| 摘要 |
A method for the treatment of inner surfaces of vacuum components and the device for carrying it out which enables the reduction of undesirable organic and inorganic contamination of vacuum systems not only in those that are being produced, but also enables the reduction of contamination in systems that are already in use, such as SEM, TEM, SEM-FIB, XPS, MALDI, SIMS and other analytical and inspection techniques. The proposed method for contaminant treatment derives benefit from a photocatalytic process, which is actually a chemical decomposition of contaminants using a photocatalytic material and electromagnetic radiation, the photocatalytic material being cooled simultaneously to a low temperature. The photocatalytic material is applied to the walls of the vacuum system or vacuum units, which are included in the system, in the form of a layer. If the material with photocatalytic properties is exposed to electromagnetic radiation having an appropriate wavelength, its surface is activated and a characteristic chemical reaction occurs. By using this method it is possible to decompose the contaminants so that they are finally converted to a gaseous phase, the gases being subsequently pumped out of the vacuum system. The inner surface covered with the photocatalytic layer is cooled to low temperatures, which facilitates the adsorption of the contaminants onto the surface covered with the photocatalytic layer and, consequently, increases the effectiveness of the decontamination process. |
| 主权项 |
1. A method for reducing or removing organic and/or inorganic contamination from a vacuum system of imaging and analytical devices, wherein at least a portion of the area of the inner surface of the vacuum space of the vacuum system is provided with a photocatalytic layer, at least a portion of this photocatalytic layer being cooled to a temperature in the range of 0 K to 280 K, whereby the photocatalytic layer is afterwards at least partially irradiated by electromagnetic radiation, which activates a photocatalytic reaction of the photocatalytic layer with the adsorbed gases of the atmosphere of the inner vacuum space of the vacuum system, where this reaction decomposes the contaminants, reducing their concentration and/or the concentration of water in the inner vacuum space of the vacuum system. |
