Vacuum valves have many uses in vacuum systems, mainly including the following aspects:
- Switch gas path: It can change the flow route of the airflow and realize the on-off control of different pipelines in the vacuum system. For example, in vacuum coating equipment, by controlling the opening and closing of the vacuum valve, the coating chamber can be connected or disconnected with different pipelines such as vacuum pumps and inflation systems to meet the needs of different stages of the coating process.
- Control the size of the airflow: The regulating vacuum valve can control the opening angle of the valve cover, thereby adjusting the size of the air flow flowing through the pipeline, and then controlling the vacuum degree in the container. For example, in some experiments or production processes that require precise control of the vacuum degree, by adjusting the opening of the vacuum valve, the vacuum degree in the system can be kept within the required range.
- Quantitative inflation: Some vacuum valves can realize the quantitative inflation function. For example, if there is a small hole of a certain volume on the plunger of the glass valve, when the small hole is connected to the high-pressure gas cylinder, it can be filled with high-pressure gas. When it is connected to the vacuum container, the volume of high-pressure gas is put into the container, thereby realizing quantitative inflation.
- Isolation system: It can isolate two flow paths, maintain system pressure, and reduce flow loss. In a vacuum system, when a part needs to be repaired, replaced, or other operations are performed on a certain part, the corresponding vacuum valve can be closed to isolate the part from the rest of the system to prevent gas leakage or pressure changes from affecting the normal operation of other parts.
- Protect the vacuum pump: Installed at the air inlet of the vacuum pump to prevent the mechanical vacuum pump from returning oil. When the pressure in the vacuum system changes abnormally, the vacuum valve can be closed in time to prevent oil from being drawn into the vacuum system and protect the vacuum pump and other equipment from damage.
- Transfer objects: In a multi-chamber vacuum system, the transfer valve can be used to transfer objects (such as wafers) from one chamber to another, especially between the transfer chamber and the process chamber, and is an ideal choice for multi-chamber systems.