O-ringless tandem throttle valve for a plasma reactor chamber
First Claim
1. A valve assembly for controlling one of gas conductance from a plasma reactor chamber to a vacuum pump or chamber pressure, said valve assembly comprising:
- a valve housing having first and second opposing surfaces;
a high conductance valve comprising;
a large area opening in said first and second opposing surfaces and extending through said valve housing, said opening defining a side wall extending between said first and second surfaces having an arcuate cross-section,a large area rotatable flap in said large area opening having a smooth continuous peripheral edge with an arcuate cross-section generally matching that of said side wall and defining a small gap between said peripheral edge and said side wall in a closed flap position;
a fine control valve comprising;
a small area opening in said first and second opposing surfaces and extending through said valve housing, said opening defining a side wall extending between said first and second surfaces having a smooth continuous arcuate cross-section; and
a small area rotatable flap in said small area opening having a smooth continuous peripheral edge with an arcuate cross-section generally matching that of said side wall and defining a small gap between said peripheral edge and said side wall in a closed flap position;
first plural axial slots in said side wall of said large area opening comprising round holes of truncated circular cross-section extending from one face of said valve housing and having a radial depth that is maximum at said one face and tapers to a minimum depth at a predetermined distance below said one face, said sidewall of said large area opening having a smooth continuous surface between said axial slots.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A valve system having high maximum gas flow rate and fine control of gas flow rate, includes a valve housing for blocking gas flow through a gas flow path, a large area opening through said housing having a first arcuate side wall and a small area opening through said housing having a second arcuate side wall, and respective large area and small area rotatable valve flaps in said large area and small area openings, respectively, and having arcuate edges congruent with said first and second arcuate side walls, respectively and defining therebetween respective first and second valve gaps. The first and second valve gaps are sufficiently small to block flow of a gas on one side of said valve housing up to a predetermined pressure limit, thereby obviating any need for O-rings.
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Citations
6 Claims
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1. A valve assembly for controlling one of gas conductance from a plasma reactor chamber to a vacuum pump or chamber pressure, said valve assembly comprising:
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a valve housing having first and second opposing surfaces; a high conductance valve comprising; a large area opening in said first and second opposing surfaces and extending through said valve housing, said opening defining a side wall extending between said first and second surfaces having an arcuate cross-section, a large area rotatable flap in said large area opening having a smooth continuous peripheral edge with an arcuate cross-section generally matching that of said side wall and defining a small gap between said peripheral edge and said side wall in a closed flap position; a fine control valve comprising; a small area opening in said first and second opposing surfaces and extending through said valve housing, said opening defining a side wall extending between said first and second surfaces having a smooth continuous arcuate cross-section; and a small area rotatable flap in said small area opening having a smooth continuous peripheral edge with an arcuate cross-section generally matching that of said side wall and defining a small gap between said peripheral edge and said side wall in a closed flap position; first plural axial slots in said side wall of said large area opening comprising round holes of truncated circular cross-section extending from one face of said valve housing and having a radial depth that is maximum at said one face and tapers to a minimum depth at a predetermined distance below said one face, said sidewall of said large area opening having a smooth continuous surface between said axial slots. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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Specification