manifold; andan isolation valve connected betwe

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A processing system comprising:a process chamber having at least one port;a foreline valve connected to said at least one port;a vacuum manifold in fluid communication with said foreline valve;a pump connected to said vacuum manifold; andan isolation valve connected between said foreline valve and said vacuum manifold for selectively isolating said vacuum manifold.