Patent ID: 8601975

Claim:
A loadport, comprising: a) a plate adapted to couple to a door of a substrate carrier to open the substrate carrier; a first opening of the plate adapted to couple to a first port in the door of the substrate carrier on a first side of the plate and to couple to a gas source on a second side of the plate, the first port having a first seal adapted to allow the gas source to seal to the first port, and wherein the loadport is adapted to allow a flow of gas from the gas source into the substrate carrier via the first opening in the plate and the first port in the door; b) a second opening of the plate adapted to couple to the first port in the door of the substrate carrier on the first side of the plate and to couple to a vacuum source on the second side of the plate, the first port having a second seal disposed concentrically around the first seal and adapted to seal to the vacuum source disposed concentrically around the gas source while gas flows into the substrate carrier, wherein the second opening is disposed so that a volume of gas disposed around the first opening may be evacuated on the first side of the plate, the volume of gas is defined by the first seal sealing the first opening to the first port and the second seal disposed around the first seal and sealing the second opening to the first port, the force exerted by the vacuum exceeding the force exerted by the flow of gas into the substrate carrier.