Edwards Limited

The Boc Group, Inc.

Edwards Vacuum LLC

Christopher Mark Bailey

Michael Andrew Galtry

Andrew James Seeley

Michael Roger Czerniak

Nigel Paul Schofield

Ian David Stones

Duncan Michael Price

Gary Peter Knight

Richard A Hogle

Derek Martin Baker

Darren Mennie

Michael S Boger

Ingo Stephen Graham

Clive Marcus Lloyd Tunna

Jack Raymond Tattersall

Joanne Rachel Greenwood

Daimhin Paul Murphy

Kenneth Allen Aitchison

Julian Richard Dean

Craig Leonard Sands

Neil Condon

Geoffrey Young

David Engerran

Michael Alan Eric Wilders

Stephen Ellis Ormrod

Phillip North

Andrew David Mann

Zachary William Dunbar

Stephen Bruce Cottle

Michael Stephen Boger

Yoshihiro Enomoto

A kit of parts for forming a foreline for coupling a process chamber to a vacuum pumping and/or abatement system, the kit comprising: a plurality of foreline segments; wherein each foreline segment is a pipe that comprises: a first substantially straight end portion; a second substantially straight end portion opposite to the first end portion; and an intermediate portion disposed between the first and second end portions and connected to the first and second end portions by respective bends; the first and second end portions are substantially parallel to each other; the intermediate portion is oblique to the first and second end portions; and the foreline segments are configured to be attached together so as to form a continuous foreline.

Modular foreline system

A system comprising a pumping system configured to pump respective exhaust gases from each of a plurality of chemical etching process chambers and to combine the exhaust gases to provide a combined exhaust gas, and a noble gas recovery system configured to process the combined exhaust gas to remove one or more noble gases therefrom.

Noble gas recovery system

A vacuum exhaust system includes a plurality of turbo pumps that evacuate a plurality of vacuum chambers. A plurality of chamber valves are positioned between the turbo pumps and the plurality of vacuum chambers. A plurality of branch channels are each connected to a corresponding exhaust of the plurality of turbo pumps and a main channel is formed from a confluence of the branch channels. A booster vacuum pump is connected to the main channel. A backing vacuum pump is connected to an exhaust of the booster vacuum pump. A plurality of bypass channels, each having a valve, provide a fluid communication path between at least some of the plurality of vacuum chambers and the booster vacuum pump.

Multiple chamber vacuum exhaust system

A vacuum pumping system which comprises a plurality of vacuum pumping arrangements for evacuating a flammable gas stream and exhausting the gas stream through an exhaust outlet. A housing houses the vacuum pumping arrangements and forms an air flow duct for an air flow for mixing with the exhaust gas stream output from the exhaust outlet in a mixing region in the housing. An airflow generator generates an air flow through the air flow duct to cause mixing of air with the flammable gas stream to a percentage of the flammable gas in the air flow lower than the lower flammability limit of the flammable gas. An airflow sensor senses the flow of air for determining if the air flow is sufficient to dilute the flammable gas to lower than said percentage.

Vacuum pumping system

A vacuum pumping and/or abatement system for evacuating and/or abating fluid from an entity, the system comprising: a first module comprising a vacuum pumping apparatus for pumping the fluid from the entity and/or an abatement apparatus for abating the fluid evacuated from the entity; and a second module arranged adjacent to the first module in a first system dimension; wherein the first and second modules each have a maximum size in the first system dimension that is a respective integer multiple of a common fixed system value.

Modular vacuum pumping and/or abatement system

A vacuum pump, vacuum pump arrangement and method are disclosed. The vacuum pump includes at least one rotor; and a stator, an inlet for receiving gas during operation; and an exhaust for exhausting the gas. The vacuum pump includes a shaft extending through a centre of said pump and comprising a plate mounted on an end of the shaft towards the inlet. The vacuum pump includes control circuitry configured to control an axial position of the plate, a change in axial position of the plate providing a change in inlet conductance of gas to the vacuum pump. The plate is mounted such that it extends beyond the inlet in at least some axial positions of the rotor such that the plate is not on the same side of the inlet as the stator.

Variable inlet conductance vacuum pump, vacuum pump arrangement and method

A vacuum pumping arrangement comprises a first pump which has a first inlet and a first outlet. The first inlet is fluidly connected to a first common pumping line. The first common pumping line includes a plurality of first pumping line inlets each of which is fluidly connectable to a least one process chamber within a group of process chambers that form a semiconductor fabrication tool. The vacuum pumping arrangement also includes a reserve pump which has a reserve inlet and a reserve outlet. The reserve inlet is selectively fluidly connectable to each process chamber within the group of process chambers that form the semiconductor fabrication tool. The vacuum pumping arrangement additionally includes a controller which is configured to selectively fluidly isolate the pump from one or more given process chambers and selectively fluidly connect the reserve pump with the said one or more given process chambers.

