Patent ID: 9133836
Filing Date: 2015-09-15
Classification: C23C,F04B

Abstract:
1. A method of evacuating a chamber to which a first reactant and a second reactant are alternately supplied, the method comprising: alternately drawing a first reactant-rich gas from the chamber along a first exhaust path extending from the chamber using a first vacuum pump and a second reactant-rich gas from the chamber along a second exhaust path extending from the chamber using a second vacuum pump during processing of a batch of substrates within the chamber; monitoring an operating characteristic of each of the vacuum pumps during the evacuation of the chamber to determine a likelihood of failure of the respective vacuum pump, wherein the operating characteristic comprises at least one of current drawn by a motor of the pump, motor power, pump temperature, the pressure of gas exhaust from the pump, and vibration of a bearing of the pump; and in response to determining that the monitored operating characteristic of one of the first and second vacuum pumps indicates that the one of the first and second vacuum pumps is likely to fail during a current process in the chamber, subsequently drawing both the first reactant-rich gas and the second reactant-rich gas from the chamber using the other of the first and second vacuum pumps to allow completion of processing of the batch of substrates within the chamber, wherein the first reactant-rich gas and the second reactant-rich gas mix within the other of the first and second vacuum pumps, wherein the operating characteristic of the first vacuum pump is monitored before the first reactant is supplied to the chamber, and the operating characteristic of the second vacuum pump is monitored before the second reactant is supplied to the chamber.