®
UHV, high-purity gas system
and vacuum
SilcoGuard
®
1000 formerly Silcosteel
®
-UHV
SilcoGuard
®
1000 greatly enhances semiconductor & vacuum process performance
U.S. Patent 7,070,833
Dramatically Reduce
Outgassing inUHV
Systems
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ApplyingSilcoGuard
®
1000on the internal surfaces of vacuum
systems can dramatically reduce outgassing rates andprovide a
productivity advantage toprocess chambers that requiremore rapid
and efficient evacuations.
ASilcoGuard 1000 layer significantly reduces outgassingby steel
components in ultra high vacuum (UHV) systems. Applied to and in-
corporated into the steel surface, theSilcoGuard1000 layer acts as a
barrier, isolating anymaterials trappedon or in the steel andprevent-
ing them from entering theUHV environment, without liberating any
contamination of its own.
Figure 1demonstrates the dramatic improvement attainedby using
SilcoGuard 1000-treated components in aUHV assembly, relative
to heat-cleaned components. After 10 hours under vacuum at 61°C,
theSilcoGuard 1000 coatedpart demonstrated a 14-fold lower
outgassing rate than the heat-cleanedpart, SilcoGuard 1000-treated
partsmake it possible to achieve andmaintain aUHV environment
with less pumping capacity andwith little to nopre-cleaning or
bake-out.
®
®
®
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Figure1
compares pump-down rates for aSilcoGuard1000 treated vs. an
untreated chamber. SilcoGuard 1000will reducepumpdown times by 2.5x
ormore, compared to untreated chambers.
Data courtesy of Elvac Laboratories
1
.
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