Vacuum pumping arrangement

Dry pumps are used to pump a variety of gas mixtures from the semiconductor industry. The present invention provides a liquid ring pump located between the dry pump and an abatement device to remove soluble corrosive materials prior to the exhaust gases entry to the abatement device, the work fluid exhausted from the liquid ring pump being separated from the gas prior to entry to the abatement device.

Apparatus for evacuating a corrosive effluent gas stream from a processing chamber

An apparatus includes a foreline for conveying a waste stream which is drawn from a process chamber to a pumping mechanism. The foreline comprises an isolation valve for selectively isolating the pumping mechanism from the process chamber and a bypass positioned around the isolation valve. The apparatus further comprises a controller for actuating the isolation valve. The controller is configured to cause the isolation valve to be closed when the waste stream is initially drawn from the process chamber, during which time the waste stream is conveyed to the pumping mechanism via the bypass. The bypass includes means for inhibiting propagation of a flame front therethrough. The controller is configured to cause the isolation valve to be opened once a pressure within a region upstream of the isolation valve has been reduced below a value at which propagation of a flame front within the waste stream can be sustained.

Apparatus and method for inhibiting propagation of a flame front

A vacuum pumping system comprises a primary foreline for receiving a gas stream from an outlet of a chamber, a first vacuum pump for evacuating the chamber, a second vacuum pump for evacuating the chamber, a first secondary foreline for conveying gas from the primary foreline to the first vacuum pump, a second secondary foreline for conveying gas from the primary foreline to the second vacuum pump, and valve means for selectively connecting a chosen one of the first and second secondary forelines to the primary foreline. The condition of the vacuum pumps is monitored during use. When both vacuum pumps are operating normally, the valve means is controlled to divert a first reactant-rich gas from the primary foreline into the first secondary foreline, and to divert a second reactant-rich gas from the primary foreline to the second secondary foreline, thereby inhibiting mixing of the first and second reactants within the vacuum pumps. However, in the event that the condition of one of the vacuum pumps indicates that one of the pumps is likely to fail during a current process within the chamber, the valve means is controlled to divert both the first reactant-rich gas and the second reactant-rich gas to the other vacuum pump, thereby preventing the potentially costly loss of a batch of substrates within the chamber.

Apparatus and a method are provided for inhibiting the propagation of a flame front that is ignited by a pumping mechanism which draws a waste stream from a process chamber. The apparatus comprises a foreline for conveying the waste stream which is drawn from the process chamber to the pumping mechanism. The foreline comprises an isolation valve for selectively isolating the pumping mechanism from the process chamber and a bypass positioned around the isolation valve. The apparatus further comprises a controller for actuating the isolation valve. The controller is configured to cause the isolation valve to be closed when the waste stream is initially drawn from the process chamber. During which time the waste stream is conveyed to the pumping mechanism via the bypass, the bypass comprises means for inhibiting propagation of a flame front therethrough. The controller is also configured to cause the isolation valve to be opened once a pressure within a region upstream of the isolation valve has been reduced below a value at which propagation of a flame front within the waste stream can be sustained.

A method is described of treating a gas stream exhausted from an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process chamber to which two or more gaseous precursors are alternately supplied. Between the process chamber and a vacuum pump used to draw the gas stream from the chamber, the gas stream is conveyed to a gas mixing chamber, to which a reactant is supplied for reacting with one of the gaseous precursors to form solid material. The gas stream is then conveyed to a cyclone separator to separate solid material from the gas stream. By deliberately reacting a non-reacted precursor to form solid material upstream from the pump, reaction within the pump of the non-reacted precursor and a second non-reacted precursor subsequently drawn from the chamber by the pump can be inhibited.

Method of treating a gas stream

The present invention relates to vacuum pumps and a method for creating and maintaining a high vacuum. A vacuum pump includes a regenerative section and a turbo-molecular section. A common first rotor carries forward-rotating elements of both the regenerative section and the turbo-molecular section. Additionally, a second rotor carries counter-rotating elements of the turbo-molecular section. A first drive rotates the first rotor in a forward rotational direction while a second drive rotates the second rotor in a counter-rotational direction. The drives may be controlled to drive the common first rotor on start-up, and to later drive the second rotor.

Integrated turbo/drag/regenerative pump with counter-rotating turbo blades

The present invention is an apparatus and method for evacuating a number of vacuum processing chambers containing incompatible gases. The gases are directed to a subatmospheric abatement chamber containing preconditioning devices. The gases are treated in the abatement chamber to render them compatible. The compatible gases are then drawn from the abatement chamber as a single stream through a backing pump.

Fore-line preconditioning for vacuum pumps

A seal assembly comprising a main O-ring seal element for engaging in a fluid tight manner opposed surfaces of two objects to be sealingly connected together and a barrier element positioned to protect all or a substantial portion of the surface of the main O-ring seal element against contact by the fluid when passing through the seal assembly from one object to the other object.

Growing community of inventors

Horsham, United Kingdom

Christopher Mark Bailey