Edwards Limited

Gareth David Stanton

Andrew James Seeley

James Robert Smith

Duncan Michael Price

Michael Roger Czerniak

A method of cleaning a gas inlet nozzle of an abatement burner combustion chamber. The abatement burner intermittently receives gas for combustion from a feed process. The nozzle comprises a cleaning mechanism including a movable cleaning member for physically removing unwanted deposits from the nozzle. The cleaning member is movable from a retracted first position wherein the cleaning member is outside a path of a flame associated with the nozzle, to a second cleaning position wherein the cleaning member is in a path of the flame associated with the nozzle. The method comprises the steps of:

Gas nozzle cleaning method and system

The present invention relates to a vacuum pumping and abatement system for evacuating processing gas from a process chamber and removing noxious substances from the processing gas. The present invention also relates to a method of purging a vacuum pumping arrangement. The present invention seeks to reduce the cost of ownership and operation and carbon footprint of such systems, by providing a vacuum pumping and abatement system for evacuating processing gas from a process chamber and removing noxious substances from the processing gas, comprising a vacuum pumping arrangement for evacuating processing gas from a process chamber; a source of compressed air for purging the vacuum pumping arrangement during evacuation; and a burner for receiving processing gas and compressed air from the vacuum pumping arrangement and removing noxious substances therefrom by burning the processing gas in oxygen wherein at least some of the oxygen that supports combustion is derived from the compressed air.

Vacuum pumping and abatement system

A radiant burner and method are disclosed. The radiant burner is for treating an effluent gas stream from a manufacturing process tool and comprises: a combustion chamber having a porous sleeve through which combustion materials pass for combustion proximate to a combustion surface of the porous sleeve; a combustion characteristic monitor operable to determine combustion performance of the radiant burner by monitoring infra-red radiation emitted from the combustion surface; and a radiant burner controller operable to control operation of the radiant burner in dependence upon combustion performance determined by the combustion characteristic monitor. Accordingly, aspects recognize that if a burner is suffering from an excessive flow of air the burner pad or combustion surface will typically cool, which results in an increase in unwanted emissions in the exhaust produced by a radiant burner. The cooling also results in a reduction in infrared radiation determined by the combustion surface. The hydrogen flame of the radiant burner and the hydrocarbon flame of the burner pilot typically do not emit infrared radiation and thus a change in infra-red an radiation, for example, intensity, quantity or frequency, emitted by the combustion surface of the radiant burner can be used to diagnose an 'overflow' of cold gas, typically air, in the combustion mixture fed into the system, for example, the combustion chamber. Once diagnosed appropriate ameliorative steps may be taken and, for example, the burner control logic may be operable to compensate by reducing air flow into the burner.

Combustion monitoring

The present invention provides a method of treating an exhaust gas streamfrom a processing chamber. The method comprises the steps of: conveying the exhaust gas from the processing chamber using a vacuum pumping arrangementor atmospheric line; abating the exhaust gas in an abatement regionof an abatement device; and injecting a cooling agent, such as a liquid, downstream of the abatement region to cool the abated gases in a cooling regionby phase change of the cooling agent.

Method of treating an exhaust gas stream

Chemical vapor deposition apparatus comprises a process chamber, a bubbler for supplying a volatile precursor to the chamber, a vacuum pump for drawing an exhaust gas from the process chamber, an abatement device for treating the exhaust gas, and a bypass line for conveying the precursor from the bubbler to the abatement device, the bypass line bypassing both the process chamber and the vacuum pump.

Chemical vapour deposition apparatus

Apparatus is described for treating an effluent fluid stream from a semiconductor manufacturing process tool. The apparatus comprises a combustion chamber, means for heating the combustion chamber, and a nozzle for injecting the effluent stream into the combustion chamber. The apparatus is configured to enable a fuel and an oxidant to be selectively injected into the effluent stream as required to optimise the combustion conditions for a particular effluent stream. In one to embodiment, a lance projecting into the nozzle selectively injects an oxidant into the effluent stream, and a sleeve surrounding the nozzle selectively injects a fuel into the effluent stream.

Growing community of inventors

North Somerset, United Kingdom

Gareth David Stanton