Patent ID: 7841582

Claim:
A method for sealing an opening between two chambers in a semiconductor processing device, the method comprising: providing a first chamber; providing a second chamber; providing a wall separating the first chamber from the second chamber, the opening extending circumferentially along an exterior surface of the wall; providing a slit door having an o-ring mounted along edges of the slit door, the slit door configured to move in a direction generally parallel to the exterior surface of the wall between an open position and a closed position, the opening allowing communication between the first chamber and the second chamber when the slit door is in the open position, and the opening being sealed when the slit door is in the closed position; moving the slit door from the open position to the closed position using an actuator; applying a first pressure to the slit door in the closed position using the actuator, the first pressure applied by the actuator in the direction generally parallel to the exterior surface of the wall; and applying a second pressure to the slit door in the closed position using the actuator, the second pressure applied by the actuator in the direction generally parallel to the exterior surface of the wall, wherein the first pressure is different than the second pressure, and the first pressure and the second pressure depend on a pressure gradient between the first chamber and the second chamber.