Patent ID: 8118982

Claim:
A method of operating a line of connected processing chambers, comprising: measuring gas isolation for each chamber in the line; measuring getter pumping flow for each chamber in the line; setting inert gas flow to each chamber based on its measured gas isolation; and setting reactive gas flow to each chamber based on its measured gas isolation and getter pumping flow, wherein measuring getter pumping flow for each chamber comprises operating the chamber independently and comparing a first pressure in the chamber being operated while applying power to the chamber being operated to a second pressure in the chamber being operated while power is off, and defining a getter pressure drop factor as a first ratio of the difference between the first and second pressures to the first pressure, and wherein setting reactive gas flow to each chamber based on its measured isolation and getter pumping flow further comprises defining a second ratio of an operating pressure of the chamber being operated to a pressure in an adjacent chamber, and reducing the reactive gas flow above the getter pumping flow rate by an amount inversely proportional to the second ratio.