High-throughput continuous cryopump

Journal Article · Wed Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987 · J. Vac. Sci. Technol., A; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1116/1.574421· OSTI ID:6488349

Foster, C A

A cryopump with a unique method of regeneration which allows continuous operation at high throughput has been constructed and tested. Deuterium was pumped continuously at a throughput of 30 Torr l/s at a speed of 2000 l/s and a compression ratio of 200. Argon was pumped at a throughput of 60 Torr l/s at a speed of 1275 l/s. To produce continuous operation of the pump, a method of regeneration that does not thermally cycle the pump is employed. A small chamber (the ''snail'') passes over the pumping surface and removes the frost from it either by mechanical action with a scraper or by local heating. The material removed is topologically in a secondary vacuum system with low conductance into the primary vacuum; thus, the exhaust can be pumped at pressures up to an effective compression ratio determined by the ratio of the pumping speed to the leakage conductance of the snail. The pump, which is all-metal sealed and dry and which regenerates every 60 s, would be an ideal system for pumping tritium. Potential fusion applications are for pump limiters, for repeating pneumatic pellet injection lines, and for the centrifuge pellet injector spin tank, all of which will require pumping tritium at high throughput. Industrial applications requiring ultraclean pumping of corrosive gases at high throughput, such as the reactive ion etch semiconductor process, may also be feasible.

• Research Organization: Fusion Energy Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6488349
• Journal Information: J. Vac. Sci. Technol., A; (United States), Journal Name: J. Vac. Sci. Technol., A; (United States) Vol. 5:4; ISSN JVTAD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700209* -- Fusion Power Plant Technology-- Component Development & Materials Testing
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CRYOPUMPS
DEUTERIUM
EQUIPMENT
FABRICATION
FUEL PELLETS
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
LIGHT NUCLEI
LIMITERS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
OPERATION
PELLETS
PUMPING
PUMPS
RADIOISOTOPES
STABLE ISOTOPES
TESTING
TRITIUM
VACUUM PUMPS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES