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US 6,183,341 B2Granted
Slurry pump control system
AssigneeStrasbaugh
InventorChris Melcer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A CMP slurry pumping system which uses the slurry pump inlet pressure as input to the pump controller, and adjusts pump speed to account for variations in inlet pressure.
Claims4
A system for pumping slurry from a slurry source to a polishing pad in a chemical mechanical polishing system comprising:
- a peristaltic pump having an inlet and an outlet;
- a controller for controlling the speed at which the pump operates;
- a slurry supply line communicating with the inlet of the pump;
- a slurry output line in fluid communication with the outlet of the pump, said output line aligned to provide slurry to the polishing pad;
- a pressure sensor operably connected to the slurry supply line, said pressure sensor capable of sensing the pressure in the supply line and transmitting a pressure signal indicative of the pressure in the supply line to the controller;
- said controller being programmed to accept the pressure signal indicative of the pressure in the supply line, to accept input from an operator regarding the desired output flow rate of the pump, and to calculate the pump speed required to provide the desired output based on the pressure in the supply line, and maintain the pump speed at the calculated pump speed.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.