Method and system for recovering and recirculating a deuterium-containing gas
AssigneeL'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude
InventorsDaniel Gary, Jean-Marc Girard, Jean-Christophe Rostaing, Jean-Marie Friedt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Provided is a novel method of and system for recovering and recirculating a deuterium-containing gas. According to the inventive method, a deuterium-containing feed gas is introduced into a chamber. An exhaust gas containing deuterium is removed from the chamber. The deuterium concentration of the exhaust gas is adjusted to a predetermined value, thereby producing a concentration-adjusted gas stream. Finally, the concentration-adjusted gas stream is introduced into the chamber as the deuterium-containing feed gas. The invention makes the use of deuterium, for example, in the mass production of semiconductor devices, commercially feasible.
Claims8
A system for recovering and recirculating a deuterium-containing gas, comprising:
- a) deuterium-containing gas source for providing a deuterium-containing feed gas;
- b) a gas introducing line connected to receive the deuterium-containing feed gas from the gas source, and to introduce the deuterium-containing feed gas into a chamber;
- c) an exhaust gas line for removing from said chamber an exhaust gas;
- d) a makeup gas line for adding a makeup gas containing deuterium to said exhaust gas;
- and
- e) means for adjusting the deuterium concentration of said exhaust gas to a predetermined value to produce a concentration-adjusted gas as said deuterium-containing feed gas.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.