The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 21, 2003
Filed:
Aug. 29, 2000
Mark I. Mayeda, Gresham, OR (US);
Steven E. Reder, Boring, OR (US);
Richard Gimmi, Gresham, OR (US);
Matthew R. Trattles, Troutdale, OR (US);
LSI Logic Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US);
Abstract
An apparatus for reducing residual oxygen content from a processing chamber of an atmospheric reactor after the processing chamber of the atmospheric reactor has been exposed to an oxygen environment. The processing chamber of the atmospheric reactor has an inert gas purge, including an inert gas source, for reducing a residual oxygen level within the processing chamber of the atmospheric reactor at a rate of reduction. A venturi vacuum system is enabled by the inert gas source. The venturi vacuum system draws a vacuum on the processing chamber of the atmospheric reactor and supplements the inert gas purge, thereby accelerating the rate at which the residual oxygen level is reduced within the processing chamber of the atmospheric reactor. In this manner, the vacuum created by the venturi vacuum system increases the efficiency of the inert gas purge by reducing by some moderate degree the pressure within the processing chamber of the atmospheric reactor. This provides additional gas flow within the processing chamber to physically remove the residual oxygen from the processing chamber. However, the vacuum provided by the venturi vacuum system is not high enough to cause damage to the components of the atmospheric reactor, which are not designed to withstand the forces that are created by a relatively high vacuum.