Exclusive!
Reduce outgassing, reduce pump-down time
• Silcosteel
®
-UHV layer can reduce outgassing bymore than an order of
magnitude, relative to heat treatment, inUHV environments.
• Reduced outgassing allows faster system pump-down.
Rugged, durable layer, for long-term reliable performance
• Silcosteel
®
-UHV layer will not delaminate.
• Stable to 600ºC.
• Will not interferewith or be damaged by knife edge of Conflat
®
sealing
flange.
• Reduces galling.
Custom service
• Apply Silcosteel
®
-UHV layer to a broad range of components.
• Treat complicated geometries and fine structures.
Ultra-high vacuum (UHV) environments of 10
-7
torr or lower are critical formany instruments and
systems used to analyze andmanipulate the properties of materials, surfaces, or atomic structure.
Under these vacuum conditions, steel components outgas large quantities of water, CO
2
, CO, and
other contaminant molecules. Until now, large pumping systems and extensive bake-out treat-
ments have been required to remove thesematerials from the UHV environment.
ASilcosteel
®
-UHV layer significantly reduces outgassing by steel components inUHV systems.
Applied to and incorporated into the steel surface, the Silcosteel
®
-UHV layer acts as a barrier, iso-
lating anymaterials trapped on or in the steel and preventing them from entering the UHV environ-
ment, without liberating any contamination of its own. Figure 1 demonstrates the dramatic
improvement attained by using Silcosteel
®
-UHV-treated components in a UHV assembly, relative to
heat-cleaned components. After 10 hours under vacuum at 61°C, the Silcosteel
®
-UHV coated part
demonstrated a 14-fold lower outgassing rate than the heat-cleaned part* (note circled area in
Figure 1b). Clearly, Silcosteel
®
-UHV-treated partsmake it possible to achieve andmaintain a UHV
environment with less pumping capacity and conservative bake-out requirements.
800-356-1688
★
814-353-1300
At-a-Glance
Product
Information
fromRestek
System:
standard turbomolecular pump, 360L/sec;
all metal seals
Test pieces:
independently heated, isolated closed end
thimbles; 4.5” x 1.5” OD
Base pressures:
4.6 x 10
-7
Torr at 1hr
7.5 x 10
-8
Torr at 10hr
Figure 1a
Silcosteel
®
-UHV-treated vacuum system
omponents show significantly less
outgassing, compared to heat-cleaned*
components.
*Heat cleaned—test piece cleaned ultrasonically in an
aqueous caustic bath, followed by 400ºC under vacuum.
Figure 1b
After 10hr under vacuum, Silcosteel
®
-UHV-
treated component continues to show signifi-
cantly less outgassing. Note change in y-axis
scale compared to Figure 1a.
Silcosteel
®
-UHV
Dramatically Reduce Outgassing inUHVSystems
Patent pending.
Pressure IncreasewithHeat After 1hr Under Vacuum
Pressure IncreasewithHeat After 10hr Under Vacuum
14-fold decrease in
outgassing rate
from the
Restek Performance
Coatings Division
Silcosteel®-UHV surface
treatment has been
recognized by a panel of
independent judges and
editors of
R&DMagazine
as one of the 100most technologically
significant products introduced in 2003
