Method of polishing a metal surface of a barrier door of a gate valve used in a semiconductor cluster tool architecture
AssigneeLam Research Corporation
InventorsDean J. Larson, James A. Woodward
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The method of preserving the anodized finish of a barrier door of a process module includes bonding a seal to a metal surface, anodizing the metal surface, and then using a CNC machine to polish the metal surface without damaging the seal. The metal surface is polished by traversing a polishing path along the metal surface with a polishing head maintaining frictional contact with the metal surface. The integrity of the seal is preserved by bounding the polishing head to skirt the edge of the seal by following the polishing path.
Claims17
A method of polishing a metal sealing surface of a barrier door of a gate valve, the method comprising:
- bonding a seal within a groove formed in an interior face of the metal sealing surface of the barrier door for the gate valve;
- anodizing the metal sealing surface of the barrier door for the gate valve, after the seal is bonded to the metal sealing surface of the barrier door for the gate valve;
- traversing a polishing path along the metal sealing surface of the barrier door for the gate valve with a polishing head, wherein the polishing head engages in frictional contact with the metal sealing surface of the barrier door for the gate valve;
- and
- skirting an edge of the seal with the polishing head, while the polishing path is traversed, wherein the polishing head polishes the metal sealing surface immediately adjacent to the edge.
A method of polishing a metal sealing surface of a barrier door of a gate valve, the method comprising:
- vulcanizing an elastomer seal at a temperature between about 350° F. to about 370° F. such that the elastomer seal is bonded within a groove of an interior face of the metal sealing surface of the barrier door for the gate valve;
- anodizing the metal sealing surface of the barrier door for the gate valve, after the elastomer seal is bonded to the metal sealing surface of the barrier door for the gate valve;
- traversing a polishing path along the metal sealing surface of the barrier door for the gate valve with a polishing head, wherein the polishing head engages in frictional contact with the metal sealing surface of the barrier door for the gate valve;
- polishing the metal sealing surface to a surface finish of less than about 8 Ra;
- and
- skirting an edge of the elastomer seal with the polishing head, while the polishing path is traversed, wherein the polishing head polishes the metal sealing surface immediately adjacent to the edge.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.