Edwards Limited, a leading global supplier of vacuum and abatement equipment and services, today expanded its popular iXH family of harsh process dry pumps with the introduction of the iXH500H series. This new series of 500m3/h pumps has been optimized for flat panel, solar and advanced semiconductor processes requiring high gas flows and flexible pump temperature profiles. These pumps offer significant cost of ownership benefits due to lower energy consumption and enhanced mean time between servicing (MTBS), while delivering the small footprint and hydrogen pumping capabilities of the iXH450 series.
“This new series in the iXH family is designed to address the varying pumping challenges encountered in flat panel, solar and advanced semiconductor processes that can significantly reduce a pump’s MTBS,” said Dr. Allister Watson, drypump product manager-FPD & Solar Sectors, Edwards. “Until now, the industry lacked a single harsh process dry pump with the flexibility to address these different challenges. The iXH500H series, with its increased pump temperature flexibility, addresses this need, while also reducing pump energy consumption by up to 15 percent. As a result, the iXH500H may yield a 30 percent lower cost of ownership as compared to previous-generation iXH dry pumps.”
Vacuum pumps used by flat panel, solar and semiconductor manufacturers must accommodate a wide range of operating conditions and materials. The iXH500H series temperature flexibility makes it ideal for such harsh processes. Running at low pump temperatures, the iXH500H series is beneficial for processes that use high flows of corrosive gases (e.g. FPD PECVD, thin film solar PECVD, semiconductor MOCVD), or for processes that use thermally sensitive pre-cursors (e.g. atomic layer deposition) that could ‘plate out’ by-products within the pump. High operating temperatures can be used where the risk is condensation of by-products within the pump (e.g. high-k dielectric deposition).
