Balanced purge slit valve
AssigneeApplied Material, Inc.
InventorsJacob Newman, Douglas H. Burns
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for providing a gas to a slit valve opening are provided herein. In one embodiment, a slit valve is described. The slit valve includes a housing having an opening, the opening defined by a plurality of interior sidewalls and sized to allow a substrate to pass therethrough, a door adapted to selectively seal the opening, a gas inlet formed in the housing, and a plurality of nozzles disposed in or on at least one of the plurality of interior sidewalls, each of the plurality of nozzles in fluid communication with the gas inlet and the opening.
Claims22
A slit valve, comprising:
- a housing having an opening, the opening defined by a plurality of interior sidewalls and sized to allow a substrate to pass therethrough;
- a door sized to selectively seal the opening;
- a gas inlet formed in the housing;
- and
- a plurality of nozzles disposed in or on at least one of the plurality of interior sidewalls, each of the plurality of nozzles in fluid communication with the gas inlet and the opening.
A slit valve, comprising:
- a housing having an opening, the opening defined by a plurality of interior sidewalls and sized to allow a substrate to pass therethrough;
- a door sized to selectively seal the opening;
- a gas inlet formed in the housing;
- and
- a plurality of nozzles in fluid communication with the gas inlet and the opening, each of the plurality of nozzles disposed in at least two of the plurality of interior sidewalls, the at least two interior sidewalls opposing each other.
An insert sized to be received by an opening in a slit valve, the insert comprising:
- a housing adapted to couple to at least one interior sidewall of the opening;
- a plurality of nozzles formed through at least one side of the housing in fluid communication with the opening;
- and
- a conduit coupled to the housing adapted to provide a purge gas to the opening through the plurality of nozzles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.