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Gate valve for plus-atmospheric pressure semiconductor process vessels

  • US 7,494,107 B2
  • Filed: 03/30/2005
  • Issued: 02/24/2009
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2005
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A double containment gate valve, the gate valve comprising:

  • a housing comprising, a first access opening, a second access opening, and an inner chamber, wherein the first access opening is configured to be substantially in the same horizontal plane as the second access opening, thereby providing an access pass through the inner chamber of the double containment gate valve when the head assembly is in the down position, wherein the double containment gate valve is configured to allow a wafer to be loaded/unloaded to/from a processing chamber via the access path through the outer access opening and the inner access opening;

    a head assembly within the housing, wherein the head assembly is movable to concurrently form a first seal over the first access opening and a second seal over the second access opening, and configured such that a pressure exerted to open the second seal is translated to a pressure to maintain the first seal, wherein the head assembly is further configured to move down to clear the access path through the double containment gate valve and to minimize particulates during wafer loading and/or unloading, the head assembly includes a first door and a second door, the first door and the second door being movable in a direction parallel to the access path, wherein the head assembly further includes a head assembly housing and a closure plate, the head assembly housing being configured to form a head inner chamber, the closure plate being coupled to the head assembly housing at an open side of the head inner chamber, thereby enclosing the head inner chamber, wherein the head assembly further comprises a first piston and a second piston configured within the inner head chamber, the first piston being coupled to a first cylinder, wherein the first cylinder is coupled to the first door, the second piston being coupled to a second cylinder, wherein the second cylinder is coupled to the second door, and a fluid gap is configured between the first piston and the second piston; and

    a controller coupled to the gate valve and configured to compute a predicted process time for a substrate processed in the processing chamber and to employ the predicted process time to determine an operating state for the gate valve.

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