Ultra High Vacuum Cryogenic Pumping Apparatus with Nanostructure Material

• US 20150107273A1
• Filed: 10/22/2013
• Published: 04/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Kao, Chung-En, Anantharaman, Surendra Babu, Yang, Wen-Cheng, Lu, Victor Y., Chin, Wei
• Granted Patent: US 10,145,371 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 62/55.5
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 37/08 by condensing or freezing, e.g. cryogenic pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 37/085 Regeneration of cryo-pumps

Abstract

Cryogenic pump apparatuses include nanostructure material to achieve an ultra-high vacuum level. The nanostructure material can be mixed with either an adsorbent material or a fixed glue layer which is utilized to fix the adsorbent material. The nanostructure material'"'"'s good thermal conductivity and adsorption properties help to lower working temperature and extend regeneration cycle of the cryogenic pumps.

Claims

1. A cryogenic pumping system comprising:

a canister having a flange to be coupled to a vacuum chamber;

a cryogenic blade array arranged within the canister, a fixed glue layer on a blade of the cryogenic blade array, and an adsorbent material on the fixed glue layer, at least one of the adsorbent material or the fixed glue layer including a carbon nanotube material.

2. The cryogenic pumping system of claim 1, wherein the adsorbent material comprises an active charcoal material with the carbon nanotube material mixing inside pores therein.

3. The cryogenic pumping system of claim 2, wherein the fixed glue layer comprises the carbon nanotube material.

4. The cryogenic pumping system of claim 1, wherein the carbon nanotube material is mixed with the fixed glue layer.

5. The cryogenic pumping system of claim 4, wherein the adsorbent material comprises an activated charcoal material.

6. The cryogenic pumping system of claim 4, wherein a thermal conductivity of the fixed glue layer is larger than that of a second fixed glue layer not being mixed with the nanostructure material.

7. The cryogenic pumping system of claim 4, wherein a working temperature of the cryogenic blade array is approximately 8 kelvin.

8. The cryogenic pumping system of claim 1, wherein the carbon nanotube material includes single-walled carbon nanotubes.

9. The cryogenic pumping system of claim 1, wherein the carbon nanotube material includes multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

10. The cryogenic pumping system of claim 1, wherein the carbon nanotube material has crystallographic defects.

11. The cryogenic pumping system of claim 10, wherein the crystallographic defects of the nanostructure material are bonding sites for particles to be absorbed by the carbon nanotube material.

12. The cryogenic pumping system of claim 11, wherein the particles comprise H₂O, O₂, CO₂, H₂, N₂, or He.

13. The cryogenic pumping system of claim 1, wherein the vacuum chamber is utilized for Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD), Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE), or implanter chambers.

14. A method comprising:

applying a fixed glue layer on a blade of a cryogenic blade array; and

applying an adsorbent material, which includes a nanostructure material inside pores of an active charcoal material, on the fixed glue layer.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the nanostructure material is mixed inside pores of the active charcoal material by a ball milling method.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the nanostructure material is saturated before the active charcoal material starts absorbing particles.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the nanostructure material has crystallographic defects.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein crystallographic defects of the nanostructure material form bonds with molecules through chemisorption.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the crystallographic defects of the nanostructure material form bonds with atomic species through physisorption.

20. A multi-stage cryogenic pumping system comprising:

a canister having a flange to be coupled to a vacuum chamber;

a first stage within the canister, the first stage to be in fluid communication with the vacuum chamber and including an inlet array to condense gases having boiling points within a first temperature range; and

a second stage within the canister, the second stage to be in fluid communication with the vacuum chamber but fluidly downstream of the first stage relative to the vacuum chamber, the second stage including a cold header to cool a cryogenic blade array in the second stage, the cryogenic blade array including a carbon nanotube material thereon to trap gases having boiling points within a second temperature range that is less than the first temperature range.