Vakuumsystems

Vakuumsystems are engineered installations that create and sustain a vacuum in a sealed chamber by removing gas molecules. They enable processes and measurements that require reduced pressure, such as thin-film deposition, spectroscopy, and electron microscopy. Vacuum quality is described by pressure (pascal, millibar, or torr) and by base pressure. Common ranges are rough vacuum (>1 mbar), high vacuum (10^-3 to 1 mbar), and ultra-high vacuum (<10^-7 to 10^-9 mbar).

A typical system includes a chamber, pumps, seals, valves, gas-handling components, and gauges. Seals are elastomeric for lower vacuum or metal seals for high vacuum. Forepumps back the main pumps, which may be turbomolecular, diffusion, ion, or cryopumps. Some layouts combine pumps to achieve very low pressures.

Performance depends on pumping speed, conductance, and outgassing. Bake-out and material choice reduce outgassing; leak detection (often helium) finds leaks. Gauges and controllers maintain stable pressure during processing.

Applications include semiconductor fabrication, physical and chemical vapor deposition, surface science, mass spectrometry, and microscopy. Industrial systems vary from compact lab units to large coating plants.

Maintenance involves regular leak checks, seal and filter replacement, and monitoring pump oil or using oil-free designs to reduce contamination. Safety concerns include implosion risk, proper venting, and gas handling.