Edwards Limited

Gerald Robin Shelley

Mark Kollin Romeo

Peter George Stammers

Jeffrey Robert Schwab

Brian Stuart Blakeley Roberts

A vacuum pumping apparatus may include: a common pumping line having a plurality of pumping line inlets and a pumping line outlet, each pumping line inlet being configured to couple with an outlet of an associated plurality of vacuum processing chambers; at least one primary vacuum pump in fluid communication with the pumping line outlet to pump gas from each vacuum processing chamber; and control logic operable to control operation of the primary vacuum pump in response to an indication of an operating state of the plurality of vacuum processing chambers. In this way, the performance of the primary vacuum pump can be adjusted to match the load provided by the processing chambers and when there is an excess capacity, the performance of the primary vacuum pumps can be reduced, which can lead to significant energy savings and reduce wear on the pump.

Vacuum pumping

A method and apparatus is disclosed for automatically adjusting a recovery time for a processing system to recover from an idle mode to a normal operation mode in order to improve the efficiency of resource utilization, such as energy consumption. The processing system can be one that is used in semiconductor manufacturing, and include a process tool supported by an auxiliary device, such as a vacuum pump or abatement device. A number of parameters can be controlled to adjust the recovery time of the auxiliary device. One or more of those parameters can be increased or decreased based on comparison between a measured, actual recovery time and a predetermined, target recovery time, at the end of each recovery cycle. As such, the actual, measured recovery time can gradually converge with the predetermined, target recovery time, thereby optimizing the resource utilization of the processing system.

Apparatus and method for self-tuning a processing system

An apparatus for tuning pump speed at an optimal or desired speed using an automated method is disclosed. The apparatus includes a vacuum pump connected to a chamber for evacuating gas from the chamber. A sensor measures one or more characteristics, such as pressure, of the gas in the chamber. The measured characteristic is compared to a predetermined value. The speed of vacuum pump is adjusted based on the comparison until it falls in a desired range.

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Uckfield, United Kingdom

Gerald Robin Shelley